What she didn't know was that before Carlos could do anything,

Sheffield had already gotten himself out of hot water.

Father and daughter always kept their promises. So Evelyn had to get engaged to Calvert, and there wasn't anything she could do about it.

Miranda thought for a while and replied firmly, "Carlos won't let this happen."

He wouldn't let this injustice stand. He just needed time to figure out a way out of this. Miranda hoped that Sheffield wouldn't give up Evelyn and could wait for her.

And Debbie knew that Calvert was an outstanding guy, but he couldn't hold a candle to Sheffield.

When Evelyn was with Sheffield, her eyes lit up, and she was happier

Around Calvert, she was unhappy, and seemed resigned to her fate. The choice was clear. Debbie wanted to see her daughter happy again. It was a nice change from the ice princess.

“It looks like Carlos likes Sheffield more. We just have to get him to make up his mind," Debbie declared. He wasn't dumb. He knew Evelyn was seeing Sheffield on the sly and he decided to turn a blind eye to it.

Carlos did listen to Debbie, but if he kept saying no, she wouldn't keep beating a dead horse. They had been married for so long they knew how to get along with each other

Sometimes, if Debbie complained a lot, Carlos would give in. That meant there was still hope to persuade him.

There was hope for Evelyn and Sheffield's relationship, too. If Carlos came out in favor of it, then they could date openly. Even though

Carlos was cold and angry around Sheffield, he was also like that around his own son.

Just as Debbie and Miranda were talking, Carlos came downstairs. He looked at the two women eating sunflower seeds and watching the New

Year's Gala on TV.

"What are you talking about?" he asked.

Debbie answered, “About the sunflower seeds. They're yummy."

Stifling her laughter, Miranda echoed, "Yes, Carlos, have some."

"Something's fishy here.' Carlos didn't get angry. He sat next to

Debbie and said, “You know this is the same brand we always get. It's been that way for years."

What he meant was the sunflower seeds weren't any yummier now than they had been. They couldn't fool him.

Debbie didn't care whether he believed it or not.

"What's Terilynn doing? It's Lunar New Year's Eve. She should go out with her friends instead of staying at home. It's high time she got a boyfriend. She should be on a date."

Debbie found out recently that Terilynn talked to Joshua. A lot. She wondered if that was true.

But she'd been so focused on Evelyn and Sheffield she'd forgotten to check on Terilynn. She resolved to pay more attention to Terilynn after