Erica casually patted the bag of fruits and said, "So make your choice now. Who will you stand with: your wife or your goddess? Think twice before you answer me!"
Matthew's answer came back instantly, as sudden as a gunshot. "My goddess!"
Against her will, Erica's hand went to her heart. He might as well have shot her.
Hating herself for even that momentary show of weakness, she steeled herself and told her husband, "Fine! Didn't you say once that you didn't care about the silly trifles between women? Then you will have to turn a blind eye to what I'm going to do. What do you think of that?"
"What do I think?" Matthew raised his eyebrows. "What makes you confident enough to bargain with me after you've beaten me?" Her arrogance astounded him.
Erica held her chin up, her smile full of pride and happiness. "Well, I was born into a rich family. I've been this confident since I was a child!" There was nothing in her life she was more proud of than knowing herself to be the daughter of Blair and Wesley!
Matthew lowered his head in a partial effort to hide the smirk on his lips. When he finally looked up, his face was blank again. "I suppose I'll just wait and see."
"Wait for what?"
He gave a little shrug. "See how you are going to deal with Phoebe."
Erica began, "My plan is simple. First, you have to get her pregnant again."
"What?" That was a far cry from what Matthew would have guessed. What was on this woman's mind? He had dealt with many bizarre and complicated problems in his life, but Erica's weird logic was something else. "Now, why should I do that?" he asked. "Shouldn't I be having children with you?"
"Yes, and you will. But you have to make her pregnant too, so that I can push her to the ground in front of you. You will see how I give her a miscarriage, just like she's accused me. Otherwise, I would be wronged!"
Matthew was usually calm in the face of danger and big events, but here, now, he was utterly flustered and furious. Trying to regain his composure, he sputtered, "Don't you mind if I make her pregnant?"
"Oh, yes, that reminds me," she said spitefully. "I don't want to share a man with others. How about this? You find another man to make her pregnant, and then I'll push her down. How about that?"
"Absolutely not! An unborn baby is also a life!" In the back of Matthew's mind, it struck him as bizarre that he was now the one trying to talk his wife into having a heart. Not only was this an awful idea, but he really had always believed her innocent of what she was accused.
But then again, if Erica insisted on getting Phoebe pregnant again, Matthew would ultimately find someone to do it, though that someone would never be Matthew himself!
Erica flinched; her anger ebbed somewhat, and she realized that her husband was right. An unborn baby was as precious a life as anyone's. In her right mind, she knew that she could never actually make herself do what she'd just suggested. When she could speak again, she said, "Well...how about I force her to apologize to me?"
"Do whatever you see fit to do," said Matthew. He would support her unconditionally, whatever she did.
Suddenly there was a glint in Erica's eyes. "Let's make a deal first! You can't punish me for Phoebe. And you can't protect her or impede my plan!"
"All right, I won't..." Matthew paused, irritation flickering on his face before repeating what he had said before. "I don't have time to care about the silly trifles between you women!"
At that, Erica's anger vanished like smoke. Retrieving a few of the fruits from the bag, she rinsed them under the tap and put them onto a platter.
Under her husband's eye, she brought the platter over and set it on the table before him. "Here, have a taste. You know, I almost fell out of the apple tree when I picked some of these!"
Gritting his teeth, Matthew asked, "Didn't you say you were going to feed these to a dog?" He very nearly asked if she was trying to say he was a dog, but restrained himself.
"Oh, no, no. I think I'll feed them to you instead!" Saying this, she picked up a strawberry and put it to his lips. "Come on, Matthew, have a taste!"
He kept his mouth firmly shut. Once again, he didn't bother to mention the fact that they had no dog, nor did any of their neighbors. For a brief instant he felt so ridiculous that he wanted to strangle her.
But he dismissed that thought. After all, if he did that, who would be there for him to dote on? Who would squander his money?
In any case, he wasn't hungry or in the mood for any of this. He stood up from the table decisively and said, "Go feed a dog with these, like you said. Pick some fresh fruits again tomorrow, and maybe I'll eat those!"
She protested, "I've told you I'm not going to feed any dogs. Come on! Matthew, it was not easy for the farmers to plant these. And I spent a lot of money to enter the fruit base and pick them."
With a dreary look on his face, Matthew produced his cell phone and tapped on it a few times.
Seconds later, Erica's phone rang twice. She opened it and found that Matthew had transferred the money to her through the payment software. She counted.
Every time he gave her money, she had to count it. "Wow! Six hundred and sixty thousand!"
Though she had mentioned spending a lot of money, she hadn't meant to ask him to reimburse her. Now, though, she felt she had to show him some gratitude somehow. Grinning from ear to ear, she rushed back to her husband, an apple in hand. "Matthew, I love you so much! Let me feed you an apple!"
As long as he took care of her like this, she supposed she could feed him every day!
However, Matthew would never eat the fruits that she had said were for the nonexistent dog. He didn't open his mouth, no matter how much she pestered him.
In the end, Erica gave up and just took a bite out of the apple herself. Brazen as ever, she asked, "Can you do me another favor?"
"No way!" He was very nearly shouting.
"Don't be so heartless! Come on, my super idol. Just one bite of the apple!" Saying this, she put the fruit up to his lips yet again.
Matthew gnashed his teeth. "Erica, do you believe that I will tie you to the bed until you are pregnant?"
Privately, he reflected that this woman was only obedient when she was asleep. As soon as she opened her eyes, she became a real troublemaker.
"Honey," she pouted, "no matter how much we argue, we are still family, aren't we?"
Matthew nearly slapped himself in the forehead in frustration. Now she was going on about how they were family! Had she been thinking about that when she was climbing over the wall or giving him a bloody nose?
He would never believe Erica's flattery or sweet words!
Seeing that he was unmoved, Erica set the apple down and wrapped her arms around his waist. "Honey, for our brother's lifelong happiness, can you help me again?" she asked, drawing out her words.
So it was all about Gifford, then. Lost in the moment, Matthew cradled his wife's head in his hands. Then, remembering himself, he pushed her away. "Aren't you very capable?" he asked. "Figure something out on your own."
"Well in fact, I have figured something out!" she said, undaunted. She leaned in closer and looked up at him. "You help me find a way to make him and Chantel sleep together again, just one more time. It would be great if she got pregnant."
Matthew snorted.
So this was what she wanted his help with? He had to admit that she was smarter now than before marrying him—for the most part. "I'm not God," he told her. "I don't have the power to make sure she gets pregnant after one more night with your brother." If there was really a way, he would get Erica pregnant first!
Her tone turned pleading and pitiable. "You are the god in my heart. Please! To let the Li family have a descendant as soon as possible, please help them!"
Looking down at her coldly, Matthew complained, "You are destroying my friendship with Gifford again!" How could he keep falling into these traps? Erica was always putting forward bad ideas, and he was the one who kept going along with them!
Was he really her husband? Why was she always so intent on getting him involved in her schemes?
"That doesn't matter. Even if your friendship breaks, you're still family," she argued. "He's still your brother-in-law, right? Honey, come on!" If he didn't say yes, she would lose her patience.
Matthew pinched her cheek with one hand, her mouth opened. "You're worrying a lot of things," he mused. "You haven't gotten pregnant yourself, but here you are, trying to get everyone else to have babies. Think about it now. How many nights are you going to have sex with me in exchange for this favor?"
"One..." When she was about to blurt out the words "one night," Erica corrected herself, weathering her husband's disdainful gaze. "One week!"