Although Matthew had already booked a plane ticket for himself, he didn't expect to receive a call from the bodyguard informing that Erica was missing.
Immediately, he changed his flight to the earliest one and flew to Cass.
When he got to the hotel room that Erica was supposed to be staying, he sat down and quietly listened to the bodyguard's report about his wife's disappearance. "Mrs. Huo ordered the female bodyguard to get her some lady supplies from downtown. In the meantime, another bodyguard and I stayed and did the protection for Mrs. Huo. When she complained about having a stomachache, we accompanied her to the bathroom and waited nearly half an hour outside the door. But then we realized that something was wrong. We called her several times, but there was no response. After we broke in, we found out that she had climbed over the wall and left."
The bathroom in the mountain area wasn't as luxurious as the one in the city. It was only a simple toilet built of bricks.
Behind it, there was a small forest. So when the bodyguards checked the surveillance footage at the entrance, they saw Erica leaving through the woods in a hurry.
They managed to track her from the screen until she reached a blind spot and disappeared without a trace.
After the bodyguard told him everything, Matthew closed his eyes and inhaled deeply. He could still smell her scent in the room.
For a long time, he didn't say anything, nor did he make a move. He was so calm that it didn't seem as he had just lost his beloved wife. The bodyguards were in cold sweats, beginning to wonder if the man had fallen asleep. But slowly, he opened his eyes again.
Matthew then stood up and walked around the room as if he was looking for something.
Finally, he spotted a letter and a box above Erica's suitcase.
Sitting on the head of the bed, he casually opened the letter.
It didn't seem very long. The girl's handwriting was neat, unlike her naughty character, and in the very first word, Matthew noticed that the letter was indeed for him.
"Matthew, first of all, I'm sorry. I'm really, really sorry.
Yes, I'm leaving. After what happened recently, I've realized how much of a problem I am. It turns out that I am a big fool. For so many times, I've allowed those messed up people to get between us that I would often misunderstand you because of it. I was so blinded by my own stupidity that I failed to see how good you were to me!
I thought a lot about it and came to the conclusion that a stupid woman who is always causing trouble like me doesn't deserve to be a wife, much less the title of Mrs. Huo and an excellent husband like you. You were always so good to me, and I know how much you love me.
Matthew, in fact, I also love you. I love you very much. You were the first man I fell in love with since I became an adult.
I like how gentle your voice gets whenever you speak to me, your eight pack abs, the way you grab the bed sheet every time I initiate the sex between us, the way you cook for me, the way you roll up your sleeves and work in a white shirt... Ah! I really like everything about you. You are so charming! How can you be so charming? Oh, my God, I'm already drooling in the mere thought of you.
It's also because I like you so much that I made this decision. I've decided to give up the comfortable life I have with you to find a place that I can struggle a bit more. Perhaps this will allow me to grow and be more worthy of you. So promise me that you won't send anyone after me, okay?
You can rest assured that I will take good care of our sons and bring them back after they are born. Oh, I mean, if you still want to see me, I'll bring them back. But if you don't, I'll let them come back to you on their own.
Also, don't get involved with other women while I'm away. Remain the stoic and cold CEO that you are and hold yourself back, please! After all, we aren't divorced yet. I'm just leaving to the deep forest to grow as a person in seclusion.
If you ever meet a wonderful woman, who is very kind and good to you, well, you may abandon me and be with her. I think maybe...I'll be fine after crying my eyes out.
Aside from this letter, I also left you a strand of my hair. You can hold it during your sleep every night.
I already wrote more than I intended to, and my hand is sore. It's sorer than that time I did you a hand job. Oh! And there I go again, remembering how good you look in bed! I better stop now, or I'm afraid I will change my mind.
Honey, if we are destined to meet, we will see each other again in the future!
Your beloved wife, Rika Li Huo."
After reading the letter at least three times, he finally put it back into the envelope.
'Did she apologize to me in this letter?
Who said she had to say she was sorry? Did I ever ask her to apologize? No. But why would she think she should apologize if I've never asked her that?' Matthew thought, his heart broken.
Despite her foolishness and her poor judge of character, she had never betrayed him. Neither physically nor morally. Why would she apologize to him then?
He didn't care about the misunderstandings caused by the Su sisters and Watkins. He wasn't even angry at her.
He never stopped his wife from doing anything that she wanted. So why would she apologize to him so humbly now?
If his theory was proved right, it must have been what the Su sisters told Erica the other night that provoked this.
But he didn't mind his pregnant woman throwing a tantrum at him. Why did the two sisters have to criticize his wife that way? As long as Erica was with him, he didn't care if she misunderstood him. He didn't even mind if she slapped him in the face!
'Erica, you fool. Things do not always run smoothly in people's lives. The two of us need to go through a period of adaptation, that's all. But how can we work through our relationship if you fled after such a small setback?' Matthew sighed wistfully.
In fact, he shouldn't have trusted her when she told him she wanted to go on a trip to get some peace of mind. How could he let her slip through his fingers so easily?
Obviously, she had everything planned. Otherwise, she wouldn't have written a goodbye letter to him. And how could he forget about the strand of hair that she left behind? Now was he simply supposed to hold it in his sleep? What was this? In his opinion, dumping her husband didn't qualify as the behavior of the good woman she said she wanted to be at all.
To make matters worse, did she say she wanted to struggle while she was pregnant? Was there something wrong with her brain?
Although Matthew thought his head was about to explode, in the end, he agreed to let her go.
After checking her luggage, he made sure that she didn't bring any of the bank cards he had given her. He couldn't wait to see how the pregnant woman planned to survive out there.
Bearing this in mind, Matthew didn't feel anxious anymore. Afterward, he took his men and left the country as soon as possible.
By the time he returned to Y City, he ordered his men to keep an open eye on any movement in Erica's bank accounts. Raising children required a lot of money, so he believed that she would surely need to withdraw some cash sooner or later.
Meanwhile, in A Country, Chantel was taking the day off at Li family's house.
It was rare for her to take some time to rest. But at that moment, she was playing the game of Go with Wesley, while Blair was knitting a sweater for her grandchild.
The family was having a good time together when Wesley's phone unexpectedly rang. With his mind focused on the game, he didn't feel like answering it.
However, Chantel warned him, "Dad, it's Uncle Carlos calling."
Nodding, Wesley put down his stone piece and picked up the phone. "Hey, old man!"
At the other end of the line, Carlos was smoking in his study when he said gloomily, "Wesley, Rika is missing!"