Take My Breath Away

"Hey, Rika, don't try to stir things up here. Let me correct you. I don't need to look for a wife every day because I already have the best wife in the world. Got it? Evelyn would make me kneel on a keyboard again if she heard that!" Sheffield made sure to explain himself clearly, even though he knew it was just a joke.

Erica laughed out loud and said, "Perhaps, I should learn from Evelyn and make Matthew kneel on some durian shells in the future. That man needs to know just how powerful I am!"

"That sounds like a great idea, Rika. You have my full support! If you need any help, just let me know!" Sheffield was amused at the idea of Matthew's misery.

In fact, he was dying to see Matthew crying in pain on a pile of durian shells.

When they arrived at the Pearl Villa District, Erica went straight to Sheffield's villa to see her sons, but they were already in bed with Godwin, ready for sleep.

However, the moment they saw Erica, they jumped out of bed in a split second, yelling her name with excitement. "Mommy!"

Gwyneth, who was telling them bedtime stories, helplessly said, "Aunt Rika, they are so naughty when they are together. It's so hard to get them to lie down in bed!"

Erica turned her face towards the boys, glaring at them angrily, and asked, "Have you been naughty again?"

Adkins immediately apologized, "Mom, I'm sorry. I'm going to bed now!"

As soon as he crawled into the bed, the rest of them followed suit and closed their eyes at once, pretending to be asleep.

Gwyneth chuckled and shook her head with amusement. "Aunt Rika, you're the only one who can deal with them so easily. My voice is starting to become hoarse because I have to keep yelling at them."

Erica whispered in her ear, "These kids can be very considerate as well. They will listen to you if you pretend to be aggrieved."

"I see! I think I understand what you mean, Aunt Rika. I'll be sure to try that out next time."

When Erica returned home, she found an empty villa, full of nothing but loneliness. She took out her phone from her pocket and called Matthew. "Honey, are you asleep?"

"No. What's up?"

"Nothing, it just feels very lonely at home without you." All the maids had gone back to their own quarters for the rest of the day, while Erica was hanging from the railings of the staircase, lazily dragging herself up the stairs.

Matthew snorted in amusement and said, "Really? I thought you were having a good time. If I didn't ask Sheffield to go there, you would still be in the bar, wouldn't you?"

"Well, I had no intentions of hiding anything from you. When I got the news about th

what she was going to say to him, the call got connected.

Matthew always answered her calls on time. No matter how busy he was, he wouldn't miss any of her calls.

"Rika?" The man's gentle voice graced her ears from the other end of the line.

The moment she heard him, she burst into tears, failing to control her emotions any longer. "Matthew..." Erica's voice trembled and her muffled sobs wracked against her chest.

Matthew, who was just now talking business with a client, frowned and walked to the side, while his client gazed at him in confusion. "Rika, what's wrong?" he asked in a worried voice.

However, the woman could barely utter a proper word without bawling or sniffling like a baby.

Matthew could tell that Erica wasn't joking and that something very bad must have happened for her to be in such a state. This time, when he spoke, he sounded quite anxious. "Rika, don't cry. Just tell me what happened."

"I... I...I might be dying... Well, I want to die alone..." In truth, she didn't want anyone to feel sorry for her.

Her words caused Matthew's face to change dramatically. As he walked out of the room, he patiently tried to comfort her. "What are you talking about? What do you mean you're dying? Just tell me everything clearly."

Erica wiped her face with a tissue and took a few deep breaths to ease her mood. After a minute or so, she explained, "I just came from the hospital... The doctor said I... have...gastric cancer and it is at stage III. Matthew, I don't want to undergo a partial gastrectomy. It hurts so much. I'm afraid of pain..."

"Gastric cancer? Stage III? That can't be right!" Despite his efforts to remain calm while facing problems, Matthew's voice rose in shock.

"But it's true..."

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