The man's breath felt fresh and clear against her skin. Erica didn't need to look back to know who the man holding her from behind was.
Before she could turn around to validate her guess, however, the people around them began to greet him. "Hello, Mr. Huo!"
"Hello, Mr. Huo, Miss Xia!"
At this moment, she understood that both Matthew and Noreen were behind her.
Erica smiled. Her husband had barely left her for three minutes and was already back so soon. Why was that? 'It seems he still cares for me, ' she thought, giggling.
She then greeted Chantel with a wink and turned around to look up at the man holding her. He didn't look much friendly.
"Honey, have you brought the checkbook?" Erica asked.
"Yes. Why?" Matthew looked away as he spoke lightly.
Erica stretched out her hand and demanded, "Write me a hundred dollar check."
'A hundred dollar check? What is she planning?'
Even though he had no idea what she was going to do with it, he still took out the checkbook with no hesitation and wrote the number before handing the check to Erica.
A second later, Erica waved the check in front of Noreen and said, "Thank you for accompanying my husband while I wasn't here. This your tip. I know this isn't much money, and I apologize beforehand. But as you all know, my husband and I have four sons to raise. Our family has got to save every little penny we can now. But please, take it!"
The tip of one hundred dollars was a straight insult to the famous actress, Noreen Xia.
However, the mention of Erica's four sons was what felt like the real slap in her face.
Noreen didn't make a move to take the check. But regardless of the actress's livid face, Erica folded the check in two before she stuck it into her dress.
It was impossible not to associate the scene with a rich man putting his money into a stripper's bra.
Immediately, everyone who had already wanted to laugh at Noreen wasn't able to hold back any longer. Noreen, on the other hand, was furious to get humiliated in front of all those people, but she had to refrain from lashing out at Erica no matter how mad she was.
Chantel shook her head helplessly. Erica was naughty, but she didn't mind giving her a hand. "Rika, isn't the jewelry set you are wearing now the same one purchased at 1.8 billion a few days ago? I bet Mr. Huo bought it for you. How generous of him!"
1.8 billion! This number not only shocked many of the people around, but also Erica herself.
'What? Paige didn't tell me that!' Erica thought. While Erica was in the studio, Paige had gone out for a while and later come back with the set of jewelry. At that time, she didn't think of asking Paige about it. But as it turned out, the set she had brought to her was worth 1.8 billion dollars.
And to think that some ignorant people were actually believing Erica's words and assuming that Matthew wasn't as wealthy as he used to be anymore. It was all nonsense.
Once again, Noreen felt like she was slapped in the face. Now by the 1.8 billion worth jewelry on Erica's neck, hands, and ears.
Soon, Erica came back to her senses and managed to suppress her shock. Looking at Matthew, she said sweetly, "Honey, you're always so good to me!"
A hint of tenderness revealed itself in Matthew's eyes. "You're my wife. If I don't treat you well, who should I?" Then he lifted her chin and whispered close to her face, "If you'd like it, I will give you much more than 1.8 billion."
He didn't mind playing along with her as long as she stayed away from other men.
Moved, Erica hugged him. "Honey, you're so kind!"
As if she didn't notice how embarrassed Noreen was, Chantel added, "How can Mr. Huo not have money? It's just a matter that some people aren't worth more than a hundred dollars!"
Although Noreen had taken one insult after another quietly so far, she couldn't help looking at Chantel with resentment. Chantel hadn't just stolen a lot of attention from her in the past two years, but she was also on Erica's side against her.
However, unlike Erica, who was untouchable, a woman with no background like Chantel wasn't the same case. "Who the hell do you think you are, Chantel Ye?" she yelled.
Chantel didn't seem to mind her attitude. Instead, she smiled innocently. "Miss Xia, you misunderstood me. I didn't say anything about you. You're admitting it yourself."
"How dare you!" Noreen was so angry that she seemed about to explode. "Guards! Throw this woman out!"
The situation escalated when two men cut through the crowd, addressing respectfully to Noreen. "Miss Xia!"
Promptly, Noreen pointed at Chantel and ordered her bodyguards, "Take her out!"
"Yes, ma'am!"
Noticing that the bodyguards were about to move, Erica suddenly intervened, "Wait a minute!"
She let go of Matthew, who was talking to other men, and walked up to Noreen. Her smile immediately disappeared as she looked at the actress coldly and asked, "Who the hell are you? How dare you speak that way to my friend?"
Erica didn't hesitate to push Noreen. Her high heels weren't of any help to keep her balance and she ended up falling awkwardly to the floor.
"Ahhh!" The woman's scream attracted even more attention to herself.
She didn't expect that Erica would have the guts to assault her. Angrily, she shouted, "Erica Li!"
"I'm here!" The girl scratched her ear and said, "There is no need to be loud. I can hear you."
"How dare you push me!" Noreen had always been known for her arrogance in the entertainment industry, but now she was outdoing herself and acting completely crazy.
"Why wouldn't I? Yes, I pushed you. So what?" Squatting down, Erica raised Noreen's chin as gently as Matthew did to her a few minutes ago, but the smile she gave her was wicked. "Dear, didn't you understand it yet? If you didn't, I'll push you again and again… Until you understand it!"
"How dare you!" Glaring at her, Noreen wished Erica would drop dead at her feet right at that second!
She had long heard that Mrs. Huo and Mr. Huo had been divorced and that his ex-wife had left Y City. But when Noreen thought she was about to succeed in becoming the next Mrs. Huo, Erica suddenly came back. It seemed that all her efforts to be with Matthew had been in vain after all.
Meanwhile, many female stars had gathered to watch Noreen get humiliated. Many of them had had their opportunities robbed by Noreen at some point in their careers. Amused, they began to laugh at her openly. "I didn't come here expecting that Noreen would have such a day!"
"That's right. She's the number one star in the entertainment industry. Not in my wildest dreams did I imagine that the first lady in the financial business would be the one to teach her a lesson!"
"Mrs. Huo, you're awesome.
Thank you for doing something that we wanted but never dared to do."
Noreen gritted her teeth once she heard what everyone had to say about her. She then looked at the man beside her. He was still discussing business with others as if nothing was going on around him. "Mr. Huo, I came to the party with you. Will you allow your wife to bully me like this? Won't you do anything about it?"
Only then did Matthew cast a glance at her. "What do you want me to do? Discipline Erica?"
"Yes! Not only did she insult me, but she also pushed me!"
He settled for three simple words and answered, "I wouldn't dare." He was afraid that if he taught Erica a lesson again, she would run away from him for another three or four years.
But then, to everyone's surprise, a malicious look flashed across Matthew's face as he stared at Noreen and asked, "Do you want to frame me?"
Noreen was confused. "Mr. Huo, what are you talking about?"
Matthew's voice grew colder. "If I discipline my wife in favor of another woman, she will get mad. What if she decides to leave me after that? I would be alone. Are you trying to frame me then?"
