Teaming up with Paige in the company offices, the party tonight on the cruise ship, the evening dress and expensive jewelry... Matthew had arranged every bit of that. Not her fits of pique, of course, but everything else, surely.

He couldn't help but shake his head. 'How naive she is! If Paige hadn't gone through me first, would she have even dared to lay a finger on such an expensive jewelry set? Of course not. She knew on which side her bread was buttered.'

Matthew had made a bet inwardly. It was a private bet, and no one else was in on it. The only payout would be how right he was about how things played out.

He laid odds Erica would head to the office looking for him, particularly if she found he wasn't home. He figured she would come to him first even though she knew the four boys were at the Huo family manor.

The CEO knew how jealous she got, so he had Paige imply that he would be at the party with another woman. That was all the impetus Erica needed to show up at the party. Not only would she attend, but she would make sure everyone there knew that he was hers and hers alone.

It turned out he was right. She did show up. And she did humiliate these other women.

But she had made one error in judgement. She hadn't noticed that Sheffield and Evelyn weren't there. Why would they skip a party like that? And why would Matthew go to a party that a playboy like Sheffield didn't care about?

The only reason so many business bigwigs were there was so they could schmooze with Matthew. Many of them had never met the man before, and they figured it was just good business to go.

Erica had no clue this was all arranged. She figured she was doing what came naturally, and was unaware of Matthew's machinations. 'My wife is still so adorable.'

Thinking of this, Matthew smiled.

Seeing his smile, Erica was shocked and snapped, "You're even smiling about it! So is it true?"

"No."

"Huh?"

"I'm not smiling, and you don't know the half of it!"

Erica pinched his face heavily until it was deformed. "You are smiling, but you won't admit it!"

Looking at the woman in front of him, Matthew didn't say anything. 'I love how power and money haven't changed her! She's the same old Erica.'

Erica thought he was unhappy, so she loosened her grip on his face and stammered, "Well, it's fine if you don't want to tell me. Bu

marriage. That Carlos had forced him to marry Erica. But they were wrong. He'd had his eye on her for a while. If he hadn't wanted to marry her, even his dad couldn't make him.

If he didn't love her, he wouldn't have missed her day and night. Every single hour of those three years was sheer torture.

'I love you, Erica. From now until forever, no matter how many ups and downs we go through, the only woman in my heart is you. It's always been you, ' he said inwardly.

Meanwhile, on the cruise ship, all the guests heard the screaming and pleading from the top deck as they disembarked.

"Help! Help me! Mr. Huo! Mrs. Huo! I was wrong... I don't want to be here..."

There were some who were naturally curious, so they climbed the stairs to take a look. Lucia was tied to one of the cell towers, bound tightly. The wind and rain lashed her in the cold, dark night.

A few bodyguards stood beside her, making sure she wouldn't break free. Not only that, they were there to stop anyone from rescuing her.

They weren't heartless. They got her whatever she wanted to eat or drink. Not like she had much of an appetite. But they would be the ones to blame if she died on their watch.

The party had been over for a long while, and everyone was still talking about it. Obviously, the guests enjoyed themselves. And they got an extra floor show—tonight, Erica had dealt with two women who had designs on Matthew. That was fun to watch. After everyone got off the cruise ship, the news spread like wildfire through the city. No one wanted to anger Miss Troublemaker.