When Han Tao and Chen Meili got to the bottom of the stairs, they ran into Han Yuanjun walking into the mansion.
pαndα---noνɐ1,сoМ "Uncle."
"Uncle Jun."
The both of them greeted at the same time.
Han Yuanjun looked from their happy expressions to the spot where the both of them had their hands entwined. Love was good. Love was very good. He loved love and he loved seeing people in love but...
He just could not get over the fact that Han Tao had basically thrown two Han family descendants away just yesterday!
He scrutinized Chen Meili from head to toe. Due to how bereft he'd felt yesterday, he'd gone over the events over and over again without getting any sleep. Just to see if there was something he would have done to change the outcome.
In the end,he found nothing but he managed to find something else. Chen Meili might look harmless but her words and little a tions yesterday seemed to have added fuel to the fire instead of quench it!
Even if he was overthinking and she was innocent, he had no one else to blame and Chen Meili had slept with another woman's husband anyways so it was convenient to blame her.
His eyes moved to her stomach. Maybe he shouldn't be so hard on her. Afterall she had three boys in there but then again, why did they have to lose the twins for the triplets? Why couldn't Han Tao let Xu Lifen go with the twins and still keep his right to them.
At least then, when they grew up, they could still find their way home! Han Yuanjun sighed. He was feeling especially testy about this because he was just returning from the courthouse, where he went to erase the names of the twins from the Han family register.
From the look of things, he was the only one bothered about this. Even his own wife had told him that unfortunate things happened and he should let it go but... Han Yuanjun shook his head again and directly walked past them in the direction of the dining hall.
Behind him, Han Tao's and Chen Meili's smile froze on their faces. Chen Meili slowly gulped before turning to the man beside her with slightly red eyes. "Brother Tao, Uncle Jun blames me doesn't he?"
Han Tao felt pain shoot through his heart at her expression. He became angry and decided to have a word with his uncle after breakfast. In the meantime, he gently squeezed Chen Meili's hand. "Pay him no mind. He's only overreacting. Give it a day or two."
Chen Meili slowly nodded with a strained smile before they both walked on to the dining room.
In the hall, Mother Chen was happily conversing with Min Yanyu whilst Father Chen was having small talk with Han Yuanjun, who was now seated. Chen Bai was seated next to his father -face set in an aloof expression.
On the opposite side of the table, Han Yi and Han Jiao practically bore holes into his body with their heated eyes as they swooned and drooled.
The second Chen Meili walked in with Han Tao, Mother Chen waved elegantly. "Meili dear, quickly come over let this old lady take a good look at-" Her eyes caught the part where the two people were holding hands and she frowned in confusion. What would make Han Tao hold her daughter like that?
She quickly stood up with alarmed eyes. "Meili sweetheart, are you hurt?! Did you fall somewhere?" She moved away from the table and walked over to examine her daughter from head to toe whilst Father Chen and Chen Bai watched closely in concern.
Chen Meili laughed happily at her mother's fawning. "I'm fine, I'm fine mother. You can stop worrying. How could the Hans let anything happen to me?"
Han Tao smiled and the Han Madam nodded in satisfaction.
Seeing that her daughter was truly alright, Mother Chen slowly calmed down and laughed helplessly. "Han Tao was holding you so tightly just now, I thought you had encountered an accident and needed support."
Everyone laughed softly and they all became seated at the table. Breakfast went on successfully with the two families exchanging jokes and discussing the current news. After the dishes were cleared, dessert was brought in and another round of happy discussion ensued.
At some point, Chen Meili began to bite her lips anxiously. They'd all been talking for so long and yet no one had brought up the news of her pregnancy and marriage to brother Tao. Did they change their minds without informing her?
There was a sudden break in the conversation when the servants came in to clear out the dessert dishes and without thinking, Chen Meili blurted out, "I'm pregnant!"
'...'
The brains of Mother Chen and Father Chen lagged whilst Chen Bai's brows lifted so high that they almost merged with his hairline.
With a constipated expression, the Chen eldest slowly choked out, "Come again?"
Around the table, the Hans exchanged looks. They had been planning on slowly breaching the topic but Chen Meili's words had simply ripped the bandaid from the fresh wound.
Han Tao cleared his throat then and locked eyes with Chen Bai. "You heard right. Meili is pregnant with my babies."
