Chapter 495


    Since Matthias couldn’t be convinced, Niki didn’t continue persuading him. Thetter didn’t want to


    meddle in his cousin’s way of solving the problem either. Matthias’ stubborn personality was no secret


    to anyone who knew him—Niki knew that all too well, but he was sure that Matthias would


    eventuallye up with a perfect solution.


    It was gettingte and Matthias was still in his office; Niki wanted to keep his cousinpany but


    his offer was rejected. The man was brainstorming for a way to resolve the issue, and he had to let


    Myra know about this as soon as possible. His forehead furrowed deeply as he came to a conclusion at


    Considering how badly things had gotten between them, Matthias wasn’t sure how he could face


    Heather. Moreover, deep inside, he hadn’t forgiven her as well.


    He rose from his seat and drew the curtains as he looked outside. Is she still spending time with that


    man right now?


    Just then, a sarcastic smile crept up his face. At that moment, he felt like a worthless criminal; he


    despised himself even more than ever.


    “Heather and Myra aren’t the only women in this world—there are plenty more fish in the sea, so why


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    am I still holding on to the past?” Matthias muttered to himself. At times, he really couldn’t bring himself


    to think positively of his own worth. Why am I like this?


    Eventually, he let go of the curtains—the shing bright lights outside had nothing to do with him. He


    rarely enjoyed his life; instead, he’d spent most of his time in self-deprecation.


    As he reminisced about his past, he recalled that he had never once stopped forcing himself to hone


    his skills so that he could be a sessful person one day. In the end, what he earned from those


    years were simply dirty tricks and betrayals.


    At the thought of that, Matthias clenched his fists. He must make a decision, for midnight was


    approaching soon. The air was cool and breezy tonight, signifying the start of the fall season. All of a


    sudden, a sense of loneliness filled Matthias’ heart. Indeed, was there ever a ce that he could call


    home?


    He had never truly been a part of the Locke Family; at the same time, he never considered them his


    family either. Ever since his mother passed away, he lost his one true home.


    It was precisely thisck of familial love that made Matthias so hungry for the affection a romantic


    rtionship could offer. However, his hopes were all in vain.


    At that moment, the harsh reality snapped him out of his thoughts. He hastily dialed a number on his


    phone and the call got through at once. A kind and gentle voice came from the other end of the line;


    Niki was preparing to go to bed, but he immediately picked up his phone as soon as he saw that


    Matthias was calling him.


    “Find someone to personally send Heather the photos.” Matthias couldn’t bring himself to meet Heather


    in the end. More than that, he didn’t want to witness Heather being together with another man.


    After debating his choices, Matthias decided that this was the best solution. Niki responded to his


    request quickly—he was told to get it done as soon as possible, but where was he going to find a


    messenger at this hour? Nevertheless, Niki ended the call bitterly and immediately got to work.


    In truth, Niki wanted to personally pass the photos to Heather. He wanted to see her face, for her


    every expression and gesture never failed to put a silly smile on his face.


    Sadly, he couldn’t carry out the job on his own since Matthias wasn’t willing to expose his identity as


    the sender. Therefore, it must be done discreetly without a trace.


    Right now, Niki was pressed for time. He had to settle the issue quickly and find a messenger as


    soon as possible—preferably a stranger on the streets. He decided on that idea and prepared to


    entrust the errand to a random passerby. As he gave it another thought, he found that this method was


    full of ws.


    These days, a person’s trust was as fickle as a candlelight, so Niki decided to find someone who


    was more reliable. Just then, he thought of someone and immediately contacted the person; after all,


    they could be asleep if he were a secondter. If that happened, it wouldn’t be easy to find another


    helper.


    After briefly going through the instructions with that person, Niki let out a pent-up exmation on his


    bed—finally, he was halfway done with the job. It was then that he realized something extremely


    important—the photos were still with Matthias, not him.


    Before he could reach for his phone again, Matthias was already calling him.


    “I’m right outside your lobby;e downstairs.” Matthias was simple with his words. Meanwhile, Niki


    peered out his window and noticed that Matthias’ car was parked outside.


    As a result, he hurried downstairs immediately. Matthias was leaning against his car with his arms


    crossed over his chest as he waited for Niki, and he didn’t seem like he was in a rush.


    “The photos,” he said as he passed Niki the photos.


    “Have you found our messenger?” Due to his taller stature, Matthias emitted a condescending air as he


    looked down at Niki.


    “Don’t worry, he’ll be here very soon.” Niki was relieved that he had found someone in advance; he


    was often caught off guard by Matthias’ sudden requests.


    The two of them had a brief conversation before Niki headed back inside without noticing that


    Matthias was walking with him as well. He was surprised to find Matthias right behind him as he turned


    around again, so he stared at the man with an odd look in his eyes and asked him why he’d followed.


    “Do you have wine at home?” Matthias wanted someone to drink with; thest time he had drunk to his


    heart’s content was with Heather. In hindsight, Heather was a great drinking buddy.


    With her, he could drink without any worries and they could talk about anything and everything—


    Heather was knowledgeable about all sorts of things. One could tell that there wasn’t a dull moment in


    her life just from hearing her speak, and Matthias wanted to share a conversation with her once more


    over some drinks.


    If they were to overlook their disputes, the time they spent together was pretty intriguing. If only there


    wasn’t that irreparable disparity between them, then perhaps…


    Matthias quickly shrugged away these ridiculous thoughts in his mind. For the past few days, he would


    inadvertently think about Heather, so much that he was confused by his own mind.


    He remembered the time when he’d met Myra all those years ago; he used to think about her day and


    night, fantasizing about getting together with her. These days, Matthias came to enjoy spending time


    with Heather instead.


