Chapter 197 – Finding the Secret Daddy for My Baby Novel

Filed To Story: Finding the Secret Daddy for My Baby Novel

“Their guests are all top figures from the upper class. Don’t humiliate me now.” Francis shook his head.

“Dad, please! Just let us attend the event! I want to go there.” Erica pouted her lips, demanding her father to go along with her.

“Just do us a favor and let us explore around, Francis. The place is going to be crowded with guests by then, so no one is going to notice us. I promise we won’t give you any trouble.” Naomi sincerely beseeched Francis.

Realizing he had been neglecting Naomi and her daughter all this while, Francis eventually softened up when he thought to himself about how rare the occasion was. “Fine. Remember to wear something decent.”

Later that afternoon, Erica and her mother happily went shopping at the apparel shop, during which she texted Hayley to flaunt her good news. ‘Erica, guess where I’m going this Saturday?’

‘Where are you going?’

‘I’m going to accompany my dad to Old Madam Presgrave’s birthday feast.’

‘Are you free tonight, Erica? Let’s meet up!’ Hayley responded by asking.

‘Alright!’ Erica agreed to meet up with Hayley, thinking they were just going to catch up with each other like old friends did.

In the meantime, Hayley, who was reading Erica’s message, was surprised to find out how lucky Erica was to attend Harriet’s birthday celebration. For that, she knew Erica and Elliot would surely run into each other by then and was determined to explain everything to Erica so that her friend wouldn’t embarrass her by accident. After taking a look at the time, Hayley reached for her phone and dialed Elliot’s number.

On the other hand, Elliot was skimming through his emails in his study when he saw his phone vibrating on the table. Upon taking a glimpse of it, he reached for it and said, “Hello, Hayley.”

“Let me ask you something, Elliot. Is Grandma’s birthday this Saturday?” Hayley probingly asked.

“How did you know about that?” Elliot frowned and asked in a deep voice.

“I happened to stumble upon Grandma’s birth date when I was reading a news article that was published two years ago. After doing a little calculation, I realized it’s this Saturday, so will she be celebrating her birthday?” Hayley asked in excitement.

“Yes, she will.”

“That’s awesome! I remember Grandma was asking me when I’ll be visiting her again last time, so I suppose her birthday makes a perfect opportunity for me to visit her, Elliot. Maybe I could drop by and celebrate with her,” Hayley happily said.

“Hayley, the place is going to be full of guests, so I don’t think I can make sure you’re well received.” Elliot implied in his tone that he was reluctant to let Hayley attend the event.

“Don’t have to worry about me, Elliot. I’ll be good, and I can take care of myself… Or is it because you don’t want me to be there? Am I really a shameful presence to you? I know my modest background may have always been a disgrace to you, but… I really want to attend Grandma’s birthday feast. I just want to be there to give her my blessings. Is that too much to ask for? Can you grant me my wish?” Hayley spoke with a bitter voice, making herself sound sympathetic.

“Alright, I’ll arrange it.” Elliot continued to say, ” But you mustn’t stir up trouble during the feast at all because Anastasia and her son will be there as well. So, try to stay away from them as much as possible.”

“Alright, Elliot. I promise I’m only there for Grandma’s birthday. I’ll behave myself and stay away from trouble.” Hayley obediently agreed to behave well.

Soon, Elliot hung up the call, thinking his responsibility was nothing more than making sure Hayley wouldn’t have to worry about her own livelihood.

Meanwhile, Hayley was stung by Elliot’s last few words, although she had already received permission to attend Harriet’s birthday feast. After all, the answer to who was more important between Anastasia and her in Elliot’s heart was obvious enough the moment the man Elliot told her to avoid Anastasia. Why should I be the one who stays away from Anastasia?

Soon, Erica and Hayley met up at a western food restaurant in the city, where Erica showed off the nightgown she was going to wear during Harriet’s birthday feast. Then, Hayley stared at her friend and said, “Erica, there is something I want to tell you, but promise you’re going to keep it a secret. Can you?”

“Speak your mind.” Erica looked at her while sipping her juice.

“I’m going to attend Old Madam Presgrave’s birthday feast too.”

“Pff!” Erica spat out her juice, and her eyes were left wide open in disbelief. “What did you just say? You’re going to attend Old Madam Presgrave’s birthday feast too? H-How can you…?”

