Heather crossed her arms after having escaped Matthias’ strong grip, and her lips curved into a sardonic smile. She stared at Matthias without a word, and her eyes were emotionless. It seemed like they were trying to bore into his soul.
Matthias no longer wanted to run away, so he stared back at her. The two of them maintained eye contact in utter silence, and the rising tension almost made Zayne panic for them as he watched the show from the floor above.
“Are you still unwilling to give in?” Matthias chuckled helplessly. Heather was much more persistent than he had imagined. As such, he couldn’t think of a better way to go around this matter anymore.
Heather took a step back, wanting to make more distance between them. After all, some things couldn’t be solved just by giving in. Since she didn’t know how to respond, she simply looked at him quietly, hoping that he’d give her more time to consider.
“A problem like this can’t be solved simply by giving in,” she finally said. Sure enough, whatever was between them was too complicated; they wouldn’t magically be ‘happily ever after’ the moment they gave in.
They had different ideals, so there would naturally be conflicts between them. Matthias wasn’t able to see eye-to-eye with Heather, but he couldn’t convince her to agree with his views either. Things often weren’t as simple as they seem. Since Matthias wasn’t rushing for an answer, he was willing to take things one step at a time if they couldn’t resolve their conflict at the moment.
“Perhaps it’s because I don’t understand women—I really don’t know how to make you happy,” Matthias said bitterly. He felt like he wouldn’t be able to handle her even with a few extra brains.
“Since I’m giving you so much pain, why don’t you just give up on me?” Heather really didn’t understand what made him so determined to be with her, for the slightest amount of kindness and warmth she had given him in the past couldn’t possibly be enough to movitave him for all this while.
At the end of the day, things were back on square one—there was an irreparable disparity between them, and they were separated by the strife between their families. At the thought of that, one wouldn’t help but compare their situation to the story of Romeo and Juliet. Nevertheless, Matthias didn’t want his story with Heather to end in a tragedy.
An uncomfortable tension hung in the air; under Heather and Matthias’ calm composure, a war was going on between them in the loud silence. Matthias didn’t know how to control his emotions anymore, for Heather never failed to torment him mentally every time he faced her.
Cold winds were normal in winter. Right then, Heather was attacked by a chilly breeze out of nowhere and she instinctively wrapped her arms around herself. Before she knew it, it was already late winter; the temperature in Bradfort City took a tremendous drop all of a sudden, and she almost couldn’t get used to it.
“I’m going upstairs.” Heather gestured toward the top of the staircase. The living room was so empty that she always felt like she’d be attacked by the cold wherever she sat.
Matthias nodded. “Just leave the rest to me.” He obviously didn’t forget his mission for coming here.
Heather let out a silent sigh of relief when she saw that Matthias had stopped pressuring her. It’s for the best, she thought to herself. She headed to the staircase and prepared to go upstairs, but she already had one foot on the step when she couldn’t stop herself from taking another look at Matthias.
Their eyes stayed locked for a few moments, and countless unspoken words were hidden in their silence. Matthias’ soft and gentle gaze was mesmerizing, but Heather eventually forced herself to look away. It was getting cold, so she should head upstairs as soon as possible.
Now, Matthias was left alone in the living room. He recalled his meeting with Zayne a few days ago; he had expected the man to reject his terms of negotiation, but to his surprise, the man had agreed to take it.
Matthias was overjoyed, and he felt luckier than winning a lottery. Just then, he recalled Zayne’s shady appearance; he didn’t think a guy like that would turn out to be quite a nice person.
He knew that Zayne had done a lot for Heather’s sake, and he was a little guilty when he compared his contributions for Heather against that man’s. Whoever Zayne was to Matthias, be it a romantic rival or a friend, the former had undoubtedly earned the latter’s respect.
After that, it was time for Matthias to get to work. The villa was basically inhabitable at this stage, so he had to give it a more cozy ambience; he knew that Heather was longing for a place to feel like home to her.
Similarly, Matthias was desperate to be a part of a harmonious family, yet reality was harsh and ruthless. He could only hope to walk hand in hand with Heather once all of this was done and dusted.
With that, he held back the urge to rush upstairs. It wouldn’t help right now even if he stormed into Heather’s bedroom; before resolving their conflict at hand, she would never say yes to him no matter what.
Judging by Heather’s ambiguous yet suggestive attitude earlier, Matthias had a feeling that they’d only be able to get out of this awkward relationship after everything was over. Love and conspiracy were quite an incompatible pair, and Matthias couldn’t tell if he was foolish or pitiful for trying to make the two work together. However, he had no choice since he had truly fallen in love with the woman.
Matthias asked for help only from his trusted contacts, and he promised Zayne that he’d never expose the location of Heather’s temporary home. Even though Matthias knew that the woman’s whereabouts in Bradfort wouldn’t remain a secret for long, he was willing to try his best to prolong it. Therefore, he didn’t give out the address to just anyone.
Matthias had used the hidden forces of Bradfort as his bargaining chip with Zayne, for these were the details that he had gathered over a long period of time. Nonetheless, he was willing to share it with the other man.
Since he had chosen to love Heather with no regrets, he was clear with his goals this time; he knew that Zayne was Heather’s protector, and he only wanted the guy to keep her safe as much as possible.
The role of her protector was supposedly Matthias’, but he was unfortunately burdened by many other things at the moment. For example, he couldn’t let go of his mother’s grudge; even though his mother had told him not to live in hate before she passed, he couldn’t do it.
