Since she failed to find any reason to refuse, Heather could only acquiesce. When Leon saw that she did not deny it, he said, “I’m still hesitant to pursue Paige.”
She didn’t expect this to be what he was worrying about. Heather assumed that Leon had started pursuing Paige a long time ago, but it turned out that he was still hesitating. It seemed like he was serious this time.
“If you like her, just do it. Isn’t that the principle you’ve always lived by? Why are you still hesitant to make a move?” she asked teasingly.
“When I think about the things that you’ve told me, I can’t make up my mind at all.” He was indecisive since it was something he couldn’t easily forget. As such, there was no way he could go after Paige.
In fact, it all started because of Heather—that was why she had to help him get over this. After all, Leon was never this cautious and indecisive when he pursued Heather back then.
It was rare for Leon to be so undecided. Meanwhile, Heather held back her laughter and said, “That means you are quite devoted to Paige.”
Right now, Leon was slightly tongue-tied as the woman teased him. In fact, it had been a long time since he last pursued a girl with such seriousness.
“Is there really no hope for me to pursue her, Heather?” Back then, he had lost in the hands of her. This time, he didn’t want to fail in his pursuit of Paige.
Chasing after something that couldn’t be reached was the worst. After experiencing this once, he didn’t want to go through it again.
When she heard this, Heather realized why he was hesitant—he was afraid of being rejected. She had destroyed his confidence before, and it seemed like he wanted to regain his confidence from Heather.
“Perhaps you’re the only one who can get Paige to open up her heart,” she said while assuring him. If his confidence suffered another blow at this moment, he might be even more afraid to make a move.
After mulling it over, Heather came to the conclusion that Paige simply didn’t want to be involved in any romantic relationships—she was probably done with love. Perhaps Leon could help her walk out of the shadows, and Heather didn’t think it was a bad thing. She was so detailed when analyzing others, but when it came to herself, she was a complete mess.
“Are you sure you’re not just comforting me, Heather?” Leon didn’t quite believe her and felt that she was just comforting him in disguise.
“I’ve always been sharp-tongued to you, so do you think I would be kind enough to comfort you?” she asked casually. Leon was suspicious by instinct, so she had to eliminate his doubts.
He thought about it for a while and realized that she had a point. Heather had always been blunt with him, and she never beat around the bush.
“What do you think I should do?” Leon asked in distress.
This was a difficult question—even Heather didn’t know what he should do. She didn’t know much about Paige, let alone her take on relationships.
“Aren’t you good at picking up girls? Why are you asking me this?” She threw the question back to Leon. She couldn’t come up with an answer, so there was no need for her to think.
“We’re going in circles again,” Leon said bitterly. Chatting with Heather was just troublesome since there was no conclusion at all.
Leon had long seen through her tricks; if she didn’t want to answer a question, she would throw it back at him. He hoped that she could help him out, but he still had to rely on himself in the end.
“I don’t know what kind of advice I should give you.” Instead of beating around the bush, Heather spoke frankly.
“I don’t know how to approach her. Should I go after her relentlessly, or should I play hard to get?” he asked in distress. He was racking his brains just to ask her out on a date. There was still a long way to go after that, and he didn’t know what to do.
“Forget about your tricks and just be sincere to her,” Heather said in a resigned manner. She wondered why he didn’t think of simply pursuing someone sincerely without any tricks.
“Sincere?” The corners of his lips pulled back. This was what he lacked the most; if he was indeed sincere, perhaps he would’ve even won Heather over back then.
“I know that you don’t know how to truly love someone,” she said lightly, sounding a little defeated.
She then added quickly, “I don’t know, so don’t ask me.” She didn’t know how to be sincere to other people as well.
“You might as well just say that we’re both incompetent in love,” Leon spat out. After going around in a circle, Heather ended up insulting them both.
“There are too many people in this society who are incompetent in love. Because of this, we feel that true love is precious,” said Heather as she sighed. The people around her were bound to someone for a variety of reasons—only Myra and Tony were together because of love.
Occasionally, Heather envied their relationship; she envied the deep love they had for each other.
“Are you lecturing me, Heather?” Leon understood where she was coming from, but in the pursuit of true love, the journey was a rocky road. He wondered how one was supposed to know when they had met the right person to give their all.
“You should stop discussing relationships with me. I don’t have any good advice for you, and I’m a mess myself.” Inadvertently, she exposed her current situation with Matthias. Her relationship was getting worse and worse, and she was really disappointed in herself.
