"Thanks for the gesture tonight. Appreciate it a lot. I hope you will be able to bless us during our engagement dinner next and also this little one's impending birth." Francesca said sarcastically.
It was enough to make Xue Ting stop enduring her nonsense sarcasm as she retaliated.
"Francesca, you can have him for all you want! I don't care! Frankly, you should stop wasting your time salivating over someone who wouldn't even care a pinch about you…" Xue Ting snarled but noticed Alfred was listening from a distance.
"Instead, cherish someone in front of you who loves you for who you are! Oh, congrats on the pregnancy! His or her father should know this at least right?" Xue Ting turned around to leave and to her surprise, Francesca did not retaliate further.
Though Xue Ting knew Francesca's pregnancy was fake cause she was the one who rescued Qiu Wen that night and she trusted Qiu Wen to not act indecently, she knew Alfred's feelings for Francesca were genuine from the looks of his eyes. Stirring these emotions up between them was Xue Ting's strategy to make Francesca wake up from her delusions.
Little did Xue Ting knew, Francesca had already found herself dwelling in a dilemma and emotional rollercoaster as her head went spinning. It reminded Francesca of her daily fatigue and she decided to have a proper medical check-up soon when all the act was all over.
Alfred heard everything and confronted Francesca about it. They both knew clearly whose child it was if she was really pregnant except she insisted that it was a fake pregnancy result. He decided to not pursue further and escorted her home instead. That night, something changed for Francesca as she felt it defeated the purpose of her challenging Xue Ting who all along was not affected by it. Instead, Xue Ting had opened her mind to Alfred whom she had realised her own feelings and she knew he felt the same.
If a baby were to come up anytime soon, judging from Alfred's reaction earlier, she was solemnly considering pursuing Qiu Wen all over again though she was one step closer to becoming Mrs. Tang whom she had dreamt of since young but was it really her desire anymore?
Xue Ting got into the truck where Keith was waiting. She hoped to take a glance at Qiu Wen when they passed by his parked car. Keith purposely slowed down the speed as she watched Qiu Wen pinching the temple of his head. She was half worried and wanted to attend to him instantly only to have Keith speed off leaving her disappointed knowing that it might be the last time she could see him before she flew off for a month.
Qiu Wen noticed the truck had left as he tailgated them. He was not decisive on where he wanted to go. All he wanted was a place he could hide for a little while. He knew he would bump into Xue Ting tonight but little did he know, that just a glimpse of her could make him burn inside with the desire to hold her again. It was too hard to resist that he could only blame himself for having such responsibility in his family.
He noticed the junction in front of the traffic light on the left was to their new house and he had the key with him always. He decided to swerve over for a night perhaps as he was not feeling very well either.
Xue Ting's excitement came back when she noticed Qiu Wen's car was tailgating them for a while and so did Keith but when he swerved over to the other lane, she was sad again. Keith patted her shoulder to comfort her as he quietly drove her home thereafter.
When she got home, the twins were waiting for her since it was their last night before she flew off with Keith the next day. Though Joy had been spending most of her time hanging out with Keith over the past few days, she specifically dedicated tonight to accompany Xue Ting knowing she would not see her mother for over a month.
Before the twins could help her to the washroom to pamper her to a ready bathtub to soak in, Xue Ting received a call from Jia Yi.
"Hello, Jia Yi?" Xue Ting asked skeptically hoping it was Qiu Wen.
"Ms. Liew, do you know where Mr. Tang is?" Jia Yi was forced to speak formally as he was surrounded by the Tang and Wei family.
"No, I don't. I'm no longer a Tang. Don't call me to ask for anyone by that surname." Xue Ting knew Jia Yi was in a tough position. Hence, she helped out and hung up before texting him in return to ask what was going on only to find out Qiu Wen had left without anyone knowing where he was and now everyone was furious at the party as the main couple for the night were both missing. Jia Yi told her to inform him if she received any news about Qiu Wen.
She recalled the road he was swerving in earlier while Qiu Qiu asked about the situation as Matthew listened in. " They said daddy is missing… I think I know where he is… Both of you head to sleep first. Don't wait for me." She instructed.
"Let us come with you…" Matthew suggested as she shook her head.
"It's not ideal and dangerous for you two to show face in case anything happens. I will keep you both updated. Stay home alright…" She stole kisses from the twins before driving off to their new home.
Sure enough, she sighed in relief at the sight of his car parked at their new home. She quickly parked and ran under the drizzles into the house looking for him.
The entire house was pitch dark and she went into their room but he was not there. She went to check Matthew's room but he was not there too. She finally saw him resting on Joy's bed.
He was sweating a lot as she checked on him and found he had a fever. She quickly took a basin of water and a towel to place on his forehead as she went to look for medicine in her emergency stash in the first aid kit.
She was very worried and was hoping for him to get well else she might need to send him to the hospital or call Jia Yi for help. However, her tired self gave way as she fell asleep while looking after him. He finally woke in the middle of the night and it was two in the morning to find himself with Xue Ting who was sleeping by the bedside. He quickly carried her up into bed when she awoke.
"You're alright?" She gently cupped his face into her right palm sending him nostalgia feelings just the same as old time. She checked the temperature on his forehead while still in his embrace and was relieved his fever had subsided.
"Why didn't you let Jia Yi take care of you? You should have at least told him where you have been. Come, let me take a glass of water for you. You need to stay hydrated… " He was mesmerised by her brazen self. Given their situation, she was still caring for him as though nothing had happened.
He held her tighter as though he did not want the moment to end as he sobbed. "I'm sorry Ting Ting… I'm so…" He let his entire emotional roller coaster off on her. She was one of them whom he could let his guard off easily other than James and Dan.
"It's alright… it's alright… Everything will be fine alright Wen Wen."
She called out as she too was tearing up when he finally calmed down a little. "Could you tell me what is going on? What did you mean by not believing a word or action you were doing? Was it all an act? How bad is the situation? Her pregnancy?"
"Ting Ting… promise me... " He held her hand in his.
"Don't ever leave me despite the circumstances. Even if I cannot be by your side." He wiped away her tears as they kept flowing.
"I cannot explain to you now but I promise I will… I will soon… I had never slept with her!" Xue Ting hugged him as she nodded confirming her guts were right.
"I love you, Wen Wen…" Xue Ting said as he inched closer to kiss her.
"I have something to tell you about the twins…" Their gaze met together as Qiu Wen patiently waited.
"You're their father…" Qiu Wen's eyes reddened at her confirming his doubts were right all along while recalling the paternity test they did recently. The results should have been out within these few days but Xue Ting's confirmation was all he needed.
"The twins?" He clarified while keeping his gaze on hers as she nodded.
"I had always wanted to tell you but I didn't have the courage to fear what your mother would do to them or you… That night… sixteen years ago… My first time… I'm sorry…" Xue Ting apologised as she broke down with him.
"But now… I… I realised I'm afraid of losing you again and again. I thought you should know this truth one bit. I didn't sign the papers and I don't know how she got me to sign... Probably it was the day Qiu Qiu had a bad period of pain. I couldn't sign at all after multiple times she tried…" Qiu Wen kissed her to comfort her as he knew the rest of the story she was trying to explain.
"Brisbane told me… I know…" He continued to steal more kisses from her.
"Could we forget for a moment what we are on and be honest with our feelings just for tonight?" He pleaded as Xue Ting's eyes grew tender and he moved in on top of her as they entangled with each other passionately.