Chapter 595
Standing Before Love
Matthiasâ sudden stern attitude created an awkward tension between the both of them. Heather didnât think that her words would stir up such a big reaction from him.
âYou and Locke Groupâ¦â She had a bold prediction, but she wasnât sure if she should say it out loud. It might be presumptuous to ask him so directly.
âI donât want to talk about Locke Group anymore.â His complexion improved slightly. He was a little sensitive about Locke Group these days, which inevitably got Heather thinking.
âOkay. Letâs not talk about it, then.â She didnât want to cross his boundary. That was the basic form of respect between people.
They still had half an hour left before the plane would land. Heather and Matthias also tacitly agreed not to talk anymore. The entire first-class cabin was quiet; everyone was in deep sleep, while Heather was looking elsewhere.
Previously, she was worried that someone was following them and suspected that the person might be in the first-class cabin. After observing for a while, however, she didnât come to any conclusions. In order to ascertain whether these people were dozing off or not, she kept her eyes on them one by one for a while to look for anyone suspicious.
When she smelled the mild scent in the air, it reminded her of the scent she smelled in the lounge earlier. In an instant, it put her on alert. The mild scent disappeared very quickly this time, so she failed to find its source once again. Meanwhile, there wasnât any movement from everyone else.
Even Matthias, who was beside her, did not notice anything strange. Hence, she wondered whether it had been her own hallucination. Still, she couldnât remember where she had smelled that scent before.
This special type of fragrance was not from a common perfume in the market. It could also be a perfume that she had never smelled before, or it could be that personâs own scent.
Since her nose remembered it, she was sure that she had smelled it somewhere before. Where on earth have I smelled this before? She loathed herself once again for not having a better memory. She couldnât think of it even though she racked her brain. It proved that this was simply a very ordinary person with a peculiar scent.
Suddenly, she had an epiphany. I know whyâit mustâve been a passer-by. She seemed to remember smelling this scent when she first returned to the country. If she tied everything together, then it meant that she had been followed ever since she returned.
It had taken her so long to figure it out. Standing up from her seat, she was determined to find out where this scent was coming from.
Matthias found her actions strange and also stood up. Feeling worried, he asked, âWhatâs wrong?â He didnât know what had gotten into her again.
âSomeone is definitely following us and is right in this plane. Before the plane lands, we must find them.â She felt like this was a chance they couldnât miss.
A hesitant look appeared on his face. They had less than twenty minutes before the plane landed.
During this time, it was best that they stayed in their seats and did not move around.
âWe donât have enough time,â he remarked, for it would only be wasted effort. In a bit, an air stewardess would come and tell them to stay in their seats.
âIf you donât come with me, then Iâll go by myself.â With that, she dashed out of the first-class cabin.
On the other hand, he couldnât let her go by herself. Thus, he quickly followed after her. âIâll go with you.â
With a stern expression on her face, Heather said, âYou take the left, and Iâll take the right. If you find someone with a special fragrance, you have to come and tell me.â
He gave a firm nod. Since she had mentioned that mild scent before, he was sure that he would be able to identify it once he smelled it again.
The other passengers were puzzled by their strange behaviors. Not long after the two started their search, however, they were stopped by the air stewardess.
âMy apologies, Sir and Maâam. The plane is landing. Please return to your seats.â The air stewardess was standing in their path.
They looked at each other for a moment and tried to break through the barrier, but it wouldnât be advantageous for them to cause a scene on the plane either.
That person would definitely capture their act, and Heather didnât want Robert to be worried about her back in Bradfort City. While she hesitated, Matthias didnât move either.
She pulled his hand back and said, âLetâs go!â
Feeling the softness in his hand, he turned around to follow after her. He didnât think Heather would give up so easily.
She whispered in his ear, âHold my waist.â
He listened to her and stretched a hand out to hold her waist. Without knowing the reason behind her intention for carrying out these intimate acts, he placed his hand stiffly around her waist.
Her waist was slender and soft. He became enamored by this feeling, but he didnât dare to make a move. Their physical intimacy was making him slightly nervous.
Upon returning to their seats, they separated immediately, as if nothing had happened.
âWhat was your intention?â he inquired.
âThat person is definitely watching us in secret and has definitely captured our physical intimacy.â A cold smirk grew at the corner of her lips. Seeing his puzzled response, she continued, âYou have strong media resources in Bradfort City. Ask the reporters to pay more attention; I want to know who would release the news.â
He knitted his brows slightly, feeling like there was a problem with her thinking. âWhy would they do that themself? Even if we did find the person who released the news, they would be no more than an insignificant figure.â
âIt would still be a clue. Having some clues is always better than none.â Since they couldnât find out who the stalker was right away, she felt like they could take their time with it. As long as they had some clues, they would definitely uncover the truth.
âOkay.â He agreed. Sheâs making a lot of sense.
