Chapter 537
Standing Before Love
The sound of cars honking from the back brought Heather back to her senses. Meanwhile, Matthiasâs voice rang out from the phone next to her ear. It was quite fortunate that he had the patience of a saint and had not hung up the call despite her long silence.
Recently, she had become indecisive and found it very hard to say ânoâ. She was no longer as resolute and firm as before. Just then, Matthias sensed her hesitation and cleared his throat. Since sheâs not going to respond, then Iâd better back off.
âIf you donât want to help, Iâll try to find a way by myself.â He had no intention of making things difficult for her. After all, she had always been against the idea of him looking for Myra.
After remaining quiet for a long while, she finally replied, âDo you really have to talk things through with Myra? Sheâs pregnant now, and I donât want this to affect her pregnancy.â Hearing this, he could tell that she was full of concern for Myra.
Although he was not surprised at all by her answer, this was something that had bothered him for quite some time now. He no longer had any feelings toward Myra, but he could not bring himself to brush off their past either.
âDo you have any other better suggestions? Do you think we should remain as strangers as it is?
Someday, Myraâs going to recall all this.â Speaking of this, he suddenly remembered the joke he once told Myra in the past.
âIf I forget about you someday, you must try your best to make me remember. You mean a lot to me.â
Myraâs words stuck to him even till now, and he didnât want to go against his words. Although she had probably meant that as a joke, he had taken it to heart. When Myra said that, she definitely wasnât expecting herself to actually forget about him someday. However, he linked the current situation with her previous words and was quite fixated on these very words she uttered.
âDonât appear in front of her. Or at least stay away for the time being because she canât take all this right now, especially not in her current condition. After sheâs given birth and recovered, I wonât stop you from seeing her and explaining everything.â Heather tried hard to make him act with common sense.
She knew that he was not in the best condition right now and it seemed very likely that he would make a rash decision at any time.
On the other hand, Matthias kept his silence. Even though he knew she was being reasonable, he did not want to wait any longer. Why am I the one whoâs at fault right now? Why do I have to avoid appearing in front of Myra and hide from her like a fugitive just because the past has to be covered up?
âGive me some time to consider this,â Matthias replied with hesitation.
Noticing this, she decided to add fuel to the fire. âDidnât you insist that Iâm the one you loved? If so, why do you have to make Myra remember the past?â Heather tried to change the topic in hope that this could stop him from acting recklessly.
Matthias seemed overwhelmed by her questions. âThose are two separate things, so why are you bringing them up together?â In the end, he still felt that he was not at fault here.
âDo you even understand women?â She had no choice but to explain this from a different perspective;
she wanted him to realize that there was a problem in his train of thought and she didnât want him to insist on seeing Myra.
Hearing this, he was perplexed yet again. Iâm indeed not too familiar with how women think. However, he did not know how to respond to this question she had pointed out all of a sudden.
âYou keep mentioning Myra in front of me and reminding me of your past with her. Because of that, I feel that your feelings for me arenât sincere. Shouldnât your thoughts be filled with the person you are infatuated with? I donât think itâs right to be together with me while thinking of another woman at the same time.â Without any hesitation, she blurted the words that sheâd never told him before in an attempt to convince him.
In fact, she found it difficult to express her feelings so openly, but at this point, she had resorted to it for Myraâs sake. Just yesterday, I decided that I would not forgive him, but look at how Iâm calmly expressing my feelings to him right now! Thinking of this, Heather could not control the burst of anger she felt at the moment.
Matthias remained silent as he realized that she was right. Finally, he understood why she always had the notion that he was still in love with Myra.
âYou should properly think this through. If you genuinely love me, show me your sincerity. I donât want you to go anywhere near Myra. Listen to me for just this once, alright?â Making use of his love confession toward her, Heather subtly nudged him into compromising. At the same time, she had subconsciously chosen to follow Leonâs suggestion.
Soon after that, Heather hung up the phone. Meanwhile, Matthias remained silent for quite some time after he hung up. He glanced at his cell phone but was at a loss of what to do. It was definitely time to discuss these problems with Evan. Since Heather had mentioned that he did not understand women, then the best way to overcome this was to talk to the person he knew who understood the most about womenâEvan.
âEvan, come over now,â he ordered with a commandeering tone.
When Evan noticed his solemn expression, he wondered, Did something bad happen? Worried, the former went up to the latter at once.
Matthias tried to come up with the words to say but failed, and this caused further anxiety for Evan. In the end, the latter asked, âSir, is there anything I can do for you?â Right after saying that, he bowed politely. âI would be very pleased to offer my services.â He enjoyed joking around with Matthias like this because he hoped that this could relieve some of the latterâs tension.
However, Matthiasâ brows remained tightly furrowed and he looked quite torn. Seeing this, Evan was surprised. What could possibly cause him so much distress? Could it be Regan whoâs getting more and more arrogant day by day? Or could he be stressed because of Heather? Evan could somewhat hazard a guess.
âHeather thinks that I havenât gotten over Myra. She wants me to stop bothering Myra and show her my sincerity. Does she want me to prove my feelings for her by doing all these?â Finally, Matthias tentatively voiced his doubts. Despite feeling that these requests were unnecessary, he was also aware that women were more complicated in their train of thought, which he could not seem to comprehend.
