The matter of disinfecting Watkins' wound absorbed Erica's attention entirely. When she heard the front door open and then shut, she thought nothing of it, supposing the driver had gone out.
Little did she know that she was wrong; in fact, it was her husband coming in.
As soon as Matthew had finished his business trip, he'd rushed straight home without even visiting the office.
He was unpleasantly surprised when he opened the door, for the first thing he saw was his wife, squatting in front of a strange man and dealing with his wound.
Matthew's face darkened at this eyesore. When he was in a mood like this, he seemed to give off an uncanny aura that lowered the temperature in the room.
The driver, who was still inside the house, turned at the sound of the door. Seeing Matthew approach, he nodded respectfully. "Mr. Huo!"
Only then did Erica realize that her husband was back.
Joy flashed through her eyes, but when she saw the man's cold expression, her memory of the unhappiness between them a few days ago came rushing back. Sobered at once, she silently went back to spraying Watkins' wound with the disinfectant.
Just steps away, Matthew came to a stop and took in the exceptionally unhappy scene before him.
When the two men's eyes met, Watkins spoke first and awkwardly extended his hand, smiling. "Hello."
He was quite embarrassed when Matthew ignored him entirely, neither responding nor shaking his hand.
Erica left off with the disinfectant and said, "Well, it's no good to spray any more. Your wound is too deep, and you really need to go to the hospital."
"Well, thanks anyway." As soon as Watkins said this, his phone rang and he answered it. "Hello? Yeah, I'm here. Yes, I'm on my way now."
With that, he put the phone away and got up. "Erica, thank you very much," he said emphatically. "I'm sure you've saved my life, and I will repay you someday. But my friend is here, so I'll be going now."
Erica waved her hand. "You don't need to repay me. Just get going. And please, don't delay in going to the hospital."
"All right."
Saying this, Watkins turned toward the door, but just then a spasm went through him, and his knees wobbled. Without thinking, Erica caught him by the arm. "Are you okay?"
The atmosphere in the living room was thick with awkwardness as Matthew stood by, silent and ignored.
Despite doing nothing, his presence was enough to put a lot of pressure on Watkins.
The injured man quickly freed himself from Erica's grip, his face frozen in a nervous parody of a smile. "I'll be fine. I'm sorry to disturb you at this late hour. Goodbye!"
With a perfunctory nod at Matthew, he gritted his teeth and marched out toward the gate of the villa. In his haste, he left his coat behind, though neither of his hosts noticed this.
Matthew's voice stopped him. "Wait!"
Even more on edge than before, Watkins stopped in the doorway and turned.
As Erica watched uneasily, her husband went on, "My wife saved your life today, but you don't have to pay her back in the future. It's just a small favor. And for that matter, you don't need to see her in the future, either."
Watkins' smile splintered and fell in ruins. There was no mistaking the man's hostility to him now. "Yes, I got it. Thank you, sir and madam. I'm leaving now."
Matthew watched him go, and Erica went to pack up the first aid kit.
At the first sight of Matthew, the driver had sensed that something was wrong with him. Now that he had the chance to leave, he immediately took Watkins' coat and followed him out of the villa.
For a brief moment, Erica looked through the window at Watkins, pretending to be strong as he left, and she shook her head helplessly.
Her husband was so heartless. This man had been injured and he was trying to be polite and gracious, but Matthew showed him no sympathy or warmth. 'He's got one hell of a bad temper!' she cursed silently.
As she went to put the first aid kit away, she passed in front of Matthew, who sneered in a low voice, "I didn't know that my wife is a doctor." In fact, he was genuinely a bit surprised at the patience she had shown, taking care of a stranger.
Erica snorted. "There are many things that you don't know about me!" Not wanting to actually start an argument, she headed for the stairs.
But Matthew grabbed her by the wrist. "Who is that man?"
"He has nothing to do with you," Erica retorted. Normally she might not have been difficult about it, but she definitely didn't want to talk to Matthew while he was in this mood.
Matthew gave her a jerk, and Erica fell into his arms. Chest-to-chest with her, Matthew said in a low voice, "Of course it has something to do with me. Shouldn't I ask why you brought another man into our house?"
It was then that he noticed she was wearing makeup and lipstick, which was not something she ever liked putting on. Matthew's face hardened with fury—it must have had something to do with that stranger.
Irritated by her husband's inexplicable temper, Erica matched his glare. "It's none of your business! Have I ever meddled in your affairs with other women? What, are you blind? Didn't you see that he was hurt?"
Did he think she would take care of some stranger without a serious reason? She had hit Watkins with her car. Surely that was serious enough!
"So his injury is the reason you took him into our home?" Matthew demanded.
"Yes! If you have a problem with that, you can always bring a few women home yourself! You could get a lot in here, I'm sure—not that any of them will be able to stand you for long!"
The way Erica saw it, there was no way that the women who seemed to like Matthew could deal with his temper, no matter how handsome and rich he was.
Matthew abruptly let go of her, took out his phone, and dialed a number. "There's a man who just walked out of the villa. Get rid of him!" His tone was as cold and ruthless as someone from hell.
Erica's heart was in her throat when she heard that. As Matthew turned and started to walk away, she tried to block him.
"You can't do this!" she cried as he went past her.
"Matthew Huo, if you dare to hurt him, I swear I'll go tie up Phoebe right now, and hang her at the school gate for three days and three nights!"
"Whatever! See if I care!" Her husband disappeared into the kitchen without looking back.
Erica was even more shocked than before. 'Whatever? How could this man say this? Isn't Phoebe supposed to be the woman who really has his heart? Or is he just this cruel to all his women?'
Clenching her teeth, she dropped the first aid kit and stormed after him. "Don't forget that Phoebe is pregnant. She might lose her baby after being hung at the school gate for one day, let alone being hung for three days. What if you lost her and the baby?"
Matthew turned on her with flames in his eyes. "Then I'll use your child to make up for her!" he retorted.
Erica squinted at him, uncertain. 'My child? Does he mean Ethan? Ha, why not? Ethan is in fact the descendant of the Su family!' "Okay, deal," she said savagely. "I'll go tie up Phoebe right now!"
More than ever, she was becoming aware of what sort of man she was dealing with. Matthew would be just as cruel to his goddess as he was to his actual lawful wife. He'd actually asked her to use Ethan to make up for Phoebe if she lost her baby.
"Stop!" Matthew yelled as she turned away.
With a snort, Erica did as she was told and faced him again.
Expressionless, Matthew walked up and looked into her eyes. "Are you sure you are Ethan's biological mother?"
'Huh? Why would he suddenly ask that? Does he suspect something?' Vigilance flashed in Erica's eyes. "Of... Of course I am."
Matthew didn't fail to notice his wife's hesitation. In his opinion, any normal red-blooded person wouldn't give away even a pet, let alone a baby, after having them for more than half a year. But Erica was such a simple, soft-hearted girl. How could she possibly have parted with Ethan so willingly?