Gifford snorted mockingly at his sister. "What, now you're afraid? You had the courage to climb over the wall to escape. I thought you were brave enough to do anything!"
Erica endured his words with gritted teeth. She was much more concerned about what her husband might do or say to her.
Matthew cut straight through the siblings' bickering. "Of course I'm angry," he snapped. "I'll teach her a lesson when we get back. But what happened between you and Chantel is another matter. You put your own guard down in front of her and fell easily into her trap! It's your responsibility, and you can't blame Erica for it."
"Oh, fine! Trying to fight both of you will be like banging my head against the wall. I won't forget what's happened today." Not waiting for either to reply, Gifford stormed out. He could see that he was getting nowhere, since Erica's husband was there to stick up for her.
Only the couple was left in the office. Wordlessly, Matthew extracted his arm from his wife's grip, turned away, and sat down in his chair.
Looking at her empty hands, Erica remembered what he had said just now.
Possessed of a girlish joy, she went up to his back and started to massage his shoulders. "Oh, Matthew, thank you so much!" she cried. "You're awesome! You're my super idol now!"
Ignoring her flattery, Matthew simply lowered his head and started reading a document that was on his desk.
His face was blank, as it so often was, and the air was thick with embarrassment.
Erica kept working on his shoulders, trying to butter him up, but could see it was not working. What else could she do to make him happy?
'Oh! I got it!' Not giving up, she went around to her husband's side, wrapped her arms around his neck, and kissed him on the cheek. 'No, that's not enough! He prefers more passionate kisses!' Thinking of this, she planted a few on his mouth.
But Matthew returned none of the kisses. Cold as ice, he just glanced at her, then went back to his work.
'Oh, fine!' thought Erica; even she knew when to give up sometimes.
She left the office in a huff, much as her brother had moments before.
When she was gone, Matthew found it no easier to concentrate on the document before him. For a long time he sulked, his eyes wandering the room.
'She is really heartless. She kicked me away after using me. How ruthless she could be!'
Later, in the Huo family's manor
It was after dinner. Erica handed a flower seedling to Debbie, then watched her plant it in the soil. "Will the plant be able to survive in this way?" she asked curiously.
Her mother-in-law gave her a smile and said, "Yes. The weather now is suitable for planting this kind of flower. They'll bloom around this time next year."
"Oh! I've seen this kind of flower before. It's pink and beautiful!"
"Yes. A client of our company brought it back from abroad. I liked it, so I kept it." Saying this, Debbie buried the roots of the flower seedling with soil, then watered it for a bit with a watering can.
For a moment both were silent. Inclining her head, Erica decided then to get past the small talk. "Mom, can you tell me what Matthew likes? For example, what sort of food does he enjoy? Or anything else!"
Debbie couldn't help but burst into laughter. "Oh, my! Your relationship must have improved a lot!" Erica had come to the manor just to inquire about Matthew's preferences. It was obvious that she cared about him now.
Faced with her mother-in-law's teasing, Erica blushed and explained, "I've made a lot of mistakes recently, and Matthew seems to be very angry. I have to do something to make up for it."
"Oh, really? What sort of mistakes?"
Erica lowered her head, thoroughly embarrassed. She couldn't exactly tell Debbie that she had escaped home because of Matthew's vigor and strength in bed.
So she wasn't going to tell her the exact truth. Holding Debbie's arm, she spoke like a spoiled child. "It's not important, Mom. Please just answer my question."
Debbie was further amused; she thought her daughter-in-law was cute when she acted petulant. "Rika, it's not that I don't want to tell you. You know Matthew's personality. He's just like his father; whatever he thinks never shows up on his face. In my opinion, it doesn't matter what he likes. What matters is your sincerity. For example, you could make him a meal... Actually, forget about that. You don't know how to cook. Maybe you can buy him a gift or make something for him yourself. It will show your sincerity. What do you think?"
Erica thought it over for a bit and soon saw that Debbie was right. She nodded and said, "Thank you, Mom. I see."
So she had answered her original question, but that only brought her to a new one. Clumsy as Erica was, what could she do for Matthew by herself?
Erica returned to the villa that night. As expected, Matthew hadn't come back from the company yet.
She quickly became bored and got a bottle of red wine out of the cellar. Bringing it back upstairs, she poured it into the decanter, waited a moment, and got out two glasses.
Next, she went and raided the walk-in refrigerator for snacks. As she waited for Matthew, all she could think of to do was eat.
Half an hour passed, and Matthew wasn't back. Feeling a little thirsty, Erica shrugged and poured herself some wine.
An hour later it was eleven o'clock, and Erica was checking Weibo, still alone.
All the snacks she'd gotten from the refrigerator were long gone, along with half of the bottle of red wine.
It was not until midnight that the sound of a door came through the vestibule of the living room.
Hearing it, Erica abruptly stood up from her seat and rushed toward the vestibule. "Matthew!" she called out sweetly.
As if summoned by a spell, Matthew appeared in the living room. As he changed his shoes, he couldn't miss the aroma of the wine. Taking a look at his approaching wife, he noticed that her face was bright red. He frowned slightly, wondering how much she had drunk.
Quite oblivious to his mood, Erica threw herself into his arms and hugged his waist. "Matthew..." she said again, then burped right beside his face.
Stifling a cough, her husband pulled away in disgust. "How much wine did you drink?" 'Why did she drink while alone at home?' he wondered.
"Not much. Just a few sips..." Erica mumbled.
'A few sips?' He didn't believe that for a second. She had probably drunk at least half of a bottle of wine.
Wanting to confirm his guess, he started to head farther into the living room.
However, Erica thought he still didn't want to talk to her. Seeing him walk past, she very suddenly and loudly burst into tears.
Somewhat startled, Matthew stopped and turned around. His frown deepened in confusion. "Why are you crying?" Had he said something to offend her?
Erica didn't answer. Her face glistening with tears, she lurched to the front door and disappeared outside.
Matthew was stunned. What did she mean by rushing out without even a word? After closing his eyes and taking a deep breath, he hurried after her.
Outside there was no sign of Erica, but one of the bodyguards had seen her and pointed Matthew in the direction she had gone.
It turned out that she'd gone to the garden. It was only a few minutes' walk from the gate of the villa, but by the time Matthew got there, Erica had gotten herself into something of a predicament.
To be precise, she had begun to climb one of the larger trees. Two meters off the ground she began to feel dizzy, though, and simply clung to one of the larger branches.
Astonished, Matthew marched over to the tree and yelled, "Erica, what the hell are you doing? Come down at once!"
"I won't come down!" she wailed. "You don't want to see me anymore. I won't live..." After all, she'd noticed the disgust on Matthew's face earlier; it had been plain as day. So he just didn't want her anymore, did he? Then she would die in front of him!
'You won't live?' Staring up at his drunken wife, Matthew felt a terrible headache begin to set in.