'She is going to run away from me again? No way!' Carlos let go of Evelyn and pulled Debbie into his arms. "Hey, don't ever say that again! It's not funny at all. Aren't you ashamed of saying ridiculous things like that in front of your daughter?"
"Why would I feel ashamed? Eve will not laugh at me." Debbie pushed him away, pouting her lips and acting all mad.
Evelyn covered her eyes with the palm of her hand, stifling the urge to laugh and shook her head at the older couple arguing like children.
Suddenly, a brisk voice graced them from the stairway. "Dad, Mom, please spare us from your lover's quarrel. Eve and I are still single, so please consider our feelings and stop making us feel envious, okay?"
Terilynn had just returned from outside, blasting Billie Eilish's "Bad Guy" through her headphones.
Carlos' face darkened at the sight of his younger daughter. "Why are you so late? Did you go out to dinner with Joshua again?"
Terilynn muttered incoherently, looking up at the ceiling to avert her father's eyes. "How did you know that? You are so mean to Joshua that he's afraid to come and say hello to you."
Carlos furrowed his eyebrows. After all, how could he forgive Joshua for turning down his offer to get engaged to Evelyn? "Joshua is not man enough to show his face to me again! After what he did, it would do him good to stay out of my sight!" he spat angrily.
Sighing with exasperation, Terilynn said, "My dear father, can't you just be the better man and forgive him?"
"No! I may be a reasonable person, but I am not very forgiving. If he had agreed to get engaged to Evelyn, she wouldn't have gotten engaged to Calvert. And now Gwyn wouldn't have to live a life without a father by her side."
The three women were all on the brink of a meltdown. Debbie retorted, "Have you ever thought about your own actions? If you hadn't intervened in their business and forced Evelyn to get engaged to Calvert, Gwyn's real father would have been the one to coax her to sleep now, not her grandpa."
That comment caused dead silence, because Debbie had hit the nail on the head.
Carlos' menacing face immediately softened, but he still refused to give in. "I have no regrets for what I have done. If I had done nothing, Gwyn would be living with Sheffield at the Tang family mansion and I would have no choice but to miss her every day. Besides, I don't want Gwyn to call a woman in her early thirties 'Grandma.'" Carlos would rather keep his granddaughter away from a social climber like Lea.
Debbie and her daughters were rendered speechless by his words.
At last, Terilynn burst into laughter. "Dad! Sometimes you are so nice, but sometimes you also make me so mad. It's a love-hate relationship."
"You hate me? Terilynn Huo, care to elaborate on that? Why would you hate your father?" Carlos was sensitive enough to sense the hidden meaning behind Terilynn's words, and he was asking for an explanation.
Terilynn immediately covered her mouth with both hands. "I didn't say anything! Eve, I thought I heard Gwyn. Let's go and check up on her!" Terilynn grabbed Evelyn's hand and dashed towards her bedroom.
"Hey! Where do you think you're going? How dare you leave without answering my question! Honey, don't stop me. I want an explanation!"
Bang! With a loud bang, the door to Evelyn's bedroom was slammed shut, and Carlos' face darkened.
"Who said daughters were always warm and considerate? That's not true at all. Those two girls are not as obedient as Gwyn!" Carlos was fuming.
Debbie chuckled and said, "Honey, if I remember correctly, you were the one who said that. When Evelyn and Terilynn were born, you hugged them and said that they were the loveliest girls in the whole world. What made you change your mind now?"
"Gwyn is obviously lovelier and more obedient than her mother and her aunt."
Debbie smiled, taking his hand and leading him to their bedroom. "Old man, you are a slave for Gwyn." First, he was a slave for Evelyn and Terilynn, and now, it was Gwyn. Carlos just couldn't stop his heart from loving his girls. What if Terilynn also had a daughter in the future? Carlos would spend most of his time taking care of her for sure.
Debbie felt sorry for Matthew because his father hadn't given him half as much attention as he had given his girls. Their son had to handle the company affairs from school. Moreover, Carlos never showed his appreciation for his son even after he had done so much for the family. Although Matthew had handled as much business as Evelyn had, Carlos seldom showed his son love and appreciation. On the other hand, Carlos would ask about Evelyn's health every day, just to let her know he loved her very much.
Looking back, there was hardly a time when the father and son shared a loving bond with each other.
In Evelyn's bedroom, Terilynn kissed the little girl who was sound asleep. "Gwyn looks even cuter when she's asleep."
Evelyn shook her head resignedly. "You'd better not wake her up. I haven't had a shower yet."
"Go ahead and get a shower. I'm here to keep an eye on her." Falling down prone on the bed, Terilynn softly kissed Gwyn's face a few times.
"Okay, I'll be quick!" After Gwyn was born, Evelyn only had time for quick showers. Long gone were the days when she could spend hours recouping in a warm bath.
Although there would always be people by Gwyn's side to look after her, Evelyn would always feel unsettled when it came to her daughter. Everything about her life revolved around Gwyn. She willingly sacrificed all the pleasures she used to enjoy just so she could always be there for her daughter.
"Sure! Don't worry about her!" Terilynn urged.
When Evelyn entered the bathroom, Terilynn carefully rested the baby's head on one of her arms and coddled her. She took out her phone with the other hand, took a picture of Gwyn's profile and uploaded it to WeChat Moments. "I'll be sleeping with this cutie tonight," she wrote on the post.
Not long after she had posted the photo, Joshua, who was always paying close attention to her Moments, sent her a message through WeChat. "Where did you find this cutie?"
Looking at the phone, Terilynn smiled and replied, "I picked her up from the street."
"Really? I want to be a father too. Can you find one more for me?" he replied.
Terilynn rolled her eyes at his message. "I'm sorry, but I think it was luck that brought her to me. You see, she was the only one there. I don't think I can get you one. Why don't you ask one of your girlfriends to have a baby with you?"
"My girlfriends? I don't have any, besides you, that is. Will you have a baby with me?"
Terilynn's cheeks blushed red and she sent him an angry emoji. "You wish! I'm going to sleep now. Good night!"
"Why are you in such a hurry? Let's talk a little longer, okay?"
"What do you want to talk about?" she asked.
"Ask the cutie's mommy if I can make the picture you took just now my new profile photo?" he asked. The baby girl was so adorable. Her chubby little face and her long eyelashes.
"Go ahead! I'm giving you permission on behalf of her mother." Besides, it was just Gwyn's profile. No one would know who she really was.
After Joshua had changed his profile picture to Gwyn's photo, Terilynn said, "You also think she's cute, don't you?"
She was wondering if she should take another picture of Gwyn to make it her profile picture as well.
"Yes, I think I am in love. Please bring her out with you so that we can hang out sometimes."
"I will have to discuss that with her mother first!" That would prove to be quite difficult as even if Evelyn would have no objection, Carlos would strongly oppose to that suggestion.
After all, he would never take any chances with Gwyn's safety after what had happened to her before.
When Evelyn came out of the bathroom in a bathrobe, she saw Terilynn playing with her phone on her bed. "Is there some kind of treasure inside your phone? Your face is always glued to that thing whenever I see you."
Terilynn replied, "Eve, I just posted a photo of Gwyn's sleeping face in Moments, and someone immediately made it his profile picture. What a jerk, huh?"
"Gwyn's picture?" Evelyn's eyes shot up in bewilderment.
"Yes, but don't worry, it was just her profile. Only those who are very familiar with Gwyn would be able to recognize her." The Huo family was so protective of Gwyn that even Terilynn and Evelyn couldn't compare to her when both of them were young.
