Take My Breath Away

Erica began to wonder if Wesley was really her father. How could he speak to her this way? The man was acting like her sworn enemy. He was even more hateful than Reese.

As the night fell, Matthew arrived at the villa two hours earlier than before. There was no light in the living room except the grayish glare of the TV.

Moving slowly and silently, he crept up to the sofa from behind. Without even looking, he'd known what was on the screen.

It showed a cemetery with two human figures standing in the middle of it. More precisely, it was two ghosts.

With much precision, Matthew reached out and patted Erica on the shoulder, then quickly drew himself back.

"Ah!" Erica screamed and shook.

As she twisted around, Matthew saw her face had instantly gone pale. He'd expected this reaction; it was the second time she'd been scared to death like that.

It took her a few seconds to recognize who had touched her. She calmed down quickly enough, but if looks could kill, Matthew would have dropped dead right then and there.

"Can you not do that when you come back next time?" she demanded, trying to keep her voice down. "Having to deal with you is worse than having real ghosts around. Do you realize that?"

There was a trace of a smile in Matthew's eyes. "What do you want me to do next time?" he asked.

"Call me in advance!" she snapped. "Actually, no, that won't do either. The phone ringing suddenly will scare me too. Just go right upstairs without bothering me." Erica just wanted to enjoy a horror movie without any interruptions. She didn't think it was too much to ask.

To her surprise, as soon as she finished speaking, Matthew went over and turned off the TV. "Let's go upstairs," he said casually.

"What did you do that for? I haven't finished watching that!" Indignant, Erica sat on the back of the sofa. This made her almost as tall as Matthew, and she didn't care how ridiculous she looked.

Without a word, Matthew came over and scooped her up in his arms.

Erica was almost as startled as she'd been just a moment ago. R

got nervous as he started untying his tie. "Why... why are you taking off your clothes?" she asked warily. Did he have some creepy quirks?

Matthew rolled his eyes and threw his tie away without even looking at her. Then he unbuttoned his cuffs.

A possibility occurred to Erica. "Are you going to take a shower?"

With a chilly look at her, he rolled up his sleeves, and squatted down in front of Erica. Reaching into the basin, he took hold of her feet and started rubbing them.

Realizing that he was washing them, Erica wanted to draw back, but his grip was strong, and she couldn't escape it.

Matthew spoke through gritted teeth. "As far as I'm concerned, from now on, you're just a child who can't take care of herself. Just like Ethan." There was no mistaking the loathing in his voice.

His words sank in as Erica sat there, and her good mood finally began to ebb. Being treated like a baby, she couldn't help but feel frustrated.

In the meantime, his big hands continued to work at her feet, efficient but a little bit rough. Feeling wronged, Erica pouted and spoke. "You misunderstood. I can take care of myself. I just have a problem of procrastination."

If she could not even wash her own feet, she would be really useless.

Without even raising his head, Matthew replied, "Shut up. The more you talk, the more you make me think of divorcing you."