This time, Erica was held down by three boys in front of the sink. She couldn't move an inch. She angrily warned, "If you dare lay a finger on me today, I will definitely make each of you— Mmmph..." The rest of her words dissolved into the cold running water.
Regardless of her warning, Lenora pushed Erica's head under the tap, just as she had done to her earlier. She removed the rubber band on Erica's long hair.
It was late September, and besides that, it was raining heavily. The temperature was dangerously below 12 degree Celsius.
The cold water pierced Erica's face and head, chilling her to the bone. She couldn't breathe normally anymore. She struggled for air.
The boys turned the tap to its maximum limit. Erica tried her best to break free, but she was fighting alone, against four people holding her down.
Hyatt, who was also struggling with all his strength, was being trampled under one of the boys' feet. He wanted to cry out loud for help, but two other men had covered his mouth. Only muffled sounds came out of his forcefully shut lips.
When she thought that Erica's head might freeze over, Lenora finally asked her companions to let go of her. She was afraid that she might end up killing Erica by accident. That was not her purpose.
But this did not stop her from bullying Erica even more. Lenora grabbed Erica's collar and threw the girl into the rain. Her lips had already turned purple at this point.
Lenora stared down at the girl on the ground. Her long black hair was dripping wet, and clung over her cheek and shoulder. Her small face was pale and her purple lips were trembling from the cold.
The boys saw the pitiful state she was in already and one of them whispered, "I think this is enough. Look at the state she's in..."
Lenora, who had earned the most money from this deal, refused, "No way! She didn't show any mercy when she pushed me under the tap! Why the hell would I stop now? I want to see her suffer." Still fuming in anger, she walked up to Erica and slapped her across the face.
Erica's head tilted to one side due to the force of the slap, and she closed her eyes in pain.
Lenora laughed. "I am going to beat the shit out of you today!"
When she raised her hand to hit the girl again, Erica quickly grabbed her wrist and used the momentum to get to her feet.
Slap! Erica hit Lenora square in the face. While the latter was still in shock, Erica growled, "No one has ever dared to do such a thing to me. Before coming here to bully me, you should have asked around about what I had done in A Country before coming here. Do you know how easily I brought a five-star hotel to its knees? I burnt down a villa worth millions of dollars! Can you even imagine doing something like that?"
Lenora was frightened by the fury in her eyes. She covered her cheek and took a step back, her lips trembling, unable to say a word to the enraged girl in front of her.
Slap! Erica stepped forward swiftly and slapped the other side of Lenora's face. "Do you know who my parents are?"
Lenora took a step back, while Erica took another step forward. Slap! "Do you know who my husband is, you worthless bitch? Does the name Matthew Huo ring a bell in your dumb brain?"
Slap! The fourth slap echoed through the building, shocking everyone around them. "I'll teach you a lesson on your mother's behalf, so that you finally understand that not everyone is easily bullied. There are some people in this world you just cannot mess with!" Erica threatened.
Slap! Lenora cried in pain this time. Erica stepped closer to her. "If you don't beat me to death here today and let me out of this place alive, I swear I will make you pay for offending me—for laying your filthy hands on me! I will lock you in the deepest cave in the primeval forest of the deserted parts of H Country for at least half a month! I'll make you eat all kinds of worms!"
She had used up all of her remaining strength and could hardly stay on her feet.
Lenora's face was swollen. She was on the verge of a breakdown. "How dare you! How dare you hit me like this?!" She gritted her teeth and pushed Erica down once again. Erica had no energy left to fight back.
She struggled to get up, but felt dizzy.
Lenora got on top of her and rained her ruthless fists on the girl's cold body.
When she raised her hand to hit Erica for the third time, she heard a cold, angry roar. "Stop it!"
The cold voice which terrified everyone else, sounded like music to Erica's ears.
Tears welled up in her eyes in an instant. She was half lying on the wet ground awkwardly, looking at the man approaching her. He threw away the umbrella and rushed towards her. She felt a strong sense of security at the sight of him.
Her heart was like a lonely boat that had been drifting at sea for the longest time. And now, finally, she found land and felt a sense of belonging.
The man's deep eyes reflected pain, and the cold aura surrounding him made the people around them retreat at once. Since Matthew had always held a high position in life, he naturally had the aura of a king. Lenora and the boys stood frozen to the spot.
When he came closer to where Erica lay, Matthew kicked Lenora off his wife without any hesitation. He didn't care why the girl's face was a swollen mess; he used all his strength and kicked her in the chest, sending the girl flying to the ground.
Lenora landed several feet away. "Aargh!" she screamed, as she landed in the pool of rainwater awkwardly. She held her chest tightly where the man had kicked her mercilessly.
She coughed violently, and her chest hurt even more. Blood spurted out of her mouth and quickly merged with the rainwater around her. It dyed the ground in front of her red.
This scene was horrifying, to say the least. The others were rooted to the spot in fear. This man just kicked a woman and sent her flying; what was he going to do to the boys next?
Matthew took off his expensive custom-made suit. Raindrops fell on his white shirt, but he didn't heed any attention.
He squatted down and wrapped the suit around his wife to protect her from the cold rain.
His suit not only warmed Erica's body, but also her heart.
In that moment, she fell in love with him...forever.
The man's eyes were filled with concern. He picked her up from the wet ground and gently kissed her forehead. "I'm sorry, Rika, for being so late!"
When he said "Rika," his voice became tender.
When she saw the affection in his eyes, tears streamed down her cheeks, mixed with the rain droplets.
For the first time, she felt so lucky to have married Matthew.
Owen held a black umbrella over their heads, and a dozen bodyguards in black stood in a neat line behind them.
Matthew held back his worry and looked at Lenora viciously. She recoiled in fear; it felt as if the man was Death itself. "Don't let any of them go! Especially her! She hurt Erica."
Matthew had no intentions of letting them get away with hurting his wife, no matter who they were!
"Yes, Mr. Huo!" the bodyguards answered in unison.
The rain stopped and it got darker. The city was ablaze with the night lights.
Matthew took Erica to the hospital. He was drenched, but he didn't bother to change them. He made sure that his wife received all kinds of examinations.
Half an hour later, Erica was admitted into the VIP ward. She lay on the bed in a daze, and the doctor started an intravenous drip for her. She fell asleep after the doctor gave her a final check up and left the room.
Matthew followed the doctor out of the ward and listened to his report.
"Mr. Huo, Mrs. Huo has a high fever right now. She has a slight bruise on her hand, but everything else is fine."
The gloom in Matthew's eyes didn't fade. He said lightly, "Thank you, doctor."
"You're welcome, Mr. Huo. Let Mrs. Huo get some good rest. After the infusion, you can take her home if her fever goes down by then."
"Alright."
After the doctor turned around and left, Matthew's phone vibrated in his pocket. It was Gifford.