Take My Breath Away

"Carlos, Lewis came to visit me. His life sucks. Will you please help him out?" Tabitha asked with a hopeful expression.

Carlos simply nodded, a dash of sarcasm flashing in his eyes.

"Thank you, Carlos. I really appreciate that."

"You're too polite." He then gestured to Tristan, who was standing close by. Tristan immediately opened his briefcase and pulled out a stack of papers.

Carlos grabbed them and passed them to Tabitha without sparing a single glance at them. "Divorce papers. Sign them."

Tabitha's face paled and she seemed to lose her composure and focus. She became visibly frail. The old woman shook her head violently and murmured, "No, not that. Lewis will get hurt."

'Lewis again... All she cares about is her own son, ' Tristan thought.

"Listen to me. He cheated on you. Not long after you gave birth to Lewis, Glenda gave birth to his daughter, Stephanie. He also lied about saving your life back then. All he wanted was your family's power and wealth," Carlos said in a calm voice, yet Tabitha went berserk when she heard what he said.

"NO! That's not true! James saved me. You're lying! Did Miranda put you up to this? Or was it Glenda?"

However, everything he said was true. Although these things had happened many years ago, Carlos' people still managed to dredge up the truth.

The reason why James married Tabitha was that her family was one of the power elite in the city back in the day. They were quite influential, and wealthy to boot. James had set his sights on all that, and wooed her until she agreed to marry him. Actually, James was not Valerie's son. He wanted even more power and resources to strengthen his position within the Huo family.

When she was younger, Tabitha liked to travel. At one point, her affinity for foreign countries proved to be her undoing. Emerging from a restaurant after sampling the local cuisine, she rounded a corner, straight into the arms of thugs who intended to rob her and worse. A man showed up, and through a combination of skill, speed, and brains, managed to save her from these hoodlums. They were savage, yet he was brainy. But she didn't know who her savior was. It was too dark to see his face.

She searched for him for several months, using her influence and connections, but to no avail. James somehow got wind of this and pretended to be the man who saved her. As a result, they were married.

James wasn't even Douglas and Valerie's son. They only had one living son, Wade.

After Valerie gave birth to their second son, it ended in tragedy. He was stillborn. Douglas was determined to shield his wife from the devastating news, so he procured a newborn baby and told Valerie it was their son. That baby was none other than James.

The boy's mother died in childbirth, and there was nobody to claim her body. No one knew who the boy's father was.

As a result, money changed hands to expedite things. Douglas adopted him and told his wife that he was their second son. Valerie never knew any different. It was a difficult pregnancy, and they used a mixture of half-oxygen-half-nitrous-oxide to treat her pain during labor. She was unconscious during some of the critical moments, and wasn't lucid immediately following the birth.

He told nobody the truth even before his death. Maybe he just wanted to bury the fact forever.

Seeing Tabitha's red eyes, Carlos put the divorce papers on the table and said, "You're making way too much out of this. If you don't want to divorce James, it's fine with me. Just think it over."

Tabitha shrieked hysterically as she grabbed the papers, tore them into shreds, and stuffed some strips in her mouth. "I know what you're up to," she said, talking around the mouthful. "You're trying to hurt James because he forced Debbie to divorce you. Carlos Huo, have you no heart? We've raised you for more than thirty years. Is this the thanks we get?"

Carlos tried to stop her, but she moved the papers away, tearing another strip and putting it in her mouth. After chewing the strips a few times, she spat them out.

Tristan rolled his eyes secretly and thought, 'Wow! What an ungrateful mother! I feel bad for Mr. Huo.

Wait! That's not right. She's not his mom. Still, so selfish!'

Carlos couldn't be bothered to argue with her. He simply said, "I've found the finest mental hospital in Y City. Why don't you come with me? I can visit you more often if you stay there."

"Save your hypocrisy and fuck off! Stay out of my business. You're not my son!" Tabitha screamed at the top of her lungs.

"We're leaving now. I'll visit you when I'm free," Carlos said, emotionless.

"Don't bother. You look down on us, now that you're the CEO. You even disrespect your father, your whole family. Just go away!"

Carlos paused when he heard that, but then kept walking away.

Tristan really felt bad for his boss. 'Maybe she's mad. That's why she said those hurtful words.' Thinking of it, he sighed and followed after Carlos.

After that, Carlos went to the Huo family's house.

Unlike before, the house was now very quiet.

James and Carlos had been staying in Y City. Lewis and Portia were out of the country. Miranda and Wade had gone to work. Everyone else was at work or in school. Only Valerie remained at home.

The old lady was sitting in the hall, worshiping the Buddha. When she saw Carlos, she smiled and greeted him, "Carlos, you're here."

The hall was very tranquil, except for the Buddhist music played at a low volume.

"Grandma." Carlos had some supplements he had bought for his grandma. He nodded and gestured for Tristan to give them to a nearby maid.

The maid left the hall to put the supplements into the storage room, while Tristan stood outside the hall to wait for his boss.

Valerie and Carlos sat on the sofa together. She asked with concern, "So how are you feeling? Fully recovered?"

Carlos gave her a smile and assured her, "Yes. Don't worry about me, Grandma. No more medicines." After a while, he added, "But I still need regular injections."

Valerie nodded and asked, "How are you and Stephanie?"

"I broke it off." He didn't explain the reasons behind it to his grandma.

Valerie sighed helplessly. "You and Debbie back together?" she asked.

Carlos' expression remained the same. "She's my ex. I plan to fix that," he said.

Valerie shook her head. "Whatever. I'm too old to get involved. So when am I gonna see some great-grandkids? Otherwise, I can't die in peace."

His face softened when he thought of the little girl. "Grandma, Debbie gave birth to my daughter three years ago. Her name is Evelyn." Her eyes glittered with joy. As she was about to ask something, he added, "She's an adorable girl. She looks like Debbie, but she acts like me."

"Why didn't you bring her along? I'd love to see her," Valerie complained, pouting her lips.

Carlos pulled out his phone from his pocket, found the album he made with Evelyn's photos and gave it to Valerie.

Valerie put on her presbyopic glasses and began to study the pictures carefully. When she saw the first one, she murmured, "Such a pretty girl! She does look like Debbie. But that expression is so you. Look at her eyes! She is rather cute in this one. This one, look! She looks exactly like your mom. Maybe she'll be like Miranda after she's grown. Cold, aloof... Well, maybe not. Debbie's upbeat and cheerful. Maybe she'll turn out more like that..."