Relief washed over Heather when she finally left the company. When she realized there would be plenty of other occasions that would require her to put on a mask, she couldn’t help but feel a little deflated.
On the other hand, Matthias seemed relatively unfazed, as if what happened was nothing at all. When Heather stole glances at him, she noticed he seemed rather cute. She couldn’t help but be reminded of how he looked when he was a teenager, during which he seemed malnourished. After a few years, he had become a man with a sturdy build, and it gave her an odd feeling that she couldn’t explain. It was as if he had become an entirely different person altogether.
“What would you like to eat?” Matthias inquired in a gentlemanly manner.
“Thai cuisine,” Heather replied offhandedly. After a morning’s work, she didn’t have much appetite.
Then, she followed behind Matthias without a care in where they were actually going. He seemed familiar with the place. In fact, he might be even more familiar with the place than her, for he didn’t need a map to find the Thai restaurant that was a ten-minute drive away from the company. While glancing at him curiously, she wanted to ask him about that, but she eventually decided against it because the question sounded a little silly.
Matthias picked out a private room in the restaurant. After pulling out a chair for Heather, he pushed the menu toward her as if they were a real couple. “You seem to be in a bad mood,” he stated cautiously. There seemed to be a major feud between Heather and Blake, as they appeared to be constantly at each other’s throats.
“Is it that obvious?” Heather was checking out the menu while she spoke in a flat tone.
“I can discern it from your voice.” Just like that, Matthias stared at Heather. There was something exceptional about her that day, as he could hardly look away from her. Now that she had kept away her usually sharp attitude at work, she appeared to be rather cute, which made him want to approach her even more.
“What prompted you to come to my office just now?” Ignoring his question, she changed the topic diplomatically in an attempt to act naturally while spending time with Matthias. Aside from her feud with Blake, she wasn’t too worried about her work life. It was just that she had a bad feeling about being targeted as soon as she got into Langston Group.
“Isn’t that just normal between couples?” Matthias chuckled, seemingly content with the role he was playing.
“Aren’t you going to dance around it a little?” Similarly, Heather also let out a chuckle. She only ever did that while in Myra’s presence. It was unusual that Matthias was able to amuse her as well.
Seeing that her mood had lightened up, Matthias went on to say, “I wasn’t expecting things to go so smoothly.” In fact, he was surprised that Heather would sign that contract at all.
“I don’t like to hold a grudge. Instead, I would much rather offer someone an olive branch.” With her head tilted, Heather gazed at Matthias while wearing an innocent look. Ultimately, he didn’t know her well enough.
Nonetheless, he gave her a faint nod. “Why don’t we have some drinks to celebrate the fact that we have come to a truce?” He was suddenly overcome with the urge to drink. Drinking with Heather had always been enjoyable.
“The restaurant might not have quality wine.” Heather was particular when it came to wine. Not only did she enjoy drinking wine, but she enjoyed quality wine. In fact, all the wine she drank was expensive.
“Why don’t I come fetch you tonight? We can drink at my house then,” Matthias suggested.
“Do you need some company because today is a special day?” Heather revealed an understanding smile; she knew that he needed someone to spend time with after being alone for so long.
Upon being exposed by Heather, Matthias revealed a wicked smile. So she knew what I was thinking all along. In recent years, he had been focusing on building his career, so he didn’t spend much time around women. Although a lot of women expressed interest in him, he didn’t reciprocate their feelings.
Besides, his heart belonged to Myra, so he wouldn’t even spare a glance at other women. It was just that he wanted to be close to Heather that day. He didn’t want to spend the occasion alone, and for some reason, he just wanted to be close to Heather.
“Lovers come together during Valentine’s Day,” Matthias muttered to himself. “When everybody is getting together, I also feel like spending the day with someone.”
If it weren’t for the fact that Myra had sent Heather a Valentine’s greeting via text that morning, she wouldn’t have realized it was Valentine’s Day. Compared to Myra, who had her fair share of romance with Tony, Heather was feeling somewhat lonely, especially since it was Valentine’s Day. Matthias was her nominal boyfriend after all, so she was slightly swayed by the idea of drinking with Matthias; it was nice to drink with him.
“It will depend on your sincerity.” Heather’s reply was ambiguous. Back when she was living abroad, she had gotten a lot of invitations during Valentine’s Day, but she accepted none of them. Since Valentine’s was also considered a traditional festival in Solaria, she wished to take such invitations seriously.
Matthias nodded. “I will do my best to impress you, so I hope you will accept my invitation, my dear lady.” His cheeky tone almost gave her the impression that they were really in love with each other.
There was some more time after lunch, so Heather and Matthias took a stroll before going back to the company. A stroll after a meal could improve one’s health, as well as help with digestion.
