Take My Breath Away

Tabitha threw the beach ball away. The ball was quite light, buffeted by the winds. But what goes up must come down. "Ha-ha! See? It won't fly. Hey, are you James? Tell me why it won't fly?"

She had gone completely insane. Angus sighed helplessly. After a while, he said in a sad voice, "I need to leave. I'm heading back to Y City. Take good care of yourself, Tabitha. Get well soon."

Before he left, he gave the nurses taking care of Tabitha some money and asked them to take excellent care of her. "There's more where this came from, if I find her in the best of health," he said.

Although he knew Carlos would have already shoved tons of cash in their direction, this was the least he could do for Tabitha.

That very evening, Carlos got a phone call from a nurse at the mental hospital. "Mr. Huo, I'm sorry to bother you. I regret to inform you that Mrs. Tabitha Huo... killed herself..."

The news of Tabitha's death

came as a shock to Carlos. He felt like he'd been slapped.

He flew to New York immediately; the other family members came along as well. By the time they arrived, it was the next day.

When they got there, he asked the driver to send Miranda and Evelyn to the Huo family's house. He and Debbie went to the mental hospital first.

Some of the family lived in New York. They were already at the hospital. Tabitha lay in the bed peacefully, covered by a white blanket.

Debbie remembered the first time she saw Tabitha.

It was at the Y City Airport. Tabitha was dignified and graceful as she walked, a woman with a regal bearing. As she approached Debbie, she had a warm and welcoming smile on her face. She held Debbie's hand and said her name softly. She gave her a pair of jade bracelets—heirlooms of the Huo family—and cooked delicious dishes for her.

Only four years had passed, but now she was a mere bag of bones. She didn't look like a woman who had come from wealth and power, but a starved, emaciated beggar.

Debbie raised her head to look at the ceiling, holding back her tears. Carlos could see how distraught she was. He squeezed her hand and gave her a reassuring look to comfort her.

Frasier handed a stack of papers to Carlos and said, "Aunt Tabitha signed the divorce papers, Carlos. These are the original documents."

Expressionless, Carlos accepted the papers and briefly looked them over. He saw Tabitha's signature on the very last page.

Tabitha once had flawless penmanship. But her signature this time was scrawled and hard to read.

Carlos turned to look at Tabitha and asked Frasier in a cold voice, "How did she die? Who told you she killed herself? Are you sure?"

Frasier explained in a sad voice, "Yesterday afternoon, Aunt Tabitha cooked up some excuse, and the nurses left her alone at her request. She stole a bottle of sleeping pills and swallowed them all. At dusk, a nurse came by to serve dinner. She found the body."

Carlos turned to look at the nurses, who were standing in a corner, shivering. "Did she act weird at all?" he asked.

One of them stepped forward and answered in a shaking voice, "A man... came to visit Mrs. Tabitha Huo yesterday morning. After he left, she sat in the room a long time. She stared out the window without saying a word."

'A man?' Carlos wondered who it might have been.

Frasier explained, "That was Uncle Angus. I already called him. He told Aunt Tabitha that he had divorced his wife, and advised her to divorce James. He said he'd be here to explain everything."

Carlos didn't respond.

Then he started to make preparations for Tabitha's funeral.

When Douglas passed away, it was Carlos who handled the funeral arrangements. Although Tabitha was not Carlos' biological mother, she had raised him and done what a mother should do. As a result, Carlos conducted her funeral instead of her own son—Lewis.

Lewis showed up on time for the funeral. He used to be a little chubby. But he looked much thinner since James and Tabitha hadn't had the time or energy to take care of him.

As for Portia, she divorced Lewis and left the country when Carlos lost his memory.

Carlos also had his men try to get a hold of James. But the man was nowhere to be found.

Maybe he was too afraid of Carlos to show his face. Or maybe he had never loved Tabitha at all. James never showed any affection for Tabitha, the woman who had been his wife for decades.

When Douglas passed away, Carlos had cried like a baby. But this time, he didn't shed a single tear. Maybe what Tabitha had done to him and Debbie had been a complete letdown.

Nevertheless, he did what a son should do. Tabitha's funeral was grand yet solemn.

Ivan and Kasie held a wonderful and beautiful wedding ceremony later on, in the fall.

Debbie was her bridesmaid, and she insisted that Carlos serve as the best man.

With the great CEO as the best man and the superstar as the bridesmaid, the wedding was rather eye-catching. All the paparazzi were there, snapping pic after pic. Even after the ushers had escorted the worst offenders out, they waited outside, hoping to get an exclusive with any of the wedding party.

Then Debbie focused on getting her new album ready, while Carlos kept himself busy with work, taking care of his daughter and courting his ex-wife.

One day, Carlos was finally able to relax at lunch instead of being chained to his desk. He called Debbie. "Hey baby. Want to catch a show with me tonight?"

"What show?" she asked curiously.

"Remember when you were on the operating table? Were you scared?" he asked in a low voice.

"What? When?" Debbie wasn't sure what he was talking about.

"When James threatened Evelyn's life, and forced you to divorce me and leave Y City," Carlos said.

Debbie's heart skipped a beat. "Of c-course. Wh-why?" she stammered.

"Because I swore I'd make James pay for what he did to you."

"And?" Debbie had a bad feeling about this.

"I'll pick you up tonight. We'll watch a reality show together. Live audience, front row seats."

Debbie didn't know how to respond. 'A reality show? It seems like no matter where James holes up, Carlos always hunts him down.'

After hanging up, Debbie put off all her work that night. She was too curious about exactly what was going down. When Carlos came to pick her up, she was waiting for him at the entrance.

He got out of his car, kissed her, and tied her scarf for her, tucking part of it into her pink overcoat. Gallantly, he offered her his hand, and they walked hand in hand to the vehicle.

The car rolled to a stop in front of a hospital. Debbie recognized the place—Niles worked here.

After they got out, Carlos held her waist tightly, ignoring her protests. They went inside the building together.

Debbie snapped at him, "When I first met Niles, I was injured. But someone didn't offer to give me a ride, and didn't even look at me. I was a wreck then."

Carlos knew the guy she was talking about. It was him. Feeling guilty, he kissed her hair and apologized, "I'm so sorry, honey. I swear it won't happen again."

While they were walking to the elevator, Debbie cast a scornful glance at him and snorted, "You're such a liar. I only believe about a third of what you say."

Carlos curled his lips and said, "How about this?"

"How about what?"

"I love you. I love you. I love you. Nine words. Believe a third of them, and that would be three." 'You can believe that I love you.' This was what he meant.