Standing Before Love (Myra and Sean) novel Chapter 451

The atmosphere turned awkward for a moment. Matthias was coming up with an explanation, but seeing her in the flesh jumbled up his mind. Heather stayed silent too, so they stared at each other for a while. In the end, Matthias said, “I was just passing by. What a coincidence.”

Heather knew it was just an excuse, though she played along with it. “It is.” She gave him a polite smile.

Matthias knew the encounter would end soon if he stayed quiet, and he was not letting that happen. “Wanna grab a bite together?” he asked.

Heather gazed at him. It would be inappropriate to refuse, and their agreement still stood; she wasn’t someone who’d break promises easily. It hadn’t been rosy on her side either. The more she thought about her relationship with Matthias, the more confused she was. She wanted someone to tell her what to do.

She thought nothing good would come if she got herself entwined with a dangerous guy like Matthias, and her instincts were always spot on. She didn’t want anything to do with him, since it wasn’t her nature to risk herself.

“Sure,” she answered politely, putting some distance between her and Matthias. They went ahead in silence, and they had lunch together without saying a word. Matthias wanted to break the ice, but no matter what he did, he couldn’t say a word.

Heather, on the other hand, felt guilty when she saw Matthias at a loss. She was trying to come up with a way to approach him without risking herself. And they weren’t teenagers anymore. Acting sheepish made them look like children, and the thought annoyed her. She then started eating faster because she needed to get back to work, and she couldn’t stay in a room with Matthias like that.

Matthias noticed Heather’s reluctance, so he went for it without reservations. They had a deal, after all, and he wanted Heather to uphold it. “You’ve been avoiding me,” he said calmly, trying to hide his nerves.

“I was busy with work,” Heather explained. She knew it was flimsy, but she was actually busy with work.

Matthias stared down, hiding the look on his face. The mystery weighed down on Heather, since she thought she was doing something wrong. She wasn’t asinine enough to think that Matthias was just being shy with her. That’s impossible. But she didn’t know why he was staring down either. Heather could never understand men and their machinations, since she was a woman after all. Ultimately, she could never fully understand him, though she reflexively wanted to put some distance between them.

“We’re straying from the agreement. I want to put us back on track,” Matthias said. All he had left now was the agreement they had. He had no idea how to win her back otherwise.

“But there aren’t a lot of people who know about us. No matter how much we try to act as a couple, nobody’s going to see it. Honestly, is there a point to that?” Heather pointed out the crux of the problem. Since not even Blake told the Langstons anything, barely anyone knew Matthias was “dating” her. She didn’t want to bond herself with Matthias either, since she thought she was working well with the status quo. Heather didn’t think she needed to get serious with him.

Even if someone did know about them “dating,” acting like they were madly in love when they were just starting out would look too suspicious. It’s fine. I’ll put some distance between us, and being scared of him just confirms his charisma.

Deep down, she was worried she might actually fall for him. That would be a tragedy if it ever happened. Mushy romance was something she eschewed, so she didn’t want to get into this mess. And Matthias wasn’t what she had in mind whenever ‘the one she liked’ was mentioned.

Women were always sensitive to begin with, but Matthias didn’t think of that. He instinctively wanted to be closer to Heather. He didn’t care how much he had to do or how much he had to embarrass himself, as long as he could do what he really wanted.

It took Evan a long time to finally convince Matthias to be himself, but Heather wasn’t making it easy for him. Her reluctance to talk was a blow to Matthias’ confidence, but it wasn’t enough to stop him. “We have an agreement. We’ll have to follow it.” He stared calmly at her, as if he was talking about business.

So he’s not giving up, huh? She smiled sardonically. This is getting weird. She didn’t hate Matthias, but she didn’t like him either. Eventually, she stopped smiling and shot him a polite stare. “What do you want me to do, then? Elaborate.” She wanted to know what he had in mind.

It’s just an agreement, not like I sold myself off. She thought it was funny that Matthias took it so seriously. What on earth is he thinking? Complex relationships weren’t her cup of tea. She had too much stuff on her plate, so she didn’t want more to deal with.