Erica felt a bit guilty upon hearing what Chantel had said. "To be honest, if I had known that I had four babies in my belly when I was still in Y City, I wouldn't have run away from home no matter what," she said. But when she had found that she was pregnant with four babies, she had already left Y City, so there was no turning back anymore. Left with no choice, she had to bite the bullet and move on.
Since the other two babies, who were Colman and Damian now, were too small to be seen in the ultrasound, she was already six months pregnant when they were detected.
No wonder her belly at that time was unusually big. She even wondered if her babies were giant. It turned out there were four of them inside her belly.
When Colman and Damian were born, the doctors needed to incubate them for half a month. Colman's health then relatively improved, but Damian took a longer time. Among the four of them, he had the weakest physical health.
"Fortunately, it's all over now. Erica, don't ever run away from home again," Tessie said with a sigh.
She couldn't help wondering, if all of Erica's sufferings were rewarded, how about her? The whole Su family had left Y City for good. If she returned, where would she go? She knew that Erica wouldn't need her to take care of the four children anymore because they were all doing well with Matthew's parents.
"No, I won't ever run away from home again. I don't want to live in an old-fashioned village that has no Internet access. I even have to fight with other people here most of the time. Life in this village sucks. I want to have my life back in Y City. I will find a stable job, be a good wife to my husband, and a kind mother to my children." She giggled in excitement as she imagined the kind of new life she would have with her family. It was such a beautiful life that everyone was yearning.
Looking at her daydreaming, Chantel chuckled and shook her head helplessly.
Two days later, what Erica had been afraid to happen came.
Since Erica was afraid that she would never have the chance to come back to Tow Village again, she ran around to take photos of the whole place.
On the second day, she came home to have dinner with Tessie. She excitedly put a mouthful of noodles into her mouth, and chewed them leisurely. But before she could even swallow them, she heard a loud noise outside. Bang! Someone kicked their wooden gate from the outside.
The force was strong enough to leave the gate lying on the ground.
'Oh, my God! The police have already arrested Pike and Kirk. Who else would dare to do this in my house?' she thought to herself.
Without leaving her seat, she sucked the noodles into her mouth, chewed them casually, and shouted at the gate, "Who dares to kick my gate? You must be tired of living! Come in and die in my hands!" But when the person who kicked the gate appeared in front of her, Erica's eyes widened in shock.
"D-dad?" A crisp sound of the bowl hitting the floor followed. The noodles scattered all over the floor.
A stray cat sneaked in and ate up all the noodles.
Wesley was wearing a black Chinese tunic suit and a pair of gray casual shoes. He was staring at Erica with inflamed eyes.
Erica had run away from home for more than three years, and Wesley had been looking for her all these years. Clenching his fists, he stepped into the house angrily. With his every step, Erica's heart skipped a beat.
His imposing manner reminded her of the famous martial arts actors, Bruce Lee and Jackie Chan.
'Oh, my God! He is surely mad this time. I'm in big trouble, ' she cried inwardly.
Tessie stood up and greeted him respectfully, "Uncle Wesley."
Erica, who had been in a daze for a long time, came back to her senses upon hearing Tessie's voice. When she saw that Wesley was walking up to her, she turned and ran to the other side of the table reflexively. "Dad, let's talk. I will explain everything to you," she shouted.
But Wesley just ignored her. The next moment, he was already gripping her shoulder very hard. The pain was too much for her to bear that she automatically hit back.
Wesley defended himself. After not seeing each other for more than three years, the father and daughter ended in a fight.
Wesley attacked her twice, but Erica just blocked them effortlessly. With that, an amused smile appeared on his face. She didn't know why, but his smile made her shiver. "How did you become this strong, Erica?" He was surprised that she was able to withstand the two blows from him. It made him wonder how much hardship she had suffered in the past three years that she became more skilled in fighting than before.
Seeing the wonderment on Wesley's face, Erica took the opportunity. She smiled happily and said, "Are you proud of me now, Dad? I am no longer… Ouch, be gentle! I am no longer the same girl who could only run away when you beat me, right?"
Wesley cast her a meaningful glance
upon hearing what she said.
Three minutes later, Erica was already lying awkwardly in the yard. Her hands and feet were tied up by a thick rope. Fortunately, Wesley didn't cover her mouth, so she was able to plead, "Dad, let's talk. Don't tie me here like this. It's so embarrassing."
All of a sudden, she missed Matthew. After he had come here twice, the villagers admired her more.
But Wesley came unannounced and tied her up on the ground. The villagers now witnessed how an old man had defeated their heroine.
He didn't mind her. With hands behind his back, he just silently watched the people he brought moving in and out of the house, taking all her stuff.
After twenty minutes, only the dirty pots and pans were left in the kitchen since no one had the time to clean them up. Erica, who was still tied up, was thrown into the back seat. Wesley then sat in the passenger seat.
Tessie carried her luggage and sat in a car behind Wesley's car.
The two cars drove out of Tow Village immediately. Erica was still reluctant to leave, but she couldn't do anything. She helplessly stared at the blue sky outside the window.
On their way from Tow Village to A Country, she had always kept her head down. She had never been humiliated like this before. Wesley only untied her when they ate, and when she needed to go to the bathroom. Other than those, her hands were tied all the time. If she hadn't begged, her feet would have remained tied too.
After spending more than one day in the car, Erica finally saw the gate of the Li family residence that she hadn't seen for a long time.
The door of the villa was open, so she saw a handsome little boy in a grey shirt, watering the plants in the garden with his water gun.
When the boy heard the sound of the car, he looked over and put away his water gun immediately. With a smile on his face, he ran over happily and called out, "Grandpa!"
Erica knew that the boy was Hugo, Chantel's son. She had seen his pictures on her phone countless times.
Her tied hands excitedly patted Wesley's shoulder as she exclaimed, "Dad, that's my nephew, Hugo!"
Wesley didn't even bother to look at her when he replied, "I'm not blind." Of course, he knew that it was his grandson, Hugo, who grew up with them.
'I'm not blind, either. It's my first time to see my nephew in person. Can't I be excited?' she complained inwardly.
The car stopped just right in time that Blair, who fetched a glass of water for Hugo inside the villa, walked out. When she saw the car, her eyes filled with joy.
She knew that Wesley would bring Erica back.
That was the reason why she kept the door of the villa open, and she stayed outside with Hugo. She had been eagerly waiting for her daughter to come back.
"Grandma, is Aunt Rika back?" Hugo asked. Although he hadn't seen Erica personally, he had heard about her many times.
"Yes," Blair answered. Her face showed complicated emotions. She was angry that Erica had run away for too long, but she couldn't also help feeling happy now that she finally came back.
Even if Blair was angry, Erica was still her daughter. Besides, Erica was now a mother to four kids.
Wesley got out of the car first and opened the back door for Erica.
Without minding her tied hands, Erica immediately ran out of the car and threw herself into Blair's arms. "Mom, I'm back."
