Erica's actions at the party had gone viral. It wasn't just the guests on the cruise ship who knew this. Everyone knew that Matthew and Erica loved each other very much. Those women who wanted Matthew for themselves were quiet, at least for now.
Late at night
Erica sat up from the bed, stretching, feeling her muscles protest. She quietly got out of bed, trying not to disturb the man lying next to her.
As soon as she opened the door and left the bedroom, the man she left behind opened his eyes.
He picked up his phone and looked at the time. It was half past three in the morning.
He rolled out of bed, put on his pajamas and followed the woman out.
Downstairs, Erica opened the walk-in freezer and walked in.
The fruit in the freezer was already washed. She stuffed a few cherry tomatoes into her mouth and continued to paw through the contents of the freezer.
A few minutes later, she came out with some veggies and frozen shrimp.
"Ahhh!" Erica practically jumped in fright when she walked out of the freezer. There was a man standing in the kitchen. She almost choked on the cherry tomato in her mouth.
Glancing at what she was holding, Matthew asked, "What are you doing?" Actually, he knew very well what she was up to.
The woman wore a thin nightgown, and when she shook her head, her hair swept aside briefly to reveal the love bites on her neck. Swallowing the cherry tomato in her mouth, she answered unhappily, "It's all your fault. You can't seem to keep your hands off me! I can't get dinner, so now I'm hungry!"
Matthew's mind was blown. Well, it was indeed his fault. He neglected that she didn't have dinner tonight. And yeah, it was his fault. They had made love past dinner time, and he forgot to get her anything to eat.
He took the vegetables and frozen shrimp from her hands and asked helplessly, "What do you want?"
"How about some noodles with veggies and shrimp?" she answered.
"That's it?" he asked in disbelief.
Erica popped another cherry tomato in her mouth and nodded, "Yes."
Thinking of the mess she had made of the noodles in Tow Village, he sighed helplessly.
The man tilted his head toward living room and said, "You go and watch TV. Maybe they'll replay one of those palace dramas you love so much."
The woman's eyes lit up. "So you'll cook it for me?"
She hadn't eaten the noodles cooked by him in a long time. She missed the way he cooked them so much!
"Of course." 'Let her cook the noodles? No way! She messed that up last time!'
Since Erica had come back to him, Matthew wanted to make sure she was well-taken care of. He wouldn't let her eat just anything. He would cook for her from now on. And if he was busy, there were professional chefs who could do the job. He would make sure she ate delicious, healthy food every day.
Erica was so moved that she felt her eyes go hot as tears formed in them. She happily hugged the man from behind and said in a soft and flattering voice, "Thank you, Matthew! You're so good to me!" A long lost sense of happiness came back to her.
With a smile at the corners of his mouth, Matthew said in an indifferent voice, "Just go watch TV."
"I can help you wash the vegetables," she offered.
Matthew pulled her hand away and walked towards the freezer. "No, just wait in the living room."
"Fine!"
Erica turned on the TV and flipped channels, bored. Finally, she stopped when she saw one station featuring the horror movie "Midnight Hair." She devoured the gruesome images on the screen with obvious interest.
It was a quiet night. Life seemed to go back to normal. It was like she had never left.
He cooked for her while she took in a horror movie.
Matthew was too busy in the kitchen to pay attention, but the woman in the living room was already crying.
Before she ran away, she hadn't known how good she had it.
She saw many things when she was gone the past three years. But one thing she never saw was a man willing to cook for his wife after a busy day.
The other men were either lazy or they just collapsed on the bed after a whole day's work.
However, Matthew, who was busy with his work day and night, had time and energy to cook for her.
If a man loves you, he will spare some time for you no matter how busy he is.
If a man loves you, he will cook for you no matter how tired he is.
If a man loves you, you'll know his feelings for you even though he never confesses directly.
It turned out that Matthew really loved her. This time, even without his telling her, she could feel it.
Erica didn't see what was on the TV, nor did she hear a word. All she could hear was the sizzling sound of the bacon Matthew was frying up in the kitchen. She loved that sound. It sounded just like home.
"Come here," he called out.
It was not until she heard his voice that the woman, tear tracks drying on her face, came back to her senses. She forgot that she had cried. She turned off the TV and put on her slippers, rushing to the dining room.
The familiar noodles with seafood were set on the table, steaming. Next to them was a plate of fresh fruit.
She swallowed the lump forming in her throat and was about to sit down to eat.
Matthew went and fetched a fruit fork from the kitchen. She was about to grab the chopsticks when he came out. "You should wash your hands first," he suggested.
The woman, feeling mischievous, grabbed some noodles with her chopsticks and put them in her mouth. Then she quickly stood and ran to the bathroom, a smug smile on her face.
"Wait!" His tone made her stop.
Raising her hands, Erica turned to him and asked in confusion, "What's wrong?"
This was the first time he saw her face after cooking up the meal. And he knew this was a new development. When they got intimate, he simply mopped her face with wet tissues. So he knew how she was supposed to look.
But now, her face was lined with black tear stains, mascara and eye shadow running down her beautiful face, and her eyes were red and swollen. She must have been crying.
The man's face changed. He threw the fruit fork on the table, strode to her, held her hand gently and asked in a deep voice, "Why the tears?"
If she was sad in the past, she would cry loudly, and everyone heard her wailing. She couldn't have been more obvious about it if she tried.
But it was different now. It took talent to cry that much and cause that kind of mess with her makeup. She'd apparently done it quite a bit, and he had no idea.
When did she learn to cry silently? She had gone from a wailing banshee to a stoic sister.
The change made Matthew's heart ache.
His question confounded her for a moment. Then she remembered that she came to the table right after a good cry. She hurriedly wiped her tears with one hand, trying her best to smile. "It's been more than three years since you made anything for me. I love the fact that I get to taste your cooking again. It means so much to me that I broke down. That's why I cried."
Frowning, Matthew asked, "Did you cry just because of this?"
"Of course! What else?" Erica asked him in reply. "I'm back where I belong, with my husband and kids. Why would I be sad?" Well, the only thing that she felt sad about was she hadn't avenged Orange yet.
But she knew that she couldn't get too cocky. She needed to take her time and plan.
The man let her hand go and softened his voice as he said, "As long as you don't run away again, you'll get a meal made by yours truly every day."
Erica went to hug him and buried her face in his arm. She took a deep breath and said, "Of course I won't run away. You are so nice to me. I would be a fool if I ran away again."
Matthew breathed a sigh of relief silently. Then he took a good look at her. "Hey, go clean up, willya? Look at my clothes!"
Sure enough, there was a large black stain on his light gray pajamas.
Erica was dumbfounded. She immediately shook off the man's hands and ran into the bathroom. "I didn't mean to.
Sorry!" Watching her running away, the disgust in Matthew's eyes had already turned to tenderness. He loved looking at her, regardless of what condition his clothes were in.
As long as she came back and stayed with him, everything would be fine.
The noodles with seafood he cooked still tasted the same.
When she was full, she took the empty bowl to the kitchen and dutifully put the bowl and chopsticks into the sink.
She turned on the tap and began to wash the dishes.
