Chapter 1194 Taking me


    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. Nheless, he kept his calm. "I have only two


    choices now," he exined. "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


    N?velDrama.Org holds ? this.


    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 apanied him for more


    than twenty years.


    Tessie shed 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 as he''d


    heard of Erica taking the child out of the Li family house, he had contacted her and gotten the chance


    to meet Ethan.


    Tessie''s eyes turned red. She looked at Erica, who was rather obviously watching them from the


    distance. She said, "I''m afraid... it''ll be very hard to get Erica''s forgiveness." Tessie was sorry for what


    she had done to Erica, but the way she saw it, she''d had no choice. The pregnancy had been an


    ident, but she hadn''t wanted to abort the baby. She could only use Erica''s kindness to rearrange her


    life.


    Tam knew that it was indeed hard to get Erica''s forgiveness for anything. It was clearly the biggest


    problem for Tessie at the moment. Erica had essentially been her scapegoat. Neither the Li nor the Huo


    families would go easy on them if they learned the truth.


    "You should have thought of it back then," Tam pointed out. Truth be told, he was a little disappointed in


    Tessie. After all, she had gotten a good deal out of all that had happened; she''d been able to transfer to


    a new school and begin a new life. But her good friend had been left behind to deal with this whole


    mess despite being totally innocent.


    Because of the baby, Erica''s life had been totally changed. She had been forced to marry a man she


    didn''t love. Fortunately, Matthew loved Erica so much that he didn''t seem to care whether she had a


    child or not.


    However, it was exactly Matthew''s love for Erica that made Tam worried. From what he knew of the


    man, there was no chance he would let Tessie—or Tam himself—off the hook for anything...


    Tears streamed down Tessie''s face, and she repeatedly wiped them off with the heel of her hand. "I


    should''ve thought of it?" she repeated. "Don''t you remember how you treated me back then? You


    asked me to have an abortion. Have you ever thought of what''s good for me?"


    This was an ordeal for Tessie. In spite of everything, she really did love this man, who was much older


    than her. After all, she''d been willing to have a child with him.


    "I don''t want to talk about this," Tam said carefully. "If we really can get married in the end, I''ll make it


    up to you. The problem now is patching things up with Erica. Avoiding her is not an option. If you don''t


    give her an exnation today, she''s sure to be back tomorrow." He knew Erica wouldn''t give up until


    she found out the truth!


    Likewise, Tessie was Erica''s old friend; she and Rhea knew her the best. They were well aware of how


    stubborn she could be.


    Tessie took a deep breath. "Erica is from a rich family. She''s kind and simple, and her parents have


    always doted on her. If she had a child out of wedlock, or if anything else happened to her, her father


    could always just solve the problem for her. But what about me? If my parents found the truth, they


    might kill me! I''d at least be driven out of the Su family. I thought I could rely on you. After all, you have


    more power and status in Y City than the Su family does... But of course, I couldn''t get in touch with


    you after I was pregnant. You should take some responsibility for all that''s happened. I''m not at fault for


    everything, and I do feel bad for Erica. But so should you, Tam Wu!"


    She had taken advantage of Erica''s kindness and sessfully tricked her into believing that she had


    died of difficultbor.


    However, she had never expected that Erica would end up marrying Matthew. After all, Erica and


    Matthew only knew each other because of their parents, and prior to their marriage, they had barely


    spoken or spent any time together.


    Tam was willing to agree with Tessie, but only to a point. He knew that she hadn''t seen Ethan since


    giving birth to him. "You''re right. I do feel sorry. I''m sorry for letting the Li family raise our son. But


    Tessie, you let that happen too—and you''re his mother! How could you be so cruel as to just give him


    away to someone else? If the Su family had disowned you, do you really think I would just sit by and do


    nothing?"


    "It''s useless to talk about it now," Tessie retorted. "I have no choice but to move on. I''ll apologize to


    Erica, but you have to y along with me now!" If she didn''t continue the deception, she would be


    doomed.


    She wasn''t ready to die.


    Tam frowned. "What do you mean? Erica is right over there, seeing that you''re alive and well. How can


    you still want to keep lying to her?"


    Tessie crossed her arms and 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 coulde 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 nce 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


    rtionship 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,e 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 n, 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 exin to Erica


    why you''re not dead?" he asked.