Take My Breath Away

There were times Debbie felt Elsie spoiled Piggy even more than she herself did. Before ending the video chat, she told Piggy over and over to be a good girl and not make too much trouble for Elsie.

Lying on the bed, Debbie stared at the ceiling. She replayed memories of things that happened three years ago in her head, not to mention the events of the past few days. It was then that she hatched a plan.

She wanted to carry out her plan right away, but she had spent a terrible restless night in her car the night before, so she decided to nap first.

Debbie didn't wake up until well into the afternoon. Leaning on the headboard, she grabbed her phone from the nightstand and made a phone call. "Hi, Bree, it's me, Debbie. Yeah. Listen, you know some private detectives in Y City, right? Any of them good? I know. Don't worry about the cash. I'm good for it. But they need to be discreet. Yeah, this needs to be kept secret. Okay, thanks. Next time, dinner on me. Bye."

The young mother had barely hung up before a notification came in on her phone. Bree texted Debbie a number, quicker than she thought. Debbie hesitated a little before dialing it. "Hi, Mr. Wu. I'm a friend of Bree's. Could you do a background check on James Huo, and what would that cost me?"

She spent the whole afternoon calling people. She was on her phone even after the sun had set and dinnertime was approaching.

Finally, she called up Ivan. He was browsing advertisement opportunities, figuring out which ones were the best ones for his employees. "Hi, Ivan, you back in Z Country?" Debbie asked.

"Yeah. I stopped off to spend some time with Piggy. Now I'm on my way to the office. How are things with you?" Ivan asked.

"A little dicey. Ever consider doing business in Y City?" Debbie asked. After she saw Carlos, she realized that things were way more difficult than she thought. It would take quite a bit of doing to win him back.

Ivan stopped what he was doing. "You do know what could happen if you're recognized, right?" he asked Debbie.

"Yeah, I do. But—"

"Hey, I'm the boss of the company. It won't fall apart just because you're not here. I'll miss you, but I know you need time," he interrupted.

Debbie was so moved her eyes reddened. "Thanks, Ivan."

"Don't thank me yet. I need a favor."

Debbie was glad that she could be of any help. He'd done so much for her, and she felt the only thing she could do was try and crank out the hits. "What kind of favor?"

"My mom's driving me crazy. Tell her I like you so that she'll get off my back."

Debbie hesitated. Then she said, "But she knows I'm in Y City for Piggy's dad..."

"It's okay as long as she doesn't know who I really like."

"All right then," she agreed. The person Ivan really liked was someone special.

"One more thing: if things between you and Carlos reach a dead end, I might need something else—a sham marriage. It's just for show, and we can divorce whenever you want," Ivan added.

The other end of phone was silent for some time.

"You're quiet. Doesn't sound like you want to," he mused. Debbie shook her head.

"No, no, it's just that...it's so sudden. Ivan, how long can you keep lying to your mom? You can't hide it forever."

"As long as I can. I'll tell her the truth when it's time. My brother's older, so I don't have to worry about continuing the bloodline." Ivan's elder brother was 35 years old with a son and a daughter.

Debbie admired Ivan's decisiveness. "Good. It's settled then. Don't worry, I won't keep bugging you about it. If you and Carlos get back together, I'll find someone else."

"Okay," Debbie responded, still processing what he said.

"I figure you need money to keep things going over there. I'll ask the accountant to debit your expense account. If it's not enough, let me know."

"Thanks, Ivan." Her voice was hoarse. She was on the verge of tears.

Ivan smiled and joked, "Carlos isn't the easiest guy to deal with. And he has a girlfriend now. Hang in there. If you can get him to fall for you again, then you can pay me back. He used to be the head of a multinational group, even richer than some countries."

If Carlos were once a lion, the king of the forest, after the accident he was a caged animal, powerless. One day, if he escaped, he would be a mighty king once more.

"You make it sound like you're short on money," Debbie joked back.

"When it comes to money, the more, the merrier. That's true for everyone. Carlos was rich, but he never stopped working hard."

Debbie agreed, "Yeah. He always worked hard. He didn't want things to go south for him."

"So, you should work hard too. Since you're like a sister to me, if you and Carlos get back together, I will be like a brother-in-law to him. Ha ha, imagine Carlos Huo calling me 'Brother.' I look forward to that day." Ivan felt good at that thought.

"Like that would happen."

"Okay. I've arrived at my office. Call me if you need anything."

"Will do. Bye."

After they hung up, Debbie looked at her phone with a smile, thinking that she was the luckiest person in the world to have so many loyal friends.

The next day, she and Kasie and Jared went to the cemetery to visit Emmett's. Then they went to spend some time with Emmett's parents.

His mom's hair had turned shock white. She cried all day, seemingly endlessly. Marc seemed to handle the stress better.

He tried everything to console Emmett's mom, but nothing worked. To distract her, Marc adopted a little girl from the orphanage.

The girl was five years old. She was perky and lovely and brought a lot of joy to the family. She filled a hole that had been dug by Emmett's death.

Emmett's mom liked her a lot and she finally had something to keep her mind occupied. She lavished attention and affection on the girl. A young girl requires a lot more of one's time than a grown man, so she had lots to do.

Marc had retired. When he saw Debbie and her friends at the door, he asked Emmett's mom to prepare a big meal for them.

At the dinner table, they talked about school and the future.

Tacitly, no one said a word about Emmett or Carlos so that the atmosphere of the dinner wouldn't be so heavy. They were touchy subjects for all involved.

Debbie stayed in a hotel. When they said their goodbyes to Emmett's parents, it was quite late. Kasie insisted that Debbie crash at her place.

Failing to turn her down, Debbie asked Jared to drive them to Kasie's place.

She went back to the hotel to pack her things. When she got out of the hotel with her luggage, Jared lugged her suitcase out to the car and into the trunk. Then the office called him, saying he needed to be there.

Seeing that Jared was busy, Debbie hefted her suitcase out of the trunk of his car and said to him, "You should go. It's cool. Kasie and I will take a cab." She and Kasie had drunk a little wine with Marc, so they couldn't drive. Taking a cab was the only option left.

"Okay, I'll hail a taxi for you."