Erica was crestfallen when she saw how her mother behaved around Chantel. Whenever her parents saw Chantel or even Yvette, they seemed like they were very glad to see them. Enthusiasm, hugs, and cries of joy. But this wasn't the case with poor Erica.
Chantel picked up the three-year-old boy with difficulty. "Hugo! Mommy's back!" she said happily. Then she greeted the people in the living room, one by one. Wesley, Blair, Yvette, Remus and Erica all got smiles, greetings, and acknowledgements.
Wesley nodded at her. "Hugo's heavier than ever. Don't hold him too long."
Yvette didn't see Chantel in person often. More often than not, she had to content herself with seeing Chantel on TV. As did everyone else. She came over and took Chantel to the living room. "How long have you been back? Did you just get back from the airport? Sit down and relax!"
"Yeah. Glad to be back home again." Chantel didn't refuse and sat next to Erica with a smile.
Erica immediately leaned over and whispered in her ear, "Why are you back so soon? Was it because of me?"
Chantel nodded, but it was not convenient to say something with the others around. It was impolite to whisper around the elders, so she just gave her a smile.
Gifford was home early, too. He wasn't due in till tomorrow.
Chantel and Gifford eventually retired to their room.
After Hugo was born, Blair asked the maids to move Chantel's stuff into Gifford's room. Sharing a room just made sense, with the baby and all.
The two hadn't seen each other for several years. But they weren't sure how to be themselves around each other. Things had changed, and were a little awkward.
Chantel had just donned her pajamas and was about to take a shower. When she saw Gifford walk in the room, she was taken aback.
Caught off guard, she was not mentally prepared to meet him like this.
As soon as Chantel came to her senses, she remembered something. Before Gifford could say a word, she ran to the table, took something from her bag and handed it to him.
"I didn't expect to see you. I was just going to leave this here, but you're here now. I can't stay long, but could you sign this?" she said. When she saw his confused look, she clarified, "It's a divorce agreement."
'She wants a divorce?' Gifford took the document and had a look. It was really a divorce agreement. He frowned and asked, "You want a divorce?"
"Yes." She'd done what she'd set out to do. She gave Wesley and Blair a grandkid. They seemed pretty happy. So now, she could set Gifford free, too. He could find a wife that he was happy with.
Gifford flipped through the divorce agreement, and as expected, Chantel's name had been signed at the bottom right corner of the last page.
Since she had become a star now and her signature was needed on many occasions, someone had custom designed her signature. It was absolutely beautiful, and very appropriate for a star.
She also chose to give up everything he'd given her. She wanted no money, no child, and was willing to give Hugo one hundred thousand dollars per month for child support.
A hint of danger in his smile, Gifford held the document in his hand aloft and asked, "Mom and Dad know about this?"
Chantel was a little nervous. "They don't know yet. I wanted to talk to them tomorrow. I didn't expect you to come back ahead of time," she answered.
Making sure Chantel was looking straight at him, he tore the document in two.
Chantel was flabbergasted at his response. Why did he tear it up?
The man sneered and asked the woman, "What's wrong? Now that you're a famous star…" He took a step forward and continued to shred the document into tiny bits, forcing her to retreat.
"…you look down on me, don't you? What? I'm not good enough to be with you?"
'What?' Chantel was speechless. 'That's not what I meant. Not at all. It's like he's being down on himself.'
Watching him tear the divorce agreement into pieces, she shook her head and answered nervously, "No, it's not like that. I just don't want to hold you back…"
He put all the pieces of paper in his pocket, pinched her chin and made her look at him. "You don't want to hold me back? When you and Erica plotted to make me sleep with you, why didn't you think about whether it would hold me back then? So, you don't want to hold me back, or you don't want to hold yourself back? I'm sure there's some younger, hotter actor who's just waiting for our divorce, right?"
Chantel shook her head and stammered, "That's not what's going on…" She was still reeling from all of this. Why was he acting that way? She was considerate of the Li family's background, so she only ever got a stunt double for kissing scenes. That way, it wouldn't really be her. Plus, she wouldn't have to turn down lucrative roles.
And she always paid attention to how she behaved. When she wasn't acting, she was in school. Or she would stay at the Li family's house with her child. She never did anything wrong, no affairs with other men. She was completely faithful.
Gifford released her chin, satisfied. "Wait for me here. I'm going to take a shower. Don't move from that spot!" he declared.
He had come back in a hurry, without a change of clothes. His clothes were still dirty and he couldn't do anything intimate with his wife like this.
Chantel was always clean and smelled nice. He didn't want to disgust her with how he looked or smelled.
Chantel nodded obediently. "Okay! I'll wait for you."
However, when Gifford walked out after his shower, he didn't see Chantel in the room. He looked around and finally found her—one of four women playing with Hugo in Erica's room.
Yvette, Erica, Tessie and Chantel were singing and laughing around Hugo. They were having a fantastic time.
He opened the door and looked at the women on the bed. He raised his chin toward Chantel and said, "Come here!"
When Hugo saw Gifford, he immediately slipped off the bed and ran over to him, holding his leg. "Daddy! Hug!"
Gifford held up his son with one hand and pinched his chubby face with the other. "Hi little guy! Your mom and I have something to talk about now. Go on and play with your aunties."
"Okay!" The little boy nodded obediently.
Chantel put on her slippers. When she was about to leave, Erica held her hand and snickered, "So when am I going to get a niece? Make my brother work for it."
Chantel blushed and looked at the man at the door subconsciously. Of course, she caught the man looking at her, which made her face even redder. She stuttered to explain to Erica, "No…we have something else to talk about…"
With an expression of understanding, Erica said, "Oh! I got it. Go ahead!"
Chantel sighed. Erica didn't understand at all. It was obvious that she was making fun of her.
Chantel shook her head helplessly and said, "I'll settle accounts with you later!"
Unexpectedly, Erica said to the man at the door, "Gifford, if Chantel has the energy to talk to me later, then you're a loser!" Every time she slept with Matthew, she had no strength to do anything else.
"We'll see whether I'm a loser or not!" Gifford said without hesitation.
Tessie and Yvette burst into laughter. Yvette pushed the blushing woman to the door and said, "Hurry up! Hugo will sleep with us tonight. He won't disturb you!"
Chantel was confused. Something was wrong, but she didn't know what it was.
