Hearing how readily Erica had agreed to hand Ethan over to Phoebe, Matthew wondered if Ethan's birth mother was one of the Su family.
There was no way the kid's mother was Phoebe.
He knew the Su family had three daughters. Camille Su was the oldest, and the favorite. Then there was Tessie, the youngest, who was not well-liked. Phoebe was the middle child.
Phoebe had mentioned her sister Tessie spent her senior year of high school studying in A Country. She attended university there as well.
Erica was from that very same region. Erica and Tessie were about the same age, so it made sense that they were friends.
Matthew had a sly glint in his eyes as he thought about all this. He was close to figuring out Ethan's ancestry.
He didn't have to launch a formal investigation to figure this out. He listened to Erica carefully, and step by step he started to listen more to what she didn't say.
Silly girl! Erica was really smart sometimes. Yet, at other times she was so simple-minded that Matthew was afraid that one day someone would sell her off and she'd still be helping him count the money.
Thinking of this, he said deliberately, "I've never seen a mother willing to give her own child away to someone else for revenge."
Erica knew Matthew was right. 'Did I give anything away? How did he figure it out?' "I...I... You...I...I..." Despite her struggle to find an excuse, she failed to find any. Desperate, she blamed Matthew for it. "It's all your fault. You forced me to!"
The man suddenly burst into laughter. "You're really good at passing the buck!" L
ooking at his half smile and enigmatic expression, she became even more enraged. "Are you laughing at me?"
Matthew didn't deny it, nor did he answer her question. He raised his hand and took her delicate chin between two fingers. "Remember, from now on, only you and I are allowed in this house. You can't have anyone else over!"
This was his house. Of course, she had to do what he said. Reluctantly, Erica nodded, "Fine!"
Meanwhile, she grumbled inwardly, 'Did he have to grab my jaw while he said that? What a jerk!'
"Tell me what's going on!" Matthew demanded.
She took a different tack. She tried bargaining with him. "Want to know? Fine. Let him leave! Watkins has nothing to do with this." Watkins was innocent. She couldn't get him into trouble.
Matthew cast a cold glance at her and asked, "So where did you go with him?" 'She even put on makeup before she went out, ' he thought sullenly.
"No more questions till I know he's safe and sound!"
"If I hadn't come back tonight, where were you going to let him sleep?"
"I mean it. I'm not telling you a thing. Let him go!"
She refused stubbornly. Matthew did a perfect facepalm. He felt a headache coming on. The man wondered if Erica would piss him off so much that he would suffer an anyeurism and die.
Letting go of her chin, he suddenly stepped forward and drew closer to her. "Will you answer me or not?"
Erica took a step back vigilantly and said stubbornly, "No."
"Really?" He stepped forward again!
She took another step back, and bumped into the table behind her. She was trapped! The edge of the table was digging into the small of her back. "Really!"
Matthew put his slender fingers on her collar, and with a slight movement of his hand, one button of her pink shirt was unbuttoned.
Blushing, Erica covered her exposed flesh. "What are you doing?"
"I think you know," he said in reply, maintaining a graceful manner. Then he suddenly lifted her up and put her on the table, keeping as close to her as possible.
He grasped her hands covering her chest, looked at her with dangerous eyes and announced word by word domineeringly, "If you don't tell me, I'll bang your brains out right here!"
Erica's face turned red as if it were aflame. "You do that and I'll bite you again!"
When she said that, Matthew raised his hand and showed her the tooth marks she left on his hand last time.
Then he took off his jacket, untied his tie, and unbuttoned his shirt.
He just stood in front of her like that. After he had unbuttoned a few shirt buttons, his shirt fell away to expose the deeper bite mark on his shoulder. "Do you know what I did when I was out of town? At night, I mean?" he asked.
Erica was forced to shift her gaze away from his perfect pecs. "If it's something gross, don't tell me," she joked, to cover up her anxiety. 'What is he getting at?' she wondered.
Matthew turned his head and slowly kissed the bite mark on his shoulder.
Erica looked at the man in astonishment. 'He can do that? It sounds impossible.' The next moment, she goofily tried to kiss herself on the shoulder like he did. It turned out she could do it too. It took some doing, and you had to come at it at a weird angle, but it was possible. The spot she kissed on her own shoulder matched where she had bitten Matthew. What a crazy coincidence.
'Well, that was weird. If he turns his head just right, he can kiss the spot where I bit him.'
Then, somehow, their eyes met. The mischievous look in Matthew's eyes brought Erica back to her senses. 'No, no, no. What am I thinking? This man is obviously flirting with me!'
Blushing, Erica grabbed his hand and put it to her lips, threatening to bite. "Put me down, or I'll bite you again!"
Matthew put his fingers on her soft lips and said, "Go ahead. Especially if it means I can sleep with you. In fact, bite me a lot so I can take you again and again!"
This man was really driving her nuts. She broke down and asked, "What the hell do you want, huh?"
"An answer to my question!" He needed to know who that man was!
Why did Erica put on makeup for him? Why did his wife just let him in, and treat his wound so willingly, to boot?
Taking a deep breath, Erica began telling him everything reluctantly. "His name's Watkins Chai. He said we went to the same high school, and I hit him with my car. No, scratch that—I didn't hit him, he bumped into the car by himself..."
As she talked, she swore inwardly, 'Wow! That man really knows how to push my buttons! What a jerk! I'll pay him back one day! I'll have sex with him so many times a day that I'll make him cry and beg every time and he'll have to drink wolfberry tea and eat sea cucumbers to recover from it!'
"Why did you put on makeup?"
"I didn't. When Mom and I went shopping, the saleslady put it on for me," Erica explained. Why did he keep asking about the makeup? Did he think it was ugly?
Matthew nodded in satisfaction. He lowered his head and kissed the woman on the lips. Erica put her hands on his chest and gently reminded him, "Not now. I'm wearing lipstick." It would smear, and then his lips would be red, and she'd be doing her best clown impression. Not a good look for either of them.
Matthew glanced at her moving red lips, which were now more charming than before in that hue, his eyes darkening. This time, regardless of her objection, he kissed her gently and affectionately.
A few minutes later, someone opened the door to the villa. The man and woman in the dining room were still inseparably intimate.
Matthew heard the noise from the door opening. His senses were always sharp. He opened his eyes and looked at the girl who was still intoxicated from the passion.
Only members of the Huo family could open the door to Matthew's villa.
Matthew knew exactly who walked in without even turning his head. His suspicions were confirmed a moment later.
Soon, a familiar voice came from the living room, "Matthew? Erica? Ah!" As soon as Debbie walked into the living room, she saw what was happening in the adjoining dining room.
Debbie turned around immediately and murmured, "I'm sorry. Amitabha!" 'Wow, these two certainly aren't keeping their hands to themselves. They're even doing it on the table...' she mused.
Erica was suddenly shocked out of her romantic moment by Debbie's voice. As soon as she opened her eyes, she met the man's snickering eyes.
'Oh my God! This is so embarrassing!'
She quickly got down from the table and put some distance between her and Matthew. She reflexively looked at Debbie. "Mom, it's not..." She meant to tell Debbie it was not what it looked like. They were just kissing.