Chapter 1260 Which Side


    Erica was ready for her brother''s ire. "Don''t be so petty. Where are you now?" she asked.


    "I''m in A Country!" Gifford replied impatiently. In fact, he had just brought Chantel back and watched


    her go into the school.


    Erica''s guarded tone melted into excitement. "Where is Chantel? Is she with you? Have you two


    talked? Are you two going to get married or—"


    "Shut up!" Gifford wanted to strangle his sister. She had no idea how serious the matter was to him,


    and it wasn''t her business in any case. Her enthusiasm was grating.


    "Oh,e on, just tell me. Is Chantel going to be my sister-inw?" Erica persisted. Idly, she thought of


    how Chantel was younger than herself. Still, she was old enough to be married.


    Gifford suppressed the urge to hang up the phone—or to throw it as far from himself as he could. "I


    haven''t decided yet. Let''s talk about it when I have!" he scolded.


    Eating a strawberry, Erica pouted and said, "Then think about it carefully. Don''t let her down. After all,


    you brought her to our home."


    "You—" With a harsh exhtion, Gifford cut himself off. Seeing no point in talking any further, he ended


    the call without another word.


    He just couldn''t understand his sister''s side of things. Yes, it was he who brought Chantel back. But did


    he have to marry her because of that?


    This time, though, he''d made up his mind to be a scumbag and to be irresponsible. He would wait and


    see what the two girls could do about it.


    That evening, while Erica was busy with her camera upstairs, her phone beeped. It turned out to be


    Chantel, who had approved her WeChat friend request.


    She also sent Erica a message. "Rika?"


    "Yes, it''s me," she sent back. "How are things between you and my brother?" She was very anxious to


    know, but Gifford wouldn''t tell her anything.


    After a few minutes of silence, she received a reply: "Your brother bought me Yu Ting. But I didn''t take


    it. I spat them out secretly."


    A bit confused, Erica thought, ''Yu Ting? What''s that? I wonder if it''s any good.''


    "What''s Yu Ting?" she asked.


    Chantel was somewhat taken aback by the question. Erica turned out to be even more naive than


    herself. She felt a little embarrassed to answer directly, so she found the answer on Baidu, took a


    screenshot, and sent it to her.


    Erica finally realized that she was talking about birth control pills. How could her brother be such an


    asshole? "Of course, you can''t take those," she responded. "Otherwise, all our efforts will be in vain!"


    "I know that."


    However, at that moment, the two women both thought of another important problem. They both were


    doing their best—by their own means—to arrange things so that Chantel could have a child from


    Gifford. But what if sleeping with him once wasn''t enough to get her pregnant? It was a hairy situation.


    What should they do?


    Erica tried to beforting and sent a message that said, "You focus on your studies. I''ll think of a


    way." She would figure everything out. After all, she had an omnipotent husband.This belongs to N?velDrama.Org: ?.


    "Okay, thank you, Rika!"


    "You''re wee. We''re family!" As far as Erica was concerned, Chantel was like an adopted daughter


    of the Li family. If she managed to get pregnant with Gifford''s child one day, she would be her


    sister-inw. Erica was sure they would be real family sooner orter.


    Looking at Erica''s message, Chantel was so touched her eyes watered.


    The day gave way to evening. Erica stayed busy, but kept an ear out for any sign of movement outside.


    At the sound of a car pulling in, she rushed downstairs. A momentter she stood in front of Matthew,


    slightly panting.


    He looked her up and down and thought, ''She''s not doing so bad! She''s regained her energy quickly


    enough.''


    Not saying a word at first, Erica turned around and went to the dining room, where she retrieved a te


    of fruits. In a dramatic matter, as that of one presenting a treasure to a king, she put it in front of her


    husband. "Matthew, this is the fruit I picked myself. Have a taste."


    Her unusual sweetness put Matthew on his guard at once. ''There must be something wrong. What''s


    she up to?'' Having none of it, he spoke tly. "What do you want? Just get straight to the point."


    Erica giggled and exined awkwardly, "Nothing much. I just want to apologize to you..."


    "Well, I won''t ept your apology!" he told her. His wife had put him through a lot: climbing over the


    wall and running away, giving him a bloody nose, punching, kicking... As he saw it, it was clear he''d


    been too humble and easygoing with Erica.


    If he didn''t teach her a hard lesson, she would think he was easy to bully.


    She shamelessly approached him, still acting sweet and innocent. "Oh, don''t be like that. I really picked


    these fruits myself. Try this chocte strawberry. It''s good! Come on, just open your mouth!"


    "You know, Phoebe is still in the hospital," remarked Matthew, ncing at the tray. "Why don''t you take


    the fruit and go pay her a visit?"


    "Pay her a visit?" Erica echoed. A surge of fury rose up within her, and she started toward the trash


    can. "I''d rather throw the fruit out. Forget about it! I''m done apologizing to you. Forgive me or don''t—I


    don''t care!"


    She was on the verge of dumping the fruit into the trash can, when Matthew spoke again, less harsh


    than before. "You know, Dad doesn''t like wasting food. He''ll be mad if he hears about this."


    With a deep breath Erica stopped, turned around, and sneered, "Then I''ll give it to the dog. If Phoebe


    wants to eat it, she can find it in the dog bowl!"


    Matthew didn''t know what to say. Silently he asked himself, ''Why is she so hostile when ites to


    Phoebe?'' Not to mention, there was no dog in the vi.


    Undeterred, Erica found a stic bag and poured the fruit into it. Emerging from the kitchen, she told


    Matthew, "You can''t have any of this either. I won''t ever pick fruits for you again. I''ll feed them to the


    dog!"


    Weary of her ridiculous provocations, Matthew''s face darkened. "Is this your idea of an apology?"


    "Yes!" she dered, trying to stare him down. "Matthew Huo, perhaps I haven''t made myself clear.


    Phoebe and I are as ipatible as fire and water now. She is my worst enemy! Make sure you tell


    me when she gets out of the hospital, and I''ll throw her a party that she''ll never forget!" After all, the


    woman was her husband''s crush. How could she not give her "special" treatment?


    "So, your next n is to deal with Phoebe?" Matthew asked.


    "You bet it is! I don''t know why you feel so sorry for her. But I''d also warn you to choose your side


    wisely. Whether it''s with me or her, that''s up to you to decide, not me. I can''t force you into anything.


    But I''ll have you know that she isn''t going to win. I have the Li family and the Huo family to back me up.


    I don''t want you to get kicked out of the house just because of Phoebe."


    With her ultimatum delivered, Erica crossed her arms over her chest and held her head high. It was a


    rare look for her: supremely confident.


    Expressionless, Matthew settled himself into a chair at the dining table. He tapped an index finger


    against the table slowly, thoughtfully. "What makes you so sure that my father will kick me out of the


    house for you?" he asked finally.


    Erica didn''t blink. "Because since the day I married into the Huo family, I''ve had the same status as


    Evelyn and Terilynn in the family; I''m his daughter. He told me that himself. And you are Wesley and


    ir''s son. No matter what happens, your parents will always be on my side!"


    Indeed, Carlos had told Erica this several times. Up to this point she had never mentioned it to


    Matthew, for fear that it would upset him and lead to trouble. Now that he''d decided to believe Phoebe


    over her, however, she thought she had no choice.


    Now Matthew truly was speechless. Much as he hated to admit it, it did sound like something his father


    would say.


    His family had been hard on him for his whole life, never truly approving of him for a single day since


    his birth. He''d grown used to it—perhaps too much so.