"I'll believe you for the time being!"
Erica said, before she was interrupted by a phone call from Wesley.
Erica was mad with rage and she answered Wesley's call with furious intensity. "Dad! Tell me the truth! Am I nothing but a pair of stinky socks to you?"
Wesley was dumbstruck, his mind twirling with all kinds of questions. "What's going on?" The concerned father was just calling to ask his daughter about the violence on campus. However, before he could even open his mouth, he was greeted by the wrath of his daughter.
Erica glared at the man who was holding her in his arms and yelled into the phone, "Have you been conspiring with Matthew behind my back? You had someone investigate me and Ethan? How could you do that to me?"
Needless to say, Erica was not at all happy about what was going on all this time. Wesley refuted with confidence, "You lied to all of us! You have some nerve putting blame on me! I'd think twice before mouthing off like that if I were you!"
Wesley got her there. If the anger in Erica's heart had been an inflated balloon, the moment she heard this, whatever air that was inside the balloon was now deflated.
Erica had her reasons for lying to her parents, but unfortunately, she couldn't have told them about her reasons back then. "Then let me ask you, if I had told you that Ethan wasn't my child, would you have forced me to marry Matthew?"
"No!" If Erica hadn't lied to her parents about being pregnant at that time, Wesley wouldn't have forced her to get married at all, even if it was to Matthew.
However, Wesley hesitated as he started to have second thoughts. After all, Matthew turned out to be such a caring husband to Rika.
There was a twinge of regret inside Erica's heart. If she had told them the truth back then, her parents wouldn't have forced her into marrying Matthew. How could she have been so stupid?
"Trust me, if I had known any better, I would have told you the truth—Ouch, Matthew, that hurts!" Matthew squeezed Erica's arm tightly.
Wesley was confused for a moment, and then chuckled. "Are you with Matthew?"
"Well, I was going to ask Tessie about what had really happened back then, but Matthew insisted that I come to his office to see him first." Erica pursed her lips disapprovingly.
"He did it for your own good. He is protecting you. You have no idea what those rumors about you inciting campus violence could do to your future! Can you imagine what kind of hostility you will receive if you confront Tessie now?"
Erica pouted pensively and saw reason in Wesley's words.
"What are those photos online? What happened?"
Erica frowned and answered, "I was set up by Julianna. They baited me to attack them, and then maliciously edited and uploaded my photos on the Internet. That's it. In fact, they hit me first!"
Wesley could feel her pain. "You need to be more careful. It's not going to be easy to be Mrs. Huo. You can't always be so naive. Don't trust anyone that isn't your family. No matter what happens, your family will always be there for you, understand?"
"Yes, I know." Erica nodded obediently. With her head leaning against Matthew's chest, she looked down at her shoes.
"Okay, put Matthew on the phone."
Erica handed the phone to Matthew. "My father wants to talk to you."
Matthew put one arm around her waist and took the phone with the other. "Dad, it's me!"
"What are you going to do about the rumors of the campus violence?"
"You and Mom don't need to worry about it. I already had someone working on it. Rika's name will be cleared in no time."
Erica raised her head and noticed Matthew's Adam's apple bob up and down as he spoke. Something about the way it moved looked very attractive to her.
Out of curiosity, she pressed it gently with two fingers.
Matthew grabbed her hand at once.
Wesley asked Matthew another question on the other end of the line, to which he answered, "Track the IP address."
Erica pressed his Adam's apple again. Somehow, it was round, bulging and interesting to her.
A minute later, Matthew hung up. "Bye."
Erica immediately withdrew her hand and whipped her head around, pretending as though nothing had happened.
Matthew put her phone back into her coat pocket, pulled her into his arms and kissed her red lips.
He was so fast with his movement, Erica couldn't even resist.
He grabbed her by the waist and swapped spots with her, pressing her against the French window.
Erica had Matthew wrapped between her legs and she put her arms around his shoulders to keep herself from falling down.
When Matthew finally let go of her, Erica gasped for air. The man was so bossy even his kiss was aggressive. It was as if her concerns never mattered to him at all.
Matthew leaned in, so his forehead rested against hers. Rubbing her lips with his thumb, he said, "Rika, you still owe me a wedding night. When will you make it up to me?"
'I owe him what?' She protested in a low voice, "You're the one who ran away, not me."
"You mean you wouldn't refuse me if I hadn't run away?" he asked.
Erica giggled mischievously. The answer was—no! They were merely strangers sharing the same bed, at the time. There was no way Erica would have given herself to him.
Looking at her eagerly, Matthew said, "I can't wait any longer. Give me an exact time. If you make me wait for a long time, I'll have sex with you now!"
"No, that's not a good idea. You've told me that your office is a very serious place. How can you use it to have sex?" Erica played his own words right back at him.
Matthew kissed her again. Erica's lips were like drops of cold water in a desert. One kiss and he could no longer stop himself from wanting more.
However, in a calm voice the man said, "That was all in the past. I've changed my mind already. Why don't we give it a try now?"
'Here?' Erica looked behind her back with hesitation. They were on the 66th floor and all the walls were made of glass. "No way! Listen to me…" Erica paused for a moment to think. Matthew had been nothing less than a caring husband to her. From what she could gather, he no longer had feelings for Phoebe and on top of that, he even helped Erica fight back against that woman.
As for the baby in Phoebe's belly…Since Erica didn't have a problem giving Ethan, who wasn't her biological son, a home, she wouldn't hesitate to do the same for Matthew's son, as long as he promised to distance himself from Phoebe.
'Yes!' It sounded like a good idea in Erica's head.
"Will you break up with Phoebe after she gives birth to the baby? Of course, I won't object to her seeing the child, but I object to her seeing you."
Without hesitation, Matthew answered, "Of course! I don't want to have anything to do with her." All Matthew ever cared about was the baby Phoebe was carrying in her womb. After all, that baby was Nathan's only son.
Matthew had long lost his patience with Phoebe after she kept provoking Erica repeatedly. If not for the baby, Matthew would never want to see Phoebe again.
Erica smiled happily, but then the smile on her face froze for a moment. "Would it be the right thing to do? Isn't it a bit harsh, if you think about it? After all, I took away her man and now I'm taking away her child too. That can't be right."
"It is the right thing to do!" The man interrupted her firmly. "Remember, I'm not Phoebe's man. I'm your man. There's nothing wrong with you doing this!"
"Yes, you are right. But what about that child? Let's not separate a mother from her child. Why don't we just let her keep the baby?"
