Gifford snorted mockingly at his sister. "What, now you're afraid? You had the courage to climb over the wall to escape. I thought you were brave enough to do anything!"

Erica endured his words with gritted teeth. She was much more concerned about what her husband might do or say to her.

Matthew cut straight through the siblings' bickering. "Of course I'm angry," he snapped. "I'll teach her a lesson when we get back. But what happened between you and Chantel is another matter. You put your own guard down in front of her and fell easily into her trap! It's your responsibility, and you can't blame Erica for it."

"Oh, fine! Trying to fight both of you will be like banging my head against the wall. I won't forget what's happened today." Not waiting for either to reply, Gifford stormed out. He could see that he was getting nowhere, since Erica's husband was there to stick up for her.

Only the couple was left in the office. Wordlessly, Matthew extracted his arm from his wife's grip, turned away, and sat down in his chair.

Looking at her empty hands, Erica remembered what he had said just now.

Possessed of a girlish joy, she went up to his back and started to massage his shoulders. "Oh, Matthew, thank you so much!" she cried. "You're awesome! You're my super idol now!"

Ignoring her flattery, Matthew simply lowered his head and started reading a document that was on his desk.

His face was blank, as it so often was, and the air was thick with embarrassment.

Erica kept working on his shoulders, trying to butter him up, but could see it was not working. What else could she do to make him happy?

'Oh! I got it!' Not giving up, she went around to her husband's side, wrapped her arms around his neck, and kissed him on the cheek. 'No, that's not enough! He prefers more passionate kisses!' Thinking of this, she planted a few on his mouth.

But Matthew returned none of the kisses. Cold as ice, he just glanced at her, then went back to his work.

'Oh, fine!' thought Erica; even she knew when to give up sometimes.

She left the office in a huff, much as her brother had moments before.

When she was gone, Matthew found it no easier to concentrate on the document before him. For a long time he sulked, his eyes wandering the room.

'She is really heartless. She kicked me away after using me. How ruthless she could be!'

Later, in the Huo family's manor

It was afte

le of wine.

Wanting to confirm his guess, he started to head farther into the living room.

However, Erica thought he still didn't want to talk to her. Seeing him walk past, she very suddenly and loudly burst into tears.

Somewhat startled, Matthew stopped and turned around. His frown deepened in confusion. "Why are you crying?" Had he said something to offend her?

Erica didn't answer. Her face glistening with tears, she lurched to the front door and disappeared outside.

Matthew was stunned. What did she mean by rushing out without even a word? After closing his eyes and taking a deep breath, he hurried after her.

Outside there was no sign of Erica, but one of the bodyguards had seen her and pointed Matthew in the direction she had gone.

It turned out that she'd gone to the garden. It was only a few minutes' walk from the gate of the villa, but by the time Matthew got there, Erica had gotten herself into something of a predicament.

To be precise, she had begun to climb one of the larger trees. Two meters off the ground she began to feel dizzy, though, and simply clung to one of the larger branches.

Astonished, Matthew marched over to the tree and yelled, "Erica, what the hell are you doing? Come down at once!"

"I won't come down!" she wailed. "You don't want to see me anymore. I won't live..." After all, she'd noticed the disgust on Matthew's face earlier; it had been plain as day. So he just didn't want her anymore, did he? Then she would die in front of him!

'You won't live?' Staring up at his drunken wife, Matthew felt a terrible headache begin to set in.