Seeing Heather’s deep awareness of herself, Matthias felt like he had misunderstood her all along and had assumed that she was someone who wouldn’t repent.
“If you’re able to recognize your problems, then it proves that there’s still a chance to fix them,” he said earnestly. It was better to console her during this time as it was rare that she would want to improve herself.
“What problems do I need to fix?” Looking over at him, she needed to hear his answer.
On the other hand, Matthias was stumped. Some of her bad habits also looked cute to him now. His mind inevitably went blank when she asked him about the problems she needed to fix.
“You have a bad temper and are very purposeful.” He gave a general answer. Aside from that, he couldn’t think of anything else.
In regard to her temper, she really didn’t give anyone any leeway, unless she had business relations with them, in which case she would give them some. In normal life, she wouldn’t even bother with anyone who couldn’t benefit her.
She was purposeful in her interactions with people as she targeted people based on their value. Matthias was not a fool. He had sensed very early on that she was using him.
He saw through her intentions from the start, but he was swayed by her. Even if she was using him, he would still go along with it.
“You told me in the past that I was even using Myra. Thinking about it now, you weren’t wrong.” She mentioned Myra without realizing. Despite never wanting to admit that she was using Myra, after all the things Myra said today, she couldn’t help but reflect on her actions.
From the start, she had approached Myra with a motive. She wouldn’t be able to face herself if she denied that now. When she thought back on their past, she couldn’t remember when she had started treating Myra as a real friend.
“I said that in a burst of anger. I can see that you’re genuine to Myra. Even though you’ve done some hurtful things to her, you were also the one who took the most care of her,” he comforted. Listening to the sad things she was saying, he felt absolutely heartbroken for her.
The truth of the matter was clear. Myra must have found out about the things Heather kept hidden from her; why else would Heather have come out of Myra’s house in that state?
This was a tough situation that even Matthias couldn’t be of much help in. If he resented Heather that much back then, then it must be worse for Myra. She was certainly furious and wouldn’t forgive Heather no matter what.
Nevertheless, this issue was also a heavy blow to Heather. She was doubting herself and her life. Matthias wanted to come up with a countermeasure, but he couldn’t think of a good way. It was better for them both to resolve this themselves.
“The airport is right ahead. Stop overthinking. The both of you need to calm down for a moment. When we come back from Norway, you can go to Myra again and talk to her.” Matthias felt like he was simply a considerate and sweet man at this moment. He wanted to step up and be a beacon to Heather to expel the gloominess in her heart.
“Myra doesn’t want to see me again. I don’t have the right to go look for her now. I want to do something to make it up to her, but she won’t even give me that chance. It’s all my fault for going too far.” She was like a weak little girl who spurred people to want to take care of her.
While Matthias was driving, he reached out to put a hand on her shoulder and give her some comfort.
“I want to go to Iceland,” she said abruptly. She wanted to go to an ice-cold nation that befitted the cool, icy feeling she felt.
“Okay,” he replied without hesitation. Wherever she wanted to go, he would accompany her.
It was already dark out now. As they got out of the car one after the other, they were met with a dreary-looking airport. Heather urgently wanted to leave this place even though they couldn’t take a direct flight to Iceland.
Upon arriving at the front desk, they bought tickets to go to Paris first and planned to switch flights to go to Iceland in France. Since their flight was at dawn, an endless night still awaited them. Hence, they went to rest in the boarding area.
Huddled together, the both of them looked just like a couple. Heather was leaning against his shoulder while listening to him talk.
In order to prevent her from thinking about Myra, he kept talking to her to divert her attention, which she also went along with. The two had never been that harmonious before.
Every now and then, people would cast curious and envious glances at them. Their looks were that eye-catching in a crowd. The presence Heather had, especially, resembled a dazzling lotus flower. Whether it was their looks or presence, they were both well-matched.
It had been a long time since Matthias was this close to her. He felt his heart thumping as he smelled the nice fragrance coming off of her. At this moment, he felt a wave of happiness. He only wished he could always be that close to her.
As the latter part of the night gradually approached, he listened to the sound of Heather’s steady breathing while she slept on his shoulder. While she was sleeping, the crease between her brows still did not ease. Seeing her weighed down, he only despised himself for not being able to expel her worries and solve her problems.
She was adamant on not letting Matthias and Myra meet. In truth, he really wanted to meet Myra once. That way, he could speak up for Heather.
He saw how much Heather cared about Myra, and he wanted to tell Myra all about it. The words that came out of his mouth would be the most convincing.
