This was a sensational piece of news related to the Moriarty Family, and Heather immediately jumped up in excitement upon realizing it. She hastily flicked through the information held in her hands once again while wondering how come she had missed this point as she was quite certain that she had not missed any details before this.
“There’s no point in going through that again because that clause isn’t in there.” Leon pointed to his head to indicate that he had already stored all the important information in his mind. He reckoned it was better to be straightforward about this to her.
“What other important information do you have? Why don’t you reveal it all in one go?” Heather had no patience to deal with the element of suspense he was trying to create. She wanted to know more, there and then, because the Moriartys had evoked a sense of danger in her.
“The Lockes and the Moriartys took hold of Bradfort City, one after the other, and their relationship spans in a complicated pattern like a spiderweb.” He reminded her of this point, which was something everyone rarely paid attention to.
Hearing this, she placed down the documents and stared at him with a knowing look. He’s quite right about this. She had never expected the Lockes to have anything to do with the Moriartys. After all, Matthias had openly revealed his intention of coming to Bradfort City and had sought cooperation from the Langstons more than once.
“That means, on the surface, it seems like Matthias is here to take over the corporate world and fight for the top spot with the Hart Family, but in actual fact, he’s secretly plotting with the Moriartys.” From Heather’s point of view, Matthias represented the Locke family; judging by his position in the family, she reckoned her views were justifiable.
Unexpectedly though, Leon shook his head and replied firmly, “Take note of my choice of words. I said someone in the Locke family joined forces with the Moriartys, but that person isn’t Matthias.”
“How can you be so sure?” Heather couldn’t help questioning him. After considering the situation, she felt that Matthias was the most suspicious and she could not quite recall any other person from the Locke family who could possibly be involved. Is it possible that Matthias was unaware?
Meanwhile, Leon raised his brows and thought, It seems she doesn’t trust Matthias at all. This is bad news! Lack of trust in a relationship is a relationship killer. What could he have done to leave such a bad impression on her?
“Matthias is the President of Locke Group and he’s been operating the business fairly and squarely. So far, he hasn’t been involved in the underside of the Locke family. Besides, they haven’t actually worked together with the Moriartys openly. It’s all done under the table, so it’s quite likely that Matthias hasn’t a single clue about all this.” He carefully analyzed the situation for her. Then, he pondered again, I’ve done the most I can by explaining things from Matthias’s perspective and helping him win her favor even though he’s my rival.
Despite the reassurance, Heather could not control herself from rapping her index finger on the coffee table, and her action gave out a soft tapping noise. Seeing this, Leon clearly knew what this action meant.
It looks like she’s torn in between right now. This was the most he could do for her; as for her subsequent choice, that would be her own decision to make.
“It looks like the Locke family might be a breakthrough for us,” Heather said this with a contemplating look on her face. It was hard to get through via the Moriartys, so perhaps it would be easier to go the other way.
“That’s why Matthias is critical to this plan.” Once again, Leon emphasized the importance of Matthias to her. His main intention was to make her aware that she had to find a way to get closer to Matthias. After all, that was necessary to build up a relationship. If she refused to have anything to do with Matthias, then no matter what, there would not be any spark of interest between the two of them. Leon was just like Cupid trying hard to help build up their relationship.
Hearing this, Heather narrowed her eyes, and the smile she revealed exuded coldness. He’s been putting emphasis on Matthias this whole time. It seems like there could be something up his sleeves.
“So, what should I do about me and Matthias?” She continued the conversation and questioned him.
He smiled and answered, “Maintain your relationship with him and infiltrate the Locke Family. It will be beneficial for you.”
Looking down, she pondered over the situation. Although his suggestion sounds reasonable, I don’t think I can do this. She recalled the encounter she had with Matthias at the hot spring the day before and concluded that they must be mortal enemies. Something bad always happens whenever I meet him. There’s no way I can keep up this pretense. Meanwhile, as Heather considered the situation carefully, she also focused her gaze on Leon’s face to try and read some insight from his expression.
“Heather, why don’t you tell me the things that happened between you and Matthias?” Leon asked as he noticed her hesitation. It looks like things are not going smoothly for her and Matthias. It’s quite obvious that they have feelings for each other, but they choose to keep tormenting each other. At this point, he felt like he was starting to become a busybody. After all, he had in fact spent so much effort being involved in things between the two.
When he noted her hesitance, he quickly added, “There’s no need to hide anything from me because I can give you some suggestions from an objective point of view.”
Perhaps he’s right. Subsequently, Heather revealed her innermost feelings to him and told him about everything—both good and bad—that had happened between her and Matthias.
The conversation went on and, suddenly, it became a complaint fest about Matthias. To sum it up, she was fairly displeased with Matthias. This was to the extent that she no longer had any intention of being in contact with him. Each time she encountered him, something bad would definitely ensue soon after that.
After listening to her, Leon burst into a rumbling laugh. She’s finally met her match! There’s finally someone in this world who could cause her distress. Come to think of it, she’s usually the one who gives the other party grief.
“I’m quite impressed with him for being able to subject you to such misery,” he could not help himself and said. However, as soon as he finished his words, he regretted it upon seeing the fierce glare she gave him.
Heather was angered beyond words. His attitude is so unbelievable! I can’t believe he’s on Matthias’s side! At that instance, she was so tempted to rip him to pieces as she felt that he was as despicable as Matthias. Hence, she glared at him continuously to express her displeasure.
As soon as he noticed this, he immediately turned on his words and said appeasingly, “Matthias is such a despicable person. Heather, you’ve encountered a difficult person there. Perhaps the two of you are just not well-suited with each other.” While speaking, Leon tried to maintain a solemn expression but could not contain his smile.
