"Okay. Take care, and don't tire yourself." The doctor spoke with Chantel at length about all the things that she needed to pay attention to, and she listened attentively and tried to remember them all.
He had even suggested that she be put on record in their hospital so that prenatal checkups would be convenient for her. However, she was nervous, and so, she refused.
After leaving the hospital, Chantel wrapped her scarf tightly around her neck and took out her phone to message Erica. "Rika, the doctor said I'm five weeks pregnant."
Chantel nervously checked her phone several times, but she received no reply from Erica. She guessed that she hadn't seen the message. So, she placed her phone back into her pocket and took a bus to school.
As soon as she found a seat on the bus and sat down, her cell phone rang. She took it out and glanced at the caller ID. She was so scared that she almost dropped the phone.
It was Gifford!
Wide-eyed Chantel glanced around as though expecting him to be nearby. When she didn't see him, she closed her eyes, breathed a sigh of relief, and answered the call. "Hello, Gifford. What's up?"
"Where are you?" he asked.
"Um...I'm at school." Since she ought to be at school at this hour, that was the first answer that slipped out of Chantel's mouth.
"Why didn't I find you?"
"What? Where are you?" 'Crap! Did he come to school to look for me? But why?' she wondered.
Gifford leaned against the car as he answered, "I just stepped out of the school building. Now I'm at the school gate. I've searched everywhere for you. You aren't at school. So tell me, where are you?"
Guilt surged through Chantel as she tried to think of an excuse. Finally, with a tremor in her voice, she answered, "Well, I came out to buy something. Now, I'm on the bus back to school. Gifford, do you have something urgent to say?"
Her voice was trembling, and she was stuttering. He knew that she was lying, but he didn't know what she was hiding from him. He didn't even question her. Flatly, he replied, "Mom asked me to bring you some food."
He hadn't wanted to come, but Blair had scolded him. She had even gone so far as to imply that he didn't care about Chantel. Finally, he had given up arguing and made the trip to her school.
"Well, can't you leave it at the guard room? It may take me more than ten minutes to return to school." Since he was always very busy, she was sure that he didn't have time to wait for her. This way, she could avoid seeing him altogether.
"I see." Gifford abruptly ended the call.
There was a traffic jam on the route the bus took. Half an hour later, she arrived at the bus stop near the school. Erica had replied to her while she was on the bus. After stepping off the bus, Chantel texted back. "I don't think you need to tell Mr. Huo. I'll tell Uncle Wesley and Aunt Blair when I can't hide it from them."
Erica had wanted her to tell Wesley and Blair, but Chantel was not mentally ready yet. She wanted to wait for a while before sharing the news.
She was so absorbed in her thoughts that she didn't notice that a car had parked in front of her. She pocketed her phone and continued to walk with her head down.
"Is there money on the ground?"
Chantel's head snapped up when she heard the familiar voice. Wasn't the man standing next to the military green car Gifford? 'Didn't I ask him to leave the food and go? Why didn't he listen?
What if he sees the test result? Oh, wait! I dumped it in the trash can as soon as I walked out of the hospital. Thank God!' The anxiety coursing through Chantel settled when she remembered what she had done with the test report. She tried to smile as she greeted him respectfully. "Hi, Gifford."
Gifford leaned against the car and crossed his arms. "Why are you so late?"
"Well, the bus took longer than expected as there was a traffic jam."
Chantel's gaze shifted from Gifford as she spoke. She was fidgety and appeared anxious. It was evident that she was hiding something. Gifford warned her, "Don't learn from Erica. She's a bad example."
"No! Rika is a good girl. She is not as bad as you think."
'Humph! How could I not know my sister?
Isn't it bad that she used an aphrodisiac to trick me into sleeping with Chantel?'
Gifford shook his head and ignored Chantel's objections. He pushed himself off the car, opened the trunk, took out the food prepared by Blair, and some snacks he had bought at the supermarket. As he handed everything to her, he said, "If you don't have anything else to say, just go to class."
Chantel believed that Blair had prepared everything. So, she didn't ask any questions. She took the bags from Gifford and thanked him before turning toward the school.
Gifford sat in the car and watched as she made her way through the gate, past the lawn, and into the school building. It was only after her figure disappeared that he started the car and left.
When Erica heard the news about Chantel's pregnancy, she was both happy and wistful.
She was thrilled because she was going to have a niece or nephew. However, she was sorrowful as she wasn't pregnant yet.
Every morning, as soon as she woke, Erica would touch her belly first and then look down. How she wished her belly would swell!
One day, she even went to a pharmacy and bought a few pregnancy test sticks and took them back to the villa. The next morning, she went to the bathroom with a stick and followed the instructions. However, she was disappointed and walked out with a sullen expression.
She had looked like that for several days.
On Lunar New Year's Eve, Matthew and Erica had to attend a family reunion dinner at the Huo family's manor. But this time, only Carlos, Debbie, Matthew, and Erica were there. Sheffield had taken his wife and kids to the Tang family. And Joshua accompanied his wife and son to the Fan family.
On the first day of the Lunar New Year, Erica spent the day chatting with Carlos and Debbie in the living room on the manor's first floor, while Matthew worked on the second floor. In the evening, the young couple returned to their villa and prepared for the second day that they would spend at her parents' house.
Matthew and Erica flew to A Country on the second day of the Lunar New Year, as planned.
At the Li family's house in A Country
Wesley had just returned from the airport with the young couple. The moment Erica saw Chantel, she took her upstairs.
Wesley, Blair, Matthew, and Gifford were stumped by this sudden disappearance of the two women. They glanced at each other in confusion.
Yvette had chosen to celebrate the New Year with her fiance's family.
Matthew's and Gifford's astonishment settled a few short moments after Erica and Chantel left. They didn't find it strange that the girls got along so well.
But Blair was curious, and asked, "Since when did Rika and Chantel become such good friends?" As far as she knew, they had only met once.
Gifford glanced at Matthew and said, "Birds of a feather flock together." His message was clear to Matthew.
But Blair, who didn't know what Gifford was hinting, was rendered speechless. She believed that Chantel was more obedient than Erica.
However, a smile tugged at the corners of Matthew's mouth as he turned to Gifford and said, "You're going to join them soon." After all, he had to be responsible for Chantel sooner or later.
Blair was even more confused now. Wesley, who stood beside them, fixed his pensive gaze on the two men. Even though they were speaking vaguely, he had a feeling something big was going to happen.
As soon as the door to Chantel's room closed, Erica grabbed the hem of Chantel's shirt. "Hurry up. Let me see my nephew."
Chantel blushed and shyly pressed down on her shirt. "You can't see it now..."
'Yeah. The baby is like bean-size...'
Erica gingerly placed her palm on Chantel's belly. Her voice was full of awe as she said, "Wow. To think that my nephew is inside. Aren't we awesome?" She and Chantel had made this pregnancy happen many years before it would have.
Erica felt proud, as though she and Chantel had made this child.
Chantel smiled. She whispered as she asked, "Erica, do you think I should tell your parents?"
She had struggled with this question for as long as she had known about her pregnancy.
She was sure, however, that she would not tell Gifford as she feared that he would ask her to abort the baby.
Erica held her hand and sat on the edge of the bed. After some contemplation, she said, "I believe you can tell my parents as I know how happy the news will make them. No matter what my brother wants to do with the baby, he wouldn't dare to go against my parents."
She was confident of the advice she was giving Chantel, as when in Y City, it was only because of Carlos' and Debbie's support that she could challenge Matthew! So she knew how submissive men could be in front of their parents.