After Erica was injured in the fire, Chantel went to the Huo family's villa to make sure she was okay. She stayed there a couple days and then went back to the Li family's house to look after the child.
A week had passed, but she still hadn't seen Gifford. She didn't have the courage to send a message or call him to ask him where he was or whether he would come back. She wasn't sure she'd like the answer.
Later, she grilled Wesley about what he knew. He told her he was on a mission. It had to do with Michel and his men. Gifford volunteered to be the main person in charge.
It had been a while, and Chantel thought Gifford might be gone for several months. However, they met up in a quite embarrassing place and time.
In a five-star hotel in K Country
Several young firefighters appeared in the hall with a large, red canvas gear bag with five zippered pockets. Preceded by a waiter, the group entered the elevator one after another.
At the same time, another man walked into the elevator. He was wearing a green military outfit, and the patch on his shoulder made all the young men snap to attention and salute him.
After saluting them as well, the serviceman stood in the corner of the elevator, listening to the young men chatting with the waiter.
The waiter said, "An actress is stuck in the bathroom. The door's jammed. We can't break down the door ourselves, which is why we called you."
"Any idea who's in there?"
"Yeah, it's Chantel Ye!" the waiter replied.
Chantel was a huge star. Almost everyone knew who she was. Even if they weren't that familiar with her work, she had been in multiple commercials, did the talk show circuit, and even made the tabloids. This group of young men certainly knew who she was. The dark-skinned captain looked at his subordinates with a smile and said, "Chantel Ye, huh? Okay, here's the deal: I'm married, so I'm off the table. But you guys need a shot. Anyone who's single? Line up here!"
If they weren't in the elevator, some of them would have jumped up and down excitedly. "Wow! We're lucky, huh? We get to meet Chantel in the flesh. Not only that, but she's in the bathroom. I can't wait!" one of them said.
Another man pulled him behind him and said, "You already have a girlfriend. I'm still single. Let me do the job."
The third man pretended to be serious and said, "Stop arguing. Let me do this!"
The elevator stopped on the 14th floor. Before the people in the elevator could leave, the man in the corner had already made his way out. He waited for them outside the elevator.
The young men looked at the elevator button confusedly and reminded him kindly, "Chief, this is the 14th floor. Weren't you headed for the 19th floor?"
The man gave him a smile.
"Not now! This is my stop!" The young men were confused, but still nodded their heads. "Okay. Um...you can leave now!"
The man didn't move. Instead, he reached out his hand to them and said, "Hand me the gear bag. I got this!"
All of them were a little confused. "What?"
Gifford glanced at his hand and said, "I'm gonna need tools to open the bathroom door, right?"
The captain said, "Chief, it's not a big deal. Let us do it..."
With the same smile on his face, the man said, "Chantel's my wife!"
One of the men was close by, so he heard Gifford talking and answered excitedly, "Chantel is my goddess!"
The captain came to his senses first. "Ahem! Okay! Her husband should do this. It's only appropriate."
"Alright, fine!" The young man, who was holding the toolbox, quickly handed the big red bag to Gifford.
Then, the waiter led Gifford to Room 1409. Then they waited outside the hotel room and watched Gifford walk in alone.
The young men were not happy. They all were hoping to at least catch a glimpse of the forbidden fruit. They whispered back and forth and wondered when Chantel got married. And she even married a hotshot officer like Gifford!
Gifford walked into the sink alcove and knocked on the glass door to the bathroom. The door was made of frosted glass, and thanks to the hot water and the mist from it, nothing could be seen through the glass.
Then a familiar voice came from inside the bathroom. "I'm in here. Could you get me a towel?" She was naked. It was so embarrassing!
Gifford didn't say anything. He looked at the door. Then he turned the handle as far as it would go. He lightly placed his fingers on the sash, trying to feel the mechanism as he tried to open it. He found where the cams left the guide slot. There! A metal plate was bent out of place near the bottom. He used a pry bar and some pliers to bend the offending piece of metal back into shape.
After that, it was easy to get the door open, with the obstruction out of the way. Gifford managed to nail it in under three minutes.
When he was about to push the door open and come in, Chantel, cowering in the corner, shouted, "Don't come in!"
After a short pause, the man opened the door without hesitation.
Before she could scream, a familiar figure appeared in front of her eyes. She immediately shut her mouth and breathed a sigh of relief. The actress blurted out, "Gifford!"
Gifford stared at her and then looked away.
Chantel felt awkward. She was so wrapped up in her own problems, she didn't have time to ask why he was here. She wanted to cry but had no tears. "Well, do you have a bath towel or not?"
She'd think twice before entering a bathroom with a dodgy door.
It was a little hard to open the door. But when she managed to get it open, she walked in and the auto close mechanism engaged. It didn't close right, and she was a bit dubious. But she took a shower anyway, since she was there.
After taking a shower, she found the door couldn't be opened from the inside.
Fortunately, whoever designed the hotel was smart. There was an emergency call on the wall of the shower room. Useful in case of a fire, or for when a door was jammed. She pressed the button, and a few maintenance workers came to open the door for her, but they failed. At last, they had to call the firefighters.
Instead of fetching a bath towel for her, Gifford leaned against the door frame and leered at her, smiling.
Chantel's face flushed when he saw her. She leaned against the wall and turned around, but she didn't know whether she should face him or not. Finally, her temper boiled over and she roared, "Gifford Li!"
Gifford gave her a smile and said, "Mmm...9 out of 10. I'd give you a 10, but you're yelling at me." Then he went and grabbed a bath towel for her.
While she toweled herself off in the bathroom, Gifford returned the gear bag to the young men outside the door. "Thanks, guys!" he said.
The young men immediately stood up and said in unison, "You're welcome."
After sending them away, Gifford turned and went back to the room. When he closed the door, he saw Chantel walk out of the bathroom. Her wet long hair was wrapped in a towel and she wore a hotel robe.
Gifford straightened his sleeves and sat down on the sofa next to him. "Got any plans for tonight? I don't know if I can top getting stuck in a bathroom, but I can try," he quipped.
"Actually, I'm busy tonight," she answered. She had to go to the Violet Eagles' base.
Gifford thought for a while and said, "You sure? I haven't seen you in a while. Why don't you cancel your plans and come with me?" He was right. They hadn't seen each other for quite a time. He was beginning to feel like a bachelor, the amount of time he spent alone.
"Okay, so what's up?" Chantel looked at him in confusion.
Gifford was no longer the serious man when he was in front of outsiders. He sat cross-legged in his seat and answered her casually, "I haven't seen you in forever. How about we spend a romantic night together?"
No one knew how hard he fought to keep the desire in his heart in check when he opened the bathroom door.
They were a couple, after all. There was no denying the attraction between them, especially after being separated for so long. Chantel's chest tightened. She walked to the dressing table and pretended everything was normal. "What about you? Not busy today?"
"No, I'm not." Gifford stood up from the sofa. "Go ahead and dry your hair. I'll be back in ten minutes."
There was someone waiting for him upstairs. He would head there first. Once that was taken care of, he'd be free to return and spend the night with her.
"Oh! Okay!"
After Gifford left, Chantel was the only one left in the room. She heaved a long sigh of relief.