Matthias sunk into the sofa in Heather’s seat where her warmth still lingered on the cushion. He was happy to be sitting here; even though she had hurt him badly, she never intended to cut him off entirely.
Because of that, Matthias refused to give up on Heather either—perhaps he would succeed if he waited just a little longer. Whatever the case, he was confident that he would one day be able to conquer the impermeable fortress in her heart. As he reveled in the residual scent of her presence, he felt like this unique smell of hers was even more alluring than any aphrodisiac.
At last, Matthias got up from the sofa and headed straight to the main door of the villa, pulling it open and letting sunlight flood the house through the vast opening. He breathed in the fresh air from outside. Similarly, he wanted to let the light brighten up the entire house and lighten their mood as well.
Naturally, the noise from downstairs was heard by Heather. She came out from her bedroom and peered at Matthias from the top floor. He seemed to be in a much better mood after she went upstairs, and she ended up reflecting on herself after seeing that.
Matthias could never be himself in front of her since he would always have something to worry about or even be wary of. He was so in love with Heather, so he couldn’t help but constantly care about her opinion of him.
That was precisely the reason why Matthias had ended up putting himself into a box—he couldn’t act freely in front of the woman at all. She didn’t want to see this happen to him, and she could already make out the constraint in his eyes. Is love really just a chain after all?
The more Matthias showed outstanding performance of any kind, the more Heather felt like it was unfair for him—she couldn’t give him the freedom he deserved. She enjoyed her own freedom, yet she was prone to tying down other people. If the two of them were to get together, one of them had to give up on themself.
Considering Heather’s self-centered personality, how could she ever give up on her lifestyle for Matthias? He was the only one who had been trying to change himself to fit with her.
This was an unfair trade, and it was an investment without any return. Heather couldn’t bear to see him making countless sacrifices just for her even though he couldn’t be himself.
Similarly, although Heather wasn’t very experienced in love, she understood one thing clearly—the upper hand always belonged to the side who contributed the most.
The scale was heavily tilted toward Matthias’ end of their relationship; he was endlessly putting weight onto his tray, making it heavier and heavier. However, Heather couldn’t afford for him to do that.
If a disagreement ever broke out between the two of them and they were no longer bound by love, Heather wouldn’t know how to carry on. She liked to take control of everything, yet the unpredictability of love made her lose her power to make decisions on her own will. This feeling was absolutely terrifying to her.
Meanwhile, Matthias seemed to have felt Heather’s gaze on him. He looked up from the sofa in her direction, completely catching her off-guard.
The unnatural look on Heather’s face couldn’t reach Matthias since he was quite a distance away. However, the way the corners of his lips lifted was so bright and eye-catching.
As such, the woman quickly whirled around and left. She didn’t want to see the radiant smile on his face, for she didn’t think she could respond to that. If only she could experience love once in her life without any reservations like a moth to a flame—how great would that be?!
At that moment, she hated her rationality more than anything. For her to still act according to her rational self… Did it mean she wasn’t truly in love? The answer to that was evident. Since Heather was unable to trick herself, she couldn’t blindly accept Matthias’ feelings either.
The moment she realized the truth about their relationship, she could no longer accept Matthias as if nothing had happened. She was unsure if things would actually change once the obstacles between them were to clear up.
In short, Heather didn’t dare to bet with her own feelings. If she were to put everything on the line and gain something completely out of her expectation in return, she would fall apart for sure. Besides, it wouldn’t be fair for Matthias either.
To that, Heather’s rationality once again reminded her to stay away from Matthias and to reject his every pursuit. Only when everything had been settled would she be clear of how she felt inside; perhaps they’d have a good ending together by then.
Downstairs, the door was wide open and winds of cold blew freely into the living room. Matthias’ heart was warm, so he couldn’t feel the chill at all. Right now, he was only less than a hundred steps away from Heather. For a moment, he could even forget all the problematic matters that were going on in the Locke Group—he was willingly running around here in Heather’s villa like an errand boy.
If it were for a loved one, Matthias was happy to do anything at all, and he even set his phone on airplane mode. After putting behind the troubles of the outside world, he planned to stay quietly by Heather’s side today.
The way Heather had sneaked a peek at him outside of her bedroom earlier clearly meant that her heart was deeply swayed. Matthias found himself constantly comforting himself with the idea that victory was nearby.
In a business setting, a businessman wouldn’t rest until the moment a deal was sealed; sometimes, it was the same for love. Matthias had perseverance when it came to every business transaction, so he was no different in the face of love.
Moreover, he almost gave up on her the last time which made them start all over again from zero. Thus, he decided that he wouldn’t make the same mistake twice. Matthias had a feeling that the heavens were watching them—he was painstakingly given a second chance, so how could he let it pass so easily?
When he took a look at the time, he realized that it’d probably take a few more minutes for his people to arrive. Matthias wanted to prove that his love for Heather had infiltrated into every single part of his daily life.
To love was to never back away, and their love story was just about to begin. A triumphant smile tugged on Matthias’ lips as those thoughts filled his mind. As he breathed in the same air as her, he could almost feel Heather’s heart beating alongside his.
However, little did Matthias know that the Locke Group was in total chaos at this very moment. A mysterious figure had just landed out of nowhere, bringing turmoil to the company. The company’s higher-ups were in total distress due to Matthias’ absence, but unfortunately, no one could find him anywhere.
