Carlos scolded Matthew, "Did you come here for dinner or to make me mad? Keep acting like this, and I'll have you serving the dishes for everyone at our next family dinner."
Matthew put down his chopsticks with a stern look.
Seeing that father and son were about to come to blows, Erica felt sorry for Matthew. Her husband had even been harangued by Carlos. She tried to fix things. "Mom, Dad, it's not what you think. Matthew is a good guy! He treats me like a princess. Really. He cooks for me, watches movies with me and washes my feet… "
She recounted a list of all the good things Matthew did for her.
Everyone at the table was stunned. Matthew wasn't lying. Everything he said was true!
Carlos pondered this for a while. He still didn't believe Matthew was so humble that he'd wash someone's feet. "Why are you covering for him, Rika? He's always been high and mighty. Why would he do all this for you?"
Carlos looked at Matthew and saw his mini-me. The young man had inherited a lot of Carlos' traits, like his icy demeanor and arrogance.
But marriage tempered Carlos, changed him, melted his icy heart. But to his father, Matthew hadn't changed at all.
"Let it go, Dad. It's true. Can we eat now? I'm starving!" Erica urged. She felt guilty and tried to change the topic. If she had stuck up for Matthew, maybe Carlos wouldn't have been so angry. She was full of regret for just doing nothing.
The father and son had been at each other's throats for a long time. The family was used to it, and just accepted it as a normal thing. Erica tried to smooth things over as best she could. And soon, things were a lot less tense at the table.
Hearing everyone talking and laughing again, Erica quietly breathed a sigh of relief.
She also felt that Matthew was put upon. She kept picking up food for him at dinner and tried to smile.
Seeing that, Carlos shook his head. He knew Matthew was lying. Obviously, Rika had been taking care of Matthew, not the other way round.
After a while, Matthew stopped Erica from picking up food for him. "Don't mind me. You need to eat, too!"
"I am eating!"
Matthew glanced at the rice in her bowl. She had only taken a few bites and was busy picking up food for him.
"I'm almost full. Just eat your food and leave me alone."
"Fine! I will!" Erica didn't pursue the matter and started to dig in.
After dinner, the family gathered in the living room for a while, sitting around on the sofa and on the chairs strategically arranged around the place. They were enjoying their time together, but all good things came an end.
Before leaving, Erica held Gwyn's hand and said with a smile, "Know what you missed? Your uncle Matthew made some chocolate!"
"Chocolate? And Uncle Matthew made it?" Gwyn looked at her in confusion.
"Yeah. I was going to bring some to you, but you went to your grandpa's place, so I ate it all!" She didn't mean to, but it was so delicious she couldn't stop!
Gwyn was more and more confused. "Uncle Matthew knows how to make chocolate? I never knew that!"
"What? That's not the only thing he can make. He's made macaroons, too. Didn't you know that?" Erica was confused by Gwyn's reaction.
Gwyn shook her head. "No, I didn't. I don't like macaroons. Chocolate's better anyway."
'Huh?' Erica's confusion grew. "You never had your uncle's homemade chocolate?"
Gwyn shook her head again. "Uncle Matthew's super-busy. How would he have time to make chocolate for me? If you hadn't told me, I wouldn't believe you!"
Erica responded in puzzlement, "Oh, okay!" There seemed to be something wrong, but she couldn't figure out what it was.
In the Emperor car on their way back home, Erica tilted her head to look at the man who was driving. "You know what day it is? It's Thursday. I'm free on Saturday. How about I buy you dinner?"
"Why the sudden interest in taking me to dinner?"
"You've helped me out a lot lately. This is my way of saying thanks!" she answered honestly.
"I really don't feel like going out."
"But I want to show you how grateful I am."
"There's all sorts of ways you could do that. Buying me dinner? Food is empty. You eat it, you pass it, you're done. Now, experiences? That's a gift worth giving," Matthew stated.
'Huh? What does he want? A kiss? Maybe sex?' she wondered. Erica protested timidly, "Didn't we agree to wait until your birthday?"
Well, he didn't want to force her. "Then tell me, who were you going to marry if you hadn't married me?" He had heard her say she didn't love him. He wanted to know whom she did love!
"Well… I can't settle on just one guy. I want an imperial harem, where I keep all kinds of hot men. Young, handsome ones; big, beefy ones; suave, mature men; and domineering CEOs. There's just so many to choose from. I want them all!" As she talked, she got more animated. Her voice became more emphatic, and an excited glint appeared in her eyes.
"Huh!" He was so angry! But Matthew had to keep his poker face.
Erica giggled, "Be honest. Don't you want a harem? One stocked with every type of girl you could imagine? You could sleep with tons of women…" Even she found it tempting to think of all these sexy women!
Matthew sped up the car and said through gritted teeth, "Mrs. Huo, aren't you afraid you'll bite off more than you can chew?"
"Well, about that… Just looking at them and running my hands over them is enough for me." Just like touching Matthew, his pecs and abdominal muscles were so tantalizing. It was hard to resist. And thinking about it made her want to do just that.
Erica was not just a troublemaker. She sounded like a man-eater. "Be serious. I want a name!"
"Only children answer multiple choice questions. I want all of them!"
Matthew cranked the steering wheel hard and braked all of a sudden.
They were thrown forward by the sudden stop, but fortunately their seat belts held them firmly. He grabbed the back of her head and pulled her towards him. "Do you regret marrying me?" he asked coldly.
His expression told her she had to think it over before she opened her mouth. Erica was more than a little scared. "Um…I…er…I mean… Nuh uh. No regrets. I married a wonderful guy! You'd never hurt me!" Seeing the man reach out his hand, Erica was frightened and immediately tried to inveigle him.
Matthew didn't buy it this time. "Enough with the flattery! I can't wait anymore. I'm going to have sex with you! Right here! Right now!" He didn't care how it sounded. He was beyond thinking at this point.
"No, Matthew. Stop! I'm on my period…" she said urgently. It was true.
"Stop with the bullshit. If you really loved me, you'd have sex with me!" Since he heard her say that she married a man she didn't love, finally everything was starting to make sense.
Including why she hadn't slept with him after their wedding! She didn't love him, so she didn't want to have sex with him.
"No, that's not how it is…" she tried to explain.
"Are you trying to say you want to sleep with me?"
"Let me explain…"
"You love me?"
"Just let me— I'm saying I'm not trying to bullshit you. I'm really on my period. Back at the manor, I borrowed a tampon from Evelyn. I'm telling the truth." Erica was so frightened that she didn't stammer anymore and her words tumbled out in a torrent.
After she said that, the car got supernaturally quiet.
Matthew slowly released her. He didn't say a word. Instead, he took something from the glove compartment, opened the door and got out of the car.
Erica saw him walk to the front of the car. Then she saw him touch his mouth. A lighter roared to life, and soon there was a lit cigarette in his mouth. He took a drag and let a cloud of smoke out of his mouth.
Matthew was smoking!
Matthew smoked? Erica was surprised. She had never smelled tobacco on him before. She had never seen him smoke.
