When they referred to Noreen, they were referring to the woman cozying up to Matthew, treating him like her boyfriend. She was a famous star, like Chantel. She had a fan base, and to them she was impossibly beautiful and elegant, a goddess, if you will. And her fans were primarily male.
Today, she wore a wine-red deep V-neck evening dress and a collar manufactured by Mikimoto jewelers. It was an amalgam of South Sea pearls, pink conch pearls, Tahitian pearls, white pearls, and so on. All of them cultured and set in various metals like gold and platinum, along with diamonds. This particularly pricey piece was on loan, meant to show off the line. Her wavy blonde hair fell over her left shoulder, revealing the long drop earring dangling from her right ear—a graceful rainbow pearl suspended by an 18k golden chain.
As Erica approached, Noreen clung harder to Matthew's arm, trying to get herself even closer to the man.
And just like everyone else, Matthew's eyes had never left Erica's lithe form. She was a thing of beauty, radiant and nearly unattainable. Especially today.
The voluminous skirt of the red bubble dress parted to reveal her shapely legs. She looked like a princess.
Matthew had a slight smile on his face, an enigmatic thing that was sometimes not there when you looked for it. Noreen thought it was for her. She was wrong.
Erica continued making her way through the guests. Before she could say anything, more people began commenting. "Mr. Huo's wife is here. What does Noreen think she's doing? Doesn't she know she should stay away from Mr. Huo?"
"Maybe she doesn't know Erica is Mrs. Huo? After all, Erica hasn't been in Y City for a while now."
"Maybe! I don't know!"
It was almost as if Erica couldn't see the woman with Matthew. She quickened her pace when she was about to reach him.
Finally, she gave him a hug in front of everyone and said in a sweet voice, "Hi honey!"
As soon as Erica put her arms around the man, Noreen went red with embarrassment. Her face almost matched the red of her dress.
Matthew and Erica were husband and wife. She knew that, and had to step back. She was merely his escort. Erica was his wife.
Noreen released his arm. But she stood still, as if she didn't want to leave.
The man's big palm stroked Erica's face, and his expression was unfathomable. Finally, he said in a soft voice, "You're so bad." She came here without telling him. Wouldn't that make her a bad girl?
Erica giggled and then looked at the woman beside her husband, as if she had seen her for the first time. She tilted her head intimately in his arms and looked at Noreen in confusion. "Honey, who is this?"
Then she greeted Noreen in a sweet voice, "Hello, Auntie! I'm Erica Li, Matthew's wife."
However, Erica had to admit that Noreen was very beautiful, mature and sexy.
When the two women stood together, there was still a big difference between them. One was mature and sexy, and the other was cute and lovely. One was approachable, the other not so much.
'Huh? Auntie?' Erica's greeting made Noreen insecure. Did she really look that old?
Sighing helplessly in his heart, Matthew thought to himself, 'She's still as bad as ever! And it's sexy as all get-out!'
Hearing the mockery from the crowd, Noreen quickly snapped out of it. She smiled politely and said to Erica, "Hello, I'm Noreen Xia. I'm only 35. Far too young to be an auntie. Mr. Huo and I go way back. In fact, I think I'm closer to his age than you are. Three years older, in fact. But it's nice to meet you. You can call me Noreen."
'Wow, she's good. There's a saying that if a woman is three years older than her man, they're a perfect match. Her mentioning her age was a deliberate move. Noreen's trying to imply that she and Matthew are meant for each other, '
Erica thought to herself. With an apologetic look on her face, she said, "My bad. I called you auntie because I thought you were almost 50! It's a good thing you set the record straight, huh? But, you might want to use more makeup, or drink more water. I can see the wrinkles around your eyes."
At this point, she let go of Matthew and took Noreen's arm. She acted like they were good friends, and continued to babble on about the entertainment industry. "My sister-in-law is also an actress. She told me people like you have to eat right and exercise. And I'd attack those wrinkles too. The industry has no use for an old actress. I'm serious about this. Tell you what, I can introduce my sister-in-law to you and she can give you some great skincare tips."
When Noreen heard that, the corners of her mouth twitched. "How old is your sister-in-law?"
"25. But she looks pretty young for her age. My brother's always saying she looks like a teenager." Erica was lying through her teeth. Her brother never said anything like that.
Noreen turned her head and rolled her eyes so Erica wouldn't see. She was 10 years older than Erica's sister-in-law. Why should she compare the two of them? It was not fair from the get-go. But she tried to remain gracious. She said "thank you" instead of "fuck you."
Then she let go of Erica's hand and walked up to Matthew. With a smile, she said, "Mr. Huo, we haven't said hi to Mr. Li yet. Why don't we head that way?"
Glancing at his wife, Matthew nodded and told her, "You wouldn't mind waiting here, right? This won't take long."
'What? How can he do this to me? Is it just her? Or does he go with any woman who asks him to keep her company?' Flames of fury were burning in Erica's eyes.
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a few people. Her anger nearly vanished. She flashed Matthew a lovely smile and said, "Okay, it doesn't matter. Go ahead. I see some old friends I can hang out with. I'm going to say hello."
'Old friends?' Matthew was confused and didn't know who she might be talking about.
Noreen was not one to miss an opportunity. She took Matthew's arm and said, "Let's go, Mr. Huo!"
Acting casually, as if she didn't see Noreen holding her husband's arm, Erica waved at them. "Bye!"
Everyone else was very disappointed at this scene, because Erica didn't embarrass Noreen at all! She didn't tear her down, or slap her, or make her cry. It was obvious that Noreen won that bout. Since when did Miss Troublemaker become a pushover?
Matthew was about to say something when Erica walked the other way, hailing her friends. "Hi, Red! Blue! Yellow!"
Matthew knew the FC group better than anyone else.
He had already investigated the group when she ran into FC. He knew better than anyone who they were.
Hearing his wife calling the names of the three men, Matthew stopped in his tracks. The woman on his arm was taken aback, and had to work not to stumble over her heels.
He stood, frozen, watching his wife hug the three men politely.
What was more, there were many male celebrities clustered around FC at the moment. His wife was so happy that she practically drooled over them like an anthomaniac.
Matthew felt jealous. She'd learned a lot in those three years she spent on the run. His wife seemed to have gotten better at attracting the opposite sex.
Seeing Matthew's dour expression, Noreen didn't say anything, let alone urge him to meet Mr. Li. She didn't want to tempt his wrath.
Fortunately, Matthew made the decision for her, and they went to meet Mr. Li.
Thanks to Orange, Erica had a good relationship with the other three members of FC.
After Matthew left, Yellow reminded her in a low voice, "I'd keep an eye on those two, if I were you. Noreen could hold a masterclass on seduction. I think she has a crush on your hubby. I'd hate to see you lose him, Erma."
Yellow was used to calling Erica "Erma." That was the alias she took after she left Y City.
Erica didn't follow Matthew because she wanted to find a good way to punish Noreen. And being around them was making her blood boil. Now she was cooling down and could think more clearly. "Agreed. But I'm handling it, trust me."
Her guts were telling her that this woman was going to compete with her for her husband.
It was not easy for Chantel to shed her hangers-on and find Erica. "Rika..."
As soon as Chantel called her name, Erica fell into a familiar embrace before she could react.