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 disappointed eyes and said firmly, "And don't think about telling me to get rid of it!"

"Who's the father?" Wesley pulled a long face and put a friendly arm around Blair's shoulders. She had broken down, and needed the support.

Erica hesitated before replying, "I don't know."

Blair widened her eyes in disbelief and stared at her daughter for a bit. Then she suddenly broke free of Wesley and raised her hand again, intending to hit Erica in the shoulder. She couldn't help but break into tears. "What in the world? You're only twenty! What did I do to deserve a daughter like you..."

Wesley pulled her into his arms and coaxed her. "Honey, calm down."

Blair turned around and shouted, "And just how am I supposed to do that? She's pregnant! I..." She broke down and sobbed. After all, it was her fault Erica turned out like this.

Looking at her sobbing mother, Erica started to say something, but thought better of it. Finally, she simply said. "Dad, Mom, I'm sorry!"

Then she grabbed the ultrasound results from the table, and stalked off. She didn't look back.

Wesley wanted to run after her, but Blair was still in tears. He had to stay here and comfort her.

Milling about the living room, the servants of the Li family were too frightened to breathe. They kept busy, not wanting to be drawn into that kind of drama.

As the saying goes, bad news travels fast.

No one knew how the news was leaked. But nevertheless, the general population seemed to be aware of it. And people shared it on social media. The youngest daughter of the Li family was pregnant. Wesley was quite a prominent figure, so it was bound to make the news. The little firebrand herself, Erica Li, was going to have a kid! And no one knew who the father was!

It caused a huge stir in the upper class circles.

Wesley called Erica, hoping she'd come back. They could sit down and talk about this like civilized people. She nixed that idea.

The next day, she sent a message to Wesley and disappeared. No one knew where she ran off to.

Nine months later, in the Li family home

Yvette was sitting down to have breakfast. She was behind schedule. She'd gotten up late, and was about to be late for work. She shoveled mouthful after mouthful of food into her mouth, trying to eat more quickly.

Suddenly, someone rang the door bell.

Yvette stared at the door for a while and swallowed her mouthful of food. 'Who would be knocking on the door so early?'

A servant ran to open the door. When she saw the person outside, she asked doubtfully, "Excuse me, who are you looking for?"

The servant was new. She had only been working there for six months, and she was from a rural area. No wonder she didn't know the woman at the door.

The girl gave no answer and held her sleeping infant in her arms. Ignoring the maid entirely, she walked confidently into the house.

Yvette looked up at the woman who had just walked in, and almost choked on her bread. The girl, of course, was smiling. Wesley and Blair rushed downstairs when they heard who had knocked on the door.

"Rika!" All of a sudden everyone in the living room was calling her name.

Yes, the prodigal daughter, who disappeared ten months ago, was back. And she was carrying an infant scarcely a month old.

When she gazed upon the family members she had not seen for a long time, Erica forced back her tears, smiled brightly as before, and greeted them all. "Hi guys, I'm back!" Erica had called Gifford ahead of time. He might be on his way home, too.

Seeing her daughter standing in front of her safe and sound, Blair quietly wiped her tears.

While Erica was gone, Blair had some time to think and clear her head. She regretted slapping Erica. She was family, and Blair treated her no better than a stranger. It was just one more child. Erica hadn't committed murder or arson, after all. She should not have treated her own child like that.

Setting down her chopsticks, Yvette rushed out of the dining room to embrace Erica. She was so excited that her voice trembled. "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.