Chapter 700


    With that, Matthias watched as Lara turned around and left. Deep down, he knew Lara bore no ill intent


    and was well aware that she was being taken advantage of. However, he didn’t know why she would


    act this way and fall in love with him so painstakingly.


    There were many secrets he noticed yet didn’t know well about, but he chose not to look into it


    because the truth behind such things were often too trivial for him to put his mind into.


    When Niki saw Lara walking out of Matthias’ office with her face full of tears, he was instantly


    reminded of the time she had just started working for their boss.


    When he saw how her tears fell so profusely, he hurried over tofort her, certain that Matthias must


    have rebuked her.


    “Did the president scold you, Lara?” Niki was clueless about what happened inside earlier, and he


    just wanted to cheer her up.


    “No, he didn’t.” Despite her attempt to hold back her tears, they wouldn’t stop dripping down. Perhaps


    she wasn’t as strong as she imagined herself to be.


    “Why are you sobbing so much then, you crybaby?” asked Niki in a calm voice, attempting to


    distract Lara from her sadness.


    “That’s because I’m leaving. From now on, you’ll be the only secretary and assistant. You’re now


    responsible for everything, happy?” Lara responded with a chuckle as she beamed and wept at the


    same time—it was hideous.


    “What? Don’t say that!” Niki was dismayed. Naturally, he didn’t believe that she was actually leaving.


    “I’m serious. Anyway, I’ll be going. Be well, Niki,” she said. As she patted his shoulder like a senile


    woman, she realized that she felt rather attached to him.


    While she stared at his face, she noticed that his appearance sort of resembled Matthias’. In fact, they


    even had simr qualities.


    Perhaps Niki isn’t that bad… Lara thought to herself as she looked at him with tears streaming down


    her face.


    Meanwhile, Niki panicked instantly since he didn’t know how to console her. Moreover, he couldn’t


    tell if Lara had resigned on her own initiative or if Matthias had fired her.


    When she saw how nervous he was, Lara felt slightlyforted by it. She proceeded to ask, “Can you


    give me a hug? This might be ourst time seeing each other.”


    It was only before her departure did she understand that what she felt toward Matthias was merely


    infatuation, and she had been slowly noticing Niki’s subtleties.


    Not only that, she even felt a tinge of adoration for thetter. Thanks to Matthias’ words, she was finally


    relieved from her secret crush of many years.


    Perhaps she had truly failed in winning him over. After adoring him for so long, all she received was her


    crush’s disdain. As such, the more she thought about it, the harder she cried. Meanwhile, Niki grew


    flustered since he felt rather embarrassed when getting close to a female, let alone going in for an


    embrace.


    “Don’t cry.” He held her tight in his arms. Since he had also gotten used to her presence, the man had


    also grown attached to her.


    Since he assumed that they were going to work under Matthias’ wings for a long time, he could feel the


    emptiness in his heart when Lara announced her leave.


    After embracing each other for quite some time, they were rather unwilling to let each other go. Words


    like colleagues, friends, and lovers could no longer describe what they felt about each other.


    Following that, Lara looked at the items that were neatly arranged on her desk. The sight of it was


    rather pleasant, but she had no intention of bringing any of those objects with her because she wanted


    Material ? of N?velDrama.Org.


    to leave as she came. She hade empty-handed, so there was no point in taking these things along


    with her.


    “I’m not taking any of these, Niki. If the president finds them irritating, please discard them on my


    behalf. I came into thepany empty-handed, and I intend to leave that way,” she said while wiping


    her tears. She then urged herself to be stronger, unlike the young girl who constantly wept when she


    first joined the Locke Group. How embarrassing of her!


    Back then, she would always cry after being reprimanded by Matthias. As she reminisced about her


    time in thepany, she felt like her career was a dream. However, it felt rather pitiful that she had


    been awakened from it.


    “There must be some kind of misunderstanding. I’ll try talking to him.” No matter how stupid Niki


    was, he could tell it was Matthias who fired Lara.


    “There isn’t, and nothing is meant to stay forever. I’ll be leaving now. Good luck.” Although she still had


    much to say to him, she eventually stopped herself from saying those words.


    After having betrayed and deceived Matthias, she had lost her right to care about him. Although she


    had predicted this to happen, she never imagined that he’d show her tenderness at the final moment,


    allowing her to retain herst bit of honor.


    The harder it was to obtain someone’s heart, the deeper Lara would fall for that person. Knowing that,


    she couldn’t help thinking she was a masochist. Moreover, she even remembered that she used to


    fell for him for the very same reason.


    And so, she had admired him for a long time. There were many instances where she’d go back on her


    own words, and she would hate herself for it. Even Niki had figured out her feelings for Matthias, but


    thetter remained unwavered as ever. Needless to say, it was a disastrous romance.


    As Niki watched Lara taking every step further, he knew that the woman was wiping her tears off


    with her sleeves. After all, she was but a youngdy.


    All these years, he had been observing Lara’s behavior in front of Matthias; he could tell that she had


    feelings for him. As such, he couldn’t help but wonder if her feelings toward Matthias had been the


    reason he fired her.


