Erin ignored Chandler's mischievous message. Nevertheless, a sweet sensation and a feeling of happiness engulfed her heart completely. The man she loved deeply turned out to love her the same despite her absence of seven years. This was no doubt her biggest reward upon returning.Love wasn't something that was completely necessary in life. If there was love in one's life, it would no doubt make life better; but if love didn't come to an individual, life would still go on.Suddenly, Erin realized she shouldn't keep holding on to the past. She'd heard a lot about Chandler's misery during the past seven years from Paulo and Cherry. If she kept holding him accountable for all the misfortunes that befell her, it would only torment him on top of tormenting herself. Why should she let those scoundrels, Tessa and Jack, continue to affect her psychologically? They were both dead now. Everything they did should also be buried in the past following their deaths.Chandler had waited for her f
Alana saw Erin's message in the middle of the night. Out of habit, she would check her phone when she got up to go the bathroom. Noticing the unfamiliar phone number, she tapped on the message to open it.Five minutes later, Alana stood still right where she was, her face considerably paler. Her mind went blank after she read through the contents.Her lips parted as she muttered to herself, "How can this be? P-Pamela is … Erin? How is this possible?"Feeling weak, she plopped back onto her bed in a sitting position, unable to move for a very long time. Thinking back to how Chandler and Pamela hugged each other yesterday, Alana felt upset and panicked."Does Chandler know Pamela is Erin? Oh my God … Erin is back! She's really back!" Alana screamed inwardly.With a jolt, she reached for her phone and called her sister.The moment the call connected, Alana almost burst into tears as she said urgently, "Angela, listen to me! There's a high possibility that Pamela is Erin!"Angela sa
Erin was shocked at Asa calling her "Mommy." She asked disbelievingly, "Asa … W-What did you call me just now?"A charming smile appeared on Asa's handsome little face. He beckoned Erin forward with an index finger. Instinctively, Erin lowered her head to get close to him. She thought Asa was going to whisper something into her ear, but in the next moment, he cupped her cheeks with his little hands and kissed her.When Erin felt it on her cheek, her mind went blank instantaneously. Next, she thought she saw countless rays of light burst forth from her surroundings before her eyes. Warmth engulfed her heart; the heat was so intense Erin felt her heart was about to explode. She still couldn't quite believe that Asa had just called her "Mommy" again!Tears streamed down Erin's face as she asked, "Did you just call me 'Mommy'?"Asa's eyes reddened in response. "I'm sorry, Mommy! I was too dumb and didn't understand the stories you were telling me … Daddy told me all about them yesterda
While Chandler and Asa continued with their conversation in the bedroom, Erin was already on her way to meet Holly, as the latter insisted on seeing her. Needless to say, she had the shock of her life when she read Erin's message the previous night.Nervously, Erin went to meet her. Besides Chandler, Asa, and Cherry, Holly was the person that she cared about the most. Erin felt very guilty for keeping her whereabouts a secret from her best friend for the past seven years. Nevertheless, she couldn't muster up her courage to see Holly when her face was ruined back then.Holly asked her to meet at a cafe near her magazine company. She booked a private room just for the two of them.…About an hour later, Erin walked into the cafe with a bouquet of white roses she bought from a florist on the way there. A woman passed by Erin as she entered, and she turned to look at Erin. It was Matthew's ex-girlfriend, Claire. She'd become even more attractive over the years. She quit the entertain
In the private room of the cafe, Erin told Holly about everything that had happened to her in the past seven years. Holly had already used up three packets of tissues. Her eyes were all swollen, yet she couldn't stop crying. Erin tried to comfort her several times but to no avail."Just let me cry, Erin. Do you know why I booked a private room? I knew I would cry my heart out. I actually started crying last night after receiving your message. You know, I wanted to see you last night, but your phone was turned off."Handing her another tissue, Erin said apologetically, "I had too much to drink last night. After sending out the message, I knew some of you might have a strong reaction. I wasn't ready to face any of you yet, so I switched off my phone."Holly continued to hold her hand. Their palms were sweaty, but she refused to let go."When I saw your message last night, I thought I wasn't worthy of being your friend because you never reached out to me. I was overwhelmed and called
Simon was dressed in a suit, and he was holding a briefcase as if he'd just finished a meeting. He'd called Erin three times, but she never answered. Then, he called Holly and was surprised to see her location was at a karaoke bar that was familiar to him. In fact, he was the one who brought Holly here."Did you two get too excited at reuniting and decide to ignore everyone else?" Simon walked over to the sofa, sat down, and put his briefcase beside him.Holly had paused the song they'd just selected. She walked over to Simon with unsteady steps. Erin, who was still sober, helped her over to the sofa. The man Holly missed dearly suddenly appeared before her without warning. Holly, who was drunk, sat down next to him uncontrollably.With flushed cheeks and a smiling face, she asked, "How did you know that I was here?"Impassively, Simon glanced at Erin, then at Holly. In the next moment, he took out his phone from his pocket and held it up, shaking it a little. He replied calmly, "P
Before Simon could finish what he was saying, Erin gave him another backhanded slap with a cold glare. The contract that he'd just picked up fell to the floor.Some of his hair fell in front of his eyes from the force. This slap finally elicited a response from him. Suppressing his fury, he asked hoarsely, "Are you done hitting me?"Erin closed her eyes and reined in the strong urge to swear. She tried to ask as calmly as possible, "Simon, do you know what you're doing?"Simon's delicately handsome face was slightly reddened by the slap. He replied expressionlessly, "I'm a lawyer. Of course, I know what I'm doing.""Why?" Erin thought of many things within that short amount of time, but she couldn't fathom Simon's thought process.Hearing her question, Simon, who appeared to be calm, suddenly laughed out loud uncontrollably. His laughter sounded distressing and melancholic to Erin. What kind of a laugh was that? From Simon's laughter, Erin could detect deep despair and helplessnes
What Erin said before she left gave Simon some comfort. She said that if she hadn't met Chandler, perhaps she could have fallen for Simon. However, no one could know these things for sure.Although Simon wasn't Erin's type, that didn't discount the fact that he was in a very tough predicament. He was just asking a hypothetical question to salvage what was left of his bruised male ego; Erin thought she shouldn't be too harsh to deny him a comforting answer.In fact, Simon understood more than anyone that her answer held little to no meaning.…After Erin walked out of Simon's law firm, she got into the Lehman sisters' jeep.The moment she got into the back seat, she asked Calla, "Did you follow me all night?"Calla answered, "Yes, Mrs. Frost. We were just following orders.""Don't call me Mrs. Frost. I'm not even married to Chandler yet."Right then, Candra replied from the passenger seat, "Please don't make things difficult for us, Mrs. Frost. We were just following orders."H