Aaron put on a bright smile and confirmed, "Yes, Erica was just joking with me. Even though she is two years my senior, she is still very cute and adorable."
'Erica? From total strangers to first name basis in just a few minutes? Just what is going on?' Matthew sulked inwardly.
He deliberately slid his long arm on the back of Erica's chair. From the front, it looked like he was holding her, but his hand was merely resting on the chair. Then, with a soft look at Erica, he replied, "You're right. She is quite cute and adorable. That's one of the reasons she's my wife."
'What?' Erica was confused at this sudden declaration. She turned her eyes towards Matthew, who was now sitting very close to her. 'Is he deliberately showing off?' she wondered.
Aaron also realized that the CEO was declaring his marriage with Erica in an imperious manner. It was clear that the man had felt angry about them getting so close so soon. He immediately echoed, "Mr. and Mrs. Huo, you are such a perfect match for each other. I can see you love each other so much. I'm so envious of your relation."
'Love each other very much?' It made Erica feel guilty and embarrassed. "Well...thank you. Aaron, you..."
Right at that moment, there was a knock on the door. Ms. Wang walked in and, after greeting Matthew politely, reminded Aaron that it was time for him to leave.
Erica was disappointed that her idol was leaving so soon. She asked with a blush, "Aaron, can I hug you?"
Aaron looked at the expressionless man sitting next to her from the corner of his eye. "Sure," he nodded hesitatingly.
Erica stood up happily and was about to run towards him who had stretched out one of his arms.
However, a powerful hand grabbed her waist and she was soon pulled out of the meeting room before she could understand just what the hell was going on.
When Erica finally came back to her senses, they had already entered the elevator.
Matthew didn't let go of her until they had reached his office.
In there, she was thrown on the sofa rudely. Her head hit the armrest. Luckily, the sofa was very soft, so it didn't hurt much.
But she was still infuriated by his inhumane behavior and darkened face. "What's wrong with you? Why did you push me?"
To her surprise, Matthew didn't apologize. Instead, he responded in a harsh tone, "Shut up!"
Erica shrank back to the corner of the sofa. "Why are you mad at me? Do you think you can bully the weak just because you're stronger!"
"Weak? You? Weren't you just telling Aaron that you were a genius in your previous life? I wonder how a genius reincarnated would be weak!"
The disdain in his eyes was clear. Erica could see that he was looking down upon her bragging. Flushed, she bit her lower lip and asked, "What do you mean, Mr. Huo? I was just kidding. That's no reason for you to laugh at me!"
'Mr. Huo? Now you're being formal with me!' A dash of anger flashed through his eyes. He coldly said, "You were just kidding? Are you friends with him? Are you two close? You had just met him for the first time and was then being so casual with him?"
His sarcasm made Erica furious. She stood up and shouted at him angrily, "So why are you being familiar with me? I don't owe you an explanation!"
With that, she was about to storm out of the room.
However, she was stopped once again. He pushed her back onto the sofa and asked, "Where are you going?"
She shouted back stubbornly, "It's none of your business! Whatever I do, is none of your business. You are a total stranger to me!"
"Really? You want to fight me for a man?"
"Me? Fight? Who the hell started all this? You are the one being a jerk!"
"Watch your attitude!" No one had ever dared talk to him like that before! But this woman was the only one to provoke him again and again.
"My attitude? What about yours? Get out of my way right now! I am leaving!"
But he wouldn't let her go. "Oh no you aren't! We are going to settle this right here and right now." He had always been like this. If there was something he needed to take care of, he would do so immediately. Waiting and patience weren't his cup of tea.
'Why should I listen to him?' Erica thought to herself. Then, she began to rain down fists onto him. "Bastard! Jerk! You, Matthew Huo, are a jerk! Let me go!"
Matthew's face turned sour at her words. He grabbed her flailing hands and snapped back, "I dare you to curse me again!"
Despite his dangerous tone, the truth-bombs continued, "You asshole! You are an asshole!" Not only was she cursing him, but her voice was getting louder every second. No matter how soundproof his office was, the assistants outside might have heard it already.
In response, Matthew held her hands and pulled her towards the lounge. "It looks like if I don't teach you a lesson right now, you will never behave yourself."
"How dare you! Let me go!" Erica struggled to get rid of his grip.
But the man refused to let her go. Just as they were about to reach the lounge, Erica lowered her head and bit down on his hand hard.
She continued to press down her teeth without any mercy and they soon went deep into his hand.
Matthew shut his eyes. He could feel the pain since Erica had shown no mercy during this attack.
Taking advantage of his momentary lapse of control, Erica ran away!
Looking at his bleeding hand, Matthew hesitated, unsure whether to follow her. But before he could make up his mind, Erica had entered the elevator.
A few of the assistants looked at each other with a thoughtful gaze and then promptly returned to their work.
The next day
The doorbell of the Li family house began to ring.
Blair and Wesley were just about to take Ethan out for a walk when they heard the announcing chime. A housemaid rushed to open the door.
"Ms. Li!" The maid was surprised.
"Hi!" The chirpy voice could only belong to Erica!
The old couple in the living room looked at each other, and a bad feeling rose in Wesley's heart.
He peeked at the door to see who it was. It was indeed his youngest daughter. And there was another man standing next to her!
Wesley's curious gaze was fixed on his daughter and the unknown man as they approached.
"Dad, mom! I'm back! Hey Ethan!" Erica greeted them with a smile.
With the little boy in her arms, Blair stared at the man standing beside her daughter. Not because the man was so handsome that she couldn't take her eyes off him, but because... he was obviously a foreigner!
After a long time, Blair came back to her senses and asked, "Who is...?"
Hearing that, Erica lowered her head and pretended to be shy. "Dad, Mom, I have decided to divorce Matthew Huo. This is your new son-in-law. His name is...Wait, Dad, why are you holding a feather duster? Let's talk!"
The events that had transpired the previous day made Erica feel furious. The more she thought about what had happened, the angrier she felt. When Matthew had come back to the villa in the evening, they hadn't talked to each other. Therefore, she had decided to go back to her parents' house early in the morning.
And to show her determination of leaving Matthew, she had even hired a foreigner to pretend to be her new boyfriend.
At first instinct, Wesley had looked around to find a feather duster. Now, he was raising the duster and running towards the girl.
Erica ran immediately. "Dad! Can you hear me? Matthew doesn't love me and even got mad at me... It's true, Dad! Ouch! Dad, you hit me. It hurts..." The girl made a crying face as she rubbed the spot where the feather duster had landed.
Shocked, the foreigner stood still. All he could do was look in shock at Wesley chasing Erica.
Ethan thought the duo were playing and burst into laughter.