The thunderstorm had been raging for the better part of the night. Heather tossed and turned in bed, the premonition that something bad would happen creeping beneath her ribcage like an itch that would not go away. She bolted upright in bed as the thunder rumbled overhead and in the violent flicker of lightnight, she remembered a specific moment of her childhood in which she had braced the horrors of a storm alone.She got down from bed and pulled on her robe before shuffling over to the window. Upon drawing back a fraction of the curtain, she saw that the scene she once thought was terrifying no longer scared her, but her heart clenched with her old, inexplicable fear of thunderstorms.Heather wondered how the weather would look and whether all would go well tomorrow. Gazing out the window absentmindedly, she suddenly felt fatigue wash over her as she thought about how things had turned sour within the short span of time since her return home.A hard look passed over her face. She di
As the Locke Group came into view, Matthias’ face brightened with triumph. Meanwhile, Heather had no idea why he looked cheery. Could the agreement be that important to him?She calmly followed him into the building after they had gotten down from the car. Ever since they assumed the mantle of a couple, she found that she no longer needed to fret about a lot of things. Having said that, the gray areas that existed in their relationship made her re-examine her plans to file a lawsuit against the Apple Gazette, especially when things were not as clear as they once had been.They were the only two who occupied the elevator. As they went up the building, they were unusually quiet and while she stared at the floor numbers flashing in the elevator as they went up the building, his gaze flickered to her every once in a while.The first person that Heather saw when she stepped out of the elevator was his assistant, to whom she did not pay any attention during her last visit since she had been
Heather woke up early during her first day at work. It had been a while since she had done that. Langston Group operated according to regular office hours nine to five, so she wanted to get there early to finish the project. That way, she could leave the company as soon as possible.Because Heather and Matthias had come into close collaboration, she figured she could secure Matthias’s help. Considering his relationship with Blake, the latter might just listen to him.She never knew Matthias could come in handy at a time like this. Nonetheless, she had her own agenda. As a person who worked in the field of business, she had her own methods. After all, using people, being used by people, as well as using each other, were common phenomena among individuals like them.With the passage of time, Heather had gradually come to shed her anxiety regarding her methods, as she realized she would inevitably have to step over someone else if she was aiming for the top.When she got to the company,
Silence hung heavy in the air of the meeting room. Upon witnessing such a reaction from everybody else, Heather gave them a faint smile that immediately thawed out the chilly look on her face. Lighting up the enclosed space in everybody’s heart, her smile was as bright as the sun. It was so enticing that those people could hardly avert their gaze from her.“Allow me to start by introducing myself. My name is Heather Langston. Heather, otherwise known as Calluna vulgaris, derived its name from the Greek word ‘kallunein’, which means to beautify, or sweep clean. Incidentally, I came with the intention to improve things by purging those that are unnecessary.” As she spoke, she glanced at the two people. All eight of her team members present in the room knew what she meant to imply during her self introduction.“When I was studying in Italy, I had been managing the Langston Group’s branch company in Europe. Today is my first day in the headquarters of Langston Group. To be frank, the head
Relief washed over Heather when she finally left the company. When she realized there would be plenty of other occasions that would require her to put on a mask, she couldn’t help but feel a little deflated.On the other hand, Matthias seemed relatively unfazed, as if what happened was nothing at all. When Heather stole glances at him, she noticed he seemed rather cute. She couldn’t help but be reminded of how he looked when he was a teenager, during which he seemed malnourished. After a few years, he had become a man with a sturdy build, and it gave her an odd feeling that she couldn’t explain. It was as if he had become an entirely different person altogether.“What would you like to eat?” Matthias inquired in a gentlemanly manner.“Thai cuisine,” Heather replied offhandedly. After a morning’s work, she didn’t have much appetite.Then, she followed behind Matthias without a care in where they were actually going. He seemed familiar with the place. In fact, he might be even more fami
Tony stood tall and proud as the breeze blew his bangs. His handsome features were warm and alluring. When he turned slightly to face Myra, he was wearing a refreshing smile that was as stunning as the gods from ancient myths.“Before we go on our world trip, you have to marry me.” Tony was wearing that look when he stared into Myra’s eyes, which she found irresistible.They had been engaged for a while, so they had been thinking of marriage. To be more precise, Myra was planning to hold the ceremony after she gave birth to the baby. When she observed her belly, she noticed it was bulging slightly, so she was worried she might not look good in a wedding dress.Upon noticing her hesitation, Tony arched his brow. Things don’t seem to be progressing as smoothly as expected.“Tony, I won’t look good in a wedding dress now.” Myra was visibly dejected. If she didn’t get held up by matters pertaining to Stark Group, she wouldn’t mind getting married sooner.“You definitely will. Myra, you lo
