Chantel knew that Erica was being completely reasonable, but she was still worried. "Do you think that your parents will hate me when they find out that I'm carrying Gifford's child?" she asked.
This was not the first time she had thought about this. If Wesley and Blair thought that she was a gold digger who was using Gifford's child to marry into the Li family, she would be heartbroken and embarrassed to face them again.
"Of course not!" Erica exclaimed incredulously. "You know how much my parents still love and care for Ethan, even though he is not my child. How could they hate the woman who is carrying their grandchild? And you know about my mother. Gifford is almost thirty-three. Right now, she would accept anyone as his wife, as long as it's a woman!"
Blair was very worried about Gifford's marriage. If Chantel told her that she was carrying his child, Blair would be thrilled to death.
That was how much she wanted to be a grandmother.
Every time she called Gifford, she would add, "If you are planning to come back alone next time, don't even bother coming. I won't let you into the house! Just find a woman, will you? I don't care if she's old or young, or if she's from a poor family. And it would be wonderful if you got her pregnant too! I just don't care as long as you bring someone!"
Chuckling at the thought, Chantel finally made a decision. "Okay, I'll tell them once I'm unable to hide the baby bump!"
"Did Gifford say anything after you both had sex?" Erica asked her again.
"What do you mean?"
"Did he say that he would marry you or something like that?" After all, they had sex. Gifford wasn't the type of person who would take it lightly.
Chantel shook her head in disappointment, but then comforted Erica, "It doesn't matter. My goal was to get pregnant with his child, and I've achieved it. If he doesn't want to marry me, I won't force him."
She didn't want Gifford to hate her.
At that moment, there was a sharp knock on the door to Chantel's room. The two girls looked at each other vigilantly. Finally, Erica asked, "Who is it?"
"It's me. I'm coming in." It was Gifford. As soon as he finished speaking, the door opened.
He saw the girls sitting on the edge of the bed, hand in hand. The moment they looked at him, the two of them were struck by a guilty conscience. "What are you doing?" he asked, frowning.
Something was off about them. He couldn't help but wonder if they were planning to set him up again.
They stood up from the bed at the same time and replied in unison, "Nothing!"
Gifford was even more convinced now. 'These two are up to no good again!'
With his hands behind his back, he walked towards them and stood in front of the two girls. He suddenly yelled, "Erica Li!"
"Yes, sir!" she answered quickly, without thinking.
"What were you doing with Chantel?" he demanded, quickly and loudly.
Erica answered reflexively, "We were talking about the—" "Rika."
Matthew's voice came from outside the room, interrupting her, before she could utter the word "baby."
Erica came back to her senses in an instant. She loosened her grip on Chantel's hand and punched Gifford on the shoulder. "Gifford, you did it again! You are such a jerk!" Erica was sometimes slow to react and Gifford always used this trick to deal with her.
Lucky for her, Matthew appeared right on time. Otherwise, Gifford would have found out about the baby.
Gifford didn't even flinch as Erica punched him twice. He turned around and glared at the man at the door. There was no doubt in his mind that Matthew was part of this whole plot, whatever it was, and this man was the real mastermind.
Without his assistance, there was no way that Erica and Chantel could deceive him, let alone make him sleep with Chantel!
He decided to use the same trick on Chantel. "Chantel Ye!" he shouted.
Chantel wasn't buying it. She looked at him in a daze and asked, "Gifford, why are you being so loud?"
He gawked at her.
Erica held Matthew's arm and snickered. "Did you really think that you could intimidate everyone with that cheap trick?"
"Hey! You know what? Chantel is actually more obedient than you!" Gifford provoked her on purpose.
Erica nodded and said with a smile, "I think so too. You like obedient girls, don't you? Why don't you marry her?"
Gifford was dumbstruck. 'Why did she have to say that now?' he cursed inwardly, wanting to beat his sister to death!
Afraid that he might say something hurtful, Chantel quickly waved her hand and said, "Rika, it doesn't matter. I'm still a student, and I should focus on studying now." An awkward smile appeared on her face.
Erica felt bad for her, seeing the bitter smile on the girl's face. 'No way in hell! He slept with her. How could he not take responsibility for it? I must talk some sense into him!' she thought to herself.
"Let's go downstairs! Otherwise, Dad and Mom will come up here," Gifford said and started to walk towards the stairs.
Erica let go of Matthew's arm and walked with Chantel instead. She comforted her in a low voice, "Don't worry, Chantel. He is not an irresponsible man. Give him some time to think about it."
"Hmm, I know." Everyone in the Li family was kind to her.
"Erica! What are you still talking about?" Gifford demanded, looking at the pair. If it hadn't been for Matthew, he would've gotten the truth out of Erica!
Since Erica was being yelled at by Gifford again, Matthew eagerly jumped in to protect his wife. "Stop being so curious about girls' secrets."
"Yes, Matthew's right. Gifford, why don't you admit that you are a sissy? You even want to know our girls' secrets," Erica said with a smug smile. With Matthew backing her up, she had nothing to be afraid of.
When Gifford raised his hand to slap her, Erica rushed to Matthew's side. "Honey, help! This man is bullying me again!"
Matthew stood in front of her. His eyes were stern and he said to Gifford in a low voice, "Your father is here."
"Gifford, what are you doing?" Wesley asked, furrowing his brows.
Gifford put down his hand and glared at the complacent girl. "Nothing, Dad. My hand was just a little itchy."
'Rika has become more arrogant than before since she was married. Matthew is obviously spoiling her so much!' he thought.
Wesley was no fool. He knew that Gifford was going to slap Erica. He said coldly, "How about five hundred push-ups? That should get rid of your itch."
Gifford rolled his eyes. 'This man is so cruel to me. I'm the victim here.'
But he chose to keep his mouth shut.
When they went downstairs, Yvette walked in. Erica beamed and rushed towards her sister for a hug. They hadn't seen each other in a long time. "Yvette, I've missed you so much!" Erica said.
Stroking her head, Yvette said in a gentle voice, "Why didn't you come back to see me if you missed me so much? When you came back last time, you ran away from home! You're still naughty, Rika."
Knowing that she was referring to when it was Matthew's birthday, Erica giggled and held her arm tightly. "I'm back now, aren't I?"
"All right, all right. I really can't be mad at you!" In Yvette's eyes, Erica was the cutest little girl in the world.
The Li family was very lively that day. Before dinner, Yvette even called her fiance, Remus, over. The women sat and chatted, and the men drank together. It was a fun night, and the atmosphere was filled with happiness and warmth.