Take My Breath Away

"No way!" Wesley glared at Damon, bearing his anger. In his mind, he cursed Carlos, 'Carlos Huo, I'm so disappointed in you. Aren't you well known as a cold and overbearing CEO? How can you surrender to a woman so easily? You're too weak! Now I lost my bet because of you!'

That blunt reply got on Damon's nerves. He snapped in a displeased tone, "Wesley Li, are you a man or not?"

Stone-faced, Wesley squinted at Damon and teased, "Am I a man or not? You want to check it for yourself?" Then he dropped the F word, in such a casual way, you'd think he was a crackhead from the backstreets.

A chuckle rang in the corridor all of a sudden. But obviously, it was not Damon who had let out this chirpy chuckle.

'Who's that laughing?'

In confusion, the two of them simultaneously turned and looked towards the elevator, where the chuckle had come from. There stood near the elevator was a woman, staring at them with a smiling face that indicated she had stood there for some time, watching them argue. 'Holy cow!' Wesley cursed when he realized it was Blair. "When did you sneak up on us?"

Earlier, they had reached the hospital together and then separated, each one to their own businesses. Wesley had come to visit Carlos while Blair had come to visit her friend. She said there was something she wanted to pick from the friend. They'd agreed to meet later on, and Wesley would drive her back home.

It only happened that Blair didn't take long at her friend's place. Since she had a lot of time on her hands, she had done a little window shopping on the street nearby the hospital and gone to a cafe for coffee until it was time to come here as agreed. For a few minutes, she had tried to wait outside, but it was a little too cold. So she decided to come in and head upstairs where she knew he was. But the moment she stepped out of the elevator, she had accidentally overheard an improper talk that was going on between these two men. Stealthily, she had sneaked up on them, until she couldn't move anymore, without being noticed. She had leaned against the wall only a minute before Wesley snapped with the profanity that made her chuckle. But immediately she had realized it was a crude remark that wasn't funny at all.

Now seeing Blair covering her mouth, as if she was undecided between amusement and anger at his tasteless language, Wesley asked with a dark face, "Is it funny?"

To which Blair retorted, "It's more thoughtless than funny, if that's what you thought. Such a flat joke, unless the two of you are used to such language from the gutter." Trying her hardest to maintain a calm face, she added, "I never knew... Colonel Li, you have homosexual tendency..."

Damon who had stood and watched her reaction quietly now spoke, taking the chance to throw in wisecrack. In a mock gesture of flirting, he echoed Blair's retort by holding Wesley's shoulders and winking suggestively. "Wesley, let's get a hotel room now."

Unable to hold back her laughter, she laughed and shot back, "Oh, now, that's funny!" Then she noticed Wesley's deadpan face and angry glare. But she didn't care and looked him straight in the eye, as she kept laughing loudly.

Awkward, Wesley softly kicked Damon in the shins and spat coldly, "Get your dirty fingers off my shoulders. I'll be at the barracks later. See me at the camp if you want my pistol!" Then he made two quick steps to Blair, grabbed her by the arm and left straight away.

When Blair saw the direction which he was dragging her towards, she stammered something in surprise and protested at once. "Hey, I need to take the elevator!" she excused herself. 'Is Wesley serious that we are taking the staircase, from right here on the 18th floor!? Jeez! Doesn't he even care that I've been up and down the whole day?' she thought.

However, ignoring her protest, Wesley dragged her all the way to the exit. Blair still struggled, trying to break free, only for him to tighten his grip around her wrist.

After descending one floor, Blair clutched the railing of the staircase tightly and refused to go on foot anymore. "I'm not feeling well. You take the stairs and I will take an elevator."

Wesley turned around, staring at the complaining woman. "You've just walked a short flight of stairs, but you're already exhausted. Obviously, you're in lack of exercises!"

Unconvinced, she retorted, "I'm not planning to join the armed forces. I'm not under some obligation to guard our country or anything like that. Why should my physical form be a bother to anyone?"

But in a firm voice, he replied, "If you're out of shape, what pleasure do you think your future husband will derive from a woman who can't even satisfy his sexual needs? Can't you see that I'm only doing your marriage a favor?"

Blair was lost for words. Although she was still young, she could easily understand the subtext of his words. She blushed red all over her face. But after a few seconds, when she realized something, her face went pale, and her eyes became red with tears. Bearing the pain in her heart, she continued to walk down the stairs in silence.

As Wesley watched her, he easily noticed her mood swing. Biting his lower lip in remorse, he picked up his pace in an attempt to grab hold of her wrist.

But she shook off his hand at once.

Determined to hold her close by his side, he grabbed her hand again.

Jerking his hand off, she told him off, in a low and stern voice, "I don't need your help. I can walk on my own."

Now defeated, Wesley sighed helplessly.

