Ten days passed as Erica waited for news from Phoebe. But as yet, her love rival didn't show up to get back at her.
One night, Matthew came back from the company to find Erica waiting downstairs.
As soon as she saw him, she came, offering him a glass of water and a flattering smile. "Matthew."
Looking from the water to his wife's shining countenance, Matthew idly wondered if the drink had been poisoned.
In the end, he decided that it didn't matter. He took the glass calmly and said, "Just say it."
"I want to ask you something," Erica began. "Have you met with Phoebe recently?" She didn't think the other woman would let things go easily.
'So this is what's bothering her, ' Matthew realized as he took a sip of water. "You know," he said, "the next time you do something bad, you should learn from Phoebe. Do it in a place without surveillance, and if there are any evidence or clues left behind, you have to go back and get rid of them."
"What?" Erica wondered if this meant that Phoebe really had gone to see him. "What did she tell you?"
Matthew finished off the water, then handed the empty glass to her. "You should stay away from your 'cousin' from now on," he remarked cryptically. "He's a bad example."
'So... he really figured it out, ' thought Erica.
Glass in hand, she followed him into the next room and asked with a smile, "What else did she say? Are you going to avenge her?"
"What else did she say?" Matthew echoed. "Put the glass down and I'll tell you."
Erica set the glass on the table and took hold of his arm. "Okay, tell me now!"
By way of reply, Matthew pressed her against the handrail of the stairs, held her head in one hand, and lowered his head to kiss her.
"Mmph..." Lost in the moment though she was, it didn't escape her that this was not exactly an answer to her question.
A few minutes later, Matthew whispered in her ear, "Now, you have to accept my punishment for you!"
"Don't... Don't do that here..." Although the heating was on, this was dangerously close to a staircase. It would not be the most secure place for what he obviously had in mind.
Her husband chuckled in her ear and said in a low voice, "Don't you want to experience something new?" After all, they had tried having sex in many different places, but this was a new one.
Erica leaned her soft body against his and wrapped her arms around his neck, as docile as a kitten. "I don't mind. As long as you are happy!" As long as he didn't deal with her for the sake of Phoebe, she would listen to him this time.
He was very satisfied with her obedience.
Outside, the cold wind was bleak, and inside the villa, they were having a most romantic time.
The Spring Festival was only a few days away. Early one morning, Chantel hid in the bathroom of the Li family house and dialed a number on her phone. As soon as the call was connected, she exclaimed nervously, "Rika..."
Erica was still in bed, having been sound asleep until the phone ringing had roused her. When she heard Chantel's voice, though, she quickly got her wits about her. "Hi, Chantel. It's so early. You must be studying hard."
Blair had told her that in order to make a debut as early as possible, Chantel got up very early every day, despite also studying hard at night.
"Rika." Tears welled up in Chantel's eyes as she clenched the thing in her hand.
Sensing that something was wrong, Erica quickly sat up in bed. "What's wrong?"
After a moment's silence, Chantel sobbed, "I...I'm pregnant."
Yes! She was pregnant! She looked at the two red lines on the pregnancy test stick in her hand again.
"Ahhh! What? Chantel, you...pregnant?!" Erica leaped from the bed, beaming. Even if she were the one who was pregnant, she wouldn't be as excited as she was now.
"Thank you, Rika!" Chantel said, steadying her voice with some effort. Although she hadn't seen Gifford since the important day, their goal had been achieved.
"I'm going to be an aunt. You're so awesome!"
Chantel wiped the tears from her face and added, "I'm going to the hospital for a checkup to make sure of it now."
"Okay, okay, go ahead!" cried Erica. "Do you need someone to keep you company?"
"No, I can do it myself."
Kneeling on the bed, Erica was so happy that she laughed. "Okay, well, let me know how everything goes!"
"Okay, bye!"
After hanging up, Chantel stood up from the toilet, tidied herself up, and walked out of the bathroom.
The first thing she saw downstairs, however, was Gifford coming towards her.
Gifford hadn't come back in a long time. Seeing him suddenly appear, Chantel stopped in her tracks, and even took a step back. A guilty conscience weighed on her.
Her weird reaction to Gifford's presence made him frown. He didn't think of himself as a frightening or intimidating person.
Before either one of them could speak, Blair emerged from the kitchen, two plates of toast in her hands. "Oh, Gifford, I forgot to tell Chantel you were coming back," she explained, seemingly oblivious to what was going on between them. "Both of you, come and have breakfast."
With a final glance at the young woman, Gifford silently strode into the dining room.
After watching him a moment, Chantel trotted up to the table and grabbed two pieces of toast. "Auntie Blair, I have something to deal with at school. I'm leaving now!"
Blair didn't doubt her; this wouldn't be the first time the girl left home earlier than usual. "At least have a glass of milk first."
Chantel's eyes flitted to Gifford, who was busily eating at the table. Shaking her head, she said, "No, this is fine. I have to go. Bye!"
With that, she practically ran to the door of the living room. Watching her go, Blair shook her head helplessly and sighed.
"She really is a tough girl. She sometimes goes to practice dancing and piano at four or five o'clock in the morning. Gifford, she's like a sister to you; you should at least bring some food to her later!"
Without raising his head, Gifford refused, "No, I'm afraid I can't. There's something I have to do later today."
"The Spring Festival is coming. What's got you so busy? Can you at least be home on Lunar New Year's Eve?"
Gifford paused to think, then nodded. "Sure."
He needed to rest for a few days to think about his relationship with Chantel.
Thinking of her, he cast a look at the door and realized that she was already gone. Gifford had been too wrapped up in his thoughts to notice.
'Huh! Did she realize that she had done something wrong? Is that why she is avoiding me?'
Later at the hospital, Chantel was sitting on a bench uneasily.
Her appointment had gone without incident so far. She was waiting for the examination result now.
Waiting was excruciating; the ten minutes she spent on that bench felt like ten hours. Finally, the doctor called her name, "Chantel Ye!"
"I'm here!" the girl called back. She hurried to the window, where she was handed a report. She scanned the page, trying to find the results first.
But before she could understand what she was reading, the attendant of the color ultrasound room told her, "Sign here and take the form to the doctor."
"Okay, thank you," Chantel murmured. After signing her name, she headed back to the outpatient department of gynecology.
The doctor there glanced over the results, then raised his head. "You're five weeks pregnant," he explained dispassionately. "Do you want to keep it?"
'I'm really pregnant, ' thought Chantel. The thought seized on her mind so thoroughly that for a moment she forgot where she was—until the doctor spoke again. "Do you want the baby?"
"Yes, yes!" she cried, coming back to herself. It would not be easy for her to have Gifford's baby. But how could she give it up?
Joy that she could not contain lit up her face.