Take My Breath Away

Erica thought Matthew hadn't heard her, so she hurried over and stood in front of him. Donning a sweet smile, she began, "Matthew, I have a question for you."

The man was still silent.

But this time Erica was sure that he had heard her—he just didn't want to talk. All the same, she went on. "Matthew, do you care about three thousand dollars?"

Hearing this, Matthew tossed the rag into the sink and said, "I care."

She pulled a long face. "What? You care about three thousand dollars? Isn't it said that a CEO can make a hundred million dollars in a minute?"

Matthew was as curt as ever. "Yes."

"Then why do you still care about three thousand?" she pouted.

Matthew didn't mind talking nonsense with her for a while. "Because I still have to keep track of my money and take care of it. Do you mean that I should just take three thousand dollars and give it to some random stranger on the street, and think nothing of it?"

"No, no, of course not. I mean... You can't randomly give money to strangers, but you can give it to me!" Finally it was out in the open.

'So, she beat around the bush before asking for three thousand dollars?' Matthew thought. 'Is my wife so poor?' Pretending to be confused, he asked, "Why should I give three thousand dollars to you? Have you used up all your money already?"

Embarrassed, Erica lowered her head, but her lips held a trace of a smile. "Here is the thing... I went shopping with your mom today and bought some lipsticks. They cost three thousand dollars! And that's so expensive! Three thousand! It's just the cost of a breakfast for you, but for a poor student like me, that's my living expenses for a month! So, can you reimburse your dear wife for this, um, little mistake?"

With some effort, Matthew kept from snorting out loud. 'Is she the kind of poor student who lives on three thousand dollars a month? Does she really expect me to believe this?'

It took this for him to see that his wife really was a miser!

"What, have you used up all the money I gave you before?" he asked.

"No, I don't want to use that up at all." Erica was being entirely honest here.

She had bought the lipsticks with the money that Gifford had given her before. After this expenditure, there was only a little left over.

With a smile in his eyes, Matthew asked, "Ah, so you're saving up for your five sons in the future?" He hadn't forgotten her great wish to have five sons with him—and to leave him penniless.

'Five sons?' Erica shivered. "I can't afford to raise five sons!"

Matthew went to the bathroom to wash his hands. When he came out, Erica, who had given up asking him to reimburse her, was going upstairs.

He followed her.

Up in their room, Matthew found her playing with her phone on the bed. He took out a check, wrote on it for a minute, and went and offered it to her. He said, "Here. You can come to me for anything you buy in the future. I'll reimburse you."

Erica's eyes lit up, but she was not in a hurry to take the check. She tilted her head and squinted at the check, making sure she had read it right. "One, two, three... Three hundred thousand?" She gulped. "Matthew, I said I wanted three thousand dollars!"

Matthew tucked the check into her collar. "I heard what you said!" Three hundred thousand was pocket change to someone in his position.

'Wow!' thought Erica. 'It's great to have a husband who's silly and rich!' She covered her collar tightly with both hands, fearing that he would go back on his words and take the check back. "Do I need an invoice for reimbursement in the future?"

Feeling very generous, Matthew told her, "No. Just ask for the reimbursement anytime." With that, he turned and went to the walk-in closet.

Erica took the check out of her collar and kissed it again and again. "Matthew, I love you so much!" But, as was clear, she loved this check even more!

"What did you say just now?" her husband asked over his shoulder.

Now in a good mood, Erica didn't mind saying something nice to him. "I said, Matthew, you're the warmest, most handsome, most generous and considerate man in the world!"

He raised an eyebrow. "If I hadn't given you this check today, would you still think so?"

"Of course..." '...not!' Erica had to be realistic. Money was much more important than her husband!

If Matthew abandoned her in the future, the only thing that could accompany her was money!

Knowing what she wanted to say, Matthew turned and disappeared into the closet.

A moment later, he emerged with a little brocade box in his hand. Pretending to be very casual, he tossed it onto the bed before his wife, saying, "A friend of mine just designed a pair of stud earrings. Have a look?"

Erica put down her phone and opened the box. Inside was a pair of very exquisite-looking cheetah-shaped earrings. The eyes were made of pink-colored diamonds, and the other materials looked to be platinum and transparent jewels. The style presented a combination of hardness and softness.

Matthew watched closely as her eyes lit up. She took one of the earrings out and examined it carefully. "Matthew, how much are these? Can you sell them to me?"

"No, just take them if you want. I'll ask my friend to design something else."

"Is the eye in the middle pink-colored diamond?" Erica asked absentmindedly, then shook her head. "No, it must be very expensive. I can't just take these." Erica carefully put the ear stud back into the brocade box and brought it to him, her face serious. "They're so precious. Return them to your friend as soon as you can."

Matthew's face darkened. This woman had no idea of his romance at all! At times like this, he really wanted to just throw her out of the villa. "I don't have to return them. They're already mine," he explained.

"What? Did he just give them to you? Are you going to give them to your goddess?" That was what Erica said when she didn't want to mention Phoebe's name.

'My goddess...'

Matthew thought, not knowing how to answer. At last his impatience showed itself, and he glowered down at the box. "She doesn't want them. It's useless for me to take the earrings. If you don't want them either, I'll just throw them away!"

'So that's it, ' Erica realized with some disappointment. Matthew's beloved woman didn't want the earrings, so he thought to give them to her instead. Instantly, she found that she didn't like them so much anymore. "Well, then throw them away!" she told him.

Matthew blanched; his wife was so unpredictable that she was driving him crazy. 'Didn't she like them very much just a minute ago? And isn't she always frugal? She never likes me wasting things.' He asked, "Are you sure?"

"Yes." Erica was emphatic. "If you're going to give me something just because another woman didn't want it, then I don't want it either!"

So this was the problem. Matthew explained, "Well, I originally planned to give them to you."

"Then why you say your goddess didn't want them?" Erica asked. After all, he hadn't said this before; he'd just asked her to have a look at them.

"So, do you want them or not?" sighed Matthew.

"Well, if they are not for another woman, of course I will take them. I'm not a fool." Erica spoke slowly, holding the box tightly as if it was her own.

Matthew shook his head slightly, then held out a hand and said, "Give the box to me!"

"Why are you going back on your words already?"

For a second he actually looked hurt, wondering if that was really the sort of person his wife thought he was. "No, I mean, I'll help you put them on," he said.

"Oh, okay!" Erica replied, flushing just a bit.

She opened the box.

With a gentleness that seemed unlike him, Matthew put the ear studs on her. Taking in the close-up view of his face, Erica snickered in her heart, 'Wow, my husband is so handsome!'

"All right, have a look in the mirror," he said.

First, though, Erica asked, "Do you think they look good on me?"

He gave her a tender look. "Not bad!"

As he saw it, Erica was a delicate and lovely girl, and this style of earrings matched her very well.