    No way. Niki feltpelled to barge into Matthias’ office so that he could demand an exnation


    from thetter—never in his life had he been so bold. Back when he had a little interest in Heather, he


    was always secretive and cowardly about it, but for some reason, he was able to muster up the


    courage to speak up for Lara.


    When Niki entered Matthias’ office, thetter raised his head indifferently with not even the slightest


    bit of surprise in his face. In fact, he was aware of the rtionship between both his assistants and


    always wondered when the opportunity for them to realize their importance toward each other would


    “Why did you fire Lara, President Locke?” Niki interrogated aggressively.


    “That’s what she told you.” As if he hadn’t heard the former’s question, Matthias simply lowered his


    head and went through the documents on his desk.


    “No, but there’s no way she would suggest her resignation, so you must have done so,” Niki replied


    furiously as he couldn’t fathom Matthias’ motive behind his decision.


    “Yes, I did fire her.” Matthias spoke as if he was talking about a trivial matter.


    “Are you that heartless, Matthias? Why would you discharge your secretary who’s been loyal to you all


    this while?” Niki found Mathias’s decision absurd, wondering what it was that Lara had done that


    deserved such treatment from him.


    Although Matthias wished to reveal the truth to Niki, he was worried that thetter would develop


    feelings of repugnance toward her once he knew the full story. Thus, Matthias decided to y the bad


    guy.


    “I no longer need her, and it’s as simple as that. Besides, she’s learned a lot since joining thepany,


    so it’s more of a win-win situation. What has heartlessness got to do with it?” Matthias answered faintly,


    knowing that the more emotionless he sounded, the more furious Niki would be.


    “If that’s really the case, then fire me as well!” Feeling vexed, Niki red at his director as he had


    lost his patience for a parley. Since his own boss was being so ridiculous, he might as well double


    down on it!


    “That’s very childish of you. Why are you venting your anger on me just because of a woman?”


    Matthias questioned Niki, noticing a tinge of admiration thetter had for Lara.


    Moveover, there was a chance that it was actually a two-way thing. Although he wasn’t entirely certain


    about it, his intuition was that letting Lara go would be beneficial for everyone.


    “She’s merely an insignificant woman in your life, isn’t she?” As he grew even more irritated, Niki


    was baffled by Matthias’ persisting apathy and couldn’t help but wonder if he was truly a reptile.


    “What about it?” Matthias shot him a confused look. When he saw how frustrated the man was,


    Matthias was made certain that Niki sincerely liked Lara.


    After all, Niki had always been a timid man in front of him, and no one understood that more than


    Matthias.


    “Do you know how much effort she’s put into her job? Do you know how much pain she has gone


    through by admiring you?” Feeling that Lara’s discharge was unjustifiable, Niki felt as though the


    feelings Lara had umted these years were all in vain.


    “I’m aware of her efforts, but that’s only the basic requirement of every employee. As for her feelings


    toward me, I have no clue about that and nor am I affected by it.” Matthias brutally spat every single


    word without any expression.


    “Are you really not human, Matthias? Do you not have emotions? Look at how loving Heather pained


    you! Out of everyone else, you should be the one who’s able toprehend the agony of having a


    secret crush on somebody, right?” Niki was thoroughly disappointed, and he was surprised by the


    fact that his president was so much more indifferent than he had expected. At that moment, it was as if


    Matthias was aplete stranger to him.


    “My love for Heather was no secret, so I can’t possibly understand what it’s like to admire someone in


    the dark.” As Matthias voiced the words that were against his own feelings, he started to grasp the


    feelings Lara had for him.


    If it weren’t for the repeated mistakes Lara had made, Matthias wouldn’t have been so cruel. Moreover,


    love wasn’t something to be forced. Who could me him for her continuous errors?


    Since Matthias’ decision was final, he couldn’t even convince himself to give Lara another chance. The


    best thing he could do for thedy who had been covertly fancying him was to put her far away from


    him.


    “Fine, you’re right. Very well then, Matthias. If that’s the case, fire me as well then, okay?” Niki had


    visibly gotten more enraged. Although he had originally intended to talk Matthias into bringing Lara


    back, it seemed like the boss was final with his judgment.


    Hence, he decided to apany Lara in her unemployment. Suddenly, Niki had an outburst of


    tenacity to defy Matthias.


    “If you think that you can’t continue without Lara, you’re wee to join her any time.” Having said


    that, Matthias hoped that Niki could heed the hint in his words.


    “Fine. I’ll leave right now.” As he spoke, he took out his phone.


    With that, he quickly dialed Lara’s number and said, “Slow down, Lara. Wait for me. I’ve been fired as


    well.”


    When she heard that, Lara was stupefied. She had been dwelling on her agony at first, but now that it


    seemed like Niki had done something stupid, she suddenly had a change of heart. As she


    approached the parking lot, she was hesitating between going to find Niki or waiting for him there.


    “Are you mad, Niki?” she rebuked angrily, evidently against the idea of him joining her.


    “I’m not. In fact, my mind is clearer than ever. I just can’t bear to continue working for a heartless man,”


    Niki imed as he leered at Matthias. It was as if he was exhausting his entire life’s courage all at


    once.


    “Don’t be stupid, Niki! Calm down, all right? My dismissal has nothing to do with the president, you


    dumbass!” Lara was frustrated, for she didn’t know how to exin everything to him.