That night, as soon as Matthew stepped inside his house, he saw Erica walking down the stairs, a sweet smile on her lovely face.
She was dressed in a pink night robe, her long hair loose and cascading around her shoulders and down her back. She looked more mature than she usually did.
The smile on her face was far too wide. She looked like the cat who ate the canary. 'I wonder what kind of trouble she's in this time?' he thought. Finally, he asked, "What do you want from me?"
Erica smiled but said nothing. After he changed his shoes, she came over and held his arm. "You must be tired after a long day," she said. "Want something to drink?"
"I'm not tired or thirsty!" he answered. Truthfully, he'd been quite exhausted, but seeing her like this banished all thoughts of rest.
"Okay, honey. Whatever you want. Do you want to go upstairs?" 'After we go upstairs, we can go to our bedroom and have a romantic night, ' she thought.
Matthew wondered if he was imagining things. 'Is she trying to seduce me?' he thought. "Why now? What's the rush?" he asked tentatively.
She blinked her eyes and her smile grew wider. "Well, I thought we could...maybe...get some sexy time!" She had just bought a dozen night gowns, all different styles and colors. She wanted to see how he liked them.
'Now I know something's wrong! I'm not getting mixed up in this!' He pulled her hand away and said, "I'm tired. I'm heading to bed."
The smile on Erica's face froze. 'Yeah, he's tired. Tired of me!
I can't run away from home anymore. I have to be the only one in his heart, ' she thought to herself.
"Okay! Good night." Erica didn't pester him anymore and went upstairs alone.
Matthew was confused by her every move. "Erica!" he called out and stopped her.
She turned and looked at him blankly. "Anything else, Mr. Huo?"
'Mr. Huo?' He hated it when she called him that. She called him "honey" just moments before. It was affectionate and playful. Now she was stiff, cold, and calling him Mr. Huo.
He strode over and scooped her up in his arms.
Erica was alternately delighted and shocked. She patted her chest to calm her heart.
"I thought you weren't going upstairs, Mr. Huo."
"When did I say that?" he asked in reply.
'Fine, he didn't say that. But he said he was tired.' "Didn't you say that you were going to bed? Apparently, you have enough energy for this," she opined.
"Is there a problem? I like holding you," he said.
'Of course not. It feels good in your arms.' She was happy he didn't ignore her completely.
Matthew placed Erica gently on the bed, but she still held his neck with her arms. She pulled him down to her with all her might. For a moment, they could feel one another's breath.
She curled her red lips and undid the belt around her waist with one hand. "Honey, I just bought this. What do you think?"
Her robe fell away, revealing a strapless black nightgown. It barely covered her body, and her fair skin was on full display. Matthew's breath quickened.
Seeing his reaction, she giggled. The nightgown was $1, 000, and it was money well-spent.
Facing the vision of heaven in front of him, Matthew gave in to the moment. He had refused her advances for several days to teach her a lesson. But now, he surrendered to her seduction, and kissed her rosy lips.
Two minutes later, Erica, out of breath, decided she needed to move. She squirmed out from underneath him.
She gathered her long locks, bunched them together, and let her hair go; it spilled down her back. Watching her made Matthew's heart skip a beat.
Sitting happily on his lap, Erica slowly bent down and unbuttoned his shirt. "You've been a very bad hubby. You took my virginity, and then you became a sex maniac. But why did you stop? You didn't even touch me for quite a few days. Don't you know women have needs too?"
Matthew raised his eyebrow. 'Is she asking me to make love to her? That's new!'
A naughty glint flashed in Matthew's eyes. "Well, if that's what you want..."
'I'll keep you up all night, ' he thought.
In the middle of the night, Matthew carried a groaning Erica to the bathroom. She knew she shouldn't have done that. She should have learned by now she'd be paying for it later.
Now, her whole body ached as if she'd been hit by a truck, and it had rolled over her.
The next day, Erica heard that Phoebe was discharged from the hospital and returned to the Su family residence to recover. Her source was a reliable one—eavesdropping on Matthew's phone calls had its advantages.
The neatly-dressed man stood in front of the window of the bedroom with his back to her and dialed a number. As soon as the call was connected, he waited as somebody said something on the other end. Then he asked, "When will she be discharged from the hospital?"
Erica was still sleeping, and the sudden voice irked her. But the words "be discharged from the hospital" immediately attracted her attention.
She didn't open her eyes and pricked up her ears to listen carefully. What were they talking about?
Fortunately, he wasn't bothering to keep his voice low, and she could hear every word he said.
"This afternoon? Where's she going after she's discharged? The Su family residence? Okay. Thank you!" Then he hung up the phone.
He quietly turned and looked at the woman in the bed. Erica still had her eyes closed, but her moving eyelids betrayed her.
Now that he was done here, the man took the briefcase beside him and went to kiss her before leaving. But realizing that she was not asleep, he left for work.
As soon as he took off, Erica opened her eyes.
'Phoebe is getting out of the hospital!'
Heedless of the pain wracking her body, she dragged her weak legs to the bathroom to wash up.
In the villa of the Su family
A woman hid in a nearby garden. After a long time, she saw a maid coming out of the villa. She quickly followed her.
"Hey! It's me!" Erica ran up to the maid and greeted her warmly.
She was the one Erica met when she went to the hospital to see Phoebe last time. She looked at the girl in front of her in confusion and asked, "I'm sorry. Who are you?"
Erica raised her head so the maid could see her face.
Sure enough, she immediately recognized Erica. "It's you!"
With an innocent smile on her face, Erica said, "Yes, it's me! Who else would it be?"
"Something I can do for you?" the maid asked.
"Yeah! Follow me!" Erica held her arm and looked back to make sure no one saw them. Then she pulled the maid around the corner.
Under the maid's confused gaze, Erica opened her backpack and took out a huge wad of bills, at least a hundred thou. She didn't know exactly how much it was, because she didn't count it. She had just taken the money casually.
When the maid saw so much cash, her eyes widened and her jaw dropped.
Erica stuffed a wad of money into her arms. "Hey, do me a favor and the money's yours." After the maid took the money, she took out another wad of bills from her backpack. "And this!"
"Wow!" The maid widened her eyes in amazement. "What... do you want me to do?" She only earned a couple thousand a month working for the Su family. It would take her years to earn the amount that Erica had given her.