Take My Breath Away

Erica walked away, leaving behind a silence that stretched on and on until Tam took a deep breath. With a casual air, he turned to his daughter. "Julianna, would you mind going too? I need to speak with Tessie about something."

Julianna didn't move, looking with suspicion at her father and her friend. "Dad, you... What do you two need to talk about?" Privately she wondered, 'Did my father know Tessie before? If so, why didn't I know about it?'

While Tessie's eyes stayed on the ground, Tam made the best excuse he could think of. "It seems there's a big problem between her and Erica. Since I just happened to stumble across it, I can't sit by and do nothing. If I'm able to have a talk with your friend, maybe I can help her resolve the conflict."

Julianna had her doubts, but she nodded and left in the opposite direction Erica had taken.

When only the two of them were left, Tessie finally raised her head and looked at Tam, her eyes deep with longing and love.

It was impossible not to see her feelings; they were present in every gesture. For his part, Tam would be lying if he said he had no feelings for this woman. Nonetheless, he kept his calm. "I have only two choices now," he explained. "One is to take our son home and raise him with my wife. The second is to divorce my wife and marry you, and then we raise our son together."

Tam had seen baby Ethan before and liked him very much. It was hard to say why; maybe the Li family had raised him too well, or perhaps it was just the fact that they were bonded by blood. Whatever the case, Tam couldn't simply forget the baby. He really wanted to take him back home.

His love for that child even exceeded his love for his daughter, who had accompanied him for more than twenty years.

Tessie flashed a lonely, bitter smile. "You think clearly enough about your own future, but what about mine?"

"You have two choices, too," he said. "One is to apologize to Erica and marry me. The second is..." He paused, and for that brief instant looked just a little pained. "...is to give me your son and devote yourself to your studies."

"Don't you want to know what happened?"

Tam shook his head. "It doesn't matter. Whether you're alive or dead, you were not lying to me, but to Erica." In fact, that was the reason he wanted her to apologize to Erica. "I admit that I flinched when I knew you were pregnant with the baby. But I regret it now." Indeed, he had found that no matter how busy he was at work, he couldn't help thinking of Tessie's child.

So he'd hired some people to monitor everything that happened with the Li family. As soon

d said, "I told everyone that Erica was vicious to me at school—that she bullied me, so I was forced to transfer somewhere else. It was the best story I could come up with. Everyone knows she's always been a troublemaker anyway, so they all believed it. You have to pretend you believe it too. It's the only way we can get through this."

Despite himself, Tam cast a worried glance Erica's way. "Tessie, you're kidding yourself. Who do you think the Li family will believe—you or Erica? Then there's Matthew Huo. Even if you had evidence on your side, I'm afraid that wouldn't make a difference. He'd still take Erica's side. What will happen then?"

"There's nothing to worry about. Erica is softhearted. I will beg her and ask her to give the child back to me. We can still be on good terms, like we were before. As for Matthew Huo, he has a good relationship with my sister. Phoebe always wanted to marry him. She must hate Erica's guts now, since she suddenly stepped in and married him instead. Phoebe's sure to take our side, which means so will Matthew."

This struck Tam as naive. "Oh, come on. Who do you think is more important in Matthew's heart—Erica or your sister?"

"My sister! Matthew and Erica were like strangers before they got married. Phoebe may be married to Nathan, but Matthew still cares about her. As long as we work together, we can turn this situation around quickly!" It was unfortunate, but now that things had gotten this far, Erica would have to continue to bear everything.

Tam was uneasy about this plan, but he couldn't think of a better one, so it seemed best to do as Tessie said. Still, there were more problems he could see. "Then how are you going to explain to Erica why you're not dead?" he asked.