With Matthew not at home, Erica simply did not have the courage to watch horror movies by herself. She would be alone in the villa and therefore, horror wasn't a good idea. Apart from focusing on her classes, she mostly hung out with Hyatt, who was the only good friend she had.
Matthew had left on his business trip four days ago, and Erica was yet to receive a call from him. He hadn't even texted her once. The more Erica thought about it, the angrier she became.
But this anger was all she had. There was nothing else for her to do.
Without Matthew around, she was bored.
Some respite from the loneliness came in the form of Debbie and Carlos's return to Y City. That evening, Debbie came to see her.
The two women hadn't seen each other in a long time. They hugged each other and then walked inside, talking excitedly and choosing a new topic every step of the way.
Debbie was carrying a suitcase full of gifts for Erica. She couldn't wait to show her everything she'd got. And when she found out that she was going to have to repack and get it upstairs if she opened it downstairs first, she directly took the elevator to the bedroom. There was no point opening it twice and ruining the surprise.
"Come and see what I got for you," she told Erica excitedly.
"What is it?" Erica asked, curious.
"So… many… things! Come on. Tell me you like them or not?"
Erica watched her mother-in-law open the suitcase and saw that she wasn't lying. There really was everything in it. Food, clothing, knickknacks, everything she could need!
"Try this camisole on. Do you like it?" Debbie excitedly brought out a nightdress in the color of red wine and handed it to her.
But the color seemed a bit dull and formal. Erica hesitated for a second. After seeing the style, she refused, "Mom, this is not my style. I think Evelyn would like it more…"
It was obviously a mature woman's style.
But Debbie stopped her from saying anything else. "No. I bought it for you. I know it's not your style but hear me out, okay? Every man wants his woman to be sexy and charming. You can't always wear cartoon-based pajamas in front of Matthew. You have to change your style occasionally…"
"But, Mom. I won't even look good in this dress…" And to be honest, even if she didn't wear anything at all, Matthew might not even look at her, because he didn't like her. It didn't matter what kind of pajamas she was wearing, or whether she was wearing pajamas at all.
"Don't tell me you won't look good. My Rika is very cute and good-looking. She looks good no matter what she wears. Now be a good girl and try this on!" Debbie shoved the dress back to her and pushed her into the closet.
Inside, Erica stood in front of the mirror and looked at the cartoon pajamas she was still wearing. For the first time in her life, she wondered if it really was not cute. Had she been wrong the whole time?
After hesitating for a while, she finally changed into the wine-red camisole. It was a bit strange to wear a new style, but she walked out anyway.
Debbie's eyes lit up when she saw her daughter-in-law. She walked around her and said, "The size I chose is just right. And you look so beautiful in it. But I guess one thing could be better…"
"What is it?" The dress seemed remarkable enough as it was.
"Too much cloth! It would be better if it were a bit shorter!"
Erica was speechless. Was she too conservative? Or was her mother-in-law too outgoing?
The hem of the dress was already above her knees. Would it still be a dress if it got any shorter? Just like the wedding dress she had tried before, the V-shaped neck was so low it was about to reach her belly. And yet Debbie thought there was still too much fabric? What more, or less, could she want?
It had to be said that Debbie really was Matthew's mother. She knew exactly how to make her son happy.
Debbie handed her something else and said, "Come here and have a look at this. Don't be shy." But then, she lowered her voice, "Don't worry. I bought it secretly. You two can use it during sex to add some fun."
Erica was confused, "What's this?"
"Ha ha, you'll know it when you see it." Debbie smiled mysteriously.
The box was all in English, and the picture was an oval object that seemed weirdly like… No!
Erica really didn't know what it was. She wanted to open it to have a look, but was stopped. "To be honest, Erica, I'm embarrassed. Best wait until I am gone and study it at your own pleasure." And if Debbie was being honest, she would never have known what it was either if it weren't for Carlos.
Erica was rendered speechless. She had a bad feeling about this, even though she laughed a bit.
Ah well, let's forget about it! She decided to open the box when she was alone!
Later that evening, the two of them agreed to go shopping the next day after Debbie was rested. And then Debbie went back to the Huo family's manor.
Left alone in the villa, Erica looked at all the things Debbie had brought her. She knew exactly what everything was and where to keep it, except for the last one. Debbie had been mysterious about it.
Erica didn't bother to translate the words one by one. She merely took a photo of the box and uploaded it to an image search app.
Pretty soon, a similar object popped up in the search bar. The brand was different, but from the photos, it looked like the same thing.
Erica clicked on it and read the description carefully. Her face flushed.
She almost threw her phone away after she had read more about it, especially after she found out what it was used for.
She knew it wasn't going to be something good, and she was right!
In fact, she had heard about these things before, but she was still very young and had never seen one in reality, let alone use it.
Now Debbie had given her one as a present, to let her and Matthew use it to have more fun… What was the woman thinking!
Holding the box, Erica rushed into the closet as if she were holding a hot potato and hid it in the most remote possible corner.
She didn't feel relieved until she had made sure that Matthew would never find it.
That night, Erica tossed and turned in bed, but couldn't fall asleep. Her mind was full of what she had hidden in the closet.
Before finally falling asleep, she had made up her mind to throw that ridiculous thing away on tomorrow, so that Matthew had no chance of ever seeing it. Then she wouldn't have to explain it ever.
However, when she woke up the next morning, she'd completely forgotten about it.
It was not until she was in the car and headed for the Huo family's manor that she remembered her agenda. But it was too late to just go back home only to throw the box away, so she decided to throw it away after coming back.
When they arrived at the Huo family's manor, Carlos wasn't there. Debbie was wandering around the living room still in her pajamas. When she saw Erica, she was surprised. "You're ready so soon?"
"Yes. Didn't you suggest half past ten?" Now, Erica realized that it always took Debbie much longer to get ready.
But now that she was here, Debbie hurried upstairs and waved at her. "Come wait for me upstairs. I'm going to change. We'll leave soon."
There was no one else in the living room. Erica would be bored sitting
Then she followed Debbie to the bedroom. Before going to the walk-in closet, Debbie pointed at another door and told Erica, "If you feel bored, go inside and have a look around. If you like something, just take it!"
"What's in there?"
Debbie explained, "That's the lipstick room your father-in-law made for me. Go ahead and have a look."
"Oh!"
The moment Erica pushed the door open, she was shocked to her core. So many lipsticks! There were at least a few thousand in here. All from extremely popular brands!
When Debbie finally finished changing her clothes and came in to find her, Erica was examining a gift box.
And when she came in, Erica was still in shock. She exclaimed in admiration, "Mom, are you the devil? This collection is amazing!" And undoubtedly, it all must have cost a fortune! Every single item here was from a reputable brand! This was worth too much to just exist!