    Whenever he was alone with Heather, he would stare at her from time to time—the fondness he had for


    her was simr to his feelings for Myra back then. Their rtionship which originated from an intense


    rivalry had somehow be something else; for some reason, his hate for her had gradually turned


    into admiration and even attachment.


    “Matthias,” Niki called out to him as a reminder. He wasn’t sure what made him so lost in thought


    that he wasn’t walking out of the elevator.


    “Huh?” Matthias looked up and stared at Niki.


    He finally realized that the elevator doors were open—Niki was holding onto the button, yet Matthias


    remained standing inside, seemingly unaware of it.


    As a result, Matthias hurried outside as a sense of awkwardness filled his face. Niki nced at him


    briefly—he rarely saw his cousin act this way. He spected that Matthias was still concerned about


    Myra. Either that, he was thinking about Heather.


    Other than women, Niki couldn’t think of any other reason for Matthias’ disorientated state of mind.


    Matthias wasn’t fond of bringing business affairs out of the office; he usually wouldn’t get off work if he


    had unfinished tasks, so there was no way he could be thinking about work.


    After unlocking the front door, Niki headed straight into his house. Their rtionship was much more


    casual in private, for they were no longer superior and subordinate after office hours.


    They were cousins at the end of the day, and their rtionship was no different than a pair of brothers’


    in private. After returning home, Niki plopped onto the sofa—the firmness of the fabric cushion was


    just right for him.


    Meanwhile, Matthias swiftly pulled over a stool and sat down in front of Niki. It seemed that he was


    nning to have a long drink tonight.


    “You might not like what I have here,” Niki said a little stiffly. Matthias was awfully picky with his


    alcohol; Niki’s collection consisted of gifts he’d received from others, so he wasn’t even sure of how


    they tasted.


    “What do you have?” Matthias didn’t feel like being alone tonight, and he didn’t want to go home to his


    vi either. He just needed someone to keep himpany.


    Niki stared at Matthias helplessly before his gaze shifted to a bookcase nearby; several bottles of


    wine were disyed there.


    Matthias followed his cousin’s gaze before he got up and walked over to the bookcase. As he looked


    through the bottles, he found that there indeed wasn’t anything that suited his taste.


    Nevertheless, he wasn’t too fussy about it tonight since he was already in the mood to drink. Thus, he


    casually picked up a bottle of dry red. Niki’s alcohol tolerance wasn’t the best—Matthias knew that,


    so he chose this variety of red wine which had a rtively lower alcohol content.


    Niki got up from the sofa. He preferred to use the dining table if they really ought to drink; after all,


    he wasn’t fond of drinking on the sofa.


    Meanwhile, Matthias carried the bottle of wine to the table as well—they seemed to be on the same


    page. At the table, Niki said with a smile, “It’s no fun drinking wine on its own, Matthias. Hold on, I’ll


    get us some snacks.”


    Matthias narrowed his eyes slightly; he wondered how Niki was going to bring them drinking snacks


    out of nowhere. Unexpectedly, his cousin came out of the kitchen with a bowl of roasted peanuts in no


    time.


    Matthias raised a brow at him; sure enough, nothing wascking in Niki’s home. Thetter stared


    back at Matthias with a triumphant look on his face.


    “Why do you have freshly roasted peanuts in your kitchen?” Matthias asked in confusion.


    Niki let out a mysterious chuckle and said, “My kitchen has everything—I have other snacks as well.


    Just tell me if you want anything else.”


    Matthias waved a dismissive hand at him. He only wanted to have a quiet drinking session, and he


    wasn’t interested in eating snacks. The two of them sat facing each other at the table as Niki


    propped his head up with his hands. He had been feeling sleepy since earlier, but he couldn’t go to bed


    with Matthias’ prolonged disruption.


    “You really need to work on your alcohol tolerance,” said Matthias as he popped open the bottle of dry


    red.


    Niki wasn’t really interested in alcohol, and he hadn’t thought about increasing his tolerance for it.


    He had always been following behind Matthias during meetings and such, so there wasn’t an instance


    where he needed to attend a gathering alone. With Matthias around, Niki only needed to engage in


    some light drinking.


    “You know I don’t like to drink.” Niki stared at the red liquid in the half-filled wine ss—it looked like


    a ss of fresh blood. The color itself was so disturbing that Niki became quite ufortable at the


    sight of it.


    “How can you survive the corporate world without a certain tolerance for alcohol?” Matthias argued. To


    a businessman, it wasn’t a matter of likeness or not when it came to drinking alcohol.


    “I don’t need to drink much with you around, Matthias—just some light drinking will do.” Niki had


    always been very dependent on Matthias, so it gradually became a habit that he couldn’t shake off.


    “What if I’m not around anymore?” Matthias swirled the wine in his ss as he observed the smooth


    movements of the liquid against the ssy surface; for some reason, he felt a sense of satisfaction


    from watching such things.


    Niki’s expression darkened at his words. “What are you talking about? Didn’t we make a promise?


    I’ve told you that I’ll always follow you around.” He recited those words with such determination and


    righteousness that Matthias couldn’t help butugh.


    “You’ll have to face the world on your own someday; no one wants to be a follower all their life.” Then,


    he took a sip of wine as his eyes remained fixed upon Niki. Thetter became uneasy under his


    cousin’s piercing gaze.


    “Let’s talk about something else.” Niki didn’t want to linger on the subject any longer. Matthias was


    acting a little strange today—the things he said were oddly intimidating, and Niki had a bad feeling


    about it.


    “Then…” Before Matthias could finish, a knock sounded on the door. Niki jolted in response upon


    hearing that, so he jumped to his feet and went to open the door.


    Matthias stared thoughtfully at Niki’s back as he rushed over to receive his visitor. His cousin was


    probably the only one who treated him with such sincerity; perhaps all those years of looking after


    Niki were not in vain.