About half an hour later, Matthew saw Erica's message. He only replied, "Mm."
'Okay. What does that mean?' Erica stared at the screen of her phone and pouted her lips in dissatisfaction.
She was so annoyed that she closed her WeChat. 'Well, I'll ask him about it when I get back. Not long now! I can't wait!'
After dinner, when Erica was going back to her room, she heard voices from Gifford's room. It sounded like Gifford and Chantel fighting inside.
Chantel's voice was soft when she said, "Look, we're shooting now. I was supposed to leave tonight, but I put it off until the day after tomorrow. But I've got a fan signing tomorrow. I need to take off."
"So you think I'm not busy?" asked Gifford in a cold voice.
"Of course you are," Chantel answered. She knew that well. They both were. As a star, she did grueling 15 hour shoots. As a soldier, he might work from 6:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., grab a quick dinner, and go prep for a jump at midnight. He was in command, too, which meant he was higher in rank. Higher rank meant more pay and more hours. He was a high-ranking military officer. How could she possibly compete with that?
"Yes, I'm super-busy and yet I can spare a few days to take care of Hugo. Whatever work you have, put it off. That's an order!" he demanded.
Chantel remained silent. She wondered if he knew the cost of what he was asking.
Erica took a peek in their room. One of them sat on the bed, the other stood by the window, and Hugo was playing with his toys on the sofa.
She poked her head in, waved at the little boy and whispered, "Come to Auntie!"
Although she lowered her voice, all three people in the room heard it and looked at her.
Erica grinned and said to Chantel, "Looks like you guys are busy talking. I'll set Hugo up in a video chat with Adkins and the other kids. Oh, and Hugo can sleep with me tonight. Say good night to Daddy and Mommy, Hugo."
"Good night, Daddy, Mommy!" said Hugo, who had already run over to Erica and was now hugging her legs.
Gifford nodded and watched them leave. Erica shot the two one last grin and closed the door behind her.
There were only two people left in the room. Standing in front of Chantel, Gifford put his hands on his hips and asked, "Have you made up your mind?"
This time, she didn't complain. As long as he was happy, she would do as he said. "Okay."
If she had to give something up for him, it was worth it.
Gifford was satisfied with her response. "I got Hugo some time off too. He doesn't need to go to school tomorrow. We'll go out and have some fun."
The three of them had never gone out together. This was an opportunity for them to spend more time with Hugo.
"Okay." She nodded again.
Gifford sat down next to her and said, "I think Rika's right. We can have a daughter, and Hugo will have a sister. We can go to bed early, so her little act of kindness tonight wasn't in vain."
'Have a daughter?' When she heard that, Chantel's face turned a red. She didn't mind if he wanted another kid, but... "It's only seven o'clock now. It's too early..."
Ignoring her protest, Gifford held her shoulders. The two lay back at the same time. "Can you spare a few days every month?" he asked.
"I'm not sure," she replied honestly. She really didn't know. She didn't take regular breaks. Dramas typically shot their episodes as close together as possible. She might not catch a break for two months or so.
"You don't know either?" Gifford leaned sideways, one hand supporting his head, and looked at his wife. "You work too hard. You should get three to five days off a month so we can spend some time together."
Of course, he would try his best to spare a few days every month to make this work. He would focus on making their love grow, getting closer, and taking care of her and the kid.
Chantel blinked her eyes and her mind went blank. She asked foolishly, "Do you still want me around?"
Gifford was unhappy to hear that. He turned over and pressed himself onto her. "Why would you even ask that? You know that I do."
"I know..." But she also knew they weren't a normal couple.
Looking at the face so close to hers, she suddenly thought of something Erica said when she was in Tow Village. "Okay, I'll come back every month and spend more time with you together," she said, boldly putting her arms around Gifford's neck. Since he didn't want a divorce, it would be better this way. It just so happened that she didn't want a divorce either.
But there was this weird feeling that she got, like Gifford wasn't his normal self. She didn't know if he were trying to make up for something, because he wanted to spend more time with her. He became more attentive and loving. In short, very un-Gifford-like.
Gifford raised his eyebrows. 'She's gotten bolder. When did that happen? She must be up to something.'
After all, Erica did the same thing. She would always butter him up if she wanted him to help her. And when she didn't want his help, she would be cold and indifferent to him. He was already used to it.
He held her chin and asked in a questioning tone, "Penny for your thoughts?"
Chantel's face turned red. Knowing that she had to tell him sooner or later, she decided to simply spill the beans. "Did you know they found a ton of drugs in Tow Village? That was just a few days ago."
Of course, Gifford knew. It was in all the papers. Not only that, his sister was involved in uncovering that.
"We want you to help us investigate those guys. Those thugs were working for someone. We want to know who," she said.
"Why do you care? I don't get it." Gifford really didn't know what Chantel and Erica were up to all this time.
Chantel shook her head. "You can ask Rika about it. If you say yes, she'll be stoked."
"So, Erica put you up to this?"
Chantel smiled awkwardly and nodded.
Gifford stroked her long hair and said in an imperceptible gentle tone, "Don't hang out with Erica too much. She's a bad influence!"
"You don't get it. Rika—"
Gifford interrupted her and said the words she was going to say. "Rika is a good girl. She didn't do anything wrong. You misunderstood her. Am I right?"
Chantel was slightly stunned. How could he know what she wanted to say?
"Let's not talk about my sister anymore, okay? That's kind of creepy when we're in bed together. Let's make some babies!" he said firmly. It was a waste of time for them to talk about Erica when they were alone.
'Huh? Is he really Rika's brother?
Besides, he is over thirty-six years old now. How could he be so horny?' she thought to herself.
Soon, the room was filled with their scents and sounds. Meanwhile, Erica made a video call to Matthew.
When the video call was connected, Matthew's expressionless face appeared on the screen. Erica greeted him with an ear-to-ear grin, "Hi, my hubby! Home so soon?"
Hugo leaned over and greeted Matthew, "Goo-Good evening, Uncle Matthew!" He stumbled over some words, simply because he was so young.
When Matthew saw Hugo, he nodded and said, "Good evening, Hugo!"
The next moment, before Erica could say anything, Matthew's phone spun violently and his face could not be seen anymore. What could be seen was four little heads huddling together. "Mommy!"
"Mommy!"
The four children's voices were sweet, almost artificially so, which made Matthew frown.
Except for Colman, none of the kids acted like spoiled brats when he was around. When they saw Erica, they all seemed to have changed into totally different people.
"Awww...you're adorable. I miss you much, guys!"
Damian kissed the phone. "We miss you! When will you be back? It's been a long time!"
"Yeah. There are some bad aunts who want to be our mommy. Hurry, or Dad's gonna bring them here!" Colman echoed.
"Bad aunts?" Erica's heart skipped a beat. She had never heard that before.