True Love Waits

Chapter 443 A Gift Of Roses

Flustered, Debbie quickly took back her hug and pushed away from Jared. Tears still welling in her eyes, she slowly turned her head towards the voice. Carlos held Evelyn in his arms, and Kasie stood near the door, a gift in her hands. How long had he been standing behind her? She couldn't say. But one thing was for sure he wore a dark expression.

She felt like a kid again, caught stealing candy. But pretending innocence, she wiped her tears and kicked Jared in his shin. "Bad boy. Where's my gift? See? Tears? Why did you do that? Sasha will be jealous."

Sasha shook her head, explaining, "No, I'm not..." 'Jealous? I know you guys are just friends. I was actually moved to tears, too!' Sasha thought.

Debbie flashed an embarrassed smile, and cut in quickly, "Don't lie, girl! I know you're jealous. Ah well, moving on." She turned to her daughter. "Oh, Piggy! You're here. Mommy missed you so much." Carlos put Piggy down, and the little girl ran to Debbie, saying excitedly, "Missed you too." She hugged Debbie's legs as hard as she could and, Debbie bent down to hug her too. Then, she looked up at Ivan and greeted, "Daddy! Missed you."

Ivan stretched out his arms to Piggy and said tenderly, "Hi little one, come here and get a hug." Ever since Debbie and Ivan got married, Piggy started calling Ivan "Daddy," just as if he were her real dad. Ivan scooped the little girl up in his arms and played with her. They both laughed happily.

Carlos sulked silently as he watched them, his expression sullen. But no one knew why. They figured he was still jealous of Debbie hugging Jared.

Frankie was standing behind Carlos with a large gift box in his hands. The angry man walked up to the birthday girl and called out, "Hi, mother of Evelyn."

Debbie furrowed her brows in confusion on hearing how he addressed her. 'Mother of Evelyn? Why does he address me this way all of a sudden?' she wondered. It sounded so strange. Nevertheless, she didn't think much and forced out a smile. "Hi, Mr. Handsome."

Carlos opened the big box Frankie held and said, "Happy 25th birthday!"

The whole room brightened as soon as the box was opened. Everyone stopped to gape at the gift, trying to see what was inside.

Jared exclaimed, "Huh! All I can see is money."

Kasie teased, "Sure you can hold it by yourself?"

Kasie's joke, "Maybe I can help Debbie carry it to my

"I wonder how

certainly not the hybrid platinum you find on the common market. Besides, each flower has leaves and a stem, so each one weighs quite a bit. I guess each rose is priced at least 200, 000 dollars, so 25 flowers means five mil easy. But if we factor in labor, that shoots the price even higher." Everyone

Blair was still confused. "So what does it mean? Why did Mr. Huo spend so much on

love, and platinum is a durable precious metal. So this bouquet of platinum roses means that Carlos' love for Debbie will last forever." And yes, this looked a bit vulgar, like showing off how wealthy he was. But it was a sweet intention, with a

so moved, but also a little helpless. 'He always goes overboard when it comes to money. I guess he has it

gift box, still held diligently by Frankie. 'I wonder if I could even handle such

Frankie's hands and handed it to Debbie. She reached out her hands to take it from him. But it was so heavy

closer to him, angry at the humiliation. "Did

He frowned in confusion.

so heavy I can barely lift it. How am I supposed

and gave it

"Yes, Mr. Huo."

Curtis and Colleen showed up. When she saw the birthday girl, Colleen gleefully strode over and handed her the birthday gift while singing, "Happy birthday to you." "Thank you Aunt

late than never. They were Damon, Adriana, Hayden, Irene, Xavier,

Feng brothers couldn't make it. Kinsley was in Australia, and Yates was in

laughter, cheers and clinking of glasses filled the room. Since everyone knew each other, they kicked back, relaxed, and had a good time. Party favors livened up the scene. There were balloons, noisemakers, and parlor games for people

everyone to get the birthday girl drunk. So Debbie was feeling no pain by

keep her feet. She was in no mind to send her guests home. But of course, her friends

didn't forget one very important thing. She looked at Ivan and told him, "Ivan, why don't you

by now, but he didn't like getting drunk that much anyway. Hearing Debbie's request, he shot to his feet and walked up to Kasie. "Okay. Kasie. Let's ge you home.

staggered to Carlos' side and rested her head on his shoulder, eyes closed. Kasie smiled helplessly at her friend. Then she followed

the room. It was dead quiet, except for the noises of night animals. He suddenly said curtly, "Leave Evelyn with me whenever you're busy." "Why?" Debbie was a little dizzy. She didn't