Gifford looked confused for a few seconds. When he came to realize what was going on, he laughed and dragged the kids away. "Okay, kids, come with me. Your dad is probably taking care of your mother. Let's not disturb them!"
'I'll bet he is taking good care of her, ' he thought to himself.
"But we want to be there for Mom too," said Boswell. He was more worried about Erica's injury.
Without any hesitation, Gifford pulled away the children and assured them, "Don't worry, your mother is a strong woman. A measly fall on the ground isn't going to hurt her. We'll see her after dinner. Come along now!"
"Uncle, why are you acting so strangely?" one of the boys asked.
The children's voices were getting farther and farther away and Erica breathed a sigh of relief. She bit the man's chest to vent her anger and said in a low voice, "It's all your fault. Now, Gifford definitely knows what we are doing!" Gifford would be a fool not to realize what they were doing in the bedroom.
"What's the big deal? We are all adults!" Matthew said.
'The man has a wife too! I'm sure he will understand us.'
When it was time for dinner, Matthew and Erica were still missing at the table. Gifford forbade anyone from calling them, which gave Blair more reason to be confused.
After listening to the kids give their explanation one by one, she finally understood what they were doing.
'Come on! These two people!' She rolled her eyes secretly.
In the end, Boswell was so hungry that he ran upstairs after lying about going to the bathroom and knocked on the door of his parents' bedroom. "Dad, Mom! Dad!"
This time, the door was opened rather quickly. Inside, Matthew was already dressed in a suit, but Erica was nowhere to be seen.
As soon as the door was opened, Boswell poked his little head into the room and looked around. Before he could say anything, Matthew picked him up, walked out of the room and closed the door. Then they went downstairs together.
"Daddy, is Mommy okay?" the boy asked.
"Yes, she's just in the bathroom because she has a stomachache," Matthew answered.
"Oh, I see! I got tired of waiting for you at the dinner table, but Uncle Gifford wouldn't let me call you." Boswell put his arms around his dad's neck and acted like a spoiled child.
With a smile at the corners of his mouth, Matthew said, "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have taken so long." If he had known that the children would be hungry, he would have let go of Erica a lot sooner.
"I forgive you!" Boswell said with a smile. After all, his father had apologized to him in such a nice way.
When Erica cleaned herself and went downstairs, the kids had already begun to eat. Wesley was talking to Matthew about something. The moment Blair saw her, she complained, "You're late!"
Erica felt misunderstood, but she didn't want to explain. Matthew, however, stood out to defend her. "Dad, Mom, I'm sorry. It's all my fault!"
Blair waved at him with a smile and said, "It doesn't matter. Let's start eating."
Erica pouted her lips. 'That's not fair! Mom always treats Matthew so nicely!' She was starting to miss her mother-in-law already. If she were in the Huo family manor right now, she wouldn't be getting scolded, but Matthew would.
On the afternoon of the Lunar New Year, Matthew and Erica returned to Y City with their four children.
Unfortunately, just as soon as they left, Chantel came back home to her family. As such, she failed to see Erica.
However, the two families still managed to have a nice and quiet time during the Lunar New Year.
On the second day of the Lunar New Year, Erica and Matthew were supposed to go back to her parents' home according to the customs, but since they had already stayed there for a period of time before the Lunar New Year, they didn't go back to A Country.
On the third day of the Lunar New Year, Wesley came to the Huo family's house with his family.
Last year, the Huo family went to the Li family's house to celebrate the Lunar New Year. This year, it was the Li family's turn to come to Y City.
Last year, no one was actually happy during the Lunar New Year. After all, the whereabouts of Erica and her children were unknown, and the atmosphere could barely be raised.
This year was different. Everyone was here and they had four more boys. The Huo family's manor was bustling with noise and the laughter of children.
The two CEOs, Matthew and Sheffield, gave themselves a few more days off to be with their family at the Huo family manor.
After lunch, the elders took the children to bask under the sun in their garden while the young people were drinking and chatting in the living room.
Taking a close look at his wife who was chatting with the other women happily, Matthew winked at two maids and soon they walked into the living room with one durian and a keyboard.
When Erica saw the durian in the maid's hands, she looked at Matthew in confusion. "I thought you didn't like durian?"
"Wow! Matthew, are you serious?" Joshua couldn't help laughing.
The maids put the durian and the keyboard in the middle of the living room. Matthew walked over silently, tidied his clothes and looked at Erica. "Honey, I can kneel on durian shells or the keyboard. You choose!"
Erica already knew what happened to Michel, but she didn't tell him that she knew, nor did she have an argument with him about it. He was always worrying about it in the back of his mind, afraid that one day she would lash out at him.
So he decided to take the initiative and admit his fault, hoping that perhaps she would appreciate his sincerity and forgive him.
Erica, however, was a bit confused. "Did you do something wrong?"
The man looked at the confused little woman and sighed. "Well, do you need me to remind you? Michel!"
"Oh!" Erica finally knew what this was all about. 'So he is talking about Michel.'
Matthew nodded. "Choose one. I'll kneel on it."
To add insult to injury, Sheffield said, "Rika, choose the durian shells. Let him remember how powerful you are so he won't dare to go against you next time."
Yvette held Erica's hand and said softly, "Rika, I've heard about what happened with Michel. Matthew did it for your own good!"
When Chantel gave Gifford a nudge, he looked at his wife wondering what she was expecting of him now.
Chantel rolled her eyes at Gifford, having lost her patience and said, "Rika, Matthew is so good to you. Don't be so hard on him!"
Erica was rendered speechless.
She looked at Matthew and asked, "Who gave you this piece of advice?" This was definitely not the way Matthew did things.
Sheffield couldn't wait to take credit. "Of course Joshua and I told him to do that. Rika, don't worry. We are all on your side!"
However, Erica snorted contemptuously and glared at the two brothers-in-law present. "Sheffield, Joshua, how could you do this to my husband?"
Erica knew that she wouldn't have been able to get rid of Michel on her own. All things considered, how could she blame Matthew for fulfilling her wish?
Sheffield and Joshua looked at each other in stunned disbelief.
Erica defended Matthew and said, "My husband has done so much for me, and yet you still want me to punish him! You are so hateful! Evelyn, Terilynn, I think they have gone too far this time. What do you think?"
With eyes wide open, Sheffield looked at his wife and explained, "Honey, Matthew was the one who came to us for advise on how to ask for Rika's forgiveness. We have nothing to do with this! Matthew, please explain!"
Erica was truly unpredictable. All of a sudden, she started defending her husband in front of everyone, and Sheffield realized that he was made to look like an outsider.
The same thing happened to Joshua as he was shocked by the sudden complaint. "Matthew, please tell your sister the truth!"
Matthew smiled. 'I have the loveliest wife in the world! Look at how protective of me she is. That's great!'
"You don't need to explain, Matthew. I know your brother-in-law well. He hasn't knelt on the keyboard for half a year, and I think he wants to do it again!" said Evelyn casually.