Take My Breath Away

Erica and Tessie stood face to face in silence.

In a way their lives were mirrors of each other: one lived in a paradise while the other was in hell.

Tessie finally forced a smile and broke the silence. "Well, Erica, look at the state I'm in. Are you feeling happy now?"

The other woman's smile was entirely real. "Yes, I'm happy now! You've done a lot of harm, and it's finally catching up to you, Tessie. You didn't think things would turn around so quickly, did you?"

In fact, Erica hadn't expected things to be resolved so quickly, either. It had only taken a week to go from her investigation to dealing with Tessie and her companions.

Thanks to the man in the car, her innocence had been proven in short order.

The thought of Matthew, and of the victory he'd won her, widened Erica's smile.

Naturally, Tessie could not fail to notice. "Erica, I really envy you!" she said.

Erica seemed to have everything. She'd been born into a rich family, had parents who loved her very much, and now she was married to Matthew Huo, the most powerful man in Y City. As her life went on, it would only get easier, and no one dared to offend her.

But as for Tessie?

She smiled bitterly. Life was so unfair to her! She hated everyone in the Su family; she hated Tam and his daughter...

But in spite of everything, she felt sorry for Erica and Ethan.

Now she couldn't see Ethan, and Erica had turned against her, leaving her quite alone in this world.

Erica eyed her one-time friend coldly, as though she could read her thoughts. "You've ruined your own future for yourself!" By far, Ethan was the most pitiable one in this whole incident. Tessie was his biological mother, yet since running into Erica again, she hadn't so much as mentioned the baby once, let alone asked to see him.

It was sad to think that Ethan had such a mother.

"Erica, can't you ask Mr. Huo to let me go?" Tessie asked quietly.

"As long as you don't send me to the slum, I'm willing to serve you my whole life. I'll do anything for you."

Erica shook her head. "No, I don't need anything from you. Just behave yourself and live your life there for a while. Maybe one day when Matthew forgets all about you, you will be free."

Tessie suddenly took a step forward and said, "If I tell you a secret, will you ask Mr. Huo to show me a little mercy?"

"What?" Erica asked warily.

Tessie stared into her old friend's eyes, her manner deadly serious; this warning was the last thing she could do for Erica. "Be wary of my sisters."

With that she went off, leaving Erica confused and deep in thought. 'Her sisters? Does she mean Phoebe and Camille?'

Of course she would be wary of Phoebe. After all, they were rivals in love. But, what about Camille?

Erica racked her mind, trying to figure it out. She remembered that woman in her immaculate, creamy white garb; she'd seemed to be a noble and generous woman, much like her mother, Fanya. Erica had last seen Camille in the Su family residence. In fact, that was the only time they had crossed paths. They were barely even acquaintances, and didn't know each other at all.

So why would Tessie warn her to be careful about Camille?

Erica's face was still blank and drawn with worry when she got back in the car. Seeing it at once, Matthew said, "What's wrong? I wanted you to come see her so that you could enjoy the victory."

True enough, Erica wanted to enjoy it as well. But try as she might, it was impossible. After all, Tessie used to be her best friend. Deep down, she couldn't help but feel sad.

She hugged Matthew, seeking a sense of security from him. At length she said, "Matthew, why am I unhappy?"

Carefully, he smoothed her long hair. "Because you are too kind."

She shook her head. "Tessie and I have been friends for a long time, even longer than I knew Rhea. You know, one of the most vivid memories of my life is from my third year of senior high school. It was right after the Mid-Autumn Festival—Tessie was with me. When the festival was over, we didn't go back to the dormitory. Instead we sat by the river and watched the moon in the middle of the night. You know, when they're best friends, kids always make promises at times like that. Ours was that we would treat each other's children as our own. Who knows, we might even become in-laws when our children grow up."

After Tessie gave birth to Ethan, Erica did keep her promise and treat him as her own son. However, she didn't expect her friend to have cheated her.

Erica draped an arm across her eyes to hide the tears she felt coming. "I thought when my hair is grey, I would have my husband, my children and my best friends all with me..."

She had imagined a sweet and happy life in her old age.

