The two of them remained in such a posture, for Matthias took Heather’s struggle as playing hard to get. If it weren’t for the fact that she had to save Matthias’ face in front of the others, Heather would have shoved him away directly. She whispered to his ear, “Let go of me.”
Such a movement was extremely suggestive in everyone else’s eyes, but only Matthias knew that Heather was displeased. Even though he was still a little tipsy, he didn’t dare to act so rashly anymore. Hence, he reluctantly let go of her. This was truly something unbearable, for no one would be willing to let go of the beauty in their arms. However, he was already content with everything that happened today, for he had seen Heather’s changes with his own eyes.
He was now confident about the future, and he believed he would live until the day Heather personally agreed to go steady with him. By then, the nature of their relationship would gradually become clear.
“I’ll be heading back first.” At this moment, Heather naturally had to go back to the Langston Residence—she couldn’t stay all night at Matthias’ place.
Meanwhile, he was reluctant about it. Furthermore, Evan gave Heather more trouble by asking, “Where are you going? Why don’t you stay with Matthias?” The drunken Evan was unusually overbearing. He wouldn’t let Heather leave no matter what, and it seemed as though he would come over and grab her hand the next second.
Heather was both amused and annoyed. This is so troubling! she thought to herself.
Matthias had the same notion, so he didn’t make any special efforts to stop Evan. In the meantime, Heather helplessly dodged Evan’s suddenly outstretched hand. She feared that she would instinctively knock Evan to the ground if he kept on fooling around.
“Don’t leave. It’s dangerous for a lady to go home alone at such a late hour,” Evan said.
Upon hearing his words, Heather really felt helpless; Evan didn’t even know what he was saying. “Stop him, Matthias. I’ll be leaving first.” She decided to leave right away instead of wasting her breath talking to Evan.
Matthias looked at Heather reluctantly from behind as she left in a hurry. When Heather had walked far away from him, Evan patted him on the shoulder. “Stop watching, Matthias. She’s gone far away.” Evan didn’t forget to remind him. After finishing his sentence, he let out a belch.
“Shut up.” Matthias couldn’t stand how annoying the drunken Evan was. He even wished he could render Evan mute with poison.
However, Evan continued with no fear of death and said, “Don’t blame anyone else if you don’t try hard, Matthias.”
The look in Matthias’ eyes became very terrifying, and he wasn’t able to calm down unless he tore Evan into shreds. However, the latter still looked unconcerned. Matthias really doubted whether Evan was really drunk, but he couldn’t tell what the man was thinking from the look on Evan’s face. “Are you really drunk?” he then asked with a stern expression.
“I’m not drunk, of course. One only throws up if they’ve had too much liquor,” Evan answered disdainfully. I’m not drunk; I’m very sober, he thought to himself.
“Take him to the room and let him rest, Mrs. Graham.” Matthias didn’t want to continue looking after Evan, so he called the servant who was still working the night shift. Mrs. Graham was a servant with relatively great strength.
However, Evan began to kick up a fuss again, and he refused to obediently follow Mrs. Graham back to his room. “I don’t want to sleep. I want to keep on drinking.”
“Tell the kitchen to make some hangover soup for him, Mrs. Graham,” Matthias ordered while he prepared to go upstairs. However, Evan clung to him again before he could take the first step. At this moment, Evan was like a ghost who pestered someone with all its might and would never stop until it captured the person’s soul. “Shut up and be quiet,” Matthias warned in a stern voice. I’ll never let Evan touch alcohol again, he thought to himself. Since he didn’t want to care about Evan anymore, he ran out right away—Heather probably hadn’t gone far at this time. Now that Matthias had finally gotten rid of Evan, he had to send her home safely to put his mind at rest.
The night breeze outside was chilly, and it dispelled Heather’s tipsiness as she strolled along the path. It was rare for her to be alone in such a quiet environment, and she narrowed her eyes slightly to enjoy this beautiful moment. Unfortunately, it didn’t take long before she saw Matthias catching all the way up to her. She looked at him in puzzlement as she didn’t expect him to come after her.
“I must send you home safely, Heather,” said Matthias with unusual determination.
“It’s very convenient for me to go home alone.” Heather was used to going home alone, so she rarely let someone else do so; in fact, she refused to let anyone send her back to the Langston Residence.
“I have to see with my own eyes that you’ve reached home safely,” Matthias insisted.
Heather looked at him in vexation. “It’s dangerous for you to send me home at such a late hour. You’ll have to come back alone at night.”
However, Matthias stepped forward and took Heather’s hand right away. “How could a man like me be in danger?”
“You’re even more good-looking than most women, though. Men aren’t necessarily safe nowadays,” Heather argued meaningfully.
“How many people can get close to me with my fighting skills?” Matthias said in displeasure. What is Heather talking about? She’s simply making me feel so helpless, he thought to himself.
“I’m not bad at fighting too,” Heather retorted. After all, she wasn’t used to having someone else escort her back. Matthias tried to develop such a routine for Heather in the past, but unfortunately, the latter had been quite uncooperative.
“I hope I can protect you and give you a sense of security,” Matthias said directly.
“What if I say—” Heather replied, but Matthias interrupted her before she could finish her sentence. “Don’t say that you don’t need it. You need it when I think you do,” he said in a stoic manner.
