Two more rounds in, Evelyn said, "Everything is ready except..."
Sheffield took the hint and discarded another tile. "East Wind!" He had two east-wind tiles as the pair in his hand. But, he gave one up. He didn't care, as long as Evelyn was having fun.
She smiled and showed her tiles to everyone. "Gentlemen, I have mahjong!"
Joshua and Gifford were stunned. Evelyn was new at mahjong after all. How could she win so easily? They looked at her titles and then at Sheffield's.
They quickly realized what had happened!
"Sheffield, you cheated!"
"You've gone too far, man!"
Evelyn was confused. "Is giving hints not allowed in the game?" Sheffield had told her earlier that she could tip him off about what tiles she needed.
"Of course, it's not allowed!" Joshua said, waving his hands about in frustration. He cast a burning glance at Sheffield and unwillingly handed a few of his chips to Evelyn. Sheffield sat there with a calm expression, as if he had no idea what they were talking about.
"Oh," Evelyn said, looking at Sheffield. She realized that he had cheated to help her win. No wonder the other two remained silent during the game, without giving out hints.
Sheffield chuckled. He said to Joshua and Gifford, "Why the long faces? I was just trying to make my girlfriend happy. It's just a small sum. Don't be so petty."
Gifford snorted, "The lover gets the priority, huh? We are your friends; make us happy too!"
Sheffield retorted with no trace of guilt, "Friends are important, but I'll betray you for my girlfriend any day."
"Is that so? Fine, we'll keep that in mind," Joshua said angrily.
The next round began. Now that Evelyn knew the rules, she had no intention of cheating again.
As they were drawing tiles, Joshua said, "Evelyn, let me tell you a story."
"Okay," she said.
He began to narrate. "There was once a man who loved a woman very much, but this woman got engaged to someone else. Heartbroken, the man went away for two years."
Sheffield sat up straight and eyed Joshua. 'What is this idiot up to now?'
Joshua continued, "Two years later, he came back and told his best friend that being faithful to one woman was such a stupid idea and that he would forget all about her and—"
Sheffield shot up from his seat and covered Joshua's mouth.
He struggled to get out of Sheffield's grasp, and once he did, he finished loudly, "—sleep with as many women as he could!"
Sheffield covered his mouth again and explained to Evelyn with a smile, "He's always like this, such a sore loser. He insults me every time he loses."
Joshua tried to push his hand away, but failed.
Evelyn furrowed her eyebrows at Sheffield. In a low growl, he threatened Joshua, "If you dare say one more word about me, I swear I will break your bones!"
"Mmmph…!" Joshua tried to retort and say, "Fine! What do I care?" But he could only make unintelligible sounds.
Gifford played along and added fuel to the flames. "It's true, Evelyn. I was there too. Knock some sense into Sheffield when you get home."
Sheffield gaped at his two best friends. 'Fucking traitors, ' he thought.
Wearing a light smile, Evelyn said casually, "Never mind about that now. My dad doesn't want me to be with him anyway. Maybe I should just listen to him and marry someone else."
Sheffield quickly loosened his grip over Joshua and trotted towards her. "Honey, I was not even being serious at the time. I was just angry," he apologized.
Joshua and Gifford were amused by his sincere apology.
Evelyn shook off his hand around her shoulders, and looked at the two who were still snickering. "Joshua, Gifford! Please keep an eye on him from now on and tell me everything that he says."
"At your service, Evelyn. We'll tell you everything!" Joshua promised gladly.
Gifford echoed, "Don't worry, Evelyn. Joshua and I are on your side. We will call you if he doesn't behave."
"Okay, it's a deal!" Evelyn said.
Sheffield helplessly watched the three of them reach an agreement.
In the end, he caved in and nodded his head in defeat. He returned to his seat and warned the two traitors with his teeth clenched, "Okay, Mr. Fan, Mr. Li! Wait and see what I do to you! And Joshua, I am not going to help you chase Terilynn anymore."
Evelyn played her tile. She declared, "I'll help him."
"Thank you, Evelyn!" Joshua grinned.
"What?!" It was a complete and utter loss for Sheffield.
After the game, they left for the manor. Sheffield asked Felix to drive the car. He pulled Evelyn into the back seat and cooed, "Honey, that was all in the past. I will never say such things again, okay?"
"Okay." Evelyn had to deal with Carlos now, and needed Sheffield to stand with her. So, she decided to let him off temporarily.
"So, you forgive me?"
"Yes." 'We'll talk about it when we get back to the apartment, ' Evelyn thought.
'Huh? That was easy, ' Sheffield thought in disbelief.
In the Huo family manor
Since his family was at the manor too, Gifford accompanied them to the Huo family house.
The living room was lively. Gwyn was the most popular among the adults. They held her up high, hugged her and kissed her. Everyone wanted to spoil her.
"Gwyn!" Sheffield called once they were inside the house. The moment she heard his voice, the little girl looked towards the door.
When she saw him, Gwyn threw the walnut in her hand away and ran over to him.
Before Evelyn could hold her, Sheffield scooped the little girl up and kissed her on the cheek. "My baby, did you miss me?"
Gwyn nodded. "Miss Daddy!" she said with a wide smile. Sheffield grinned and hugged her tight. She was his little ball of sunshine.
Gifford froze when he heard Gwyn call Sheffield 'Daddy.' Stunned, he looked at the little girl, and then at his friend.
"Sheffield, did she just call you 'Daddy'?"
He stared at the two of them. 'What the hell is going on?" he wondered in shock.
"What? You didn't know? She's my daughter."
Gifford gaped and turned to look at Evelyn, who was smiling. He had never heard of her ever being pregnant. He wanted to ask Sheffield if he was sure, but didn't dare because he didn't want to get knocked out cold by him. He asked instead, "When did this happen? Why didn't I know about this till now?"
Blair was even more confused than he was. "Didn't you know, Gifford? I told you."
"No, you didn't. You and Dad knew?"
"Yes, of course." Wesley and Blair had known from the beginning.
Gifford felt like beating Sheffield to death. It seemed he was the only one in the room who didn't know that his best friend had a daughter.
But it was not the right time to settle scores with Sheffield. He tried to look gentle and waved at Gwyn. "Hi little cutie, I am..." He was stuck. Turning to Blair, he asked, "Mom, what is she supposed to call me?"
"Well, you would be her uncle."
Gifford looked back at the little girl and shook his head.
"No. Sheffield, Joshua and I had agreed that our children would be each other's godchildren. Little cutie, you can call me 'Godfather.' Can you say 'Godfather, ' little girl? Or you can just call me 'Daddy.'"
The people in the living room laughed out loud. They were amused by him.
Sheffield pretended to kick him. "Get out of here. Gwyn, call him 'Bad man'."
"B-ad... man," Gwyn obediently called.
As soon as she said that, Sheffield burst into laughter.
Gifford scowled. Sheffield was such a lousy parent.