Matthias was worried that Heather would suffer frostbite, so he had no choice but to chase after her. However, Heather walked so fast she had disappeared in the blink of an eye.
When she turned around, she saw Matthias following her from a distance. Her eyes met with Matthias’, and she wore an inexplicable expression.
“Why did you follow me?” Heather just wanted to have some time alone. She didn’t expect Matthias to tag along, so she was a little frustrated.
“Why are you angry all of a sudden?” Matthias was distressed. He actually wanted to retort but he ended up biting his tongue.
“I’m not angry. I just came out to watch the snow,” Heather said indifferently.
“You’re wearing so little and it’s so cold out here. Don’t stay outside too long or you might get frostbite.” Matthias grasped Heather’s hand, wanting to bring her back to the car.
“Just let me take a walk and get some fresh air.” It was suffocating in the car, and Heather really needed some space.
“Are you still worried about what’s happening back in Solaria?” Recently, Heather had rarely brought up the matters in Solaria, but Matthias could feel that something was bothering her.
“Stop asking me about these matters.” Heather was already vexed enough, yet Matthias kept reminding her of the issues. This made her very annoyed.
“What exactly is going on in your mind?” To be frank, Matthias was troubled too because he couldn’t figure out Heather’s thoughts at all, yet Heather was keeping everything from him.
“I don’t want to argue with you in the snow. Just leave me alone, will you?” At this point, Heather suddenly regretted asking Matthias to come along to Iceland because she couldn’t be at peace at all with his presence. She would be reminded of Myra whenever she saw him. Every day was new yet stressful for Heather because too many things were weighing her down, and she felt as if she was about to break down sooner or later.
“If the matters back in Solaria really are troubling you, let’s just go back,” Matthias suggested. He, too, was worried that Heather would have an emotional breakdown.
“If we leave now, wouldn’t all our efforts go to waste? We haven’t even caught a glimpse of the Northern Lights yet.” Heather wanted to use this agenda to distract herself. The goal she had initially set for herself was to see the Northern Lights. Since she had yet to achieve her goal, naturally she wouldn’t want to leave just yet.
“We’ll only get to see the Northern Lights if we’re lucky. If we don’t get to see it during this winter, are you planning to stay here forever?” Matthias’ tone turned stern as he was very determined to bring Heather back to Solaria.
After realizing Matthias’ intention, Heather put on a gloomy and scary smile.
“So you’re asking me to obey your command then?” Originally, Heather wanted to avoid picking a fight with Matthias, but he wouldn’t stop pushing her buttons. Technically, Matthias brought this upon himself. Right now, Heather wished Matthias could just disappear.
“Stop running away. I’ll always stay by your side and face everything with you. Go back with me, alright?” Matthias tried to convince Heather so that she would muster some courage to face reality.
“Why do you want to keep influencing me?” Heather stared at Matthias. This time, she felt that he had over-interfered in her life.
“Don’t cross the line, Heather.” Despite Matthias’ good temper, he couldn’t stand Heather’s derision.
“I just need some time alone. If you miss home so much, just go.” Heather didn’t want to stay with Matthias anymore. At this moment, she just wanted to be alone. She would be less frustrated without seeing anyone else, especially Matthias.
“Sure,” Matthias replied firmly. Today, both of them were rather touchy, and for once, Matthias didn’t want to please Heather in a servile manner.
Heather was relieved after hearing Matthias’ reply as she thought this outcome was favorable too—no more quarrels.
For some reason, Matthias was dejected to see Heather’s relieved look. Looks like she really doesn’t want me around. He couldn’t help but feel like the past few days were a joke, mocking coldly at Matthias.
“So it seems like you were actually done with me long ago,” Matthias croaked heartbrokenly as he couldn’t reconcile with himself seeing Heather’s expression.
Snowflakes fell on their hair and body, but Matthias couldn’t feel a tinge of coldness at all, for he was completely dispirited. This nasty weather actually matches my current feelings. Matthias smiled ruefully. Nevertheless, he shouldn’t let himself dwell in this pathetic state of mind any longer.
Then, Matthias made a call to Nikolai. “Book a plane ticket for me.” His order was short and concise, and he hung up immediately even before Nikolai could respond.
Meanwhile, Heather still wore a stubborn look. She knew she was about to drive Matthias away, but it actually made her feel better mentally.
Seeing that Heather remained silent, Matthias went back to the car on his own. He didn’t want to bother with Heather anymore as he was already disheartened after being given the cold shoulder.
There had been multiple situations where Matthias wanted to ask Heather just how could she be this ruthless and cruel. Did she not care for his feelings even to the slightest bit? She just couldn’t care less about my feelings. There were numerous times Matthias was filled with hope, but he was let down again and again; he felt like his heart couldn’t take it anymore.
The car heater had completely gone off, making the inside of the car as cold as the outside. Matthias stared at the dead car engine and felt that his heart was in the exact same state at this moment.
