Blair shook her head; she was touched. "We're not worried about Rika. We're just... Just like Wesley said, it's unfair to Matthew. If Rika hadn't given birth to a baby, I'd probably say yes." The point was Erica did something that couldn't be undone.
Matthew had his pick of anyone, had women lining up to date him. So why would he marry a girl who gave birth to another man's baby?
"Rika, are you still in touch with Feb's father?" Debbie asked Erica, who was still dumbfounded about everything.
For a long while, she didn't say a word. The silence became uncomfortable. Terilynn nudged her and reminded her, "Hey! My mom asked you a question!"
Erica snapped back to reality. "What? I'm sorry. You wanted to ask me something?"
Debbie repeated her question. Hearing that, Erica twitched her mouth and shook her head. "No. That bastard doesn't deserve a phone call." Why would she contact Feb's father? He was human scum!
Debbie was relieved to hear that. "That's good. So Rika was young and naive and she met the wrong guy. She didn't do this on purpose. I think we can overlook it."
There was a moment of silence at the table.
Matthew held his tongue all this time. He wasn't interested in keeping his peace anymore. The young man cast a glance at Carlos, and asked coldly, "What's the matter? Got too much free time?" The old man was even meddling in Matthew's marriage now.
The young man was thinking that Carlos really did have nothing to do. The old man had been pretty high and mighty since he took a more active hand in ZL Group. So he started to make trouble for his kid.
Carlos didn't mind his attitude. "Rika just dated the wrong guy. She didn't mean to—"
"Why should I care? Why should I pay the price for her indiscretions?" Matthew had no filter. He didn't need one, either. He didn't care about others' feelings at all.
The atmosphere in the private booth became awkward. Blair immediately chimed in, "Matthew's right. Thank you, Carlos. We're deeply moved. But marriage is a big event, after all. We should see how Matthew feels about this."
"I know how he feels. I heard him. Debbie was on him to find a nice girl, but he never took it seriously. We're not young anymore. We could leave this world any minute. I want to see my kids get married before that happens. I don't want to be worried about my kids after I die."
Wesley and Blair got his point. Carlos' words made sense. Evelyn and Terilynn were already married; Matthew was the only kid that worried the elders now.
None of the three kids of the Li family were married, either. Gifford didn't even have a girlfriend; Yvette was dating a guy, but it was hard to tell if they would tie the knot in the end. Erica was the worst of the three. She had given birth to some guy's baby, and wasn't interested in getting back together with him.
Matthew sneered in his heart. 'Carlos has two reasons for doing something—the reason he gives, and the real reason. He's just afraid I might have an affair with Phoebe and betray my good friend.'
Unexpectedly, Wesley made a decision quickly. "Okay, as long as Matthew agrees, we're okay with it." He would keep an eye on Erica from now on and make sure she'd be a good wife.
Erica looked at Wesley in shock. "Dad, I don't want—"
"Erica! Your uncle Carlos and aunt Debbie love you so much that they're willing to overlook your mistake. Why in the world would you say no?" Wesley snapped back.
Erica felt insulted. Was that why her parents were trying to marry her off?
With an intimidating aura, Matthew stared at his dad and threatened, "If you have nothing else to do, you can have half my workload."
Carlos wasn't bothered by this at all. He winked at Sheffield sitting next to him. Sheffield instantly got his point and felt baffled. 'Oh, come on. Me again?'
He knew that Carlos had invited him to dinner for a reason.
Since his father-in-law had given the order, Sheffield had to do it. He cleared his throat and said in a low voice, "Matthew, don't be so pig-headed about this. Seriously, marriage ain't that bad. Why keep staving off the inevitable? Your old man has told you what he wants. Why not listen to him for a change? He's not going to take no for an answer. Believe me, I know. You and I both know how Dad is. So why not just marry the gal? What do you have to lose? You might even fall in love with her. And one more thing..."
Not wanting Evelyn to hear the rest of his words, Sheffield drew closer to the younger man and whispered, "Listen, man. Women just can't let things be. They always dig up the past and use it against you. Even your sister can't avoid doing it, not to mention Erica. If you fall in love with her in the future and make a mistake, you'll have a hard time getting a date with her. This marriage is a gimme. Just a bit of friendly advice from your brother-in-law."
'Dad, I tried my best!' Sheffield said in his mind.
Matthew cast a sidelong glance at him and said to Evelyn calmly, "Evelyn, he said you liked to dig up the past."
Sheffield whined, "Hey, you! I told you that for your own good. What do you think you're doing?" Then he turned to his wife and apologized quickly, "I didn't mean that, honey..."
As usual, Evelyn wore a smile and said, "It's okay. I don't really care what he said."
Evelyn was always respectful to Sheffield in front of others. But when they got back home and it was just the two of them, she would teach him a lesson. She'd be giving Sheffield a hard time tonight!
When Joshua saw Carlos wink at Sheffield a moment ago, he was afraid that the old man would try to get him to work on Matthew too. So, to avoid making eye contact with Carlos, Joshua kept his eyes on his food, and picked at it.
Both Matthew and Carlos were a handful. If he could stay out of this, he'd be better off.
After a moment of silence, Carlos told his son bluntly, "Okay, Son. How about this? If you agree to marry Rika, I'll formally hand over the ZL Group to you." Carlos still had the title of CEO in ZL Group. Since Matthew had just taken the position of vice president, Carlos was still in charge.
Matthew cast a scornful glance at him and answered nonchalantly, "I don't need a woman to help me get what I want." He had worked for ZL Group for a long time. If he couldn't earn the CEO title himself, he might as well give up his position now.
Erica had been thinking about this while they were talking to Matthew. Now there was a break in the conversation, and she knew what she wanted to say. "Uncle Carlos, Aunt Debbie, thanks for your kindness. I'm younger than Matthew and we have nothing in common. Besides, he's a great guy. I'm sure he'll marry a beautiful girl from a rich family. Girls like me don't deserve him. Let's drop this. Am I right, Matthew?" 'I'm only 21, but Dad's marrying me off? Is he kidding? Marry a man I have no feelings for?' Erica felt so helpless.
Matthew took a glance at the girl who was smiling at him politely. Then, he said something that shocked everyone. "Fine. I don't have time to date, anyway. If Dad and Mom worry about me so much, then I'll do it. But this is the last time. Mom, Dad, if you two stick your noses in my business again, it won't go well. Don't push me!"
As soon as he finished saying this, Matthew stood up and nodded at Wesley and Blair. He left the private booth without looking back at Erica, who was flabbergasted again.
Watching her brother's retreating figure, Terilynn got quite nervous. 'Oh, my God! Why didn't Dad tell me this earlier? He wants Matthew to marry Erica?'
Two days ago, Terilynn had secretly mocked Matthew in front of Erica. She told the girl that Matthew had a longtime crush on a goddess, but he couldn't bring himself to ask her out.