Compared to Tony’s immaculate preparations, Matthias could only soldier on. In order to ask Heather out during Valentine’s Day, he had to prepare a special gift. While hanging around in a shop, he wondered what Heather might like.Myra would know that best. Bored, Matthias scanned through the array of gifts in front of him. Even though the colorful items were pleasing to the eye, he wasn’t sure if Heather would like them.The shop owner was a middle-aged woman. Aware of Matthias’ distress, she took it on herself to make an inquiry. “Sir, you must have come in search of a gift for your girlfriend!” The fact that she got it right at first glance was proof of her shrewdness.Meanwhile, Matthias kept a straight face while nodding stiffly. It was his first time ever doing something like this, so he was uncomfortable with it. All the while, he was all tensed up as if he were dealing with a dire task.“Here we have all kinds of gifts. What does your girlfriend like?” The lady pressed on, as
Matthias chose and sent the flowers out during his break time, so he assumed that the flowers would have reached Heather’s office by then. I’m sure most women wouldn’t say no to flowers. It might be a rather traditional gift, but I believe it’s customary to gift flowers to one’s girlfriend during celebrations like this.Heather had been kept busy the whole day. She was finishing up her work when a young man arrived at her office with a parcel in his arms. The young man broke into a smile when Heather held the door open for him. He was always polite to his customers, but he was especially friendly that day when he saw how pretty his female customer was. “Hello. This is a gift for you. I’ll need you to sign this,” he uttered politely.She simply took a glance at the rectangular-shaped parcel that was still in his arms without showing any intention of taking it from him. He began to feel rather awkward under her scrutiny, and he couldn’t seem to tell what was going on in her mind. “Who s
As Myra’s vision blurred, she fell into Heather’s arms, hearing the latter’s anxious voice calling her name.The sudden onset of pain was identical to the headache she had experienced before, but this time, it affected her whole body. Myra gripped her chest tightly, the pain threatening to cease her heartbeat. Without delay, Heather lifted her friend up.She then took Myra to the hospital in her car, but something peculiar happened. A short while after arriving at the hospital, Myra could feel that the pain had vanished.It was exactly like her headache last time, which left as suddenly as it came. Heather’s eyebrows creased in a frown as she wondered what was going on with Myra.“What did you see at the rockery?” Myra was staring in a particular direction when she fainted, but when Heather followed her gaze, she didn’t see anything out of the ordinary.“A cave,” Myra answered with a hollow look in her eyes.The frown on Heather’s brows deepened. How could a simple cave cause her to b
It was on the day before the wedding that Heather heard from Myra that the best man was Lucas. The moment Heather heard that name, she knew that he was one of Tony’s bros. She tried to recall Lucas’s features, remembering that he didn’t talk much and seemed to be more mature.“So, what do you think?” Myra asked teasingly, “You did say you want a best man who is tall and handsome.” She jokingly reminded Heather of what she said before.Heather smiled in response, which in turn caused Myra to feel slightly curious about it. The two proceeded to sip their drinks in silence.Myra’s wedding was just around the corner, and Heather was glad to see that Myra looked comfortable and relaxed. Myra had slight pre-wedding anxiety before, so it was nice to see that she had adjusted herself.“I’m going to give you an amazing gift,” Heather said, grinning.Myra replied, “Then I will also give you a superb gift in return.”“Why not just give me a gold card?” Heather joked.Looking at the time, Myra re
During this period, Heather looked at Myra from time to time. The atmosphere around the table was strange, giving her a sense of foreboding. The gaze that Myra returned was intriguing, as well—it made her feel uneasy.After lunch, as everyone sat around the table chatting, Heather glanced down at the time on her cell phone with a slight frown. Noting the movement, Myra realized that she could not keep Heather any longer, for lunch had already used up quite a bit of Heather’s time.Meanwhile, the clock read 2.00 PM. It was time for Heather to be at work. After dithering for a long moment, Heather decided to be direct and opened her mouth to tell Myra, “I have to go to work, so I’m taking my leave.”As it was, Heather rarely got to visit Hart Residence and had no wish to leave so hastily, but time did not permit her to linger. With a slight nod of her head, Myra responded, “Of course! Go on.” Of those at the table, she was the only one who could truly understand how busy Heather was.Fe
