Take My Breathe Away

C27: Headquarters of ZL Group

"Yeah, I'm here," Debbie replied on the phone. The worried lady was too distracted to pay attention to her conversation with Jared. All she wanted to know was whether she would be berated by Carlos for getting drunk. Would he punish her for it? The man, after all, had been poking his nose in everything these days.        
   

Lifting the covers off her, Debbie jumped out of the bed, and said, "I'm sorry, Jar. I have to go. Talk to you later." Then she hung up the phone without waiting for Jared to reply, running to the bathroom with her head feeling as though it were being split in half.    

'What should I do next? Revolt? Apologize?' Debbie pondered in the tub.    

If she revolted, would she end up being buried alive? That did not sound tempting at all. So... what if she apologized instead? Would that authoritative aristocrat be merciful? Did he even know how to forgive people?    

The lady continued to mull over the idea, and considered giving it a try. What was there to lose? Apologizing certainly felt like the easier choice. If it worked, she would no longer have to look over her shoulder anymore.    

Having made up her mind, she finished her bath quickly and went downstairs.    

Julie, who was considering going upstairs to wake her up, was glad to see her coming down. With a pleased look, the servant asked Debbie to take a seat while she brought out her lunch.    

At the dining table, just as she was about to take a bite of her food, an idea suddenly came to her mind. 'How about I cook dinner for him tonight and take it to his office myself? Maybe he'll be so touched by the gesture that he won't have any choice but to forgive me!    

Hmm...' Grinning, the girl gripped her spoon tightly, and thought to herself, 'That's brilliant, Deb!'    

The idea just made more sense to her. Come to think of it, Debbie's current priority was not the divorce, but to avoid cutting her life short due to her aristocrat husband.    

Now that it was clear to her, she contemplated how to appease her angry husband. It was time to put the plan into action. Or so she thought.    

The more she thought about it, however, the more challenges crossed her mind. 'Umm...' Debbie thought, frowning a bit. 'The thing is...' Looking down on her lap in embarrassment, she closed her eyes and bit her lip. Cooking seemed like a great idea until she realized a small hiccup which could completely influence the results. How could she overlook the key to her plan? That, in order to feed Carlos food delicious enough to make him forget his name, the first thing she needed to know... was how to cook. Luckily, she just thought of the best teacher anyone could ask for.    

For a moment, the inexperienced chef-for-a-day hesitated while standing in a corner. Watching Julie in her element in the kitchen, Debbie realized how fortunate she was to have someone help her accomplish her goal. At the same time, everything felt unfamiliar, and yet exciting, to her.    

The whole afternoon, sounds of clanging and banging kept coming from the kitchen. Sizzling oil flew in every direction. Up until that point, Julie never imagined that pans, plates, and ladles could be so noisy. It was as though a war were taking place in the kitchen    

By the time it was half past five in the afternoon, the noise in the kitchen finally quieted down. To Julie's relief, the house appeared to be at peace once again.    

Watching Debbie put the food into a meal box, Julie could not help but wipe beads of sweat off her forehead as she prayed, 'Please, let it not be poisonous. Please...'    

When Debbie was done with packing everything, she wore a triumphant look. 'That wasn't so hard now, was it?' she thought proudly.    

The girl put her hands on her hips and took a deep breath. It was time for the final step of her foolproof plan. Next stop: the headquarters of ZL Group.