"Matthew, are you busy right now?" It was a woman's voice, which sounded a bit familiar to Erica. However, she couldn't tell whether it was the voice of the woman who called him on their wedding night or the voice of someone else she had heard before.
"No."
"Will you be attending the seventh-day ceremony of Nathan's death?"
"Yes." Tomorrow was going to be the seventh day after Nathan's death. And Matthew would definitely come.
"Okay, I'll be waiting for you, then."
"Okay."
As soon as he hung up the phone, Erica was dying to know who it was. So, she asked in a low voice, "Who was that? Your woman?"
"No," Matthew answered curtly.
"Oh." This one wasn't it either, which simply made Erica become more and more curious.
In the Huo family's manor
When they got there, a few kids were merrily running about in the yard. Noticing their car from a distance, Godwin quickly ran toward it. Godfrey and Gwyn followed him, blocking Matthew's car together.
The second the bodyguard got out of the car and opened the rear door, the two boys called out "Uncle" and frantically went inside the car.
The car was less than two minutes away from the manor itself, meaning to say the kids only got inside the car to have a bit of fun.
In order to give them space so they could get in, Matthew moved closer to Erica, and the two kids scrambled to sit right next to them.
Gwyn, on the other hand, was the only one who stood outside the car, showing no intention of getting in.
Seeing this, Erica pulled Godfrey, who was moving close to her, into her arms and let Godwin sit on Matthew's lap. Then, she called Gwyn and said, "Gwyn, hop in!"
The bodyguard said, "Mrs. Huo, Miss Tang can just sit in the front seat."
To which, Gwyneth flatly refused, "No. I don't want to sit in the front seat. I want to sit in the back with everyone!" Of course, she wanted to join the fun along with everyone.
With that, Matthew patted the empty seat beside him and said, "Gwyn, you can sit here."
Gwyn then bent over to step inside the car. After she had settled in her seat, they took their time driving toward the villa.
The car, which had been quite peaceful earlier, suddenly became very lively in an instant. Godwin was such a fearless kid. Godfrey, on the other hand, was actually a bit afraid of Matthew, but he wasn't afraid of being with him right now since Godwin and Erica were also there with him. So, he was able to continue fighting with Godwin.
Matthew had been very nice to Gwyn ever since she was a child. Not once had he ever given her the cold shoulder. Because of that, she was the one who was least afraid of him. As far as she was concerned, Matthew was such a warm and handsome uncle.
Erica had always been fond of children, and these little ones liked her, so she was able to get along with Godfrey almost instantly.
In the parking lot in front of the villa, several luxury cars were already parked. As soon as Erica opened the door, Godfrey quickly jumped out.
Evelyn had actually been looking all over for the kids. So, when she saw them get out of the car, she immediately walked toward them and said, "Rika, you got here just in time. Mom was just about to call you. Lunch is served."
Hearing that, Erica grabbed a hold of Gwyn's hand and walked towards Evelyn. "We're back!"
Just as they were about to enter the house, Matthew suddenly called out, "Erica."
This drew both Erica's and Evelyn's attention. Then, Matthew told Evelyn, "Evelyn, why don't you take the kids inside first? We'll be there in a second."
"Okay. You two should get inside soon. Lunch is waiting!" Evelyn replied. She quickly understood what he meant, so she took Gwyn from Erica and led the kids inside.
Now that they were alone, Erica asked Matthew, "What's the matter?"
Matthew held her hand. Sensing her reluctance, he didn't beat around the bush and said in a rather indifferent tone, "I don't want to listen to his bullshit."
"Whose?"
"Carlos Huo's."
"If you behave yourself, why would Dad nag you?" At that moment, Erica felt like she could never figure out what was going on inside his head.
As he looked down at their intertwined hands, he said, "You know that I married you because he and Mom forced me to, right? Now, they are trying to push me even further. Just remember to use your acting skills in front of them later!"
Feeling a bit surprised, Erica conjectured, "Do you want me to pretend that we're a sweet couple in front of Mom and Dad?"
"Finally, you're being smart for once!" Before she could say anything else, he dragged her into the villa.
"Why? Why should I do what you're asking me to do?" Erica didn't want to play along. In their relationship, he had always been the one calling the shots, and she was always being forced to do as he said.
Matthew looked at her and asked, "Do you have any problem with it? Deal with it, then."
Inside the villa, Carlos was waiting for them at the door.
When he saw them walk in hand in hand, a great big smile crept onto his face and he said, "Rika, come and eat with us. Go wash your hands."
"Okay, Dad!"
As they walked from the entrance of the living room to the bathroom, Matthew never let go of Erica's hand the entire time. Because of this, everyone from the Huo family was so happy to see the two of them so in love with each other.
Sheffield secretly gave Matthew a wink as well as a thumbs up when Erica wasn't looking.
'Matthew seems to have actually won her heart several days after they got married. That's impressive!'
When the couple finally disappeared into the bathroom, Sheffield stopped Joshua who was passing by and gossiped with him. "Have you noticed? Men like Matthew tend to go for young women who refuse to talk to them. Do you know why?"
"Why?" Joshua asked.
"Because they enjoy the thrill of the chase!"
"I'm not buying it. Matthew likes someone else." Joshua had always pitied Erica, thinking of her as a woman who had been forced by her family to marry a man who didn't love her.
"So what? Let me ask you something. Do you think Matthew has ever been afraid of anyone?"
Without having to think twice, Joshua quickly shook his head in response. The ZL Group was under Matthew's rule now. With that in mind, why would he be afraid of anyone?
"That's right. So, why did he agree to Dad and marry Erica?" Sheffield asked again.
"Why?" Joshua wondered.
Sheffield looked at him, feeling so defeated. "I have no idea, with such a low EQ, how you managed to trick Terilynn into marrying you."
"Fuck off! Terilynn and I love each other!"
"Let me tell you, then. Matthew is…" Out of the corner of his eye, Sheffield noticed Carlos, who had actually been staring at him for a while. "Dad," he greeted him with a smile.
As soon as Carlos waved at him, Sheffield walked toward him and said to Joshua, "I'll tell you later." Lately, Joshua felt like Sheffield had been casting him aside more and more easily.
Inside the bathroom, through the reflection on the mirror, Erica looked at Matthew as he was washing his hands and couldn't help asking, "Why did you marry me?"
It was the same question she had asked him before on the day they got engaged.
Glancing at her in the mirror, Matthew flatly answered, "I wanted to do everyone a service, that way, you won't be able to harm someone else."
"Hey, that's not what you said last time!" Last time, his reasons seemed much better than this.
"Really? Is my answer any different from before?"
This left Erica at such a loss for words. It seemed that there wasn't any difference after all. As it turned out, the only difference was that his reply sounded much better last time.
For all she knew, he could have married her for any reason, but it couldn't possibly be because he was in love with her!
Fine, then. She didn't care anymore. It wasn't like she loved him anyway.
That being said, the reason why she had to ask him again was that when Matthew held her hand just now, for a fleeting moment, it gave her the illusion that he actually liked her very much.
But now, it seemed that that wasn't the case at all.
That made perfect sense, though. Why would he, a handsome, rich, and powerful man, fall in love with a single mom?