Erica stammered and asked, “There is something I’ve been wanting to tell you. Fate has brought me together with the Presgrave Family. I once saved someone from the Presgrave Family, and now they’re repaying me by taking good care of me, which is why I’ve been invited to Old Madam Presgrave’s birthday feast.”

“Tell me how you got to know the Presgrave Family. What have you done to make them appreciate you so much?” Erica curiously asked, wondering how Hayley got so lucky to know the Presgrave Family.

“I’m afraid I can’t tell you why right now, but I know we both have something in common to do when we get there—to turn the Presgrave Family against Anastasia. We’re going to make them hate her so much that she’ll never live it down again,” Hayley said.

Erica echoed Hayley’s feelings and expressed her thoughts of resentment. “You’re absolutely right. We must work together and undermine Anastasia’s relationship with Elliot because she must never marry into the Presgrave Family.”

“I’ll figure out a plan, so just cooperate with me by then.” Hayley was usually the mastermind with ideas.

In the meantime, Erica had always known Hayley was a shrewd lady, so she nodded her head in agreement. “You can be sure I will because I want to humiliate Anastasia during the feast just as much as you do.” Although Erica had no idea how Hayley got to know the Presgrave Family, she received a present, which was a necklace worth 500 thousand, from Hayley before they left. Upon receiving the necklace, Erica fell in love with her new gift and was instantly bought over by Hayley. Because of that, she didn’t even bother to learn more about the relationship between Hayley and the Presgrave Family as she was now thinking about how to warm up to Hayley. Guess what? I mustn’t look down upon Hayley anymore.

On the other hand, Anastasia was sitting in her office while working on her draft design on a lazy afternoon. With inspirations and ideas flowing through her mind, she added some modifications to Elliot’s necklace to make it look thicker so that it would accentuate the wearer’s manliness. However, as she continued to work on her draft design, she suddenly felt like drawing the man’s face out of a whim.

Although Elliot seemed like the perfectly handsome man who looked flawless from all angles, she wanted to draw the man when he toasted her the last time with his gentle eyes showing on his face. Thus, she proceeded to spend her entire afternoon drawing Elliot. Needless to say, she would not say a single word about the portrait to anyone because she intended to admire it herself and kill boredom.

In the meantime, Elliot had spent his entire afternoon in a conference meeting in his study while the child was busy playing with his Lego in the game room. Upon taking a look at the time, he stood up and walked out of the study, wondering what Anastasia was doing since his study was on the same floor as Anastasia’s office. Therefore, he decided to find out and walked toward her office.

Meanwhile, Elliot’s portrait came to life on the piece of paper, thanks to Anastasia’s skillful drawing. Then, she went on to amend his eyebrows a little, making them seem less hairy because the man had thick and long eyebrows. Now, his eyes look perfect. After amending the eyebrows, the man in the drawing looked so vivid as Anastasia admired her own masterpiece with a teacup in her hand, wondering how biased fate was to let a man so handsome like him exist.

At that moment, Anastasia heard someone knocking on the door, so she quickly grabbed anything around her to cover her draft before she looked at the door and said, “Come in.” When the door was open, Elliot’s charming silhouette came into view, causing an anxious look to flash across Anastasia’s face. Nonetheless, she stood up and asked, “What’s the matter?”

“Is my necklace design ready?” Elliot asked, leaning closer to the lady’s desk.

Anastasia passed the draft she had just completed to the man. “Here you go. Take a look and see whether you like it.”

Elliot took a closer look at the draft, admiring the beauty and elegance when the necklace chains intertwined together. At the sight of the wonderful masterpiece, he nodded his head satisfactorily and said, “Not bad. I like it.”

“Is there anything else that you think needs some changes?” Anastasia asked.

“Nope. This draft will do. Send it to Felicia right away and have it made.” Elliot put down the draft and noticed a pile of other draft papers. “What else are you working on?”

“Um… N-Nothing,” she stuttered as she walked toward the window to open it and leave it ajar upon finishing her words. After all, she wanted to experience the chilly breeze grazing across her cheeks, but when she did that, she was greeted by a strong rush of wind that flew into the room. For that, the papers on her desk were scattered all over the place, except the one that was pinned down earlier.

“Ah!” Anastasia was overwhelmed by her panic and came over to pin the paper down, but the gust of wind carried the papers along with it and left them scattered all over the ground, which amused Elliot.

---