Take My Breath Away

Inside the Li family house, A Country

It was time for the high school entrance exams. Coincidentally, it was a hot summer day.

This didn't bother Erica too much, since she was already in college. But that was the last thing on her mind. She had gone back and forth about how to tell her parents the news, but she finally decided the direct approach was the best one. She placed a photo clipped to another sheet of paper on the table. It was obvious that it was an ultrasound picture. She announced, "Dad, Mom, I'm pregnant!"

Blair was going to chastise her daughter for pulling a stupid prank like this, but then she caught a glimpse of the name on the ultrasound report—Erica Li.

The ultrasound report verified that she was about 8 weeks along.

'So, our Rika's pregnant!' Blair felt an intense pressure in her head. Visions of what it took to rear a child flashed through her head, creating a logjam in her thoughts. Then, something inside her snapped. All of this took only a fraction of a second.

Then Blair gave Erica a slap. The impact sounded crisp and clear, leaving a red slap mark on Erica's face.

It was obvious that Blair had lost control. There was no time for Wesley to stop her from doing this.

She may have hit Erica, but it was Wesley's heart that felt the sting.

Erica had been consistently naughty as a child, given to mischief and testing boundaries. Wesley was given the role of the authoritarian, but he knew he could hurt her without half-trying. Most of the time, his punishments were meant to scare the girl straight.

This was the first time Erica had been slapped by a member of her family. And it was her mother, to boot. The hardest she'd ever been on Erica was to pull her ear.

Blair raised her hand, which was already numb from the slap. She pointed at her daughter and scolded, "What the hell were you thinking? This is so ridiculous!"

Erica was just 20 years old! She could have ignored her daughter's mischief in the past, just let it roll off her back. But now the girl told her she was pregnant? That was just beyond the pale.

For the first time in her life, Blair felt she had failed as a parent. She couldn't even teach her own child to keep her legs closed.

With reddened eyes on the verge of tears, Erica rubbed her stinging face. She figured her dad might fly off the handle first, but apparently she was wrong.

She looked into Blair's disappointe

embled. "Rika, where have you been? I was so worried about you!"

Wesley, who was no longer in panic mode, walked over to Erica and took the baby from her arms with a poker face. "Is this... my grandson?" he asked.

Erica had texted him earlier. She said she'd be there with his grandson.

Grandson... The living room became quiet after everybody heard the word. Erica nodded and said, "Dad, meet Feb Wu." She looked at her son and said, "That's your granddad."

Yvette was torn between laughing and crying. With doubt written all over her face, she asked, "You can't be serious! Feb Wu?"

"Yes. He was born in the second lunar month and his family name is Wu. So I named him Feb." Erica just couldn't think of a good name. She stayed up late racking her brains, trying to think of something. Giving up, she just gave the baby that name for the time being.

Everyone was speechless.

Blair didn't try to hold the baby, but held Erica's hand instead. Luckily, Erica didn't pull away, so she asked, "Where have you been all this time? Your father and brother tried to find you. But they had no luck."

Wesley had tried to reach out to her by using all his connections, but to no avail.

She had been missing for months. Blair hadn't been able to sleep well since Erica ran off.

Instead of answering her question, Erica lowered her head to look at Blair's hands which were holding hers tightly. With a guilty look, she apologized, "Mom, I'm sorry."

'I'm sorry for making you and Dad worry about me for so long.'

She had wanted to say this for a long time, but she decided not to contact them.