Heather gradually disappeared from his sight. As she strode away further and further, Matthias felt like he could never hold on to her. He reached out his hand and dejectedly put it down again. Heather had already left, just like how their relationship was slowly drifting away. It seemed like they could never get on the same page.
Matthias decided to stop being distressed about it as he leaned against the car seat and waited for the arrival of the rescue team. He could not be concerned with Heather’s whereabouts anymore.
After staying around Heather for so long, Matthias felt like he was going to lose himself soon. As a matter of fact, he had even thought of changing his life plans for the sake of Heather, but he had never had a place in the latter’s heart. It was only just Matthias’ wishful thinking to put Heather in his future plans. What a joke.
What’s taking the rescue team so long? Matthias waited anxiously. Every second was torture to him. He had to refrain from getting out of the car to go look for Heather. The more he couldn’t see her, the stronger his impulse to go find her.
Matthias was anxious; he wished to leave this place immediately and was dying to run away from Iceland. Meanwhile, Heather walked further in the opposite direction. She didn’t want to stay beside Matthias because she was worried that the closer they got, the more she would want to make him stay.
Would a person feel lonely when he or she was alone? If she hadn’t experienced being together with Matthias, she wouldn’t have felt so alone. At that thought, a cold smile appeared on her face—one that was as cold as the snow. Currently, she had a hunch that there would be people in front.
Heather walked for quite a while with her persistence, and sure enough, Matthias did not come after her anymore. Heather was relieved, but at the same time, her heart felt heavy for some reason. She had long anticipated that one day, Matthias would be done with her, and it seemed like the day had finally come.
This was indeed taunting. Heather couldn’t feel the cold physically. Due to her being alone in Iceland now, her heart felt bleak.
The snow was very heavy, and it was the heaviest one Heather had seen ever since she was born. From time to time, some snowflakes would fall onto her collar and slide down her neck. She regretted not wearing a thicker coat. The wind coat that she was wearing currently only had an attractive appearance, and it didn’t really have any other function than that.
“If it’s this cold all year long…” Heather stopped halfway upon realizing that she sounded like a psychopath talking to herself when she was alone.
Heather suddenly felt lonely without Matthias being by her side. It was only then that she realized she had long been used to Matthias’ existence. She even started missing that annoying mouth of his. They just parted not long ago, yet Heather was already missing him dearly. She hated herself right now, for she felt useless. Why would I become so fragile and emotional? I just parted with Matthias. This isn’t a valid reason to be sad. How absurd!
Heather wanted to get rid of all the messy thoughts in her mind. She didn’t want to be emotionally affected by Matthias anymore. She was not a little girl who wasn’t capable of being on her own—she was a strong and independent woman in the eyes of others.
However, at this moment, Heather was as fragile as a child. She even had an impulse to cry. When the snowflakes fell on her cheeks, she would sometimes refuse to wipe them off with her hand and allowed the snowflakes to be melted by her body temperature and flow down her cheeks like tears.
The two hearts were torn apart, but neither of them was reluctant to give in. Heather wouldn’t be honest with Matthias while the latter was totally disheartened this time round. Despite his urge to find Heather, he had suppressed the impulse of doing so.
There were multiple instances where even Heather couldn’t understand herself. Why did they have to torture each other like this? She wasn’t any happier seeing Matthias being sad. She had pushed Matthias away again and again, but deep down, she actually couldn’t bear to see him leave too. Heather felt like she was being increasingly psychotic as even she couldn’t understand her mentality.
She yearned to be in a bustling crowd; she wanted to be around people and not be alone. Truth be told, walking alone in the snow wasn’t that romantic, after all. On the contrary, it made one seem even more lonely. This was the last situation Heather would want to be in. Once she had had a taste of the goodness of someone or something, it would be hard to leave them anymore, and it would be even more painful to lose them.
You can’t lose something you’ve never had in the first place. Gaining something is the start of losing it. Heather had seen this quote somewhere and it had left a strong impression in her mind. Recalling it, Heather was filled with mixed emotions.
After walking for a long time, Heather felt numbness in her feet as a result of the cold. Perhaps Matthias was right—she would succumb to frostbite if she carried on like this. Heather trudged arduously through the snow. Every step she took was difficult. The snow was getting thicker and it seemed like Heather was sinking into it.
On the other hand, Matthias closed his eyes and allowed the coldness to engulf him. He could feel the vastness of the earth, yet he had lost his place to hide among this vast space. As such, he pressed the honk just to hear some noise.
A sharp and loud sound pierced Matthias’ ears. It seemed that was the only thing that could keep Matthias in check. At this moment, he felt deflated, as if he had just experienced a breakup.
The car honk was blaring non-stop. Matthias was acting in an increasingly weird manner—so weird he was disgusted with himself. Since when have I become like this? Where could Heather be? Matthias had completely lost trace of Heather. He couldn’t identify her in the heavy snow with his bare eyes. Even the footprints that she had left behind were almost covered by the snow. It was as if she had never been there.