Heather could only accept this passively since she couldn’t do anything to Matthias at all. After all, she had to slowly get used to what she had been unaccustomed to in the days to come.
When he saw that Heather no longer refuted him anymore, Matthias smiled a bright and hearty smile. He looked particularly cheerful when he did so, and Heather liked such a smile.
They walked hand in hand as if this path was endless. To Matthias’s surprise, he felt that the night was unusually tender today, and even the crescent moon looked very beautiful. “Since when did you show up in my life, Heather?” he asked rhetorically.
Heather didn’t answer him though. As expected, Matthias continued, “We’ve known each other for so many years, but I couldn’t imagine being able to walk side by side with you back then.”
It was a humbling experience to love someone secretly. Now that Matthias finally got what he wished for, he could put the past events behind him as if they were blown away by the wind sweeping against his ears. There was still a long way ahead of them, but he was confident about the future.
Matthias and Heather’s hands were still clasped when they finally reached the road. He thought it was worthwhile no matter how much effort he put in if they could still be so affectionate toward each other in the future.
There were few cars on the road, and it seemed difficult to hail a taxi back from here. Unfortunately, both Matthias and Heather had drunk alcohol. It was inappropriate for either of them to drive, so they could only wait here until a taxi drove past them. They waited patiently as one private car after another sped past them.
Matthew took off his overcoat and draped it around Heather’s shoulders directly. “Be careful not to catch a cold.”
The overcoat still carried Matthias’s warmth, and it warmed not only Heather’s body but also her heart. “Don’t you feel chilly?” Matthias was only wearing a shirt underneath the overcoat he had taken off, and the sight of it would make one think that he must feel chilly.
“No, I don’t.” Matthias pressed his lips together. In reality, he could’ve let his chauffeur drive them back, but he was willing to wait for a taxi with Heather since he wanted to experience what it was like to live as an ordinary person. Heather had been trying hard to make herself more ordinary by becoming a simple person these days, so waiting for a taxi wasn’t a big deal.
As Heather recalled what had happened over these years, she also felt that she had lived a sheltered life. What else could she be if the Langston Family really fell apart one day? Of course, Heather’s worries were unnecessary. After all, she could easily depend on herself after leaving the Langston Family. On the contrary, it was the other members of the Langston Family who had to worry about their future. She teased and said, “There will be no worries about tomorrow’s headlines if other people know that we’re waiting for a taxi here in the middle of the night.”
“That will depend on whether they dare to cover the story.” Matthias had strengthened his control over the media long ago, so he would never let the media report the matters between him and Heather in whatever way they wanted.
“It’s too bad that the person has never revealed himself,” Heather said regretfully. She believed Matthias must be well aware of who the person she spoke of was.
“Don’t worry. We’ll reveal his true colors sooner or later,” Matthias replied confidently. In fact, he already had a target in his mind and was only looking for an opportunity to confirm his suspicions.
“We both know who the person is,” Heather replied meaningfully.
They left the subject at that since none of them wanted to discuss this further. They had to take every step with care right now, and there would be a muddy path that was particularly difficult to tread in the future. They only wished that they wouldn’t let go of each other.
The night was beautiful; Heather and Matthias looked up at the crescent moon at the same time. There were still some unsolved problems between them, but many issues couldn’t be solved overnight. Therefore, they were very content with the state they were currently in.
After a long wait, they finally managed to hail a taxi. Matthias pulled the car door open for Heather and said tenderly, “Be careful not to bump your head.”
They got into the taxi one after another, and Matthias sat in the back seat. His eyes were brimming with affection as he and Heather looked at each other, and he just wanted to keep looking at her like this. It took a long drive from the Locke Residence to the Langston Residence, but Matthias wished the taxi could drive even slower as he wanted to stay longer with her.
Time ticked away, and it was already early in the morning before they realized it. Matthias and Heather were a bit sleepy at this moment, but the ride was a bit bumpy. The taxi was unlike their usual luxury cars, so it wasn’t that comfortable to travel in.
Heather didn’t arrive at the Langston Residence until it was almost 1.00AM. As she stood outside the Langston Residence’s gate, Matthias looked unblinkingly at her. “Hurry up and go back,” she urged him. It was already so late at night, and nobody knew what time it would be when he reached home.
“I’ll escort you in.” Matthias wanted to see her off into the house since he was reluctant to part with her at this moment.
This reminded Heather of how Romeo and Juliet were reluctant to bid each other farewell. However, such a childish side of Matthias was really adorable. “Do you want to escort me into my room to put your mind at rest?” she asked teasingly.
“I’d love to do so if you don’t mind.” Matthias was only too eager to do so since he had never entered Heather’s bedroom in such a long time.
“Forget it. It’s bad to do so at such a late hour.” Heather didn’t want to run into anyone at night since the Langstons loved gossiping behind people’s back.
However, Matthias was still unwilling to go back. Keeping a half-meter distance from Heather, he took a step whenever she took a step, amusing and annoying her at the same time.
“Why are you acting like a clingy child?” Heather asked in resignation. Since when did Matthias become so childish? This wasn’t the man she knew.
“Let me escort you into the living room at the very least.” The imploring look on Matthias’ face made one unable to turn him down.
“Hey!” Heather felt like she was dating someone younger than her.
