Erica was dumbfounded. She tried to ask Carlos, but he didn't answer her question directly. Instead, his words added to her confusion. 'Someone who loves me so much? Who could Can't Do Anything be?' she thought inwardly.
Debbie was also confused. She had never thought that someone would dare to admire her daughter-in-law. Otherwise, that man was courting death.
When Carlos was about to go upstairs, Erica quickly followed him. "Dad, please tell me who he is," she pleaded.
Carlos smiled but didn't say anything. It was Matthew's way of loving Erica, and he didn't want to get involved. Matthew must be the one to confess his love for Erica by himself.
"Dad, what's his—"
"Rika!" Before she could finish her question, Matthew called her name. He was walking towards her.
Erica desperately wanted an answer from Carlos, so she didn't mind him. She stood at the staircase and looked up. "Dad, what's his last name?"
"What are you asking Dad?" he asked in confusion as he came to her.
Carlos stopped his steps and turned to look at Matthew. He secretly winked at him and said, "She is asking me who is Can't Do Anything."
Matthew's heart skipped a beat. A hint of nervousness flashed through his eyes.
But when Erica turned to look at him, his facial expression went back to normal. She asked, "Matthew, do you have any idea who is Can't Do Anything?"
Instead of answering her question, he held her waist and led her to the dining table. "Never mind him. What's more important now is our twin babies in your belly. You have to be more careful. Don't run around."
"I know that. I'm not running around. I just want to ask Dad something."
"Honey, stop asking him because he won't tell you. If you really want to know, I'll investigate it for you."
Fortunately, Erica believed in his words. "Okay. Help me check Can't Do Anything's real identity. He is one of my followers in Weibo."
"I will."
Matthew silently heaved a sigh of relief.
Now that he promised her, he knew that she would stop asking around. As for the result of his investigation, it would totally depend on when he would be ready to confess to her.
After dinner, the couple stayed at the manor for a while. Erica was in Debbie's room, helping her sort out her cosmetics.
Actually, Debbie didn't let her do anything because she was pregnant. She just sat next to her and watched her do the job herself.
Erica insisted on helping, but her mother-in-law refused firmly.
A few moments later, Debbie went out of her bedroom to get something. On her way back, Matthew opened the door of the study while holding a phone in his hand. Seeing his mother, he casually said, "Mom, I'm in a meeting right now. Please bring me a glass of water." He was in a video conference and answering a phone call at the same time, so he couldn't leave the study.
But Debbie just waved her hand and said, "Go and get it yourself. I don't have time to look after you right now. Rika is waiting for me in my room. We have a lot to talk about."
He couldn't help frowning upon hearing his mother's words. 'What are they talking about inside Mom's room?' he wondered inwardly. "Can't you just continue talking later?" he asked.
"No, I can't. I am having a good chat with Rika. The snail is about to lay eggs, but she hasn't told me yet where the snail's eggs will come out."
Matthew got confused. 'How can a snail be more important than me?' he wanted to ask.
But he actually knew the answer to Debbie's question. A snail had an opening near the end of its body called the genital pore. This was where eggs came out. Hoping that she would get him a glass of water if he told her the answer, he said, "Mom, I know the answer. I can tell you…"
But Debbie cut him short. "No, no, no. Don't tell me. Your explanation is boring. I prefer Rika's description."
He was at a loss for words. All he could do was watch Debbie enter her room.
After a short while, Carlos went upstairs. Seeing him, Matthew said immediately, "Dad, I'm in a meeting right now. Can you get me a glass of water?"
Carlos glanced at him and showed him the plate of fruits in his hands. "I prepared some fruits for Rika. They will lose their freshness if I don't give them to her right away."
Matthew's lips twitched. Obviously, his father also refused to get him a glass of water. He got pissed off. How could they treat their son like this?
All of a sudden, he had an urge to run back home with Erica.
Left with no choice, he called the maid downstairs using the telephone in the study and asked her to bring him a glass of water.
It was a warm day. Erica had just received a piece of good news, and she was happy with the new progress of the court session.
However, she didn't know that Matthew had already known about it because Phoebe had personally called him.
He was at a dinner party when Phoebe called. To avoid the pungent smell of the woman's perfume beside him, he stood up and walked outside to answer his phone. "What is it?"
"Do you know that Erica sued me on your behalf?"
He fell silent for a moment because he actually didn't know.
Since he didn't answer, Phoebe continued, "I suppose you don't know. But please, let me explain everything to you. I actually made that sketch a long time ago when Nathan was still alive. I sketched both of your portraits just for fun. But when Nathan passed away, I decided to keep his portrait in my room as a souvenir. As for your portrait… the organizer displayed it during my last art exhibit. I didn't intend to violate your right to that portrait. I didn't mean to invade your privacy. Please convince Erica to withdraw the lawsuit."
Phoebe had already received two summons from the court. If she still didn't respond, the court would directly have a verdict.
'I didn't know that Erica sued Phoebe just to protect my right to that portrait, ' he thought.
Now he knew why one night, she secretly held his finger and pressed it on a few documents. He had never thought that she had filed a lawsuit. "Do you really expect me to help you?" he asked coldly.
This time, it was Phoebe who fell silent. Then after a while, she begged in a low voice, "For the last time, Matthew. For the sake of Nathan, please ask Erica to withdraw the lawsuit. I promise that I will never do something to provoke her again."
He had no time to argue with her, as he also had a lot of questions in his mind. To end their conversation, he simply replied, "Just go through the legal proceedings."
Then he hung up.
Phoebe tried to call him again twice, but he didn't answer anymore.
He immediately called Owen and instructed, "Investigate the lawsuit that Erica has filed. Know who her lawyer is and how she'd met him. Report to me every detail of the case." Although his voice was low, it was full of coldness. Knowing Erica, he knew that she wouldn't be able to sue Phoebe without someone else's help.
But it was impossible that she got help from any of the Li family members. Wesley would have definitely told him about it. Since Wesley had never mentioned this matter to him, he was sure that the Li family members didn't know what Erica did.
"Yes, Mr. Huo."
As soon as he hung up, Owen moved quickly. As a result, he had accomplished the mission in the afternoon. He handed all the documents he gathered to Matthew.
Inside his office, Matthew was staring at the pile of documents in front of him with a frown while listening to Owen's report.
"Mrs. Huo's lawyer is Kelvin Fei. He is the legal advisor of the Champion Group. Based on what I've found, he put aside all his work to focus only on Mrs. Huo's case."
The fury in Matthew's eyes deepened. The moment Owen mentioned the Champion Group, he immediately threw the documents on his desk angrily.
Owen abruptly stopped talking. He took a deep breath to alleviate the nervousness in his heart before he continued, "I've also consulted with the lawyer of our company. He said that if a wife files a lawsuit on behalf of her husband, the husband's signature is still necessary. Mr. Huo, don't you know about the case?" In his mind, he couldn't help wondering, 'Did Mrs. Huo ask someone to forge Mr. Huo's signature?'
Everything was now clear to Matthew why Erica asked for his seal and pressed his finger on the papers.
But that was not the reason why he was angry. He was mad that she asked Watkins to find her a lawyer. As her husband, she didn't even consider asking for his help.
He suddenly looked up to Owen and ordered, "Ask someone to hold off this case!" This case wouldn't continue until Erica came to him for help.
"Yes, Mr. Huo." Although Owen was still confused, he didn't dare to ask anymore. He would just do what he was told to.
That night, when Matthew returned to the villa, Erica was already asleep. He sat on the edge of the bed and stared at her beautiful face. He pinched her cheek and called out her name, "Erica."
