Take My Breath Away

Faye was freaked out when Damon and Jared came to blows. She grabbed Jasper's arm and said anxiously, "What are they doing? Don't just stand there. Do something!"

Jasper was boiling over with rage. He rubbed his arching brows and cursed, "Stop! Why are you fighting over this? Cut it out, you idiots!"

Damon and Jared didn't stop, though. It was as if they hadn't heard their father's barked command. Left with no choice, Jasper decided to threaten Damon. "Damon, if you don't stop right now, I'll tell Adriana that you fought for another woman."

Adriana was out shopping with her friends. Damon was supposed to pick her up at the mall tonight.

Jasper's threat worked. Upon hearing that, Damon immediately stopped. Jared didn't care, and seized the chance to give his brother a sucker punch. Despite his fury, Damon didn't fight back.

Jared wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, and with a sly smile taunted, "When Adriana comes back, I'm telling. Damon, get those knee pads ready. You'll be spending a lot of time kneeling."

"Dammit! Jared, I'll tell your future wife all your one-night stands," Damon said through gritted teeth.

"Hah!" Jared sneered. "I don't even have a girlfriend, not to mention a wife." Jared was a playboy, and he didn't want to settle down yet. He swore to himself that he wouldn't get married until he was more than 30 years old.

Before Adriana came back home, Damon had already paid Jared 100, 000 dollars to keep his mouth shut.

Jared had been paid off. Jasper and Faye wouldn't say anything about this to their daughter-in-law. Besides, Adriana was with child. No one wanted anything bad to happen to her. As a result, the fight was soon forgotten. When Adriana asked about the fat lips and bruises, the brothers mumbled something about dropping a heavy chest their parents asked them to move.

Debbie, on the other hand, arrived at the restaurant at 6, just like she and Colleen had agreed.

When she found the table, a boy was already there. Upon seeing Debbie, he stood up and greeted her cheerfully, "Hi, Debbie."

She looked at Gregory in confusion. "Gregory! Why are you here? And where's Colleen?"

Gregory knew Debbie would be coming, so he dressed up and decided to get here first. Carlos wasn't in the picture anymore, right? He was wearing white casual clothes and a pair of Adidas Yeezy 350s, bouncy and full of energy. He knew Debbie usually wore casual clothes, and he was right—they looked like a young couple.

Polite to a fault, he pulled out the chair for her and said with a smile, "Colleen's stuck in a traffic jam. She'll be here soon. Here's the thing. I owed her a meal, and she happened to be free this evening. So I offered to buy her supper. She didn't tell me until later that you'd be here."

"Really? I hope I'm not intruding," Debbie said with an embarrassed smile.

"No, no, no," Gregory denied instantly. "I should be the one to apologize. It's a girls' night out, right?"

Debbie shook her head. "No. It's just a meal."

She liked him, at least what she saw so far. 'It wouldn't hurt to have a meal with him, ' she thought.

Gregory called over a waiter and handed Debbie a menu. "Get whatever you want. It's on me."

His serious expression amused Debbie. "I have a big appetite. I'm afraid you might burst into tears when you see the bill," she teased.

Gregory replied with a laugh, "I saw how you packed it away at Southon Village. I don't think you have a big appetite at all. I probably eat more than you."

As if she didn't want the waiter to hear her, she covered her face with the menu and approached Gregory whispering, "I'm a hundred percent sure I have a bigger appetite than you. Once I ate more than ten dishes dining at the Alioth Building."

Back then, Carlos was having dinner with his business partners on the fifth floor of Alioth Building. He called her over, and ordered a full table of dishes for her in another private booth. Although the dishes were small, there were still more than ten. Even Carlos, a tall and strong man himself, was unable to finish them alone.

After bidding goodbye to his partners, he went to her booth and was shocked to see she'd polished them off. He gave her a thumbs-up, sincerely convinced.

"Shh-shush!" Debbie shushed Gregory with a forefinger to her lips, embarrassed.

Suddenly, an idea struck Gregory. With a cunning smile, he offered, "How about this? If I eat more than you tonight, you owe me a meal."

"Okay. Why not?" Debbie agreed without hesitation. She thought it an interesting game.

Gregory took another menu from the waiter and said, "How about we order the same set menus, just to make it fair?"

"Fine with me. But Colleen hasn't arrived yet." Debbie began to read the menu.

"Don't mind her. You know what? She's always late." Gregory was used to Colleen's tardiness.

Debbie burst into laughter. "Are you throwing shade at Colleen right now?" she joked.

Gregory was about to say something, but he lost his voice when he saw someone.

Debbie saw his change of expression and asked, "What's up?" She turned her head to check what made Gregory's smile disappear.

A man entered the restaurant, followed by a woman in a long beige coat. Debbie's face soured as the two approached.

Her eyes met the man's, and then she looked away and turned back. She pretended to ignore him and read the menu.

Gregory stood up from his seat, because the man not only saw them, but also came up to their table.

Gregory greeted them with a friendly smile, "Hi, Carlos, Olga."

Carlos fixed his eyes upon Debbie, who neither stood nor raised her head. "A date?" he asked in a cold voice.

Debbie's hand came up between her and him. 'Talk to the hand, Carlos!' she thought.

Embarrassed, Gregory tried to explain, "It's not what you think, Carlos. We—"

Before he could finish, Debbie raised her head and looked Carlos in the eye. "Yes, it's a date. You're on a date as well, right?"

'I shouldn't have trusted him. He told me he had nothing to do with Olga. But now, he's dating her again, ' she thought angrily.

Olga was a little taken aback by Debbie's defiant manner. 'Who does she think she is, talking to Mr. Huo like this? Does she forget how he punished her before?'

Fury could be seen in Carlos' eyes. Gregory tried to keep the peace, saying, "Hey man, Debbie didn't mean it. She—"

Carlos raised his hand to stop Gregory from defending Debbie. Then he told the restaurant manager standing behind him, "Clean the table for us." He pointed to the table next to Gregory and Debbie's.

The manager called several waiters over and began to set the table.

The two tables were so close together that the four of them could easily hear each other.

Carlos and Olga took their seats inside a minute.

The more Debbie thought about Carlos and Olga, the angrier she got. She finally figured out what she wanted, and consulted with Gregory over the selection. When he readily agreed, she decided to place the order.