Matthew kissed her slightly swollen lips and said, “I'll carry you to bed after I catch a shower."

‘That's more Like it!"

But Erica couldn't help thinking something was wrong. She had said "I love you" to Matthew many times during the course of the night. But he hadn't said it to her once!

What could she do to make Matthew, the man who always locked his feelings away, confess his love to her?

Three days later, Matthew was poking around the safe. He found some items were missing!

He knew Erica had been staying home and behaving herself. Since he had her there, he didn't need to look at the things in his safe. Those items were what kept him sane when she ran off for three years.

He had something to put in the safe. When it was safely tucked inside, he went to look at the photo of teenaged Erica, but he couldn't find it at all!

He figured out a couple more things were missing, too. When he calmed down, he remembered that Erica had opened his safe a few days ago. She must have taken the missing items.

That meant she had found the secret buried in his heart for so many years. Matthew's face changed dramatically when he realized it.

He closed the safe, and went to the bedroom to find the woman. She was still editing Dylan's photos.

"Give them back to me," he said.

"What?" Erica had forgotten she'd taken anything from the safe, so she was a Little confused when Matthew asked her for something.

He was visibly displeased.

"You know what I mean."

“How would I know if you don't tell me?" she retorted.

The man's Adam's apple bobbed and he slowly spat out, “The photo.” ‘And the bottle of stars, the letter she wrote to me, the Lock of hair."

"Oh!" It was not until then that Erica remembered what she had hidden.

She had wanted to ask him about those things the day they came back from the zoo, but because he went straight to work, she had never found a chance to ask him.

Keeping this in mind, Erica raised her head and asked the man, "Why did you take a pic of me while I was still a teenager?”

Matthew didn't say anything, like a child who didn't know how to explain his behavior.

“Why did you ask me to fold those stars and say they were for Phoebe?"

The man still kept silent.

Erica withdrew her hands and said, "Those things are mine now!"

Unexpectedly, Matthew reacted quickly and pulled her out of the chair.

He looked at the woman with a long face and insisted, “Give them back to me!"