When the ceremony was over, Matthew and Phoebe saw the guests out at the entrance of the venue, while Erica quietly awaited them in a corner.
Even so, knowing that she was Matthew's wife, quite a few people still came by to say goodbye to Erica.
It was quite clear from their curious eyes that they had a lot of questions on their mind, but in light of the occasion, they decided to set aside their curiosity and leave with a brief goodbye.
About twenty minutes later, Matthew came in and found Erica, who was standing in the corner. "We can go now," he said.
"Oh… Okay!" She followed him out.
Phoebe was waiting for them just outside. When she saw Matthew and Erica, she took her bag from the staff and walked with them to the parking lot.
As they walked, Matthew suddenly spoke. "I'll ask my assistant to take you back home."
Just as Erica wondered who he was talking to, Phoebe stopped and stood in front of him. "Matthew, I've sorted out Nathan's belongings. I want to give some of them to you. Can we go to his house?"
After a brief pause, Matthew nodded, "Sure." Then he looked at Erica. "You…"
Erica felt it would be inappropriate for her to join them because she didn't know Nathan personally. Just as Matthew was about to say something, she cut him short. "Actually, I am supposed to meet my friend this afternoon to buy some stationeries. Why don't you go ahead? I can take a taxi home."
Matthew shot a baleful glance at her and said, "Who are you supposed to meet up with? You've already made a friend at school?"
"No, it's Hya…Well, you don't know him anyway. He is my friend from A Country and now he's transferred to my school. Don't worry about me. I'll be fine!" In truth, she never had an appointment with Hyatt; she had just made up an excuse to leave.
"Wait!" Matthew stopped her.
Erica turned around in confusion.
Matthew said to Paige, "Take Mrs. Huo home first. I'll ask Owen to send someone to pick us up."
"Yes, Mr. Huo." Paige looked at Erica and opened the door for her, "Mrs. Huo, please get in the car."
Erica quickly waved her hands at Matthew and said, "No need, Matthew. I can wait a little longer since I have nothing else to do. You two have important things to do; I don't want to take up your time!"
Erica meant every word she had said because she didn't have anything important to do, whereas, Matthew had a lot on his plate already. The least she could do was to get out of his hair.
Matthew seemed to have lost his patience. "What? Mrs. Huo, do you want me to carry you into the car?"
Erica's face went blank; she was rendered speechless. Could it be because she didn't explain herself clearly or was there something wrong with his ability to understand her words?
'Forget it!' she sighed inwardly. Erica knew better than to test Matthew, because he was the kind of person who wouldn't think twice about acting on his words. To avoid further embarrassment, she gave up and got into the car. She rolled the window down and waved at them, "Goodbye!"
Matthew nodded his head in response. As the car drove away out of the parking lot, he called someone else to pick them up from there.
In Nathan's apartment, Phoebe placed a box in front of Matthew and said, "These are all things Nathan had from you. I've sorted them out. Do you want to keep them or…"
Matthew reached into the box and found several photo frames and gifts he had given to Nathan when he was alive. "I'll take them with me."
"Okay."
When he stood up and turned around to leave with the box, Phoebe called out to him. "Matthew."
The man stopped and turned around.
Phoebe's eyes reddened and she stuttered, "Do you… Do you remember what Nathan said before he died?"
Of course, Matthew could never forget the dying wish of his best friend. "Matthew, you and Phoebe are the only people I have in this world. Promise me you'll take good care of her! Thank you…"
Suffice it to say, Matthew cared a great deal about Nathan and he proved it by repeating the same words to Phoebe. "Nathan was like a brother to me. If you ever need anything, just come to me."
Phoebe was the woman who Nathan had protected with his life when the car accident happened. Only her happiness could ensure Nathan's peaceful rest in death.
With that, he turned around and left.
When it was only her in the apartment, Phoebe cried and then looked up. "Nathan, did you hear that? Matthew will take care of me!"
Meanwhile, after arriving at the school, Erica called Rhea immediately. "Rhea, do you know who I met today?"
"Who?" Rhea asked on the other end of the line.
"Phoebe Su."
Rhea was shocked. "What? How and why did you see her there?" But she then fell into a pensive mood, murmuring in a low voice to herself, "I suppose it makes sense that Erica met her in Y City. After all, Phoebe is having further studies at Y City Film Academy and the Su family is there."
"Wait! What did you say? She's having further studies at the Y City Film Academy?" It was Erica's turn to be astonished. 'What a coincidence!'
"Yes, didn't you know?"
"No, I didn't. She was married to a close friend of Matthew's. But unfortunately, not long after they got married, her husband died in a car accident. Matthew and I were just there to attend his seventh-day ceremony. I didn't know about it until I saw her there. Do you know which department she was studying in?"
"I'm not sure. Oh, right! Tessie once told me that her sister studied fine arts. She's an exceptional painter! I heard that Phoebe had an art exhibition before. Why don't you look into it first?"
Rhea's words reminded Erica of something. "There's nothing to look into. When she saw me today, she told Matthew that she was not familiar with me. Could it be possible that she's the goddess in Matthew's heart? What do you think, Rhea?" In truth, every woman around Matthew looked like a potential love interest for him in Erica's eyes.
"I don't think so… Didn't you just say that she was married to one of Matthew's best friends?"
"Yes, but last time when I was in the underground parking lot, I saw Matthew holding a woman's arm and helping her get into the car! That's not something the arrogant Matthew would do. Unless, she is someone special to him." Although Matthew had helped her dry her hair and wash her feet, Erica thought he did those things merely because she was his wife.
As such, watching Matthew being nice to other women was an unusual sight for Erica.
Rhea tried to analyze her words and asked, "So, you're trying to say that Matthew's goddess married his best friend and so, with much grief, he had no choice but to marry you?"
"But… Aren't you overthinking this a little too much?"
"No, I am not. By the way, did you know that Hyatt has transferred to the same school as me in Y City?"
Rhea rolled her eyes and said, "Why is he always following you around? I don't think you should have messed with him in the first place." The fact that Hyatt went as far as transferring to another school, after Erica had gotten married to a man in Y City, indeed, looked like a sign of desperation. His actions were like that of a lackey who would follow his crush to the ends of the world, no matter what.
"Forget it. I'm going to look for Hyatt now. I feel sorry for him. He has no friends in this city. I'll take him shopping," Erica said. Rhea reminded her, "Don't forget that you are Mrs. Huo now.
Almost everyone knows about you. Please be sure to keep a safe distance from Hyatt because you don't want people to spread rumors about you again."
"Why would they spread rumors about me? I didn't do anything to them. They were just being ridiculous!"
"Madam, ever since you married Matthew, you became an enemy to women all over the world who love and adore him! Do you understand what I am trying to say?"
Erica's lips twitched. "Is it that bad?"
