Take My Breath Away

Debbie turned her head around to glance at Carlos. The sullen man stood on higher ground some distance away, glaring at her with his sharp and piercing eyes, his face serious.

Emmett, worry written all over his face, also tried to persuade her. "Tomboy, cool your jets. It's not..." He wanted to say it wasn't worth risking her future just to get revenge on Megan. But he swallowed his words as Carlos was right next to him. He didn't think much of Megan, but Carlos did. And it wasn't worth letting his boss know. His personal feelings weren't necessary for him to do his job, and he knew that. He also knew that he could be replaced at a moment's whim, and he'd been on thin ice more than a few times where Carlos was concerned.

He hurriedly tagged along with Carlos, rushing towards the group.

Seeing Carlos darting towards her like an arrow flown from a bow, Debbie got anxious. She lost her composure and glared at Megan with resentment. "I meant what I said."

"Aargh—"

Splash!

Following a shriek, Megan fell into the river, making a loud splash.

By the time Carlos reached them, Debbie had already pushed Megan into the river. He glared at Debbie angrily, eyes burning with rage. "I thought you were just being rebellious. I never knew you could be this evil," he scolded.

Debbie stared at him without uttering a word.

Seeing that Carlos was about to take off his coat, she got flustered, demanding, "What are you doing? Don't save her!"

Her words added fuel to the fire. His body radiated a frozen aura, which made Jared, Kasie and Emmett all hold their collective breath.

Without taking his eyes off Debbie, Carlos decisively barked orders to the group. "All of you. Jump in now. Save her!"

In fact, the reason why Debbie had to include Kasie and Jared in her plan was that they could save Megan at the last moment. Kasie was a good swimmer and Jared was a strong guy who could easily carry another person. She didn't truly intend to kill Megan, so she had people back her up in case Megan couldn't easily save herself. She wasn't going to kill her, but she was sure going to put the fear of God into Megan.

So Kasie had already been on standby from the moment Megan fell into the river. Now as soon as Carlos gave his order, she instantly jumped in. It wasn't wise to disobey Carlos, despite the fact that she might not be entirely ready. She steadied her strokes, and angled her body so that the currents might not carry her away too. She had no intention of drowning today.

Seeing Kasie jump, Emmett followed her. He had to obey Carlos. Moreover, he wanted to make sure Kasie was safe. He didn't care too much about Megan, but Kasie was his girlfriend. While they hooked up over a few bribes, God helped him, he was starting to have feelings for the girl. He could see why Debbie liked her.

Megan kept struggling after falling into the river. She finally surfaced, but was only able to stay afloat for a second or two, coughing up water. Then, she went under again, dragged down by the strong undertow. She wasn't a strong swimmer to begin with, and being wet, cold, and suddenly dragged into the water really didn't help things.

The very second she surfaced, Emmett spotted her and swam towards her. His sleek body cut through the darkened, menacing waves. He knew this was a life-or-death situation, and one slip meant he'd be in danger too.

On the riverbank, Carlos grabbed hold of Debbie's wrist. "You crossed the line this time!" he yelled angrily. He held her hand tightly, so it hurt. He was beginning to lose control of his anger, and it bubbled to the surface now that Megan was in danger.

Surprisingly, Debbie broke his grip. "She just fell into the river, and now you're worried? What about me? I could have died! I nearly did!"

Carlos' face became livid. Feeling the tension between the couple which was like the calm before the storm, Jared felt like a tornado was on its way to come and destroy everything.

As Carlos responded with silence, Debbie continued to mock him, "Aren't you always so composed? I remember you being quite calm when you had me tossed overboard."

Carlos coldly cast her a sidelong glance and took off his coat while roaring, "It's a life-or-death matter. I can't just sit back and watch!"

"Then why did you just sit back and watch when I was in danger? Huh? Carlos Huo, if you jump down to save her now... you...marry her." Debbie didn't dare to spit out the phrase "we divorce."

"You trying to piss me off?" He flung his coat to one side and grabbed hold of her wrist, pulling her closer to the edge. "Then we go down together!"

He was determined to teach her a lesson. Otherwise, he was afraid she might kick Megan off a skyscraper next time.

Before Debbie got what he meant, he had dragged her down to the river with him...

Everything happened in a split second. Jared was completely taken aback, his jaw dropped. There were six people who had come here, and four of them had jumped down to save one woman. What in the world was going on?

