Blair shook her head; she was touched. "We're not worried about Rika. We're just... Just like Wesley said, it's unfair to Matthew. If Rika hadn't given birth to a baby, I'd probably say yes." The point was Erica did something that couldn't be undone.

Matthew had his pick of anyone, had women lining up to date him. So why would he marry a girl who gave birth to another man's baby?

"Rika, are you still in touch with Feb's father?" Debbie asked Erica, who was still dumbfounded about everything.

For a long while, she didn't say a word. The silence became uncomfortable. Terilynn nudged her and reminded her, "Hey! My mom asked you a question!"

Erica snapped back to reality. "What? I'm sorry. You wanted to ask me something?"

Debbie repeated her question. Hearing that, Erica twitched her mouth and shook her head. "No. That bastard doesn't deserve a phone call." Why would she contact Feb's father? He was human scum!

Debbie was relieved to hear that. "That's good. So Rika was young and naive and she met the wrong guy. She didn't do this on purpose. I think we can overlook it."

There was a moment of silence at the table.

Matthew held his tongue all this time. He wasn't interested in keeping his peace anymore. The young man cast a glance at Carlos, and asked coldly, "What's the matter? Got too much free time?" The old man was even meddling in Matthew's marriage now.

historical

The young man was thinking that Carlos really did have nothing to do. The old man had been pretty high and mighty since he took a more active hand in ZL Group. So he started to make trouble for his kid.

Carlos didn't mind his attitude. "Rika just dated the wrong guy. She didn't mean to—"

"Why should I care? Why should I pay the price for her indiscretions?" Matthew had no filter. He didn't need one, either. He didn't care about others' feelings at all.

The atmosphere in the private booth became awkward. Blair immediately chimed in, "Matthew's right. Thank you, Carlos. We're deeply moved. But marriage is a big event, after all. We should see how Matthew feels about this."

"I know how he feels. I heard him. Debbie was on him to find a nice girl, but he never took it seriously. We're not young anymore. We could leave this world any minute. I want to see my kids get married before that happens. I don't want to be

a woman to help me get what I want." He had worked for ZL Group for a long time. If he couldn't earn the CEO title himself, he might as well give up his position now.

Erica had been thinking about this while they were talking to Matthew. Now there was a break in the conversation, and she knew what she wanted to say. "Uncle Carlos, Aunt Debbie, thanks for your kindness. I'm younger than Matthew and we have nothing in common. Besides, he's a great guy. I'm sure he'll marry a beautiful girl from a rich family. Girls like me don't deserve him. Let's drop this. Am I right, Matthew?" 'I'm only 21, but Dad's marrying me off? Is he kidding? Marry a man I have no feelings for?' Erica felt so helpless.

Matthew took a glance at the girl who was smiling at him politely. Then, he said something that shocked everyone. "Fine. I don't have time to date, anyway. If Dad and Mom worry about me so much, then I'll do it. But this is the last time. Mom, Dad, if you two stick your noses in my business again, it won't go well. Don't push me!"

As soon as he finished saying this, Matthew stood up and nodded at Wesley and Blair. He left the private booth without looking back at Erica, who was flabbergasted again.

Watching her brother's retreating figure, Terilynn got quite nervous. 'Oh, my God! Why didn't Dad tell me this earlier? He wants Matthew to marry Erica?'

Two days ago, Terilynn had secretly mocked Matthew in front of Erica. She told the girl that Matthew had a longtime crush on a goddess, but he couldn't bring himself to ask her out.