Barely a few minutes later, the plane landed smoothly at the airport. Once they walked out of the cabin, it was a different world outside. They hurriedly left this airport and planned to head to a different airport, where they could buy plane tickets that would take them to Iceland.
He suggested that she rest for a night before going, but she refused; she wanted to head to their destination sooner.
Thus, they got in a cab and went straight to a different airport. In such a romantic city, they were in a hurry to set out. The atmosphere in Paris was completely different from that in Bradfort City; it wasnât as fast-paced here.
People in France knew how to enjoy life. Heather and Matthias happened to be looking out the window at the same time. At this moment, Heather didnât know why she was so insistent on going to Iceland either.
âThe last time I came to Paris felt like ages ago,â she mused as she remembered the time when she attended university in Italy.
Suddenly, Matthias went closer to her and hugged her. She was not used to it at all. Because his actions were so sudden, she didnât have time to prepare herself.
âIt feels like weâre the only two people in this world.â He became tender-hearted. For a moment, he wanted to let go of everything in Bradfort City and live happily with her in another country.
âThis isnât like you at all.â On the other hand, she didnât push him away. In this foreign land, he was the only one she had by her side.
This feeling placed a covetous thought in her mind. Their relationship at the moment was unclear, and the distance was slowly being blurred.
If it werenât for all the disputes, she was willing to stay in his arms forever. Growing old with him didnât seem like a bad option.
But they had a ticking time bomb between them that no one knew when it would explode. She wondered whether it would destroy them completely once it did.
âDo you understand me?â he asked suddenly. He wanted her to have a deeper understanding of him, and he wanted to show his heart to her openly.
âI donât. We donât understand each other.â She knew that he was hiding a side of himself that no one knew about, and that she was too.
âThatâs right! People have many sides to them, and I want to show you even more of me. Iâm willing to be with you for the rest of my life. I wonât leave or give up. Are you willing to do so?â The sudden confession made it impossible for her to continue.
It was only when the driver told them to get off the car that she was able to get out of the fix and clear the awkward tension his words had created earlier.
âL-Letâs just go in!â She still couldnât give him an answer because she didnât want to have an uncertain future.
In truth, she believed in her bones that love couldnât solve all of oneâs difficulties. She feared that once she really got dragged into it, it would only end in a break up.
In that case, it would be better to protect her heart from the start. Nevertheless, she realized that her heart had already secretly strayed away from her intention. In the end, oneâs feelings were the hardest to control.
Meanwhile, Matthias also treated it as though nothing had happened and followed Heather in. The airport was bustling with activity, with the sound of lively chatter filling their ears.
As she listened to the pleasant sound of the French language, she quickly walked ahead with Matthias following right behind her. Hearing her speak fluent French, he knew that she had a knack for languages.
At this moment, he realized that he couldnât compare to her. In regard to the French intonation, he always felt like he did not sound authentic enough.
Soon, she successfully bought two flight tickets to Iceland. Matthias was looking at her in a daze from behind. Since they left Bradfort City, he wanted to be closer to her without realizing it.
She didnât reject him either. Part of the reason was that her body didnât want to push him away. Once a person caught feelings, naturally, they would also want to have physical intimacy. The other part was that she wanted to go on with her plan to give the stalker more news to expose and, in turn, for them to leave more traces behind.
Before getting on the plane, she finally managed to contact Leon. After hearing that Leon had escaped from being followed, the matter was resolved for the time being.
âHeather, youâre on a plane to go to Iceland right now? Are you joking with me?â Leon asked out of surprise. Itâs only been a day. How did she already end up so far away?
âAre you going to Iceland by yourself?â He sent two messages in a row, which made his degree of shock evident.
She didnât want to chat with him too much. The reason she contacted Leon was to ask him to look into something for her in Bradfort City.
âMatthias is going to Iceland with me to take a breather.â She told him straight away so he wouldnât keep asking.
When it came to gossip, Leon had too big of a curiosity. Despite getting an answer, he immediately sent another question over.
âAre you two officially together? Is this a honeymoon trip?â
Seeing the text Leon sent over, she felt her head hurt, whereupon she closed the Messenger app right away. It seemed like it would still be better to give him a call instead. She was worried that someone would eavesdrop on her, but seeing that it was almost time for boarding, she couldnât let Leon continue gossiping.
Thus, she gave him a call. Right away, she said, âStop gossiping. I have a serious job for you to do. If youâre really curious, Iâll tell you everything when I return.â
Before he could even put a word in, she cut him off right away. Soon after, he received information from her on Messenger.
The messages poured in one after the other. After Leon looked through all of them, he became dumbfounded. Why is she controlling me even from a distance away? Nevertheless, while Heather and Matthias are having a good time abroad, I donât have much to do by myself in Bradfort City. It wouldnât be bad to have something to work on.
He decided to think of things that way. More importantly, he wanted to wait for Heather to return and tell him the whole story regarding her experience with Matthias in Iceland. If he didnât do what she asked properly, he bet she wouldnât tell him a thing later.