Matthew was speechless. Erica was so good at flattering him.
Anxiety and nervousness coursed through Erica as she had not received Matthew's reply for a long time. Was he angry as Rhea had said?
'Perhaps I should forget about it. After all, it's difficult to figure out what's on a man's mind!' Since it was futile to continue guessing, she decided to wait until he returned.
In A Country
Since Erica had agreed, Tam had booked the earliest flight tickets to A Country. A day later, Tam and his wife, Yanny Gao, stood nervously before the door to the Li family house.
Once inside, Tam put aside the valuable gifts that he had brought. Suppressing the urge to hug his son, he and his wife first greeted the older Li family members who stood before them in the living room. "Hi, Mr. and Mrs. Li." Then he nodded to Chantel and Yvette. "I am Tam Wu, Ethan's biological father, and this is my wife, Yanny Gao. Thank you for taking care of Ethan for so long."
Wesley's expression soured, and he glared at Tam silently. Meanwhile, Blair lovingly gazed at Ethan, who she held in her arms. Her blood-shot eyes indicated that she had been crying.
Chantel looked at Blair with concern while Yvette tried to hold back the tears that threatened to spill down her cheeks.
As no one spoke for a while, the atmosphere became a little awkward. Tam steeled himself and broke the silence. "I know that all of this has been my fault, and I apologize. My actions have caused a lot of trouble, especially for Erica. We'll take Ethan to Australia and settle there. We won't return to Y City again. My wife is kind, and she will treat Ethan well. Please don't worry as we'll take good care of him!"
Yanny had mixed feelings as she looked at the wide-eyed little boy, who was holding a toy car. 'No wonder Tam wants to take him home. It isn't just fatherly love and instinct that draws him to Ethan. This boy is so cute that anyone would want to hug him at first sight, ' she thought.
"Australia?" Wesley was surprised. He had assumed that Tam would return to Y City with Ethan. That way, Rika could still visit him when she missed him.
Tam nodded, "Yes. We know it's far, but you can see the child at any time. If you'd like, we can bring Ethan to visit you when we return home for festivals."
Blair's heart grew increasingly heavy. This was a heartbreaking moment for her, but she had to say goodbye. She glanced at Ethan as she spoke. "Eth, go to your father."
Ethan looked at Blair, who was holding him in her arms. He didn't understand what she had said because he was too young to know what 'father' meant.
Hearing Blair's instructions, Tam stood up cautiously and walked up to her. With outstretched arms, he said, "Son, let me hug you!"
Ethan was more willing to interact with strangers in the daytime than in the evening. So when Tam wanted to hug Ethan, he didn't pull away.
Ten minutes later, Tam and Yanny carried Ethan out of the villa, and the Li family followed to bid them farewell.
Once at the car, Tam placed Ethan's luggage in the trunk and helped Yanny and Ethan get into the car.
He then turned and expressed his gratitude to Wesley and Blair again. "Thank you for raising Ethan for so long, Mr. and Mrs. Li. If there's nothing else, we'll start our journey."
Wesley nodded. No matter how much he wanted to, he couldn't bring himself to speak.
Tam sat in the car, rolled down the window, and instructed the driver to start.
At this moment, Ethan, who had been quiet, burst into tears. He couldn't understand why Blair and Yvette were outside the car and why they were crying.
"Grandma, Grandma..." he called to Blair. Then he stretched his arms to Blair, wanting her to hug him.
Tears streamed down Blair's cheeks as she rushed forward. But, Wesley stopped her.
Yvette could no longer contain her emotions. Hot tears flowed down her cheeks as she waved goodbye to Ethan.
Chantel held Blair's hand and whispered comforting words to her, "Auntie, don't cry. We'll see Ethan again."
"Waah..." in the car, Ethan's crying grew louder and louder. His eyes were fixed on Blair and Wesley as desperation coursed through him.
Wesley let go of Blair, took a step forward, grabbed Ethan's hand, and said, "Don't you remember what I taught you? Men don't cry. If you want to stay with us, study hard and earn a place in a military school. Then, come here to work. Your uncle Gifford will train you!"
'Ethan will always be one of the Lis, ' he thought.
Gifford was still on a mission and didn't know that Ethan was being taken away.
The boy continued to sob. "Grandpa..."
As tough as Wesley was, his eyes reddened as well. Then he mustered all the courage he possibly could and let go of Ethan's little hand. He told Tam, "Leave before I change my mind."
Just as the engine roared to life, Yvette trotted over and said to Tam through the half-open window, "If, someday, you decide that you don't want to raise Ethan anymore, bring him back to us. We won't blame you. Ethan will always be one of us."
The silver car was finally out of sight.
And Ethan's wail couldn't be heard anymore. Blair sobbed in Wesley's arms.
With red eyes and arm-in-arm with Yvette, who was also crying, Chantel continued her efforts to comfort the two women.
Chantel closed her eyes for a brief moment and made a new wish. She wanted to have a child for Wesley and Blair to raise so that they would never experience this anguish again. But, to do so, she needed to bear Gifford's child.
What distressed her was that Gifford hadn't been home for a long time. He was hardly around, and she might not be able to see him even if he returned occasionally. How was she supposed to have his baby?
At the Pearl Villa District
When Tam and Ethan arrived at Matthew's villa to say goodbye to Erica, Rhea had just left the house after her visit. Erica intended to return to school with her camera, but she received a call from Tam before she could get in the car. "Mrs. Huo, it's me, Tam. I picked up Ethan yesterday, and we're leaving for Australia tomorrow. Can we come to see you now if you're free?"
'Leaving for Australia tomorrow?' Erica was still processing the shocking news.
Then, she nodded, "Yes, I'm at home."
Tam knew the address of the villa. After hanging up the phone, Erica returned to the house to wait for the father and son.
Ten minutes later, her phone rang again. She thought it was Tam, so she answered the phone without even looking at the screen. "Are you here yet?"
"Yes. How do you know?"
It was not Tam's voice.
Erica checked the number. It was not Tam's. "Who is this?"
"It's me. Watkins. You saved my number. How could you not know it was me?" Watkins had watched Erica save his phone number when they were partying the other day.
Confusion coursed through Erica. She remembered that she had saved his phone number, but why was his name no longer on her contact list? "It's so strange. I lost both your WeChat account and phone number. Is my phone infected with a virus?"
That was the only possibility that she could think of. But, she hadn't downloaded from or browsed any unsafe website recently. How could a virus attack her phone?