Chapter 1146 Trouble on the Road


    As Matthew kept going on her, Erica wasn''t sure if his feelings toward her had changed, or if he was


    just drunk. Either way, his advances weren''t wee. Between his kisses, she tried to remember and


    to name all the women who were close to him. "Matthew, stop! Don''t forget about the girl you really


    love! It''s Paige, right?" The man didn''t seem to hear her.


    Erica remembered another name. "Phoebe Su?"


    That did the trick.


    Matthew slowly drew back, and his scent went with him. The desire in his eyes faded away, and his


    look turned cold. Clearing his throat, he hastily said, "Phoebe is Nathan''s love. Don''t talk nonsense


    about me and her!"


    "Oh, I see. I guess I was mistaken," Erica replied. In her own thoughts, however, she thought she had


    little reason to believe his words.


    After he let go of her, Erica quickly got off the sofa and put a few paces between Matthew and herself.


    "Can you walk?"


    "Of course I can. Let''s go." With that, Matthew practically sprang to his feet, and they headed for the


    door.


    As they neared the ck Emperor, Matthew hovered by the door to the passenger seat with his hands


    in his pockets. Signaling to her with his eyes, he said, "Why don''t you open the door?"


    Material ? of N?velDrama.Org.


    "Okay!" Erica obediently opened the door for him, then closed it after him.


    Just then she paused, nced at the car keys in her hand, and suddenly realized something serious.


    "Are we going to drive home?" she asked awkwardly.


    "Of course!" Matthew didn''t look up. He was still fumbling with his seat belt.


    "Then shouldn''t we switch seats? You drive the car and I''ll take the passenger seat."


    Matthew rubbed his eyes as if nursing a headache. "I can''t drive after that wine I drank," he answered.


    "It''s dangerous and against thew. Don''t you know that?"


    Looking somewhat baffled, Erica began, "Of course I know! But..."


    "But nothing! Stop wasting time and get in the car!"


    "Fine, then!" Erica''s heart thundered as she took the driver''s seat. ''This is your order, '' she thought


    gloomily. ''I hope you won''t regret it.''


    Shepleted the first step on her own; she started the engine. A moment passed as it idled in a low,


    constant grumble, and sweat began to roll down Erica''s forehead. Sounding as casual as possible, she


    said, "Matthew, which pedal is the elerator and which is the brake? Also, do I need to put the car


    into gear?"


    Though he felt groggier than before, Matthew nevertheless answered her questions patiently. When


    Erica began to show confidence and asked nothing else, he leaned back in his seat and shut his eyes.


    Three minutester the ck Emperor was humming its way down the road, and for the first time in his


    life, Matthew knew what fear meant.


    For a while he kept his eyes shut. Around him he could feel the vehicle crawling along; there was no


    way Erica was anywhere near the speed limit. Yet every few minutes, somehow she kept needing to


    m on the brakes or lurch from onene to another, and Matthew would hear another car or two


    screech past.


    The moments dragged like hours as this incident repeated itself at least twenty times. By then Matthew


    was fully awake, though no happier for it. Taking a deep breath and trying not to sound angry, he


    Erica stared straight ahead, her white-knuckled hands practically strangling the steering wheel. "I don''t


    have a license," she blurted.


    In fact, she had been halfway through a driving course in her past life, before running away from home


    because of Ethan.


    Matthew was generally a calm, unppable person. But this time, he was truly mortified. "Are you


    kidding me? What are you doing, driving without a license?"


    Putting both their lives in further jeopardy, Erica briefly took her eyes off the road to give him a scathing


    look. "Because you ordered me to drive! Am I wrong to listen to you?"


    Another car swerved past them, ring its horn, and Matthew reined in his frustration. If he didn''t take


    control of the situation, they would get in a wreck for sure. He said, "Look, at the next intersection turn


    right. Then pull over to the side of the road and turn on the hazard lights."


    With that, he took out his phone and started dialing his assistant''s number.


    Wordlessly, Erica nodded at his instructions; she was too embarrassed to admit that she hadn''t


    to right.


    Holding the phone up to his ear, Matthew hissed, "Turn on the right turn signal!"


    "Okay!" Erica nodded, but did nothing. She wanted to disappear.


    "Come on! Hurry! We could get ticketed for turning without a signal."


    Erica''s eyes flicked to the dashboard several times, but she mainly was trying to find a ce to pull


    over. She felt wronged, but didn''t dare look at her passenger. "But...I don''t know which one is the right


    turn signal," she stammered helplessly.


    At this moment, Matthew lost all his patience. Leaning over, he reached in front of Erica and flicked a


    lever near the steering wheel, and the turn signal came on.


    However, this was the wrong move, as it distracted her. By the time Matthew was back in his own seat,


    it was toote to prevent disaster.


    From the driver''s side of the car there came a very unpleasant sound. It began as a sort of metallic


    bang which morphed into a screech like nails scraping a chalkboard.