“I’m not interested in hearing your nonsense. Where’s the objective suggestion that you said you’d provide me?” Undeniably, she was quite keen to hear Leon’s objective thoughts.
Just then, he ruffled the back of his head and considered it for a moment before saying, “You don’t have to be too concerned about this because he’s definitely no match for you.”
After waiting for so long, she could not believe her ears as soon as she heard his answer. She stared at him in disbelief. What the heck?
However, Leon beamed widely and continued, “Since he’s pursuing you, then why don’t you pretend to accept him? By then, you’ll be the one who has the say in the relationship. I’m sure you’ll be able to torment him.”
With a look of dismay, she stared at him and thought, I’ve been going on and on for so long, but was he even paying attention to my words? “How can you tell that there’s no ulterior motive behind Matthias’s pursuit? I don’t think he’s really got feelings for me.” This was actually what she was truly struggling to come to terms with.
Hearing this, Leon became even more certain that she had feelings for Matthias. Otherwise, she would not be struggling to come to terms with this. It would not matter at all whether he loved her or not; after all, it would just be a battle of wits between them.
“What if he’s really in love with you? What would you do then?” he couldn’t help asking. Truth to be told, he was rather hurt that her thoughts were nearly fully occupied by Matthias.
“What else can I do? It’s impossible for things to work out between us,” Heather uttered without even considering the possibility that things could work out. She’d never envisioned being in a relationship with Matthias; even more so, she would never ever regard him as someone whom she would spend the rest of her life with.
“Since it’s impossible, then it would be quite easy for you to put on an act of agreeing to his pursuit. Whether he loves you or has an ulterior motive, it doesn’t matter. All you would need to do is to infiltrate the Lockes and obtain the information you are after.” After carefully analyzing the situation for her, he felt helpless as he knew that she was not being honest at all. She could not even admit that she liked him.
Heather listened to his analysis and realized that his words made sense. Since there was no chance of her getting together with Matthias, then naturally, there was no harm in them making use of each other.
“I usually don’t like to use my relationship as a bargaining tool, neither would I toy with someone’s feelings,” she mentioned her concerns to him. After all, she wasn’t a player. As for Leon, he was very likely just an accident since she had a clean record all these years.
“Heather, you always have a good strategy, so I’m sure there’s nothing you can’t accomplish.” Leon was quite confident in her capabilities. After all, she had known of his secret feelings toward her all these years, yet she still managed to subtly convince him to work for her willingly.
She looked at him squarely in the eyes. His eyes flickered brightly like a diamond, and the look of affection masked under his expression resembled a deep, cold lake that exuded coldness.
For a moment, Heather maintained her silence and did not say another word as she considered Leon’s suggestion in her mind. So far, Tony’s impression of Matthias isn’t that great. Furthermore, Myra has such a dramatic reaction whenever she sees Matthias. So, I really don’t think it’s a good idea to continue being in contact with him.
Right away, Leon figured out Heather’s concern. “Are you worried about how you’re going to explain it to Myra?”
She nodded in response. Right now, Locke Group was at odds with Hart Group, hence Matthias would not be able to appear in front of Myra and trigger her further.
“That’s why you should try harder to restrain him. If you don’t do anything to rein him in, aren’t you worried that he’ll go after Myra?” he questioned her further. After considering all the options, he was quite sure that Heather and Matthias were fated to be entangled with each other, so he was quite keen to give them a nudge.
His reasoning made a lot of sense to her, and it was quite rare to see him so serious. Although she was still somewhat hesitant, it was quite obvious that the scales were tipped in the other direction.
“Give me some time and I’ll consider this carefully.” Heather finally compromised; meanwhile, she started to plan everything silently in her heart.
After that, she left Leon’s apartment with a dejected expression on her face. He was used to her being like this, so he assumed that she was probably affected by her relationship woes. Without warning, he reached out and pinched her on her cheeks before hastily shutting the door. Then, all she could hear was a faint voice that came from the door crack, “Be happy! Don’t frown too much!”
She stared at the tightly shut door with a tired look on her face. Normally, she was quite alert and there was no way that Leon could sneak up on her like this. She brushed her cheek lightly, but her expression remained quite dejected.
Meanwhile, Leon leaned against the door and stared at his hands with a silly smile on his face as he recalled the silky touch of her skin, feeling his heart skip a beat.
“Matthias Locke, there’s only so much I can do for you. Good luck in winning the heart of our goddess,” he muttered to himself.
Along the way back home, Heather’s cell phone rang loudly. She calmly took it out and noticed that it was Matthias on the line. After talking about him for the whole afternoon with Leon, his unexpected presence surprised her. His number would have very likely been on the blacklist of her cell phone if it wasn’t for her hesitancy.
After some hesitation, Heather answered the phone call and Matthias’s gentle voice rang out. Recently, he’d been intentionally trying to show her his soft-spoken side. Initially, she found it hard to get used to, but now she was basically immune to it.
“Heather,” he addressed her tenderly.
“Stop that.” The moment he spoke, she was already triggered as she disliked being addressed so affectionately, feeling that he had no right to do so.
“I’ve been quite confused about yesterday’s incident. I would like to talk to Myra about it in private. Could you help me arrange that?” As he spoke, his words were grating to her ears. Things were proceeding according to what Leon had analyzed, and everything happened so swiftly that she had no time to react.
“Heather, are you still on the line?” Matthias sounded frantic on the line as he pestered her for an answer.