âSir, since she has already verbally confirmed this, what else are you confused about?â Evan was dumbfounded by Matthiasâ question. Heather had obviously stated everything quite clearly, but the latter still doubted her meaning.
âI promised Myra that I would never let her forget about me.â Still, Matthias was quite insistent on this point. He reckoned that he had the perfect opportunity the last time to do as he had promised. After all, his past with Myra remained an important part of him.
Feeling resigned, Evan shot a look at him. Heâs quite smart when handling all the business dealings, but why is he so ignorant when it comes to relationships? Heâs quite dense about everything.
âHeatherâs actually a prideful person, but for her to say all this to you, you must mean something to her too. As such, you should not disappoint her this time. Otherwise, you might not get another chance of getting close to her.â Upon realizing Matthiasâs ignorance, Evan began to worry that he seemed to be treading on thin ice with each step he took. Naturally, it made sense for Heather to reject him.
Evanâs tone of voice and his words made everything sound so serious. Matthias was at a complete loss for what to do, so he subsequently described what happened earlier to Evan.
After listening to him, Evan thought to himself, If you werenât the one paying my salary, I would only have four words for you: You are completely hopeless! Recently, he had been quite anxious about Matthiasâ relationship woes. The former realized that the latterâbeing such a blockhead in his relationshipâwas definitely a torment for his potential partner.
âYou donât understand women at all. Iâve said all I can, so you need to figure out the rest of it yourself.â
Evan felt frustrated after spending so much time explaining to him. What is going on in his head anyway? Itâs so frustrating talking to him!
Noticing this, Matthias looked at Evan with an incredulous expression. Why is he so frustrated? I donât think I did anything over the top. Iâve let go of my ego and gone after Heather with a humble attitude.
Look at how sheâs been treating me in comparison! Therefore, he had doubts about whether to persevere in his effort.
While Evan had always insisted that Heather had feelings for him, he could not seem to sense it. He felt that she was always keeping a distance from him and he was hurt by it. At this moment, another unexpected incident happened all of a sudden. Robert, who must be up to something, rang up to talk to him out of the blue.
Matthias glanced at the caller ID on his phone and was quite confused, but he hastily answered the call. Right away, Robertâs voice rang out, âMatthias, we havenât completed our discussion about our collaboration. If it isnât a bother, could you come over today?â
The sudden display of affection by Robert took him aback. At the same time, he saw a ray of hope at that very instance. If Iâm an esteemed guest at the Langston Residence, then surely I would have more chances of seeing Heather. Being able to see her more often would be beneficial in the progress of our relationship!
âSure, I can drop by anytime. Iâve actually got all the information ready.â After Matthias had returned from the Langstons the last time, he had immediately compiled all the information needed within that night.
âThen just come over right now.â In fact, Robert knew that Heather was on her way back home and there was not anyone else at home this time of the day. Therefore, he planned to get her to serve Matthias and they could spend time together to build up their relationship.
âSure,â Matthias agreed immediately; he was anxious to prove his worth to Robert. After all, Robert meant a lot to Heather and Evan had taught him before to win the favor of everyone she cared for.
Subsequently, he brought along a stack of documents and made his way to the Langstons. The white suit he was dressed in further accentuated his milky-white skin and made him look younger than his age. Overall, he appeared energetic and full of vigor.
As he drove to the Langstons, he recalled all of his encounters with Heather. Without even realizing it, he found that he had arrived at the courtyard of the Langston Residence.
Meanwhile, Heather wasnât surprised to see Matthias show up. Robert had been so obvious in his intentions, and she had no choice but to allow it. However, she was still mindful of their unhappy conversation earlier so she did not even bother to greet him as soon as she saw him.
Meanwhile, Robert was unaware of their tiff and simply assumed that she was unhappy because he had invited Matthias over. Throughout their meeting, her face looked stormy.
âCome with me to the study room,â Robert mentioned to Matthias.
As for Heather, she took a seat by the side and kept a low profile. The two men stood up, one after the other, but she remained in her seat, not intending to join them in the study room.
âHeather, come along too.â Robert did not know what Matthias had done to offend her as such. She seems to be quite against him today.
âYou guys can go ahead and talk about work. Iâm not interested in joining the discussion,â Heather politely rejected. Iâm no longer working for Langston Group, so this has got nothing to do with me.
Blake should be the one to be involved.
âHeather, I need your insight too,â Robert spoke in an insistent tone.
Left with no choice, she trailed along with them. At the same time, she maintained a distance from Matthias and her rejection toward him was obvious. Matthias didnât expect to see this soft, feminine side of her; he was also quite surprised that she was actually throwing a tantrum because all this while, despite being mad at him, she would normally just give him the cold shoulder.
If Robert was not around, he would have directly gone to her and talked things through. But unfortunately, this was not possible with the three of them being in the same room. He eagerly helped Robert push the door open, trying hard to depict himself as an agile person of the younger generation.
After all, the former was not in tip-top condition lately, so he was expecting that his eager action would win the formerâs favor.
Standing on the side, Heather watched Matthiasâs overly eager action with a cold expression. What does he intend to achieve by intentionally performing in front of Grandpa? Besides, the Locke Family has links to the Moriarty Family too. Heather hadnât made up her mind whether to inform Robert about this. After all, if Matthias was well-aware of everything, then they would have brought chaos upon themselves.