After hanging up on Zayne, Heather threw the flight ticket that she just bought into the trash. Since the kidnappers weren’t shaken by her departure, she would play along with them.
And so, she decided to have a good time in Singapore. It wasn’t her first time visiting the country, but it was her first time going there without any official duties on hand.
As that was the case, she decided to have a stroll around the city. It did, in fact, have its charms. Never before had she walked through its crowds in such a mood and as she wandered around, she almost lost herself to a trance.
Truth was, she felt more relaxed being so far away from Bradfort City. While she was in the city, every day felt as suffocating as if she had an invisible net thrown over her—however much she wanted to do, she was powerless.
The air quality in Singapore was quite good and she couldn’t help taking in a deep breath. On the other hand, the air in Bradfort City was too polluted and breathing in too deeply on a smoggy day could make someone dizzy.
Moreover, it was no wonder Singapore was known as a garden city. As she strolled through it, she felt her spirits lightened by quite a bit. Rarely did she get to enjoy being alone while she was in Bradfort City; even if all she did was stay at home, she could not avoid running into her family members.
Since this was such a rare opportunity, she carefully considered what she would do after her walk. She wasn’t too keen on going to famous tourist attractions as there wasn’t much worth seeing at such places with crowds. Thus, she decided to seek out a secluded spot instead and looked for a coffee shop amid a cluster of shophouses.
At this moment, she needed a steaming cup of coffee. This was her habit—her mood would improve a lot after having some coffee.
After finding her target, she pondered for a moment before entering the coffee shop. As there were many Solarians working in Singapore, she had no trouble communicating in her native tongue.
Upon finding a spot by the window, she sat down and looked outside. It was a cozy feeling she always enjoyed. She ordered the most common kind of latte and waited for it to arrive and for a moment, she temporarily forgot her troubles in Bradfort City.
There weren’t many customers in the coffee shop and Heather got to enjoy the rare moment of peace. Even the people outside looked cozy. The atmosphere here was so markedly different from that of Bradfort City that she almost found it hard to tear her eyes away from the window and pick up her freshly delivered cup of coffee to take a sip. Truth was, her drink tasted all right.
At this moment, she thought of Matthias, who was far away in Bradfort City, and wondered what he was doing. It was strange that she missed him only when he was so far away.
Perhaps he’s missing me right now, she thought to herself. She thought she would be carefree without him, but it turned out that she found it hard to be separated from him too.
In this game, she no longer cared about winning. Since she was already in love, she resolved not to trouble herself with relationship issues anymore.
The coffee was slowly dwindling and now, she felt much more clear-headed. Curious, she scanned her surroundings. The place was relatively empty and she could occasionally hear loving couples whispering sweet nothings to each other.
All of a sudden, she felt a need to slow down her pace in life. All these years, she had rushed through life so quickly that others found it hard to catch up to her.
Instead of enjoying the little moments in life, she only felt bogged down by its troubles. While others were busy seeking love, she was obsessed with working and studying, day after day, over and over again.
In her world, there were no fairy tales. Like a fruit forced to mature early, she had grown up young and moved forward before she was truly ready.
Suddenly, she envied the people here and the comfortable expressions on their faces. Perhaps there was something to be learned from them, and she forced herself to relax the muscles of her face to look less severe.
Right now, she could hear a group of girls whispering about her at the table next to hers. Her beautiful looks always drew discussion and, long used to that fact, she let others talk about her as they pleased. She looked how she looked. The fact that some people found that a hard pill to swallow had nothing to do with her.
As the hours passed, the coffee shop slowly grew emptier. When she recalled that there was a good place for gambling in Singapore, she contemplated whiling away her evening hours there.
Because she departed in a rush, she didn’t have much cash on her. It had been a long time since she participated in such exciting games, and the mere thought of it made her heart race in anticipation.
Meanwhile, far away in Bradfort City, the kidnappers were flummoxed to learn that Heather had gone all the way to Singapore during such a stressful period. They couldn’t help feeling like she had some kind of trick up her sleeve.
And so, one of the kidnappers asked respectfully, “What should we do, Master?” Within this empty space, the man who stood before the kidnapper gave off a spine-chilling aura. “Interesting. Very interesting, indeed,” he murmured in a low voice. It was hard to tell whether he was pleased or enraged.
Baffled by his response, the kidnapper could only continue with a follow-up question. “Should we give her a warning?”
At this point, the man gave the kidnapper a sharp, cold look. Instantly, the latter bowed his head, displaying even more respect.
“She can vacation whenever she wants,” the man answered carelessly. Truthfully, he wasn’t bothered by her departure from the country and instead, he found it quite amusing.
“What should we do next, Master?” The main purpose of the kidnapper’s visit was to ask for the next step in their plan.
After taking a few steps back and straightening his collar, the man crossed his arms over his chest and asked in a demeanor that suggested he was listening to a joke, “Do you need me to teach you that?”