Watching Heather turn timid when she never did, he decided that he would come up with a secret plan of his own once they returned. He didn’t want to see Myra and Heather break apart from each other either. He still had a small place in his heart for Myra although they didn’t end up together; he still cherished those wholesome moments of his past and still saw Myra as a good friend.
If Myra and Heather, the best of friends, wanted to cut ties with each other, then he would be the most anxious for them. He understood their friendship. Being stubborn was only temporary; Heather didn’t know how to express herself while Myra couldn’t understand her for now. During this time, they needed someone to give them a little push.
Meanwhile, the waiting process was agonizing. Matthias did not dare to make any movement for fear that he would wake Heather, who was a light-sleeper. Seeing the crease between her brows, he really wanted to help her smooth it out. At the moment, however, things were heading in a direction he wasn’t anticipating.
A text arrived on his phone. Looking at the content of the text, he couldn’t help but tighten his grip. It was a text from an unknown number with one simple line: ‘Do you like my gift, Mr. Locke?’
It looked like someone was playing tricks behind their backs. Matthias really wanted to reply to the text, but it occurred to him that it was most likely a burner phone. The person working behind the scenes was extremely careful in every step and wouldn’t expose themselves because of one text. Hence, calling the number would also prove futile.
Instead, he quickly gave orders to uncover who was exacerbating this situation. This person was someone he would never forgive.
‘Why are you trying to drive a wedge between Myra and Heather?’ In the end, he still sent a reply to the other party.
‘It is all part of my plan.’ The other party replied in an instant. Matthias was trying to buy time to try to determine the exact location of that person through the text.
Not long after, however, that person sent another text: ‘I know your capabilities. Don’t try to find out about me. You’re not capable enough for that yet.’ The tone of the text was so brazen that it irritated Matthias even more.
It seemed like this person wanted to infuriate him. First, they planned to drive a wedge between Heather and Myra, and now, they were provoking him. As for the relation between the two, he still did not know yet.
At some point, Heather had woken up. She was staring at his phone with a pale complexion on her face.
He quickly turned off his phone, but she was even quicker as she snatched the phone right out of his hand and dialed the unknown number. Unexpectedly, the person answered the call.
A hoary voice came through the phone. “Miss Langston, you’re impatient as always.” Surprisingly, they guessed that Heather was the one who made the call.
“Who are you? Why are you plotting against me?” She tried to stay calm in order to get more useful information from the other party.
“I am playing a chess game, where each person is a chess piece.” The hoary voice was filled with confidence. They were trying to make her infuriated.
“Who are you playing with?” On the other hand, she didn’t act hastily. Her tone was calm, as though nothing was happening.
“The chess pieces.” The person gave a strange answer.
After that, they hung up. From the start until the end, their words were extremely suggestive. As of yet, Heather still did not know how to decipher the profundity behind them, but she suspected that they were using a voice changer. Still, the voice sounded so natural that she couldn’t hear any traces to prove that it was artificial.
“Did you discover something?” Matthias asked out of concern.
“No,” she answered and returned the phone to him.
“Are we still going to Iceland?” He thought that the phone call would change her mind, so he deliberately asked.
“Yes. We have two hours left before we board the flight.” She gripped the flight ticket tightly in her hands, as though it was her life-saver.
“Relax a little. We’re going to Iceland to alleviate your mood. I don’t want you to go there in distress,” he exhorted. From the outside, it looked like she was going to Iceland to kill someone instead of distracting herself.
“I can’t force a smile.” She tried to force a smile at him, but it looked even worse than her being in tears.
“I’m not forcing you. You can talk to me if you can’t figure anything out.” He was like a gentle older brother, trying to clear out her gloomy mood.
“Matthias, are you going to leave me too one day?” she suddenly asked sheepishly. Even though she always did everything alone, there were times when she also felt lonely and needed someone to keep her company.
“No. Have you heard of something?” he prodded.
“What?” She went along with him.
“If ten people in this world loved you, one of them would definitely be me. If only one person in this world loved you, that would also definitely be me. If I ever leave you, then it would be because I was on my deathbed.” Matthias learned and applied what he knew. The last sentence was especially sentimental.
“Don’t spout nonsense.” She shot a glare at him. It seemed like she had regained some spirit from before.
“Don’t worry. For the sake of growing old with you, I won’t let myself die in front of you. I will live to the fullest and become an old goblin.” He did not hesitate to ridicule himself to ease Heather’s depressed mood.
