The dining table was trembling a little as Matthias tapped it with his fingers repetitively. At this moment, the atmosphere became so quiet that one could only hear the crisp sound of his fingers drumming against the table. It almost sounded as if he was breaking down Heather’s final line of defense within.
The situation was in a stalemate as he didn’t reply to her. He simply stared at her beautiful face, reliving the shameful moments from the past.
“I’m afraid you can’t afford it.” His voice was low in a way that was terrifying.
“Let’s hear it first,” she calmly replied as she put down her utensils and locked eyes with him.
“Be my lover.” He said that word-by-word, and his gaze was filled with hints of insanity.
“Hahaha!” It threw her into a laughing fit. Is he serious about this?
“I remember clearly that the person you like is Mimi. What you have just suggested can be easily misunderstood by others.” She was suppressing the anger that was burning within herself. It was obvious to her that Matthias was just toying with her. Who would have expected him to be so daring?
After getting up slowly, he made his way toward her. She couldn’t read what he was thinking from the look in his eyes. He then stopped right before her before bending down to her level to look into her eyes.
“What rights do you have to negotiate with me? Do you have anything you can offer me in return?” Tipping her chin up with his finger, he said brazenly. He hated the woman back then, and he still did now.
Turning her face to the side, she quickly slapped off his hand before pulling away to distance herself from him. A dangerous aura emanated from this man which made her feel uneasy. Honestly, she was beginning to regret her rash decision of going out with him alone.
“Why? Are you afraid? You used to be all the way up the social ladder. Who knew you would end up being afraid of a commoner like me now?” Matthias’ eyes were bloodshot and he looked like a demon.
“You still remember what happened in the past.” Heather stayed alert as she looked at him. She was worried that she would be on the short end of the stick if they were to get physical.
Though she was pretty agile, she heard that he had a black belt in Taekwondo. In other words, he was a tough competitor, so she was doubtful that she would be able to leave without hurting herself.
“That kind of humiliation isn’t something you just forget. You would remember it too if you were in my shoes.” Standing back up, he was now hovering above her. With a huge figure standing right before her, she began to feel a little suffocated.
Just like that, the two of them remained their stance without budging. After a while, he said calmly, “Don’t worry, I won’t do anything to you. You’re not my target.” Thereafter, he turned around with his back facing her. He simply wanted to scare her a little as he wouldn’t go too far for Myra’s sake.
“Your target is the Hart Family,” she said in response. Heather wasn’t one to fight the battle unprepared.
Back when she bumped into Matthias in school, she ran a detailed check on him. Even some days ago, she was still collecting information about him as she didn’t buy his business expansion reason for his arrival in Bradfort City.
“It’s better that you women know less.” He then came before her again in a swift movement. Undeniably, he had underestimated her. He didn’t expect that she would sense that something was off, which was bad news to him.
Straightening up, she looked up at him before saying, “I suppose I do have the right to negotiate with you now, don’t I?” She had to show what she was capable of to be able to win the negotiation.
“Interesting.” His voice turned hoarse and the light in his eyes began to waver.
At this moment, he halted the conversation there. “If you’re truly sincere, why don’t we talk about it somewhere else?”
“My pleasure.” With her fist tightly clenched, Heather made a mental note to tread very carefully. After all, she was facing a person who had the potential of threatening her.
After that, they moved over to the balcony of his villa. From the moment she stepped into his house, she felt very uneasy. After all, she had never been to a man’s house alone prior to this.
Having noticed her uneasiness, he felt like playing with her. “I heard that you’re a rare genius in the Langston Family, and also an untamable virgin.” He made sure to emphasize the last word.
Upon hearing that, her face fell. Her rationality was the only thing holding her back from fighting with him then and there.
“Matt, you’ve always been running your mouth ever since you were young,” Heather sneered. He was too simply too daring! If he kept doing this, she would be forced into a corner later on and there would be no space for her to negotiate.
“I learnt it from you.” A smirk was apparent on the corner of his lips as he stared at her like a predator eyeing its prey, irking her to no end.
“Is that it? Unlike you who have no manners, I’ve always been praised for respecting the old and treating the young kindly.” Shooting a smile back at him, she was determined to not let him bully her.
“Let’s cut the crap and get to business,” Matthias said coldly as his face suddenly turned stoic.
The night was still young, but she wished to settle this matter as soon as possible too. It would be a nightmare if it dragged out any longer than necessary.
“What do you want me to do?” Taking the lead, Matthias put his question forward.
“It’s simple. Don’t get involved in any matters related to Stark Group, and let Myra know that I am the one who made you give up on that.” Leaning against the chair, she crossed her leg as she spoke. It was as if she was not the same person as the one who went by a wide range of etiquettes.
