Take My Breath Away

It was midnight, but Debbie still hadn't heard from Carlos. Before long, she drifted off.

In the dead of the night, someone opened the door to her bedroom silently.

That someone walked in stealthily and glanced around the room. The fragrance in the air filled his nose. He sniffed greedily.

In her sleep, Debbie felt that mysterious figure slip into her bed. Assuming that it was her husband, she didn't open her eyes and held him tightly. "Honey, finally, you're back," she muttered.

Without a word, the man tried to kiss her lips, but Debbie happened to slide down a little, so he kissed her hair instead.

She opened her eyes a little and found the room was

completely dark. Unable to see anything, she closed her eyes again and snuggled into the man's arms. "Mr. Handsome, did you just take a shower? You smell good. Is that new cologne?" The scent was a bit strong.

The man didn't answer. He turned over and threw himself on top of her.

Sensing what he was about to do, Debbie woke up. "No, Mr. Handsome, I'm good. I'm still sore from last time."

'Wait. Something's wrong, ' Debbie realized.

'This doesn't feel right. The weight and scent are both wrong!'

Debbie's eyes snapped open. She reached for the lamp on the nightstand, fumbling with the switch. Her eyes widened in shock when she saw the man's face.

Angry, she pushed him off of her forcefully, and the man was dumped unceremoniously onto the lushly carpeted floor. "Ow! Dammit! What's wrong?" he howled.

Debbie straightened her pajamas quickly. Usually, she slept naked. But tonight, she had been so sleepy that she had dozed off in pajamas. Lucky for her, otherwise he would have felt something he had no right to. This man was no Carlos. Indeed, he could never match up to that powerful, handsome presence. Instead, this guy would forever be in Carlos' shadow, no matter where Carlos was at the time.

She jumped off the bed and grabbed Lewis' ear furiously. "How dare you sneak into my room!"

"Ouch! Easy, easy! Carlos is always busy. I was worried about you. I thought you might be lonely, so I came in to give you some lov— Ah—"

Before Lewis could finish his words, Debbie released his ear and gave him a hard scissor kick in the chest.

'This guy just walked into my room, devil-may-care, even though most of the others are here. They all think I'm a pushover, don't they?' Debbie thought to herself.

Little did she know that someone had snapped a picture of her and Lewis earlier and sent it to Carlos.

When Carlos got the picture, he was on his way home. His face darkened instantly. "Drive as fast as you can,"

he ordered the driver sternly. "Yes, Mr. Huo." At that moment, they were already near the manor. A couple of minutes later, they arrived at the house.

Before the driver could reach the door and open it for him, Carlos already got out of the car and strode into the house quickly and purposefully. He was fully enraged.

The second floor was supposed to be quiet with everyone deep in sleep. However, right now, each room was bright with the lights on. His family were crowded in the hallway at the door of a room, everyone in nightwear. Everyone heard the commotion.

"What's going on?" Carlos demanded. Spotting him, they all made way for him.

With everyone out of his way, now Carlos could see clearly. Lewis was lying on the floor, cupping his face. Beside him was Debbie with a coat draped around her shoulders. Her eyes reddened as soon as she saw Carlos.

The elders of the Huo family had scolded her harshly without listening to her explanation. Carlos was the only one that could provide her with comfort right now.

But she didn't move. She was waiting for him to go near her.

Carlos was stone-faced. Lewis was too afraid to lift his head. James, on the other hand, thundered, "What shameful behavior! She's a disgrace to this family! Carlos, look what your wife did! Trying to bed your cousin while you weren't home! We wouldn't have known, but they were too loud. This is the woman you've been protecting! How can we ever show our faces anywhere if word gets out?"

Lewis got to his feet and looked fearfully at Carlos. "C-Carlos, Debbie...she told me that... you weren't home tonight and... asked me to... to c-come to her room. S-so I did..."

With a hideous face, Valerie berated, "You married well this time! God, what a whore! Even though your father and I don't approve of your marriage, you still take her side!"

No one else said anything. Some were too scared to speak, others were too angry, like Miranda.

She looked at Lewis with a livid expression on her face, as if she wanted to beat him to death right now. If looks could kill, Lewis would have been a smoldering corpse.

Carlos walked towards Lewis, stood in front of him, and then without a word, sent him flying to the wall with a heavy kick. The beaten man screamed painfully.

The others gaped at the sight. Worried about Lewis, Valerie panicked. "What are you doing? Why hit Lewis? It's your wife who did this!

Not responding, Carlos grabbed Lewis by the collar and gave him two heavy blows to the face. The disgusting man's squeals pierced the air. And blood covered his whole front side, red, wet, sticky; all gushing from his broken nose and ruined lips.

Both Frasier and James walked over to Carlos to calm him down. "Carlos, chill."

Carlos brushed them aside, took off his coat, and threw it to Debbie, who had been stunned into a trance by his sudden outburst. She caught his coat reflexively.

Lewis fell onto the floor, but Carlos lifted him up and punched him again. Now Carlos' fists were covered with the pathetic loser's blood. Some of it flecked onto Carlos' clothing as well. He appeared to pay no mind to that fact.

Everyone panicked.

Since he couldn't stop Carlos, James suddenly stalked towards Debbie and slapped her hard across the face.

Focused on Carlos, Debbie didn't see the slap coming.

Her cheek was burning. Her ear rang.

Everyone froze at the sound of the heavy smack.

Even Valerie hadn't expected James to hit a woman.

Realizing that it was Debbie who had been hit, Carlos balled his hands into fists. The red slap mark he saw felt like it was on his own face. His eyes flamed as if they would catch on fire any minute.

James had never seen his son this angry. He was afraid and regretted slapping Debbie immediately, but he summoned up his courage and managed to argue, "Your slutty wife cheated on you with your cousin! She's no daughter-in-law of mine! She's a femme fatale and should be kicked out of this house!"

As soon as the middle-aged man finished his sentence, Carlos dashed towards him, raised his fist and smashed it against his face while the others screamed in shock.

"Carlos! He's your father!" In tears, Tabitha blocked the second blow by standing in front of James.

Carlos looked at James as if there were decades of hatred between them. He pulled Tabitha away and swung his fist again.

Dizzy, James slumped onto the floor and had difficulty getting up. Wade and his other two sons tried to stop Carlos but failed. Because Carlos was far different than the man he had been seconds earlier. How do you stop a force of nature?