Chapter 718
Standing Before Love
Heather didnât know whether to laugh or cry in the face of these sudden incidents. After all, most people would never have expected such an outcome. However, when she saw how confident Zayne looked, she suddenly felt much relieved. Indeed, she had great expectations for him at first, but he wore down her anticipation bit by bit.
Now that she heard him saying so, she felt much more relieved. She trusted him completely, and she believed that he had the ability to turn things around. Heather, who had a heavy heart at first, felt a lot more relaxed right now. She looked at the scenery outside the car window and discovered that this was not the way back to Bradfort City.
Meanwhile, a scheming flicker flashed across Zayneâs eyes as he stared at the back of Heatherâs head.
However, when she turned her head around, he put on his signature smile again.
âWhere are you taking me to?â From the looks of it, Heather felt like theyâd be leaving Bradfort City completely if they went any further.
âWe definitely cannot head back to the city, so Iâve arranged a temporary shelter for you on the outskirts of town,â Zayne replied calmly.
âDo I really have to stay alone at the shelter for three whole days?â Heather thought this idea sounded very absurd since it was long enough to drive a person nuts.
âThree days will be over in a flash.â Zayne felt that three days wasnât much, but that wasnât necessarily the case with Heatherâs personality.
Meanwhile, the woman had a troubled look on her face; she was still in two minds, for she didnât know whether to accept Zayneâs proposal. When he saw her hesitation, the man continued to lure her with all kinds of promises. âI promise to help you take care of your matters as long as you stay there obediently for three days.â The meaningful smile on his lips made Heather hesitate.
The two were in a stalemate while the car continued to move, but Heather knew that Zayne was the one who currently had the upper hand. In reality, she believed without a doubt that he definitely had his own ways of making her yield to him even if she refused his proposal. âYouâre making things difficult for me, Zayne.â She believed in him, but her instincts confused her a lot; she couldnât help feeling that something bad would happen next.
âIt wonât do you any good to insist on doing things your own way, Heather.â Zayne always had a way to calm her down, though he had a headache when she went back on what had been discussed previously.
âI have a bad feeling about this, Zayne,â Heather said as she broke down. Such an instinct almost tore her apart, and she hated this f*cking feeling.
âDonât think about your intuition. Let me stress this againâyou must remain at the place Iâve prepared for you, and I only need you to stay there for three days. Have you kept it in mind?â Zayne stressed over and over again as if speaking to a kindergarten pupil, and it felt really frustrating.
Heather nodded reluctantly and suppressed her instincts for the time being. Right now, what she wanted to do most was to get a good nightâs sleep at the shelter. If she had to stay in the shelter for three days, she could sleep half of the time away; it was very worthwhile when she thought about it.
Moreover, she was very exhausted and could hardly open her eyes right now, so it was important to find a place and get some good sleep.
The road seemed to be endless, but they finally arrived at the shelter after about a half-hourâs drive.
Heather got out of the car first without giving Zayne the opportunity to open the car door for her.
Zayne was already used to this, so he didnât ask to be snubbed right now. As soon as he got out of the car, he saw her looking at the house before her with a look of displeasure. âIs this a log cabin?â she asked after looking the house up and down. This cabin seems too simple and crude, she thought to herself.
Zayne walked to her left and replied with a smile on his face, âIt is.â
âAre you seriously asking me to stay in such a place?â Heather had disgust written all over her face.
She couldnât stay here, for she had no idea if there were any cockroaches or bugs running around the cabin.
âHeather, this cabin is the foresterâs living quarters. Almost no one would expect me to hide you in a place like this,â Zayne asserted proudly. He believed in his intelligence, and no one would think of this place for at least three days.
âDo you want me to guest as a forester for three days?â Heather was both amused and annoyed. She didnât want to stay here, for she felt uncomfortable all over just by looking at this place.
Zayne could sense the womanâs disgust, so he comforted her and said, âActually, the room is fairly clean, Heather. Letâs go inside and take a look.â
Heather had deep furrows in her brow, though. Since she refused to enter the cabin, Zayne could only step forward as he pushed the wooden door open under her glare.
The wooden door didnât seem to be locked, and it opened with a squeak. This was an open-plan house that made people feel very insecure. As the door opened wide, there was a stinking smell of sweat coming from the room. It seemed that the former forester was a very âmasculineâ person.
Heather covered her nose at once; she couldnât even stay for 15 minutes in this kind of environment, let alone live here for three days. âIâm not going in, and I donât want to stay here.â She was green in the face as she thought that Zayne was simply pulling pranks on her.
âDonât be picky at this time, Heather. Trust meâthis place is safe.â Zayne walked out and was ready to drag her inside directly.
However, Heather shook her head vigorously. âIâd rather you let me live in the jungle outright than let me stay here,â she said while pointing at the door. âThe door is unlocked, you see. Itâs no different from staying outside.â
Zayne curled his lips. Heather is really good at finding faults, he thought to himself. However, he had to convince Heather as soon as possible since he couldnât stay here for too long. âI can give you a blanket if you want to camp outside,â he said while walking to the trunk of his car. After opening the trunk, he took out a blanket from the inside and handed it directly to the woman.
