Sheffield shook his head helplessly. It was not easy being the ladies' man. Whenever Matthew and Gifford were having marital problems, they would ask for his help.
He sighed inwardly and thought to himself, 'If anyone asks me for advice next time, I should charge them for my time. Maybe ten thousand a minute? Especially Matthew. Maybe a hundred thousand a minute. He'd think twice before—well, maybe not. He's rich beyond his wildest dreams. He might just pay it. Well, that's it, then.'
Chantel was pregnant now, and had to think of her child, so she asked her agent to scale back work.
She even moved out of the Li family's house to live on her own.
And it was Blair's idea.
Blair had made a deal with Chantel. She'd often take Hugo to Chantel's house. She'd also take care of her and help cook, clean, and so forth. A stress-free pregnancy was the best kind.
It was all to galvanize Gifford into doing something.
So when Gifford walked in one day, there was no one at home.
When he went back to his room to change his clothes, he made another startling discovery: everything Chantel owned was gone.
He got flustered and decided to call Chantel. Hopefully she could fill him in on what was going on.
When Chantel's phone rang, Blair was peeling walnuts for her. Hearing it, Blair asked casually, "Is that your work again?" She felt her daughter-in-law devoted too much of her time to work. The girl was tired all the time.
"No, it's Gifford." Chantel picked up the phone and was about to answer it.
"Gifford?" Blair grabbed her phone and shook her head. "Don't answer it."
"Okay." Although Chantel didn't know why Blair made that request, she still agreed.
Blair had told her in advance that she needed to shake things up with Gifford or else their relationship would always remain the same.
Chantel ignored her phone, even though Gifford called her three times. After getting no answer, he dialed Blair's number.
Blair picked up the phone. "Hi, Gifford, you free now?" she said, in a tone that indicated nothing odd was happening.
"Yeah," he replied. He came back especially for Chantel. "Did you guys go out?"
"Yes, your father and I took Hugo out for a walk. Chantel came back home, but she took off again with a handsome young man in tow. She said it was work-related. That young man was really hot, you know that? And that shirt he wore couldn't hide those incredible abs. Ah, if only I were 18 again…"
Deep down, she knew that even if she were 18 years old, she would still be in love with Wesley. 'What? What did she say?' Gifford was confused. "Mom, are you sure she went out with some guy?"
"Yes! I'm sure."
'Something's up. My mom's acting funny. Her daughter-in-law went out on a date with another man, and all she's doing is talking about how hot he is!' "Where did they go?" he asked through gritted teeth.
"I don't know! You know what I think? Don't get involved. You're not into Chantel anyway. You can date those other girls. I don't see a problem here."
"Who told you I'm not into her? Besides, I'm not dating anyone else. Quit talking about it," Gifford retorted. If his wife knew it, he wouldn't be able to explain it clearly. After all, it was Blair who said so.
Blair exchanged a glance with the smiling Chantel and continued, "Okay. We won't be back for a while. So, just do whatever you want. Oh, by the way, they headed for the East Ring Road. Isn't there a very luxurious hotel out that way?
Think they might get a hotel room?"
Then she hung up the phone, leaving Gifford alone, fuming in the living room.
'A hot young guy, huh? Is she trying to trade me in for a younger one?
Work-related? What kind of work does she have to talk about while she's pregnant?
The hotel on the East Ring Road? They have good taste, at least.' He remembered that it was a five-star hotel, a historic landmark, actually.
Jealousy engulfed his reason, and he didn't even try to poke holes in Blair's story. Blair was his mother, right? She wouldn't lie to him, would she?
But what he didn't know was that his mother was playing a cruel game with him, trying to help Chantel win his heart.
He called Chantel again, but it kicked it straight over to voice mail. She must have turned her phone off.
Gifford couldn't sit still any longer. He rushed out of the living room and put the pedal to the metal, speeding to the hotel on the East Ring Road.
On the way, the man calmed down a little and suddenly turned into a parking lot. The parking lot belonged to the most luxurious shopping mall in the city.
Following the plan, Chantel waited near the hotel Blair mentioned. She was there more than an hour, but there was no sign of Gifford.
She called Blair. "Mom, I think I need to head home. He's not coming," she said. The hotel wasn't more than a half hour away from where he lived. He should have been there by now. It had been more than an hour. She was sure things had fallen through.
"Don't worry. Give it another half hour. It should work. But if he's still not there, then you can come back home." If Gifford didn't show up, it meant he really didn't love her. But Blair was sure he did. She knew she was right. Gifford loved Chantel. The way he acted toward her told her everything she needed to know.
"Okay!" After hanging up the phone, Chantel pushed the sunglasses up on the bridge of her nose. She started to get a little hungry, so she thought about finding a cafe.
She looked around, but didn't see a cafe. She did see a green Humvee with military markings, though.
Her heart raced and she started tearing up. Chantel quickly looked away, turned her back to the off-road vehicle, and gasped with her hands on her chest.
'He's here. He's really here!
What should I do? What should I do? Oh, yeah, I need to pretend like I just came out of the hotel.'
"Chantel!" A familiar voice stopped her.
She recognized it, but it wasn't Gifford's.
Confused, she turned around and saw a man with sunglasses jogging towards her from the direction of the hotel.
It was an actor that she'd co-starred with in a movie she made some time ago.
The man stood in front of her, panting and gasping for air. He took off his sunglasses and said in surprise, "It's really you! I thought I was seeing things!"
Chantel was also a little surprised too. "This isn't your usual haunts. Why are you here?"
The actor smiled broadly and showed his white teeth. "I just got here. How about you? I haven't seen you for a long time. Are you really—"
"Honey!"
"Are you really pregnant?" the man wanted to ask, but was interrupted by another man's voice.
It was not until then that Chantel remembered she was supposed to meet Gifford here. She suddenly turned and was blown away by the sight that met her eyes.
The man in the military uniform walked straight up to her, a big bunch of pink roses in his arms and a smile on his face.
The actor watched her slowly take off her sunglasses and asked in a low voice, "Are you really married?"
Chantel nodded foolishly. Who else was Gifford going to give the flowers to?
"Wow! Chantel, you're awesome. Your husband is a pretty cool guy, too!" The actor didn't realize that he was the third wheel and stuck around. He was still very excited and kept on talking in her ear.
Without looking at the man beside her, Gifford gave the bouquet to Chantel and said, "Honey, I'm here!"
Chantel took the flowers, still blown away. The bouquet was so big that Chantel could barely hold it.
And they started to attract some attention. Many passers-by were envious of Chantel because of Gifford's uniform, and the bouquet of striking roses.
The actor exclaimed, "Wow, that's a lot of pink roses. You know what that means, right? It means 'you are my one and only.' You must be so happy!" He truly felt happy for Chantel.
Gifford cast a cold glance at the man who snatched his lines. "Excuse me, please!" 'This guy's a real dick. He took a pregnant woman to a hotel to talk about work. I'll deal with him later, ' Gifford thought to himself.
"What?" At that point, the actor realized how embarrassing it was for two men and a woman to stand together. He quickly stepped back and removed himself from the equation. It was their time to shine.
Gifford took out a brocade box from his pocket. While Chantel's gaze was still locked on the pink roses, the man took two steps back and suddenly knelt on one knee. A crowd had gathered, and someone squealed in delight.