    Luckily, Erica was driving at less than twenty miles per hour, and the ck Emperor was a sturdy


    vehicle. Whatever had hit them wasn''t going very fast, either; neither she nor Matthew felt anything


    worse than a slight tremor.


    Sensing his driver''s panic even though she didn''t make a sound, Matthewmanded, "Stay calm!


    Just whatever you do, don''t—"


    But before he could finish the sentence, Erica did exactly what he was hoping to prevent and mmed


    on the brake pedal.


    Rubber squealed against the road as they were thrown forward against their seat belts. Then there was


    a bang, and the car itself lurched forward a short distance.


    As Matthew''s wits came back to him, he guessed that they had been scraped by one car, then rear-


    ended by another.


    Just then his assistant answered the phone. "Hello, Mr. Huo."


    Sinking into the passenger seat, Matthew rubbed the spot between his brows and said in a helpless


    tone, "I''m on Sunny Road. There''s been an ident; scratching and a rear-end collision. Arrange a


    driver toe and pick me up. Also, send someone else to deal with this mess."


    He didn''t open his eyes until he''d hung up the phone. Beside him, Erica seemed frozen in fear and


    dismay. As she gazed out the windshield, she held the steering wheel in a white-knuckled grip.


    Matthew sighed quietly. "Let''s get out of the car and have a look."


    "O-okay." Gradually, Erica seemed to emerge from her catatonic state. She was still unbuckling her


    seat belt when someone tapped on the window. From farther back, behind the ck Emperor,


    someone shouted, "Who the hell is in that car?!"


    Instead of yelling back, Erica opened the door, got out, and took in the scene.


    The car that had rear-ended them was a Volkswagen Phaeton—luxurious vehicles, and this one was


    the still-more prized lengthened sub-model. One could only imagine how rich its owner was.


    The vehicle that had scraped then on the side was a Mercedes Benz, G-ss. Despite barely being


    able to drive, Erica recognized both models.


    In fact, she knew thetter model at once; she had once mentioned it to Wesley. She''d asked, "Dad, if I


    get my license, can you buy me a Mercedes Benz, G-ss? It looks so cool!"


    Her father had squinted at her and mildly shook his head. "Not the right car for you."


    "No? I think it suits me well. I''ll turn it pink after you buy it for me. It''ll be such a cute little car..." Erica


    hadn''t thought her request was unreasonable. At two million dors, it certainly wasn''t prohibitively


    expensive; for her family, such a price was pocket change.


    Pulling herself back to the present, Erica looked over the damaged vehicles with new eyes. "I can''t


    believe my bad luck," she grumbled to herself. "An ident is one thing but why did I have to hit such


    fancy cars? Why couldn''t they be cheaper brands?" Little did she know that when the drivers of the


    cheaper cars saw her Emperor on the road, they had all tried their best to note anywhere near it.


    A few feet away from her was a young man, the driver of the Mercedes Benz and presumably the one


    who had tapped on her window a moment ago. He was well-dressed, and his hair was obnoxious—


    obviously dyed blond and a bit messy on purpose—but he seemed rtively soft-spoken. "So you''re


    the driver of the Emperor?" he asked, looking her up and down. "Well, I''ve just bought this Mercedes


    Benz, but I think you''re probably rich enough to afford it. I''ll just give you this car, in fact, provided you


    buy me a new one."


    Erica''s heart sank. ''Buy him a new one? Two million...''


    Just then, another man stuck his head out the window of the Volkswagen Phaeton. He looked to be in


    his fifties, and his manner was much less pleasant than the other driver. "Lady, why''d you m on the


    brakes all of a sudden?!" he barked. "If you don''t know how to drive, stay home and don''t put other


    people''s lives in danger!"


    Erica sighed and tried to be conciliatory. "I''m sorry, I didn''t mean for this to happen. I was just trying to


    pull over..."


    The middle-aged man leaned farther out of his car window, clearly irate. "Well, why didn''t you turn on


    your turn signal if you wanted to pull over?! How did a crazydy like you ever get a license?"


    Frustration began to boil up in Erica''s heart. This wasn''t entirely her fault. Matthew had insisted that


    she drive, but now she was getting all the me.


    She took a deep breath and said, "Okay, look. I''ll pay for your car to be fixed, but stop yelling at me. I''ve


    already apologized, and if there''s anything else I can do, just tell me. But if you keep treating me like


    this, I won''t pay you for the repairs!"


    Wide-eyed, the middle aged man withdrew back through his car window, opened the door, and


    scrambled out. "Just listen to you, woman! This whole mess is your fault, but now you''re making


    demands. Who do you think you are?"


    "No, who do you think you are?" Erica shot back, losing herposure atst. "I''m trying to talk


    peacefully with you, but look at your attitude. Is this the right way to settle a matter?"


    "You wrecked my car and now you want me to have a peaceful talk with you? In your dreams!"


    As the two continued quarreling, Matthew finally emerged from the ck Emperor and drew near.