Chen Bai saw red and his expression turned cold. He stood up and,
BANG!
Slammed his hands on the table. "What do you Hans take my sister for? She had already helped you out once to carry your babies and all she'd gotten in the end was heartache!
-Yet you still had the guts to place her in the same situation again! Do you think that just because we Chens kept quite the first time then you could do as you please a second time? Does my sister look like an incubator to you?!"
Chen Meili's eyes widened and she quickly waved at her brother. "Elder brother it's not like that..."
"Then what is it like?!" Father Chen cut in with a furious glare.
Mother Chen stood up. "This is madness. Go and pack up your things! I don't care what kind of everlasting love you have for that Jinhai boy but you're leaving the Han mansion with us today!"
Chen Meili rushed to hold Han Tao and shook her head fiercely. "I don't want to!"
Mother Chen felt faint. What was this? How old was Chen Meili? Why was it that she still couldn't differentiate between what was good for her and what was not?!
She was about to go and drag her daughter when Han Tao suddenly blocked her with his body. "I'm going to marry her."
'...'
The Chens were thrown into confusion all over again. Mother Chen looked from her daughter to Han Tao, "Excuse me?"
Han Tao sighed. "Xu Lifen and I are divorced." It wasn't a mistake that he left out the time this happened as he went on to say, "Chen Meili and I have been spending a lot of time lately and since her husband is late and I'm now a divorcee. We both thought it was better to get together.
-Besides," He smiled at the woman next to him with eyes full of warmth. "I like Meili very much."
Mother Chen and Father Chen reduced their tempo but Chen Bai wasn't having it. This was his precious sister afterall. He glared at Han Tao. "You could've just gotten together the right way rather than get my sister pregnant and rid her of any chance to make a choice!"
Chen Meili shook her head desperately and held onto Han Tao tightly. "Brother Tao did nothing wrong! I- I was the one who went to him..."
Chen Bai's expression turned constipated and Han Tao turned to Chen Meili with wide eyes. Even the Hans were a little taken aback. They had heard the story from Han Tao and, according to what they heard, he went to her.
For Chen Meili to say this to her family...
Wasn't it so that they wouldn't blame Han Tao? In their hearts, they sighed in wonder. A good woman didn't get better than that.
The Chens looked between one another. Things had already gotten to this point, what else could they do?
-------------------
Sometime later, the Chens all gathered in Chen Meili's room. Mother Chen held her daughter's hands. "Meili, tell me the truth. Were you forced?"
Chen Meili's eyes widened and she snatched her hands from her mother's. "No! How could that be? You all know brother Tao. Hes a good man!"
Father Chen looked to his wife and then to his daughter. "We're not saying he's bad. It's just that... You were so fixated on Han Jinhai and now you're marrying his brother. Aren't you worried that Han Tao might misunderstand and think you're using him as a substitute?"
Chen Meili shook her head firmly. "No. Brother Tao and I are in love."
With a sigh, Chen Bai walked forward and held his sister's shoulders. "I just need you to tell me one thing. Are you really happy?"
Chen Meili was about to give a firm answer when she suddenly thought back to Han Yuanjun's treatment of her earlier. Uncle Jun had always been kind to her but had treated her horribly.
It could only be because of the twins that Xu Lifen had taken away. If the twins were in the Han home then no one would disdain her.
She looked to her brother with sad eyes. "Elder brother things are really fine. I just..." Tears gathered. "I just really miss the twins. I know I'm pregnant with my own children and the twins aren't technically mine but I had still carried them for 9 months, you know. I don't know how they're doing now and if Xu Lifen is taking care of them properly or if-"
"It's enough." Chen Bai said softly and pulled his sister in for a comforting hug. He felt pained. What did his sister do to deserve this? Meili had more right to the twins than that Xu Lifen every will have.
What did that useless woman know about pregnancy and childbirth? Nothing! So why should she enjoy the fruits of another person's labour?!
Mother Chen and Father Chen held each other and looked to their daughter in heartache. They couldn't stress enough how bad that idea had been from the start.
The minute the Chens left the Han mansion, Chen Bai lowered his head to his phone and sent a quick text with only seven words to an unsaved number.
[[Xu Lifen. You know what to do.]]