“Matthias has been rather accommodating to you, so why won’t you be a little more gentle with him, Heather?” Leon hit the nail on the head. In fact, no one wished for their partner to be that assertive, let alone a successful business tycoon like Matthias.
“How would you know?” Heather understood all these, but when push came to shove, she was her capricious self who kept doing things that hurt others and herself.
“As an outsider, I see things more clearly. Sometimes, I think you’re asking a little too much of Matthias. He’s not a master at relationships, so he can’t possibly do everything for you.” In fact, Leon could see that Matthias was still quite inexperienced. His inexperience both attracted and displeased Heather.
“Are you saying that all the problems between him and I are of my own doing?” she asked in dissatisfaction. She was frustrated that Leon was taking Matthias’s side and accusing her of being unreasonable.
“No, Heather—that’s not what I meant. I mean…”
However, she interrupted him and said, “I don’t want your explanation. Men are always complaining that us women aren’t gentle or tolerant enough.” She was blowing things out of proportion at this point.
Meanwhile, Leon was dumbfounded at how stubborn she was when people gave her advice. He knew this was how she was, and it would be difficult for her to change.
“You’re misinterpreting my words. When there is conflict between two people, I think that both of them must be at fault. You can’t put all the blame on him.” Not wanting her to interrupt him again, Leon spoke in one breath.
“So you’re saying that I’m always passing the buck?” Heather was now energized enough to speak properly with him.
“You’re on fire today, Heather. Why don’t you let some steam off?” Leon asked cautiously.
She had been slightly irritated in the beginning, but because of this little fiasco, her mood improved greatly.
“I don’t want to discuss relationships anymore. Let’s talk about something more serious.” Heather changed the subject since they were starting to talk unpleasantly to each other. Hence, it was probably better for them to change the topic before it was too late.
“How are the preparations for the company’s opening coming along?” Heather had delegated all the tasks to Leon beforehand, so she didn’t know how things were going.
“There are a few minor issues that still need to be discussed with Paige.” In fact, Leon had yet to get started on some of the little details.
“Since there is an open and honest reason to speak to her, why don’t you go and see her?” she said in disgust, wondering since when had Leon become so fearful.
“I don’t know how to ask her,” he said. He wanted to ask Paige out, but he felt a little embarrassed.
“In that case, I’ll ask on your behalf.” It was rare for her to be so considerate. Naturally, Leon was more than happy to agree.
“This is what I’ve been waiting for,” he said excitedly.
“You have to be scrupulous in separating public from private interests. You can’t delay business because of private matters. Paige isn’t going to bite, so what are you afraid of?” she asked half-jokingly.
“The person who is delaying business because of personal affairs seems to be you, Heather,” Leon retorted nonchalantly.
“I’ll admit to that.” She didn’t bother arguing with Leon, nor did she want to waste more time dwelling on this.
“You admit it so freely, but there isn’t a hint of sincerity at all. You don’t even have an ounce of remorse in you.” He began to condemn Heather, who had just been lecturing him moments ago. Naturally, he had to return the favor.
“Old habits die hard. Forgive me for being capricious,” she said insincerely. Upon hearing this, Leon felt frustrated. It was as if she was the open and poised one, whereas he was the petty man.
“I’m not going to continue talking with you. I’m getting ticked off,” he said in an exaggerated manner. If he continued the conversation, he would end up being the one who lost.
“You say it like I’m picking on you.” Heather grinned. Her mood had brightened considerably after talking to Leon.
“Come back soon, Heather. Your recent performance has disappointed me!” he said in a joking tone, but he indeed thought her behavior was indeed a little uncharacteristic as of late.
“I’m disappointed in myself too,” she said emotionally. Truthfully, she was quite dismayed at herself and did not know what she was doing.
While she hid in Iceland, she refused to return to Bradfort City and face the turmoil that was going on. As of late, she realized that she was running away from her problems. She used to face her problems head-on, but now, she was losing her confidence.
It was getting late, yet Heather wasn’t sleepy at all. She got down from the warm bed and switched on the lights. In the spacious room, she began to understand the meaning of loneliness.
Never had she waited so eagerly to hear from Matthias. Ever since he left, it was like he had completely disappeared from her world. Without his warmth, she started to appreciate it. No matter what she did, she had no company and no one to share her experiences with.
In fact, no one would always tolerate another person’s capriciousness. Heather believed this, which was why she was unwilling to give him her all. She thought he was different, but it seemed like she was wrong.
Will hope emerge from my despair?