Now, though, it seemed that the future that she had imagined would never be; she'd had to end her friendship with Tessie today.

Matthew looked down and kissed the top of her head. "Don't cry. I promise you. I'll ask someone to keep an eye on her there. If she changes for the better, we'll just leave her alone, and then she can go anywhere she wants. Okay?"

Like he said, his wife was too kind for her own good.

"Okay!" Erica sobbed, nodding.

Even if Tessie had cheated her, she couldn't just sit by and watch her suffer too much.

They stayed there for a while, with Matthew comforting his wife, hoping that someday, perhaps, she wouldn't let herself be hurt so easily.

But eventually they had to leave the station. Matthew dropped her off back at the school, then went back to his company.

After settling in his office, he called Paige in. She came in to find him framed before the large window, staring out into the city. With a slightly theatrical air, he turned around and asked her, "What's the significance of the surname Niugulu?"

Paige was speechless for a moment. 'Is Mrs. Huo being naughty again?' she wondered. Last time, Erica had called the CEO "Matthew Xitala." To confirm her guess, Paige asked tentatively, "What is the first name before the surname Niugulu?"

Matthew simply answered, "Erica Niugulu."

Paige held back her laughter. Mrs. Huo was so naughty and cute. "Mr. Huo, there is a female leading character with the surname Zhen in a historical TV series. The setting is in the imperial palace of the Qing Dynasty," she explained. "The heroine used to be a simple and innocent girl. But after experiencing many intrigues in the imperial household, she became a very intelligent and shrewd empress and was granted the Manchurian surname of Niugulu by the emperor. After this series became popular, people on the Internet turned the name Niugulu into a kind of meme. It refers to an innocent and weak girl who changes in order to become scheming and manipulative against her enemies."

Mrs. Huo was such a weird girl. Paige silently thought that she had to watch more historical dramas after she went back home.

'So that's what Erica Niugulu means?' Matthew mused to himself.

'Erica wants to become a scheming, manipulative woman?' It was one of the most bizarre ideas he'd heard in a while. He really couldn't imagine his wife becoming that.

"I see—thank you, Paige," he said. "Go ahead with your own work."

"Yes, Mr. Huo." The woman disappeared, leaving Matthew pondering.

"Erica Niugulu..." he said to himself quietly. The more he thought it over, the more he suspected he would have to keep an eye on his wife in the future. She was smarter than she appeared to be, and ran really fast. Where could he find her if she ran away one day?

One afternoon, after class, Erica wanted to go shopping with Hyatt before going back home. But as soon as she arrived at the school gate, she saw Matthew's Emperor car—and that car was hard to ignore.

With a hasty goodbye to Hyatt, she ran up to the car somewhat excitedly. This was very unusual!

She hadn't yet reached the car when Matthew emerged from it and personally opened the back door for her. They both sat in the back seat.

With a sweet smile, Erica looked expectantly at her husband and asked, "Why do you have the time to pick me up today?"

Matthew cleared his throat. "I'm going on a business trip tomorrow. But I'm not busy this evening, so I thought I'd pick you up and go cook us something at home."

Erica clapped her hands—she couldn't help herself. 'Matthew's cooking tonight? That's great!' She cried, "Oh, my! What are you going to make?"

"Well, what would you like to eat?"

"Hmm...anything is okay," Erica said with a shrug. "How about you make something you haven't made before, and we'll see how it is?"

He paused, then nodded, "Okay!"

Back to the villa, Erica watched TV as usual, while Matthew kept busy in the kitchen.

Unable to stay on an empty stomach, Erica was munching an apple. At the sound of the electric stirrer, she twisted around on the sofa to look into the kitchen. "What are you doing?" she called.

"Cream," he answered laconically.

"What? I thought you were making spaghetti," remarked Erica. 'I'm pretty sure you don't put cream in spaghetti, ' she added silently.

"Well, don't you like cream puffs?" Matthew asked.

'So he's also making puffs?'

Erica put on her slippers and rushed toward the kitchen, only to be stopped at the threshold by Matthew. "Keep a distance, please!" he urged. "Stay at least three meters from the kitchen!"

"I'm just curious why you'd make cream puffs," said his wife. "Does Gwyn like those?"