Erica didn't mind her gaze at all. She put her arm on Hyatt's shoulder and asked, "Hyatt said you owed him money and haven't paid him back yet. What's wrong with you?"

At the mention of the money, the girl's eyes began to fill with tears, and she tried to look away from Erica. There was sympathy in Hyatt's eyes, but not Erica's. "Come on, Hyatt. It's not like I don't want to pay you back. But I'm hurting for money now. Two more days. That's all I need."

She had a lovely voice—high-pitched and sweet, easy on the ears. No wonder her major was in radio and TV broadcasting.

Seeing that silly Hyatt was about to soften his heart, Erica pulled him behind her and told the girl, "No way! This is ridiculous! You've been playing this game for months. You can't even cough up two thousand? Maybe we should start charging interest!"

The girl named Pansy knew there was no way out. Erica would never let her off the hook. So she had to promise, "Okay, I don't have a job. I need to call my mom..."

Erica watched her wander off to make the call. Hyatt tugged at her sleeve nervously. "Erica, she just asked for a little more time. If she really can't get it to me now, it doesn't matter. I can wait. It's not like I need the money."

Erica rolled her eyes at him and said, "Don't be a jerk. This is all on her. You'll get your money quickly—trust me."

Erica was good at reading people. She was street smart. She recognized the brands Pansy wore, stylish and expensive. The simple outfit she was rocking cost thousands. And the phone in her hand was none other than ZL Group's iconic model, a super-private, high-end phone for the super-rich. Nearly unbreakable when dropped, featuring high-end encryption, made of black carbon and metal gold, the thing was worth more than twenty thousand!

So Erica wasn't buying it. A girl who could afford such luxurious items should easily be able to pay her friend back.

Sure enough, in less than three minutes, Pansy came back and asked for Hyatt's account number. "Mom transferred the money to me. I'll wire it to you now."

Hearing that, Hyatt was gobsmacked for a moment. He didn't think he'd ever see that money again. Prompted by Erica, he rattled off his account number.

Soon, he received two thousand.

The girl blushed and left. Hyatt watched her leave, a hint of sad

n those guys off!"

"Yes, Mrs. Huo!"

After getting Erica's orders, the bodyguard left the car and pulled out a nightstick. He only had to whip it around a few times before the group dispersed. They left Kaitlyn there, alone.

Kaitlyn ran back to the car and thanked Erica with a smile, over and over. "Thank you, Erica! Thank you so much! I'll never forget what you did today!"

When the bodyguard returned to the car, Erica pressed the automatic window with an expressionless face. As it closed, she ordered the driver, "Let's go. We'll drop Hyatt off at school, and head home."

"Yes, Mrs. Huo."

After the luxury car rolled away, Kaitlyn took some deep breaths to center herself, and took a last look at the empty alley. She hailed a taxi, and left.

To Erica's surprise, when she returned to the villa, Matthew was already home.

He was talking on the phone in the bedroom. When he saw her come in, he just glanced at her and continued to talk about work with the person on the other end.

Erica didn't feel like talking to him, so she went straight to the closet, grabbed her pajamas and went to the bathroom.

When she came out, Matthew was still in the bedroom. But he wasn't on the phone now. Instead, he sat on the sofa, waiting for her.

Matthew wanted to dry her hair, but she turned him down. She took the hair dryer from him and sat in front of the dresser to dry her hair by herself.

Matthew didn't press the issue. He sat on the edge of the bed and simply said, "I'll go with you to your prenatal checkup tomorrow."