"Yes, there was a report from the hospital. Both your mother-in-law and I saw it ourselves. What's going on, Matthew?
Why are you asking about all this stuff right now?" Wesley asked.
Matthew thought it unnecessary to hide anything from him. "Dad, can you do me a favor?"
"Go ahead."
"Can you call Rika now and ask her if she had a Caesarean section or a natural labor when she gave birth to Ethan?" Matthew asked cautiously.
Even for his age, Wesley was sharp as a tack and he understood what was going on at once. "Are you suspecting that Ethan isn't Erica's son?"
"Yes."
Matthew's intuitive hunches had rarely failed him before. Wesley took a moment to regain his breath as he started to feel dizzy. "Hold on a minute!"
"Okay!"
Meanwhile, when Erica was waiting for Matthew to come out of the bathroom, she suddenly received a call from Blair. "Hey, Mom!"
"Rika, were you sleeping?"
"No, I'm still watching a movie."
"You're watching a horror movie again!" Blair knew what she was watching without even having to ask.
"Yes. I'm waiting for Matthew to join me in the home theater room. How's Ethan doing?"
"He is playing with his toys. I have something to ask you."
"Go ahead!" Erica said curiously.
The unsuspecting girl had no idea that her mother was actually acting on behalf of her father. Blair portrayed a casual demeanor to Erica and said, "Honey, when you gave birth to Ethan, was it a C-section or a natural labor? I heard that there's a new vaccine on the market. Apparently, you can get two shots."
"What? Vaccine? For a C-section or a natural labor?" Erica panicked.
"Um, for… natural labor."
"Then I can't have it. I had a C-section," Erica said feigning a remorseful tone as she breathed a sigh of relief.
"Well, that's all right. That's all I wanted to know. Don't stay up late, sweetie."
"Okay. I'll talk to you later." After hanging up the phone, Erica patted her chest. Fortunately, she was quick enough to avert her mom's questions.
A few minutes later, Matthew finally returned to the home theater room.
Erica sat up and waved at him. "Come on. The movie is just about to start!"
When he walked in, Erica noticed Matthew holding a plate of peeled apple slices and a can of coke.
Erica was touched to see the peeled apple slices. "No wonder it took you so long. You were peeling apples for me downstairs!"
Erica took a bite when Matthew picked up a slice and brought it to her mouth.
The man snorted with laughter. "I didn't expect you to take it!"
Erica blinked her eyes in confusion. "Why wouldn't I?"
Matthew was rendered speechless, his face resembling a blank canvas.
The two sat together and continued to watch the movie. After Erica ate the last slice of apple, she rubbed her stomach and groaned, "I'm so full!"
Matthew's eyes glistened as soon as the idea popped into his mind. "Let me see how full your stomach is!" As soon as he finished his words, his palms were under her clothes, ready to feel her stomach.
Erica felt shy and she immediately shied away. "Don't! I'm really full…"
To her surprise, however, Matthew softly pressed his fingers on her stomach and gave it a rub, as he said, "Your stomach is quite round. Yeah, I guess you must be really full."
Erica didn't even have the time to react or say anything.
She tried to stop him, but the man was too strong to out-power as he pressed her down with one arm and leaned in close to kiss her red lips, leaving her no chance to resist.
Three minutes later, Matthew slowly let go of the woman under him, with a smug smile on his face. 'Erica, you naughty girl, how dare you lie to me?' he thought.
Erica's shame turned into anger. She raised her voice and complained, "I thought you said you would treat me with respect? Why are you still doing this to me?"
Matthew calmly held her in his arms again and sat down. "But I never said I wouldn't make out with you."
Erica's mouth was agape in shock. The man was blatantly being arrogant.
In the dead of night, Erica fell asleep in the home theater room just as she did the last time, and again Matthew gently carried her back to the bedroom on the third floor.
After he was certain that she had fallen asleep, Matthew came to the study and dialed Wesley's number. "Dad, did Erica just say whether she had a natural labor or a Caesarean section?"
"Yes, she said she had a C-section," Wesley replied.
All the lights in the study were switched off, but the moonlight outside escaped through the curtains and illuminated the smile on Matthew's face. "But I couldn't find a scar on her stomach. I've just checked!"
As Erica had said that it was a C-section, even with all the surgeries, it would be impossible to make a 100% recovery.
Matthew felt Erica's belly with his own hands to make sure that he didn't leave any room for doubts.
Wesley was utterly dumbfounded.
So, Erica had them all fooled? Especially regarding such an important matter! "What caused your suspicion in the first place? Did you two…"
Matthew replied calmly, "No, Rika accidentally blurted out that the kiss on our wedding day was her first kiss."
"So?"
"Dad, you and my mother-in-law have been married for a very long time. You know some things better than I do. Do you really think it's possible for a woman to have a child and not give her first kiss to the father of her child? Also, when Rika was explaining herself to me, her eyes flickered constantly. It is obvious that she was hiding something. I had to be suspicious of her words."
Wesley said decisively, "I'll have someone look into it tomorrow!" At the very least, if Ethan really wasn't Erica's biological son, Wesley wouldn't feel guilty when he'd face Matthew in the future.
"No need for that, Dad. Let me do it! How did Rika prove her pregnancy?"
"She showed us a colored ultrasound report." Wesley immediately realized that there must have been something wrong with the colored ultrasound report!
"Dad, take the colored ultrasound report to the hospital and ask them about her pregnancy. I'll take care of the rest!" Matthew suggested. Matthew mused, thinking that Erica turned out to be far more interesting than he had thought.
"Okay! Go to bed early," Wesley said.
"Okay!"
Erica, who was still asleep, had no clue that her father and husband had started a joint investigation on her.
The next morning, Erica got up early and rushed to school, while Hyatt waited for her at the school gate as usual.
Seeing her struggling to carry the camera around her back, Hyatt immediately grabbed the camera and said, "Let me carry it for you!"
"No, no. I'm fine…" The lens she was using for today was extremely heavy, but she still managed nonetheless.
Hyatt, however, disregarded her completely and took the camera away from her to hang it around his neck.
Erica was deeply moved by his gesture of kindness. She patted him on the shoulder and said, "Thanks, buddy. I owe you a treat for this!"
Hyatt smiled shyly and said with his head lowered, "Thank you, Erica."
The classes that morning went smoothly. At noon, when Erica was resting in the dormitory, she realized that the cleanser and toothpaste she kept in the bathroom had been used by someone else.
Erica could tell the difference at once because she had bought them just before she started school and she never stayed over at her dormitory long enough to use them.
When her roomie Kaitlyn Dong, who slept in the bunk below hers, passed by the bathroom door, she found that Erica was staring at the cleanser in a daze. With a hint of guilt in her eyes, the girl came over to her and said, "Oh, Erica, I'm so sorry. I forgot to tell you. I bought a new cleanser two days ago, and it took me two uses to realize that we had bought the same brand. But I haven't used yours again after that. I hope you don't mind?"
The mystery of the missing cleanser had been solved! Since Erica's doubts were solved, she didn't care too much about it really. She just wanted to maintain a good relationship with her roommates, so she smiled back and said, "It doesn't matter. I was just a little confused. That's all."
"Thank you, Erica. You are so generous!"