The icy-cold water pierced Debbie to her bone, but that was not why she was cold. It was not her body, so much as her heart. She struggled to break Carlos' forceful grip on her wrist. In a muffled and weak voice, she said sadly, "Carlos, I'm so cold. It's not my body... but my heart..."

After spitting out a mouthful of water, she tried to speak again. "You said... you had my back...no matter what. But now, wig snatched!"

As Debbie kept surfacing and sinking, her words were lost in the flurry of activity. "Dammit...this is how you back me up?

Carlos, did you lie? Do you really love me?" Her voice trailed off. She felt drained of energy and didn't want to swim anymore. The cold water closed around her throat, suffocating her, which brought back the horrible memory of her sinking into the river last time. All of a sudden, she felt like she was drowning in an ocean of fear and loneliness. Why was Carlos choosing Megan over her? Didn't she have a claim to him, too?

Carlos had initially wanted to swim toward Megan, but now regretted having done such an impulsive thing. Debbie looked like she'd lost the will to do anything.

He immediately approached Debbie, wrapped his arm around her waist and swam towards the bank.

After getting Debbie onto dry ground, he quickly took off her wet clothes and wrapped her in his overcoat. At the same time, he ordered Jared, "Turn on the heater in the car!"

Snapping back to his senses, Jared rushed towards his car, started the engine and turned the heater on high. He hoped that the heat rushing through the vent could warm up the pair. This was getting too weird. It was just supposed to be a prank they played on Megan.

Right as Carlos carried Debbie to the car, Emmett also pulled Megan from the water.

At the hospital

With a dark face, Carlos leaned against the wall of the corridor, deep in thought. Curtis and Damon soon arrived there in a rush.

"What's going on? Is Megan okay?" Curtis asked, confused.

Carlos looked at him. A single word left his lips. "Debbie."

Curtis was more confused. He ventured a guess. "Did Debbie push Megan into the river?"

Carlos made no response this time. Curtis dropped into silence and even the talkative Damon kept his mouth shut. Pin-drop silence filled the air around them.

Since Megan was still in a coma, they couldn't visit her now. Then, Curtis asked Carlos about Debbie's ward number and found out it was just a few steps away.

When he pushed open the door of Debbie's ward, he saw the girl lying in bed, looking rather annoyed. Hearing the footsteps, she instantly sat up. "Hello, Mr. Lu," she said by way of greeting.

Curtis nodded to her.

Debbie flashed an awkward smile. "Mr. Lu, let me guess. Is this about me pushing Megan into the river?"

The four most respected men in Y City had always spoiled Megan, so Debbie had already mentally prepared for any blame from them before she carried out her plan.

Unexpectedly, Curtis touched her head and smiled to her tenderly. "What are you talking about? Debbie, you have a far more important place in my heart than Megan."

'What? Wait, wait. What's that affectionate look in his eyes? Does he...' In a fluster, Debbie moved away to avoid his touch and stared at him. "Are you...you...a two-timer?" she stammered.

Curtis was amused by her question. He slightly patted her head and said, "Wow, you definitely took that wrong. You aren't scared of Carlos, but I'm scared of Colleen throwing me out of the house!"

Debbie wanted to laugh, but with Carlos' name being mentioned, she suddenly pulled a long face.

Seeing the gloom on her face, Curtis sat down next to her and pulled the corner of the quilt. He said helplessly, "Didn't Colleen tell you not to fight with Carlos over Megan? Why can't you get that through your head?"

Debbie smiled bitterly. "Megan went too far this time. There wouldn't have been so many fights if it weren't for her."

Their relationship was worsening these days because of Megan stirring up trouble all the time, and besides, Carlos seeing her and Hayden stay in the villa together also made things worse.

"Carlos has been in a pickle because of you two girls. But he already knew you and Megan were like water and fire, so he granted guardianship of Megan to Wesley, asking him to spend more time taking care of her. I'm sure you're much more important to Carlos than Megan," Curtis said, patiently comforting her. There were a lot of things that Debbie didn't know. But Curtis had seen with his own eyes how much Carlos cared about her. So he thought he should at least tell her that much.

Before Debbie came into Carlos' life, Carlos had almost devoted all his spare time to Megan.

But after he fell in love with Debbie, Megan was no longer his top priority. Especially knowing that Debbie didn't like Megan, Carlos had always tried his best to keep his distance from Megan. Curtis saw all of this. He knew for that to happen, the cold, proud man must care deeply for her