Chapter 1698 - 216: Is He Really Your Fiancé?

Eric Bush smiled at Crystal and said, "I just thought I'd come and surprise you here. You are surprised, aren't you?" Crystal was dumbstruck.

Meanwhile, Clark had been about to hand the mobile phone to Crystal, but he accidentally hung up the phone. Before being cut off, though, Eric's voice was heard on the other end of the line.

Damn it!- thought Nathan - Eric is always one step ahead of me!

Clark didn't want to admit that he had accidentally hung up the phone, so he quietly slipped it back into his Mother's pocket. Then he hurried back to get a second look at the stranger at the door.

Eric chuckled at the startled look on Crystal's face. "Well," he said. "You certainly look surprised!" He was wearing a black locomotive suit, and as usual, he looked tall and strong. He squeezed through the gap between Crystal and the door, and once he was inside, he said, "You didn't think that you could escape from me, did you?"

Crystal shrugged and asked him, "Are you going to marry me?"

"Obviously," Eric replied. Then he held her hand and kissed it. "From now on, I will go where you go. No one can separate us." 

Eric's confession gave Crystal goosebumps. "Please tell me you're not serious," she said.

Eric: "I couldn't be more serious."

Suddenly, Nancy called from the dining room: "Crystal, who's there?"

"I'm her fiancé," Eric replied.

"Fiancé?" Nancy was surprised. She came to the entrance to check Eric out. "Crystal, you didn't tell me you were engaged. He is quite the looker. Why don't you invite him to join us for breakfast?"

Crystal and Eric replied simultaneously. She said, "He has already eaten," but he said, "I would love to!"

Nancy gave Eric a cheeky look and said, "I've made a lot. Come in. We will all eat together." Then she hurried into the kitchen to set out a place for him at the table.

"Let the servant do that..." Crystal shouted behind her.

There were servants in the house, but Nancy always liked to do everything herself, which was why Paul treated her like a servant.

Before Nancy could change her course, though, Paul walked in, and when he saw her serving another man, his ire began to rise.

Eric went to hug Crystal, but he froze when he noticed that she wasn't wearing the collar he'd given her. In its place, she wore a simple string necklace with a bullet for a pendant. He took a closer look at the shell, and he saw that it had Nathan's exclusive pattern on it.

He reached out to pull it off, but Crystal blocked his hand. "What are you doing?" she hissed.

Eric: "Don't you know that a bullet is not a pendant? You can't wear it. If you do, it will get you into trouble. Besides, I do not want my fiancée to wear another man's necklace. You can remove it yourself, or I can remove it for you."

"You don't get to control what I wear," growled Crystal.

"Is that so?" Eric asked. Then, without waiting for a reply, he tore the necklace off and threw it on the ground. "How do you like those apples?"

Crystal sighed and said, "You're littering!" Paul was pleased with Crystal's answer, and he smiled. Then he made his way to the dining room and sat down at the table.

Crystal had lost her appetite, though. She had thought that her getaway had been a success, but in a short amount of time, everything had turned to shit- and she had no idea what had led Eric to Paul's door.

To distract herself, Crystal put her hand in her pocket, and she was startled by the strand of Paul's hair that was there. With everything that had happened, she had forgotten about the DNA test she intended to have done on it. To get the test completed, though, she would need to find a way to get Eric off her back.

Thankfully, Nancy had her back, and after everyone was done eating, she told Paul, "I want to take Clark to Sea World this afternoon." Conveniently enough, there was a hospital next to Sea World, and a genetic test could be completed there.

Paul: "No. It's not going to happen."

Nancy: "But you promised me last night."

Paul: "When?"

Nancy: "At around midnight. We were in the bedroom."

Paul: "What were we doing? And please be specific with the details."

Nancy: "Why does it matter?"

Paul: "Perhaps it will help jog my memory."

Nancy: "You remember just fine, so quit playing these games with me. You promised me! Are you going to break your promise? Is that the type of man you are?"

Paul: "Don't be so dramatic. I didn't say you couldn't go."

Nancy: "But you said that it wasn't going to happen...?"

Paul: "Had you let me finish my sentence, what I was saying is: It's not going to happen... without me!"

Crystal's face went white. There was no way that they could get the DNA test done if Paul were there with them.

Nancy: "You're going with us?"

Paul: "Is there a problem? I am his Father."

Nancy: "I don't think that it's a good idea. We're not used to going out together like that." Paul had never accompanied them anywhere before, so they were used to having fun without him.

Paul: "What about Crystal? Is she going with you?"

Nancy: "Yes. But that's different."

"How is that different?" Eric interjected. "If Crystal is going, all five of us should go together!"

Well, this is FUBAR - thought Nancy- I guess that we had better make the best of it - She sighed as she stood up. Then she said, "Fine. I will take Clark upstairs and change his clothes. Crystal, would you like to get changed?" 

Crystal nodded and followed Nancy and Clark.

Once they were upstairs, Nancy turned to her friend and said, "What should we do, Crystal? If they come, you won't be able to get the hair tested.

Crystal: "Don't worry. A chance will present itself. If need be, I can pretend to be sick and have Eric bring me to the hospital. Then I'll find a way to shake him off..."

Nancy: "Is he really your fiancé?" 

Crystal: "It seems so. If I can't get rid of him, I will have no choice but to marry him.. You don't need to worry about me, though. What's going on with you? Do you have a plan to get your son out of here?"