“Do you still hate me?” Heather didn’t mince her words with Matthias, as she had a feeling that he still hated her.
“Of course. Such deep-seated hatred won’t dissipate that easily.” He told her the truth. After all, she wasn’t someone who could be deceived by flattery.
“You’re such a weird person. You keep on pestering me despite your hatred toward me. Could it be that you actually fancy me?” Heather cracked a joke. Ever since young, she had a lot of suitors. By comparison, Myra seemed dull in her presence. Perhaps Matthias was the only one who had his eyes on Myra while ignoring Heather instead.
Back then, Heather still had some inexplicable feelings toward Matthias, which probably stemmed from her disappointment over the fact that he didn’t even spare her a glance. She seemed to have no appeal toward him.
“Maybe I do like you.” Perhaps because Matthias wanted so much to get closer to Heather, he was being honest with his words. “You’re a charming woman. As a normal man, I couldn’t possibly be immune to your charms.” Just like a professional sweet-talker, he sounded alluring.
Heather wore a smirk. “Men like to conquer, so they treat me like the mountains that they want to climb and conquer. In fact, there aren’t a lot of people who like me for real. Speaking of which, I sometimes feel like I’m a failure too.” Matthias’s reply didn’t sit well with her.
She was thinking that Matthias was different, but it turned out that he was the same as other men. The only difference was that he only had eyes for Myra. Their honeyed words weren’t proof of Heather’s attractiveness, but a reflection of their own vanity. They were always on the go to conquer more women, and the best woman would forever be the next woman they were out to conquer.
“This is just how men are. Are you expecting a fairytale romance?” He spoke as if he were engaged in a debate with Heather, with both of them holding opposing views regarding a certain topic.
“No. I don’t care for fairytale romances. Princes fall for beautiful princesses, so the only catch is that the people they fall for must be exceptionally beautiful.” No longer a young girl, Heather didn’t long for that kind of romance. “It’s as if beauty and kindness is all there is to women. Yet, those who possess both don’t usually find their prince-charming. Instead, they had to deal with all sorts of scoundrels.” She hit the nail on the head with that line.
Matthias stopped in his tracks to look at her from behind, then he bid her goodbye. “Langston Group is just in front, so I won’t be going there. See you tonight.”
Upon hearing that, Heather continued to walk forward without even looking back. “If you manage to charm me.” She didn’t give him a definitive reply. It was never easy to get to her. She was that close to seeing him in a new light just because they were role-playing as a couple. Although they were supposed to put on a show for the public, Heather also had no intention to settle down for him.
“I still have half a day, which is enough.” Matthias was feeling confident in his abilities. Meanwhile, Heather had left him behind. While staring at her retreating figure, he was smiling with much certainty. All of a sudden, he was looking forward to the coming night. He didn’t even feel like returning to his company. Instead, he planned to use his time to pick up a few techniques for dating.
I’ve never felt this eager toward any date prior to this. After that, he went to his car with plans to go to Stark Group. It had been a while since he last saw Myra, so he was very eager to see her.
Tony Hart must have prepared a lot of surprises for her. The thought of it triggered feelings of jealousy. He was jealous that Tony was the one who could surprise Myra, as well as the fact that he was the one who could be with her.
When Matthias arrived at Stark Group, Myra already left on a date with Tony, so he came for naught. He was planning to use work as an excuse to check on Myra, but alas, he was one step too late.
Meanwhile, Myra was in the northern suburbs. Suddenly, she sneezed, and that made her wonder if someone might be missing her. Tony quickly removed his jacket to hand it to her. In a gentle tone, he reminded, “It’s windy here, so be careful that you don’t catch a cold.”
Tony’s warmth lingered on the jacket that he handed her, which warmed both her body and her heart. She was busy with work that day as usual, but she was dragged away by Tony, so both of them ended up skipping work.
“Is there something novel that you would like to show me?” Myra asked expectantly.
“It’s just a bit further. We will have to go there on foot.” Tony didn’t offer her a direct reply. Having spent tremendous effort preparing for the surprise, he didn’t want to risk spoiling anything to her.
There was much curiosity on Myra’s face when she stared at Tony. Although Myra never looked forward to Valentine’s Day, Tony seemed to jump at any opportunity for a celebration. The more time she spent with him, the more she realized he was a romantic man. He was always coming up with ways to entertain her, which was really sweet of him.
As they walked forward, Tony was holding onto Myra’s hand tightly. He was planning to show her something different. In order to create that special thing, he had been spending a lot of time working hard on it in secret. After a long wait, he finally found the perfect opportunity to show it to Myra. Although the construction wasn’t completed yet, the basic structures were already in place, which he believed was enough to surprise Myra.
“Tony, why don’t we travel the world after some time?” Myra had been planning to do so for some time. In fact, it wasn’t the first time she mentioned it.
