Matthew unbuckled his belt and said indifferently, "And you just couldn't wait to call your lover as soon as they were gone, right?"
'My lover?' Erica wondered if he was referring to Hyatt. She had been talking with Hyatt over the phone before he came back. 'So how much did he hear?' "You eavesdropped on my call!"
She was in a rage. She hadn't completely removed the make-up on her face yet. So, with the mascara, eyeliner and the lipstick, her face was colorful. She even had a freshly squeezed dollop of facial cleanser in her hand.
"Eavesdropped?" Matthew took off his belt and threw it aside. He dropped his pants and was in the process of stepping out of the legs. "Don't forget, this is our room. I went back to our room and you were talking on the phone. Was I supposed to find a different room?"
With her eyes wide open, Erica watched him as he undressed. "Hey, Matthew Huo! Y-you...just say what you want to say. Why are you taking off your pants?"
With knitted eyebrows, Matthew looked at her as if he was looking at an idiot. "Don't you take off your clothes before taking a bath?"
Of course she would. What a silly question! The point was why was he undressing while she was still here?
Now, he was wearing only a pair of underwear. Erica was angry and anxious. Immediately, she closed her eyes and turned her back to him. "Fine. The bathroom is yours now," she said angrily.
After that, she opened the door of the bathroom and rushed out.
Erica used the sink in the guest room and finally got her face clean. She then started a shower.
Tonight was their wedding night. Erica didn't want to go back to their bedroom. She was afraid of what would happen if she climbed into the same bed with Matthew.
She wanted a quilt, but she couldn't find anything like that in any of the other rooms, so she reluctantly returned to their bedroom.
On the big red wedding bed, a man in light gray pajamas was sitting up in bed and looking at his phone, leaning against the headboard. When he saw her come in, Matthew only lifted his eyes a bit, saying nothing.
His indifference relieved Erica. That was exactly what she was hoping for. It would be better if Matthew weren't interested in her!
Erica slowly applied some skin-care lotion to her face, and sat there, brushing and blow-drying her hair. After that, she found nothing else to do.
But Matthew was still busy working on his phone. She had no choice but to slip into bed.
To be honest, this was the first time Erica had shared a bed with a man. Since she had zero experience, she could only try to keep as much distance from him as possible, getting as close to the edge of the mattress as she could without falling out of bed.
For a moment, silence reigned in the room.
With her back to him, Erica rolled her eyes and thought, 'Since he's playing with his phone, why don't I play with mine for a while?' She was not in the mood to sleep anyway.
So, she reached out to take her phone from the bedside table.
But just when she had her phone in her hand, she heard Matthew speak. "You should get some sleep."
"I usually scroll through my newsfeed on Weibo before going to bed. Don't worry, I'll try to be quiet. If you need to sleep, feel free." It would be better if he didn't wake up until the next day.
However, Matthew snatched her phone from her hand and placed it on the pillow beside her. Erica's heart thumped because of his sudden gesture. 'Oh, my God. What did he want?
"Well, there was one thing I wanted to talk with you about," she said nervously. 'No, I have to tell him what I really think.'
He looked at the woman whose body went all stiff. He kept silent.
"I guess there's no easy way to say this, so I'll just come right out and say it! I know you have someone you like, and I also know your dad forced you to marry me. I'm in the same boat. So we can just live together for a while and find the right time to get a divorce... Mmmph..."
Before she finished her sentence, he lifted her hands over her head and covered her lips with his cold, thin lips.
Erica remembered the touch of his lips. They had kissed earlier in the day.
Her mind went blank. She blinked and looked at the man's face, hovering close to hers.
He had closed his eyes; his eyelashes were quite long. And the smell of mint mixed with a hint of wine reached her nostrils.
The kiss felt so... intoxicating.
Afraid that her heart might explode, Erica pushed Matthew away.
Yes! Erica was able to do that. It took every ounce of will she had, but she did it.
She jumped out of bed. Without putting on her slippers, she rushed to the door.
As soon as her hand was on the door knob, she suddenly remembered that she forgot her phone. So, without even looking at him, she ran back there as fast as she could.
She grabbed her phone, and donned her slippers at the same time. Without sparing him even a single glance, she hurried out of the bedroom.
All of this took place in a matter of seconds.
As Gifford said, she could run really fast.
Erica made her way to the rooftop of the villa. Looking at the pitch black sky, she took a deep breath.
Matthew was so incredibly sexy. A gentle kiss from him could detonate her heart. If he ever gave her a deep kiss, she might die on the spot.
When she calmed down, she took out her phone, found Wesley's number, and called him.
She called him several times, but no one answered.
In the Li family's house
Blair threw her ringing phone to Wesley. "Your daughter called you, but you never picked up. So now she's calling me. Maybe it's important. Just answer your phone."
"No way. It's ten o'clock now. It's their wedding night! Why is she calling me now?" Wesley rolled over, pulled the covers to his head, and closed his eyes again.
"What if it's urgent? Answer it, or we won't get any sleep. She'll keep calling. You know how stubborn she is." Blair was sure if they kept ignoring the phone, Erica wouldn't give up until her battery died.
Wesley sat up on the bed and grabbed Blair's phone, which had just begun ringing again. He pressed the answer key and said bluntly, "Okay, Erica. I hope you have a really good reason for calling."
"Yeah, Dad. It's important. I want to..." She paused, trying to summon the right words.
"What do you want?"
"I want to go home." 'Matthew is too much.'
"You're at home now, aren't you? You don't live here anymore. Where do you want to go?"
Erica pouted her lips, feeling sad. Her dad was so cruel to her. Wasn't she a member of the Li family anymore? Was it just because she was married? "I want to go back to my parents' house."
"I see. Well, you won't have long to wait. Two days from now, you and Matthew will come to visit, according to the custom," Wesley reminded her.
Erica said anxiously, "I don't want to wait two days. I really want to go home now." She missed her father, mother, brother, sister, Feb, her bed, and her mom's cooking. She just missed everything about the Li family. She was really homesick.
Ignoring her anxiety, Wesley said calmly, "Really, honey. It's just first day jitters. You'll be fine."
"Dad!" She was so angry that she stamped her feet.
"I know what you're thinking. Just give it up. Go to bed now. We're going to bed, too. Good night!" Wesley hung up the phone, his teeth gnashing.
Erica's eyes turned red with sadness as she stared at her phone.
She had always known that Wesley could be heartless sometimes, but she didn't expect him to be so harsh.
Blair looked at her husband worriedly.
"Honey, why did you do that? Rika will be heartbroken."
Wesley put the phone aside silently. He knew she was sad. But she was married, now. She had to get used to her new life.
'