“That’s interesting. You’re even involving Myra in your schemes now. Isn’t she the person that you want to protect?” He made a scornful look as he asked that question. He remembered very clearly that Heather was the one who asked him to stay away, saying that she wanted to protect Myra from the bad people.
“Well, we’ve all grown up and things are different now as there are dire circumstances. Moreover, this matter will benefit all three of us and it will not cause any harm to her.” Heather tried to defend herself, unwilling to admit that she was wrong.
At once, his smirk grew more devilish. He recalled how stubborn he was back when he was young. Back then, he was weak and couldn’t beat Heather. There was a long period of time that he took her as his target, hoping to surpass her one day.
“That’s called manipulation. You can’t sugarcoat it. Do you recall just how many times you have manipulated her?” Shifting his gaze toward her with discontentment, he thought that only someone like Myra would bear with Heather who kept controlling Myra’s life in the name of protecting Myra.
“Shut up.” That pricked Heather’s weak spot at once. Her intentions toward Myra had always been sincere, and she had always treated Myra like her own sister. She had never tried to manipulate Myra.
“Are you getting mad?” Matthias continued to aggravate her. He did plan to agree on her proposal, but he wasn’t going to let her off so easily. After all, he had to let her pay back a little as revenge.
“You’re evil and manipulative, but I’m afraid the only person you can fool is Myra. Do you really see her as your good friend? Do you truly see her as an equal?” Continuing to bombard her with his questions, he was eager to see her break down.
Upon hearing his words, her heart sank deeper and deeper. All these years, she still couldn’t quite grasp what she felt toward Myra. In the beginning, she was just surprised that someone had taken the initiative to befriend her. Myra was always unattracted by fame or benefits. Such a dumb person like Myra had let Heather experience genuinity.
After that, Heather was hooked by the little warmth she got from their friendship. Despite everyone thinking that Myra had been on the receiving end as Heather had been taking care of her, Heather did enjoy how she had Myra’s full trust and friendship.
“I didn’t. I just don’t know how to express my feelings. I’m just scared.” At this moment, Heather couldn’t help herself and mumbled. Just as those words left her tongue, she regretted it. She couldn’t believe that she had just revealed her weak side in front of Matthias.
“You don’t have to explain it to me. One day, Myra will see through you. We’ve all grown up, and things are no longer as simple as they were. People may not be as gullible as they used to be. Good luck to you on that.” Matthias commented briefly as if he had predicted a sad ending for Heather.
“Stop trying to fool me! Do you think I will admit that I’m wrong just like that? I, Heather Langston, am not wrong,” she huffed angrily. His words had pierced right into her heart, and it hurt.
“Ha-ha! I can’t believe that you exposed your most honest self in a book. It seems like it’s true that saying things like these can easily break down your walls of defense.” He then started to laugh uncontrollably, joyful that his effort of going through her book, the In-depth Analysis, did not go to waste.
“You read my book?” She was taken by surprise. How could she have forgotten that he surely would have looked into her as she was looking into him.
Obviously, she could no longer underestimate him. Hence, she quickly recollected her emotions. She felt off today. How can I get on the brink of an emotional breakdown because of Matthias so easily?
Her first thought was that he might have added something to her drink. Even though some people have built up their defensive walls up high, things were different under the influence of alcohol and drugs.
At once, her head began to spin as she was slowly losing control of her own body. Looking at him in fear, she could not believe that he would stoop so low. She had truly underestimated him; he was scarier than she thought.
“I’m wondering what tomorrow’s headlines will be.” He then picked up Heather who was now completely blacked out.
Since she dared to scheme against him, she was practically asking for him to do something in return. Because of Myra, he hadn’t gone to find Heather to make her pay back. Who knew that Heather would send herself right to his doorstep?
It made him recall the dark period of time that he went through. It was a past that he could never forget about.
Heather was somehow responsible for what he had become. Hence, he took the chance to strike back as she had come to him herself.
Obviously, Matthias would not let her off so easily. He would let her have a taste of her own medicine. Nevertheless, that meant he was becoming more and more like her. Perhaps they were the same kind of people after all.
Otherwise, why was he feeling a little bad for her when he took a look at Heather, who was quietly lying in his arms? He must be feeling bad for a fellow similar person. Laughing to himself, he thought about how hard he had tried to change himself through the years. Unexpectedly, he had ended up becoming the kind of person that he once hated the most.
“Heather, would you like to experience losing everyone close to you? No one’s life is forever smooth-sailing.” As he spoke, he left a devout kiss on her forehead. This was the woman who had changed his life!
