Take My Breath Away

"Everything's been settled, Evelyn. There's only one thing that hasn't been taken care of yet, but that's coming!" Erica said. She hadn't figured out what to do with Tessie and Lenora yet. The young newlywed was still discussing this with Matthew.

"That's good. Anything I can do to help?"

"Thanks, Evelyn. But I think I'm good. Matthew H...Matthew took care of everything. He's so good to me." And the events of recent days had taught her that. She had always been grateful to him. She might as well invite him to dinner to thank him for his help.

Evelyn nodded, "Nice! Well, dinner's almost ready. We probably need to get in there. Let's go."

"Okay."

The noise level was rather high. The Huo family was a big one, so that was to be expected. They all chatted and bantered back and forth, gathered around a huge table in the dining room.

Eventually the topic turned towards attractiveness. Erica decided to suck up to her elders. "Hey, Dad, you were pretty hot back in the day. You could have been a model or a movie star. You still could, to be honest."

Matthew snorted. 'She's defiant and arrogant around me. Why do they get all the love?"

She had them charmed. The more she talked, the deeper Matthew's frown became.

"Why the frown, Son? Rika is young and playful. You should enjoy having a woman like that," Carlos said.

Debbie echoed, "That's right. Rika doesn't even have any makeup. If I hadn't reminded Matthew last time, she still wouldn't have any."

It was not until then that Erica realized that it was Debbie who had reminded Matthew to buy the makeup that sat on her dresser. She smiled sweetly at Debbie and said, "Thank you, Mom!"

"No need to thank me. Hey—if you need something and Matthew doesn't pick it up for you, just remind the guy. Matthew, you should learn from Sheffield and Joshua. Look how they treat your sisters!" In Debbie's eyes, Sheffield and Joshua were the perfect sons-in-law. They could do no wrong and treated her daughters like queens.

Matthew put down the wet tissue in his hand and looked at the others indifferently. "If you could see how she treats me at home..."

The smile on Erica's face froze. She pinched the man under the table and thought, 'Couldn't he say something nice about me?'

Matthew held her hand and continued, "I carry her up the stairs, cook for her, wash her feet, make dessert to make her happy..."

When she went to Y City University to confront Tessie, he knew that she would be in a bad mood. So he canceled appointments with some major clients so he could be there for her. That was when he cooked up the chocolate.

"Yeah, yeah, come on, be serious," said Terilynn.

"Man, you're something else. You're so obvious when you lie," Carlos commented.

"You imagining things, Matthew?" asked Sheffield. He couldn't imagine the aloof Matthew cooking, much less washing Erica's feet. That would just be too surreal. He couldn't believe it at all!

"Matthew, you mean you are going to learn to do these things, right?" Joshua said.

Everyone in the Huo family shook their heads.

Obviously, none of them believed it.

Debbie was the only one that believed Matthew. She had heard Erica say that herself. But she wasn't going to get involved in this.

Erica just sipped her cola without a care in the world. But she wouldn't meet Matthew's gaze. The smile on her face was like a little fox's, revealing her smugness.

Matthew sneered. He knew when he was beaten. So he wouldn't say another word about how they were together. This woman was clever!

They were his own family. His father, mother, sisters, and brothers-in-law. But none of them believed him. The only one that did wouldn't say a word to back him up.

And now, something Erica once said suddenly occurred to him. She said she was the black sheep of the family. Come to think of it, Matthew was beginning to feel kind of woolly himself.

Looking at Erica, who was still busy sipping her coke, Matthew squeezed her hand and said, "Don't you want to say something to everyone?" She needed to learn how to stick up for her husband in front of others.

Carlos glared at his son with dissatisfaction. "Matthew, if Rika doesn't want to say anything, then she doesn't have to. Why are you trying to make her do anything?"

Matthew felt misunderstood and helpless. He wasn't trying to make her do anything. He wanted her to speak up, and was reminding her to do so.

After thinking for a while, Debbie said, "Rika, if Matthew does something like that again, pack your stuff and move in here. Stay here as long as you want. It'll teach him a lesson!"

Matthew felt so glum. Why did he come here for dinner again?

It was Sheffield who burst into laughter first after hearing what Debbie said. He gave Debbie a thumbs up and said, "Hahaha, you're definitely Matthew's biological mom!"

Erica also wanted to laugh out loud, but she had to maintain her image. So, she smiled a little and said, "Thank you, Mom. Maybe I'll really come and bug you one day!"

"What are you talking about? It's your house too. You know where Matthew's room is. You're welcome here anytime." Debbie was on Erica's side. It was about time someone put that man in his place.

She felt bad for Erica. The girl tried to do something nice for her best friend, and got spat on for it. She not only raised a baby that wasn't hers, but it also ruined her reputation. Everybody talked trash about her because of it. Now her name was finally cleared. She had no child or boyfriend. Matthew was pretty thorough at getting the news out. He and Rika had a bright future together, and he was a lucky man indeed.

"Sounds good! But Matthew doesn't bully me," Erica said. She turned and smiled at the recently deflated man.

Noticing the self-satisfied look in her eyes, Matthew tried to hide his wounded ego with a harsh attitude. "Bully her?" he snorted. "You women are always put on a pedestal in this family. How can I compete with that?"

Terilynn immediately reprimanded him, "Matthew, don't frighten Rika with your attitude. Why are you being so mean?"

Matthew was even more despondent. He didn't want to come back here for dinner again if he didn't have to.

Looking at the silent, brooding man, Erica felt sorry for him. He was being targeted and shot down at every turn. And worse, it was over her.

The longer this went on, the worse she felt. She poured a glass of red wine for Matthew, filled a bowl of soup for him, and served it to him with a smile. "I'm sorry, Matthew. Have some soup."

It was obvious that she was trying to please him.

However, this scene made everyone overreact again. They all thought that it was because Matthew was angry and Erica was afraid of him so she acted like a servant to mollify him.

Debbie tried her best to sound patient. "Rika, Matthew should be serving you soup, not the other way around. He's a man, and men take care of their wives."

Erica hadn't expected to hear that. "It's okay, Mom. It's just a bowl of soup."

Carlos began, "Are you seriously pouting? Look how scared Rika is. Hurry up and grab some food for your wife!"

Matthew felt hopeless and helpless. What did he do wrong? He did nothing and said nothing. Why were they constantly harping on him? It was like he could do nothing right.

He really didn't feel like part of the family anymore.

Without saying a word, he picked up the chopsticks and began to pick up food for Erica. He also glared at his wife, who was struggling to control her laughter.

"Dad, I saw Matthew glaring at Rika! Give him a talking-to." Sheffield decided to rat on Matthew, telling Carlos, as if he thought there was too much peace in the house.

Matthew had done the same to him many times before. Evelyn always got mad at Sheffield thanks to Matthew's meddling. Now it was his turn.