Duly chastised, the kidnapper turned red. Once again, he had embarrassed himself in front of the man. It made him feel useless like he couldn’t even say the right things. “I-I’m sorry, Master,” he chattered through his teeth. He had a bone-deep fear of the man, for the bloody scene that heralded their first meeting was unforgettable.
After shooting a scornful look at the sniveling drudge, the man then let out a meaningful smile. This kidnapper had many murders to his name and it was a smart decision to have him kidnap Myra.
After dismissing the kidnapper, the man decided to go see Myra. During this period, he was experimenting on her like she was some kind of lab rat, and he wondered how she was doing at the moment.
Thus, he got in his car and drove to a place in the suburbs that nobody would think of. He imagined that the ‘smoke bomb’ in the kidnapper’s hands would last for a good while.
Now, his nondescript car stopped outside an unremarkable building. Because of how well-disguised he was, the unobservant would never recognize his real identity.
He was satisfied with his disguise, but the problem was that there was one thing he miscalculated. Because he hadn’t managed to keep full tabs on Heather’s comings and goings, he had no idea of Zayne’s existence.
In this battle of wits and bravery, no one had the opportunity to catch their breath. Even the immensely private Heather was forced under scrutiny.
Everyone longed to become the winner but Heather could not afford to lose. It was just a pity that she had only just learned to admit defeat before being dragged into this mess. Now, she was learning that being able to surrender was sometimes a blessing.
What she wasn’t aware of was how Tony was being tested or what kind of games the kidnappers were playing on him.
In Tony’s heart, he had already killed the woman who pranced around in front of him every day a million times. If it weren’t for Myra’s sake, he would not have been so tolerant of this woman.
The truth was, he was waiting for the perfect timing, but the wait was wearing him down after so many days that he felt like he was going to explode. He didn’t know when things would come to an end and however calm he remained, he had no way of accepting that Myra had been missing for so many days.
Every day, the woman paraded herself in front of him as if nothing was wrong. Yet, whenever he looked into her eyes, he could tell she wasn’t as uncomplicated as she appeared. There was a certain pure brightness to her gaze that clashed jarringly with her deliberate actions.
“You don’t have to put on such a performance,” he told her coldly now.
Unabashed, she leered at him. “You’re so cruel, Director Hart. Can’t you humor me for putting on such a good performance?”
Casting her an indifferent glance, he answered, “There’s no need for you to act like this in front of me. I only want to save my wife as soon as possible.”
Upon hearing that, the woman let out a smile that was entirely inappropriate for the severity of the situation and faked innocence as she said, “I’m only responsible for keeping you company, Director Hart. I don’t know about anything else.”
“Alright. I understand your meaning.” With that, he ended the conversation, for saying too much wouldn’t help his chances.
“Don’t fault me for not reminding you that your wife is actually in a safe place, Director Hart. You don’t have to worry too much. We want to build a good, collaborative relationship with you, and that naturally means we would never dare mistreat your wife.” Her words sounded nice, but even a fool would realize that this wasn’t the way to seek business partnerships.
Nevertheless, Tony did not offer a rebuttal. What was there to say at this point? All of a sudden, he felt like he hadn’t run into a group of kidnappers but rather a group of thick-skinned, shameless hooligans.
“If you’re here to seek collaboration, why not tell me your conditions?” he enunciated clearly as he stared at her. There was nothing he wished for more than the opportunity to tear her to shreds.
While the woman knew he hated her, she didn’t care. She had long gotten used to the taste of hatred and now, she was happy to watch him slowly be consumed by his hatred.
“I don’t know the conditions of the collaboration, Director Hart, so please don’t be impatient,” she told him calmly, instantly making his rage flare up. He couldn’t help feeling like she was making fun of him.
“You say you want to collaborate but you don’t even know your conditions. Is this the way to seek collaboration?” Tony questioned, his patience quickly becoming frayed.
“I’m just a poor lackey, Director Hart. Getting angry at me won’t change things.” The woman retained her affable smile, seemingly unruffled by his attitude.
Seeing that nothing would scare her into submission, he decided not to say anything. It was no use, anyway; he might as well just shut up.
“It’s lunchtime, Director Hart. What kind of cuisine do you like?” Once again, she changed the topic as if nothing was wrong. Nonetheless, he didn’t deign to answer her.
Such was their mode of communication during this time. It made him feel like she was trying to seize total control of him, which he was not pleased about.
Deep down, he was already thinking of how to avoid her surveillance. Yet, right now, she was still standing there persistently. At this rate, he wouldn’t be surprised if she followed him into the washroom.
“I’m not hungry, so please leave.” Since this was his room and he had no wish to see her, he unceremoniously dismissed her.
“Your food intake has grossly decreased lately, Director Hart. I’m very worried about your health,” she told him, putting on such an attentive air that he felt deeply disgusted by her.
“Get out,” he repeated firmly as he glared at her.
Nonetheless, she refused to budge, repulsing him with her pompous behavior. Well, he would find a way to show her that he, Tony Hart, was not to be controlled by anyone.