Slowing down a bit, he silently followed her. After descending a few floors, he suddenly quickened his steps and stopped in her way. Eager to appease her, he squatted down and requested, "Climb up my back."

Still unimpressed, she briefly looked at his broad shoulders and sidestepped him, cursing under her breath. "No, thanks," she politely declined, trying to act nonchalant.

Deep inside, though, she was breathing fire as she walked around him and kept on going down the staircase

Not ready to give up the fight that easily, Wesley had a new idea. Just as she was turning the second corner after she had turned down his overtures, he suddenly ran over, lifted her up and carried her over his shoulder, running down the next flight of stairs.

As he went, Blair, with her head facing the floor and her body tumbling on his shoulder, began to feel squeamish. It was as though all of her blood had suddenly started rushing to her brain. Flailing and kicking without success, she pleaded, "It's uncomfortable. Please, let me down..."

Amused by her helpless calls, Wesley slowed down and with a cunning smile, he asked, "Will you laugh at me again?"

"No..."

"Will you allow me to piggyback you or not?"

"Absolutely yes..." She gave in without a second thought. Miserably, she thought, 'I'd better listen to him at the moment!'

A smile of satisfaction beamed on his face as he finally put her down.

Blair then obediently climbed on his back and let him carry her the rest of the way downstairs.

"Honestly, Wesley, are you putting yourself through all this?" she asked when they reached the fifth floor. "What's the wisdom of struggling down the stairs for a whole 18 floors, instead of taking the elevator? And what's more, you're even exhausting yourself to piggyback me!"

"Well, this is what I find pleasure in," he answered, making light of it.

From the way he phrased his words, Blair didn't know how to carry on with the conversation. This dull man was really a conversation killer. She wondered why on earth she had previously had a crush on him. Was she fond of his sharp tongue or his ruthlessness?

In Carlos' ward

Since Damon and Wesley had left, Curtis didn't think he should stay anymore. So he stood up from the sofa, walked up to Debbie and tried to bring up something new, so that she would stop worrying. He said softly, "I hope you still remember that Colleen and I have our wedding coming up next month. I'll send an official invitation later."

To the contrary, the slight smile that had briefly appeared on Debbie's face faded. She opened her mouth but hesitated to speak. After a few seconds, she slightly nodded, "Okay."

"Well, look after Carlos. I should get going now."

Debbie nodded again, but remaining tight-lipped.

After Curtis left, the couple was alone in the still ward.

Carlos could tell the melancholy on Debbie's face. "Can I get some water?" he requested, trying to break the ice, but he sounded terribly flat.

"Hmm." Absent-mindedly, she got a glass of water and passed it to him.

But he didn't take it, leaving her confused. "Didn't you want water?" she asked.

"How am I going to hold the glass with my injuries? Aren't you here to attend to me?"

"Carlos Huo! You expect me to feed you? Blame it entirely on Megan," Debbie protested.

To which Carlos retorted, "And so you hurt her for that?"

"No. She provoked me first, and I couldn't swallow my anger. I couldn't put up with her affronts anymore. But it was out of her own carelessness that she lost balance and hit the bench. It serves her right, anyway!"

Carlos was rendered speechless by her last sentence.

"She's gotten to be grateful that she only suffered a slight wound in her forehead, while my husband got two gunshots for her sake. She's really lucky. If her parents weren't your life savers, I would've already returned her four gunshots!" Metaphorically, the first shot had been fired, and going forward, Debbie swore, Armageddon had come. What other incentive did she have left to entertain Megan?

Basking in the glory of the moment, she couldn't help but smile, flashing back on how after she had hurt Megan, the four men just watched helplessly. Were they not the same people Megan thought would protect her from Debbie if push came to shove?

Before, she had heard a rumor that a man had once accidentally knocked Megan down onto the floor, breaking her knees. At that time, all four of them worked together to put that man into jail on charges of attempted murder. While the accused man was rotting in jail, Megan must have thought Debbie would know better not to mess with her. Girl, she was wrong! Had any of the four men even dared as much to touch Debbie?

For a moment, when Debbie saw Megan being wheeled into the emergency room, she had been mentally prepared for a big fight with Carlos as well as his friends. But unexpectedly, they all let her off the hook so easily. 'Didn't they care about Megan's tantrums anymore? What will they tell her when she wakes up?' Debbie wondered.

As for Carlos, he knew Debbie was sometimes rebellious and wayward, but she wasn't a cruel woman. On the contrary, she was kind-hearted; and he'd swear, she never wanted to hurt anyone. But why was she always picking a quarrel with Megan? Was there something that he didn't know?

Although he didn't agree to her ways of handling Megan, he had no choice but to give in again. After all, he loved and spoiled Debbie. Sighing inwardly, he pulled her into his arms and reassured, "You're my wife. Just do whatever you want. I won't repeat the same mistake of dragging you into the river. It won't happen again."