Chapter 162: POSSIBILITIES
Still not sure by the sudden visit by Adrian, Erika tried as much to calm down as she felt Ethan’s big hand on her back, patting her gently. She had thought that her life would not be connected with her ex-husband anymore or ever have to meet him again but here he was, spying on them.
Erika couldn’t deny the truth in what Ethan said, about Adrian spying on her. From her last encounter with him, he had wanted her to be back together with him and she had thought that she was able to get rid of him. But unfortunately, he seemed to not have given up.
Erika nodded at his suggestion and grabbed a seat for herself. She shouldn’t be allowed to be worried that Adrian was in the city right? But his sudden appearance does make her feel uneasy.
She grabbed a glass of water and sipped from it to calm her nerves. Adrian is not a threat, she repeated in her mind.
After several sips of water, Erika was finally able to calm herself down. She turned to look at Ethan who was staring at her intently.
"Aren’t you late for work?" she asked him.
"I’m the boss, I can decide to skip today and take care of you. You don’t look so good," Ethan replied as he walked closer to her. "You somehow look pale," he added.
Erika raised her hand and placed it on her forehead as if to check her temperature, "I’m good. Don’t worry, you can go to work," she tried to persuade him but he didn’t budge.
"I’m staying here," he stated firmly. Erika didn’t utter anything anymore and let him do as he pleased. They stayed back home to enjoy their beautiful morning before a phone call came through.
At the Walters mansion, the couple had arrived and found everyone available. The Andersons, Smith, and Jasmine had decided to have a get-together party with the family so that they could bond, just like old times.
Everyone had gathered in the courtyard for a picnic and got along. Jasmine stood in a corner and watched the family do their things until Erika went to her side while holding two glasses of juice and handed one to Jasmine.
"What are you doing here, standing like a statue?" she asked her before taking a sip from her glass.
Sighing, Jasmine opened her mouth to speak,
"I don’t want to disturb anyone."
"Don’t say that", said Erika before she continued, "Things would only be awkward but with time, everything will balance," she tried to comfort her new friend.
After Mr Davis’ arrest, everyone was stunned when they heard that Jasmine had betrayed her father. She had the opportunity to achieve her goals but she let it slip through her fingers by turning a new leaf. Her actions had earned her praise from the family members, discreetly. But there would always be a slight tension whenever they spoke.
Jasmine glanced at Erika before looking back at the people gathered.
"Of course," Jasmine mumbled softly.
Andrew had not come along with her since he had a few patients to handle so she had to come alone. Her legs were weak due to the previous day’s afternoon exercise, late night and morning exercise. It seemed he couldn’t get enough of her. And now, she was trying as much as possible to not embarrass herself with her weird walking steps.
Mr Anderson noticed the two girls talking and beckoned at them.
"What are you kids doing there? Have you eaten?" He asked them and they shook their heads. "Go and take your food," he instructed them and they left for the kitchen.
Monica and Felix had already arrived and Felix kept on hovering around her like a fly which Monica couldn’t help but be annoyed at.
"Mom, is that food enough for you or should I get more?" Monica asked her mother who shook her head.
"Thanks but this is enough for me," the woman replied and Monica nodded.
Standing up, she walked back inside the mansion and headed for the kitchen to get more portions for herself when she noticed Felix who was following her. She grumbled a few words as she continued to walk, hoping he would stop following her but unfortunately for her, he continued to do so with a grin on his lips.
Abruptly stopping in her tracks, Felix nearly collided with her but luckily for him, he was able to avoid that.
Turning to face him, Monica stared at him with a frown evident on her face and she asked,
"Don’t you have something else to do?"
"I do and that’s what I’m doing," he replied with a grin. "Where are you going?" he asked her.
"Can’t you see the plate in my hand? I’m going to the kitchen", she replied and without waiting for him to say a word, she left from there. Even though their relationship has gotten way better and sooner than later, they will be getting married, it didn’t stop Felix from teasing her now and then and she would always fight back.
Felix resumed his steps as he continued to follow her and remarked,
"You know, as a model, you sure do eat a lot."
Monica stopped in her tracks again and turned to glare at him which frightened the man. He suddenly wished he had not uttered those words.
"Are you saying that I am fat?" She questioned him. Her eyes were like daggers, threatening him to repeat his words if he wanted to live.
Opening his eyes widely in shock, Felix repeated his sentence in his mind and looked for the word ’fat’ in any of them but didn’t spot any.
"When did I call you fat? I never said that," he quickly defended himself.
"Really? You didn’t?" she questioned him again and the latter quickly shook his head. Grunting in frustration, she stomped on her feet and continued to walk while Felix tried his best to pacify her anger. He didn’t know where he said something wrong which only confused him.
Everyone noticed the two bickering and couldn’t be any happier for them.
Ethan, who had been in the kitchen, preparing for the meal everyone was enjoying, was finally done and directly went to the shower since he smelt of food.
After everyone was done with their meal, they came inside to watch a movie together. As Daniel, Erika’s brother, was about to search for a good movie, the news suddenly popped up.
It was a news report about the prison runways in California and how the police have been trying hard to find them. The three images of the escapees were displayed in the news and everyone held a big frown on each of their faces.
"Felicia escaped from prison?" Mrs Walters gasped when she saw the explosion that occurred in the prison, resulting in 5 casualties and multiple injured prisoners. The firefighters could be captured, trying to seize out the fire and get everyone to safety as they brought out the burnt corpse once a part of the building had been extinguished. The news continued to play as they requested any info about the runaways.
"I wonder what she’s planning on doing now," Mrs Anderson added as she watched the news.
Everyone started expressing their opinions about the escape. They noticed Felicia’s big belly when her image had been displayed and concluded that she was pregnant, which surprised them all, including Erika. She had no clue that Felicia was in prison, pregnant.
Erika glanced at Ethan with mixed emotions before she turned back to watch the TV where the image of the burnt building continued to be shown.
Later, the image was changed and a microphone was handed to the owner of the prison who continued to express his thoughts about the unforeseen event that had taken place.
Ethan went to her side and hugged her before he whispered in her ears,
"It’s okay, don’t worry. I will find her," he assured her and she nodded.
If Felicia and Mary with the unknown woman were able to escape from the prison and still haven’t been found yet, it only means that they have gotten far, somewhere not close to the prison anymore. Someone was helping them, Erika concluded in her thoughts.
Planning an escape from the prison was not something that one person could do. But who could have helped her? Erika wondered.
Not long ago, she found out that her ex-husband was spying on her. And now, her ex-husband’s wife and mortal enemy had suddenly escaped from prison.
Was Adrian the one who helped her? Erika thought to herself. She tried to see the possibility of it happening and realized that it could happen but Adrian was here in New York. Could he have helped her and came back here to New York. But then why was he spying on her?
Probably because of her pregnancy but now, was that pregnancy for Adrian? If it was, he could have helped her escape since she was pregnant with his baby. But Felicia had been cheating on Adrian for so long with so many men, how sure could he be that she was pregnant with his baby?