Heather looked at Zayne hesitantly, but he didnât seem to be joking. He had made up his mind, and this made her feel very helpless. After taking the blanket, she turned her face away in a fit of pique, whereas Zayne closed the trunk and got into the car directly. After all, there was no spare time for Heather to throw tantrums since many matters were waiting for him in Bradfort City. This time, he said to the driver mercilessly, âDrive back to Bradfort City.â
At the sound of the car starting up, Heather turned around and looked at the car with displeasure showing on her face. This time, though, Zayne didnât care about her feelings at all. Come to think of it, this is the only way Zayne could probably think of. Otherwise, he wouldnât have let me suffer here, she comforted herself as the car slowly drove away under her gaze.
Perhaps no one would think of such a place, she thought to herself. As she felt like a savage, the corners of her mouth turned up gently. Iâll just take this as seeking joy amid hardships.
She wasnât interested in entering the log cabin, but it was really very cold outside. Since Heather hadnât been bundled up in the first place, she practically experienced the winter in the forest. She wrapped herself in the blanket while looking at the log cabin hesitantly. I can only suffer from the cold outside if I donât get in, she thought to herself. Meanwhile, coldness wore her down bit by bit as she was in two minds.
Time was ticking, and it seemed that the sun would be going down. If she went on like this, the dark night would set in, and it would be even colder in the forest. The log cabinâs door was wide open, and it looked like it was tempting her to go back inside.
At last, Heather couldnât stand the chilliness and walked into the place. Luckily, the inside of the log cabin looked better than the outsideâthere was even a heater and a fridge. Surprisingly, the foresterâs house wasnât that bad. Heather didnât think much about it at the time, but Zayne had prepared everything specially for her. She then closed the door directly from the inside. As it turned out, this wooden door could only be closed with a bolt. Such an old way of handling things is really a return to the old days, she thought to herself.
Heather instantly felt comfortable after she closed the door and turned on the heater. Still, she continued wrapping herself in the blanket. Since there was a distinct odor in the room, she took her perfume out of her handbag and sprayed it directly around the house. This bottle of limited-edition perfume was probably even more valuable than this log cabin, but her heart didnât ache at all as she used it as an air freshener. As she smelled the perfumeâs scent in the air, she felt as though her soul had been lifted. Right now, she felt much more comfortable.
Suddenly, she felt somewhat hungry. As her stomach began rumbling, she came directly up to the fridge and opened it. There were various snacks in it, and several cups of instant noodles had even been carefully prepared for her. At the sight of these items, her lips curled into a smile of satisfaction.
Right now, she no longer hated this log cabin that much. Although it was small, it was complete with basic necessities that were sufficient. Then, she took a cup of instant noodles out of the fridge directly.
Zayne had every detail considered, and the food stored in the fridge would last her for three to five days.
Nothing could relieve her hunger better than instant noodles right now, but there was no hot water.
Heather looked at the large bottle of mineral water on the wooden table before catching sight of the electric water kettle beside it. The only trouble is that I have to personally boil the water, she thought to herself. Several large bottles of mineral water were placed together on the ground, and they seemed to have been prepared for her by Zayne. At the sight of this, she felt much more at ease. Luckily, she didnât really have to live like a savage.
Heather continued sizing up this small log cabin while the water was boiling. Right now, the cabin seemed to have a unique taste to it. Still, she felt a bit ill at ease while sitting on the wooden bed. She felt dirty whenever it occurred to her that the forester slept on this wooden bed every day, often with his body reeking of sweat.
Luckily, Zayne made a special effort to put a genuine leather sofa in such a cramped space. Since the cabinâs space was limited, the sofa wasnât long as it stood about 1.2 to 1.3 meters long. It seems that I can sleep on this couch by curling up on it, she thought to herself.
Compared to the dirty bed where the forester slept, Heather would rather sleep on the sofa. It was a bit small, but she could curl herself up into a ball on it. She had never been in such an embarrassing predicament before, and she finally understood what it was like to be hunted to the ends of the world right now.
If she could take revenge, she would definitely have the ones trying to kill her skinned and devoured alive. After all, women were very vengeful; she was now thinking over how to torture and kill the ones trying to kill her. No matter what, she had to pay them back in the future a hundred times more than what she was enduring right now.
Heather felt lost during the days without her cell phone. After all, modern people couldnât do without a cell phone at all. She looked at her right hand, for she kept thinking that she had to hold something in her hand to feel relaxed.
At the same time, she wondered if someone was looking for her right now. She only hoped that such days would be over sooner, for she really couldnât stand living such an isolated life. Three days suddenly became unusually slow, and every single second was torturous.
She estimated the time and reckoned that Zayne was probably already on the way back to the city at this moment. She had pinned all her hopes on him right now, so she hoped that he wouldnât disappoint her. It never even once crossed her mind to suspect him. Such complete trust was unlike her, but not every trust could be rewarded well.