Erica said with a forced smile, "Matthew, promise me that you will marry the beautiful and gentle eldest princess of some rich family instead of the naughty youngest one that always causes trouble…" She remembered her father himself once calling her his naughty little princess.
"In my eyes, there is no distinction between the eldest and the youngest princesses. Rika, you're the only princess in my heart," Matthew told her affectionately. No matter how naughty she was, he didn't mind. His wealth, spirit, and body could withstand any torture she might inflict on him.
With some difficulty, she forced another smile. 'Did I get burned in the back? It hurts!' she thought to herself. "Matthew, I once said I would love you in my own way. In this life, I only love you. You're my heaven and my destiny." And she would love him in her next life as well.
A long time ago, her mother told her and her sister what happened the year that Gifford was born. Back then, Blair had run into a group of gangsters, who had tried to kill Wesley at the gate of their house. Blair, who had been pregnant with Gifford, had got seriously injured in order to save Wesley. With her body bleeding and spitting blood out of her mouth, she didn't think she was going to survive at the time.
Many years later, it was Erica's turn to save her beloved from the fire and get seriously injured in the process as well.
Now, her whole body ached due to the burning beam that had hit her. She wanted to keep talking but spat out blood instead.
Ironically, fate had brought mother and daughter face to face with similar disasters.
In Blair's case, she had been in a coma in the hospital for a long time before she woke up.
But what about Erica? If she closed her eyes now, would she ever wake up to see Matthew and the kids again?
Gritting his teeth, Matthew tried to calm himself down and asked, "Rika, don't you want to hear me say that I love you? So, don't close your eyes. Hold on. When you recover, I'll tell you that I love you every day. Rika, I love you very much…"
At that instant, the sound of someone kicking the iron door came from outside, but Matthew didn't seem to hear it. Instead, he continued to confess his love to his girl, "You're my heart, my lungs… If it weren't for you, every organ in my body would collapse. How could I breathe again without my lungs? Do you have the heart to let me die with you like this?"
Blood kept flowing down from the corner of Erica's mouth. However, she managed to shake her head. She couldn't let Matthew die. There were still too many things he could do in his life. Unlike her, a useless person who could only eat, drink, and cause trouble; Matthew had a lot to accomplish.
"So, listen to me from now on! Don't close your eyes. I'll take you out of this place. The kids are waiting for us, okay?" Matthew had a hopeful look in his eyes.
Erica was too weak to nod, so she blinked slowly in response.
"Don't close your eyes. Listen, someone is coming to save us!" Matthew said hurriedly.
With his face flushed by the fire, beads of sweat kept falling from his face.
"Matthew! Rika!" It was Carlos' voice coming from the other side of the door.
Then another car screeched to a halt. It was Owen with his men. "Mr. Huo!" He approached the door and shouted once again,
"Mr. Huo! Mrs. Huo!"
Matthew had to swallow to moisten his throat before answering, "We're here! You guys need to find a way to break the door. Hurry up!" Although Matthew's lips were getting dryer and dryer, he didn't seem to notice it. From beginning to end, his whole focus was on holding Erica's hand tightly in his.
Just then, Carlos' roar came from outside. "Get away from the door!"
The fire department wasn't near enough, and there was no water around them either. The temperature on the iron door was sizzling hot and couldn't simply be broken open by the people.
Looking forward to getting out, Matthew quickly put Erica in a flat position on the floor and barked an order, "Drive! Hit the door with the car!"
Carlos was ready to drive the car himself, but one bodyguard stopped him. "Mr. Huo, let me do this."
Looking at him, Carlos said decisively, "I'll save my son and daughter-in-law myself."
He had given his son too little in his life. The least he could do was save them himself so he wouldn't feel so guilty.
The bodyguard tipped the others with a wink, and three of them immediately pulled Carlos away from the vehicle, restricting him.
Not wasting any time, the bodyguard quickly got into the car and speeded up towards the door.
Bang! It was a success!
As half of the house collapsed, Matthew hid himself in the corner with Erica in his arms at a safe distance from the door. When the bricks fell down with the impact, he turned over and protected the woman with his body.
Despite getting hit by the burning bricks, he didn't seem to feel any pain on his back as he told the sleepy woman in surprise, "Rika, wake up! We're saved!"
Weakly, she opened her eyes to look at him. With her lips parted, she whispered a few words before closing her eyes again. Yet Matthew didn't get anything she said.
In fact, she just told him she couldn't hold on any longer.
"Rika!" Matthew's voice exploded in her ears, but she couldn't hear anything.
Carrying her out of the house in his arms, Matthew put her in a car, which was intact, and drove her to the hospital as fast as he could.
Soon, a loud explosion sound came from behind them. Matthew didn't look back to check it out, but it was just the car used to hit the door that had exploded.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the forest, Damian kept running until he realized he would only get more and more exhausted with time. Therefore, he slowed down his pace to think of a way out of the situation.
Looking back to see if Barry was near, he realized he must be exhausted too. From that moment on, he walked onward as he paid more attention to his surroundings.
Unexpectedly, he found a large half meter deep hole and came up with an idea.
Pulling a branch from the side, he picked up a few larger leaves and did his best to cover up the hole. If one weren't looking carefully where he stepped, he wouldn't be able to see anything.
Before Barry came over, the boy jumped to the other side of the hole and bent down, pressing his hands on his knees. As he gasped for air, he waited for Barry to get close.
Barry had sweat running down his forehead once he noticed the boy had stopped. He took the opportunity to lean against a tree and regain his breath as well. "Son of a bitch, I finally caught up with you…"
Damian took a few steps back and pretended to reason with him. "Stop chasing me. Please let me go. My father is rich. I'll tell him to give you money. How about that?"
"No. If I let you go now, I'll be killed when I head back. The money will be of no use to me if I'm dead." Barry took a few steps forward, his legs visibly weak.
Suddenly, Damian turned around and ran away. Barry reacted immediately and picked up his pace to go after the boy.
But to his surprise, after a step or two, he stumbled and fell into the hole. "Ahhhh!" He screamed in pain. He had almost broken his leg with the fall.
When Damian heard Barry's cry, he knew that he had fallen into his trap. Looking back, he laughed at him and provoked, "Come and catch me!"
Barry struggled to pull his right leg out of the hole, but before he could stand up, a sharp pain came over his ankle.
It was sprained.