Tony had assured Myra previously that Philip and Lucas would surely show up if Heather agreed to come over. As expected, the two of them reached a while later.While Philip and Lucas didn’t confirm their attendance in the group, Tilly and Elliot confirmed that they couldn’t make it. As Tilly was completely overwhelmed by her public affairs, it had been a while since she and Elliot were separated due to her work. Hence, it was normal that Elliot would go look for Tilly when he had free time.While Shawn was busy every day as the vice-mayor, he obviously wasn’t free during the noon, so Estelle was the only one who replied in the group.‘Wait for me. I’ll be here in a bit since I wouldn’t want to miss out on Myra’s food.’ After last night, she wasn’t as afraid of Heather any longer. Moreover, it wasn’t as if she had to spend time with Heather alone because everyone else would be there as well.Since Estelle was the only person left that hadn’t reached, it wasn’t appropriate for them to s
After a long moment, Myra replied faintly, “We can have only one best man. Who should we pick?” There would be a quandary if they really intended to match Heather with the best man.Then, the choice for best man would become complicated, as there were currently two candidates from which Myra and Tony had to choose the one most suited to Heather.“Well, from your point of view, who would suit Heather more—Philip or Lucas?” It wasn’t up to Tony to decide, since Myra knew Heather better, anyway.“It’s hard to say. They both have their merits,” Myra replied hesitantly, wondering if she should have them meet up once more before the wedding.It felt too improper for them only to have met under the flickering lights of Zion Club and the influence of alcohol. There was a possibility that in broad daylight, Heather could feel a different spark altogether with the two candidates.“We still need to see what Heather thinks,” Tony suggested meaningfully.“Let’s find a time to meet up tomorrow,” sh
Prior to Tony and Myra’s wedding, Estelle, who was busy with her shootings overseas, rushed back. Not to mention, Tilly, who was on her annual holiday, canceled her holiday and came back as well. Immediately, Myra felt like Bradfort City had become lively again because it had been a long time since she met them.However, Tony, on the other hand, valued Myra over his friends and didn’t bother about them, as he was too busy spending time with her. After some discussion, they all decided to meet each other at Zion Club, and the Messenger group chat that went quiet for a long time became active again.Besides that, Myra also added Heather into the group. This was Heather’s first group chat on Messenger because she barely used it if it weren’t for Myra. The group got even more lively with her arrival while Tony warned the others as he figured that Heather was probably not used to lively chats like this. ‘You guys better behave well and don’t scare her away.’Unexpectedly, Heather replied,
After staring at each other for a few seconds, Evan looked away while Matthias stared at him from above. Matthias! How am I supposed to know when I know my way around girls?“Jobbery,” Evan said.It seemed like Matthias found Evan’s suggestion interesting as he gave Evan a knowing look while Evan only continued talking after a while. “Since Heather is completely focused on her work, it would be better for you to approach her under the name of work.”Heather probably wouldn’t be happy with Matthias if he kept approaching her anytime he could, especially when she was working. After all, most people wouldn’t be happy to be disturbed by private matters during work. Moreover, Matthias would just be ruining his chances, considering how career-oriented Heather was.“Seeing how the partnership discussion with Langston Group hasn’t reached an agreement, I don’t have the time to do anything else,” Matthias felt his head hurting as he said. He really wanted to work together with Langston Group f
On one hand, Myra and Tony were happily making their wedding preparations. On the other hand, things were getting worse. In comparison, Matthias appeared to be in a bleak situation.Heather thought that he deserved the outcome. Hence, she could never sympathize with him. Her failed relationship in the past did not cripple her, and she had never acted out like Matthias.In fact, she held a disdain for people like him who would cry and wail over relationship issues. She felt a heightened annoyance at Matthias, but she did not know if the feeling rose because she was angry at the fact that he was deeply in love with Myra.She was disturbed by his obsession with Myra, but she would never openly admit to it. Moreover, she had no right to confront him about his love for Myra.Under Evan’s encouragement, Matthias mustered up his courage to do something. He could not keep languishing when Myra’s wedding was nearing. At the very least, he wanted to attend her wedding with grace. Before that, h
When the date of Myra’s wedding drew closer, Matthias seemed to have fallen into a trance.Heather had completely given up on him, for she always looked down on men like him. Seriously though, what is his point of showing his despondency like a drama queen?Finally, it was Evan who called her and begged her to pay a visit to Matthias’s place.“I’m super busy. I don’t have the time to do so,” she rejected emotionally. Even after listening to Evan describing Matthias’s desperate situation, she had nothing but disdain for him.At that point, Matthias was basically living in his wine cellar and gave up on running Locke Group. His behavior attracted complaints from the board of directors. Even Heather was shocked to find Matthias throwing a huge fit over Myra’s wedding. In her eyes, his action was utterly despicable.“Please tell him: He does not deserve love if he only acts out like a child. He needs to learn how to love someone right before he gets all dramatic over someone again,” she h