Even the people outside looked cozy. The atmosphere here was so markedly different from that of
Bradfort City that she almost found it hard to tear her eyes away from the window and pick up her
freshly delivered cup of coffee to take a sip. Truth was, her drink tasted all right.
At this moment, she thought of Matthias, who was far away in Bradfort City, and wondered what he was
doing. It was strange that she missed him only when he was so far away.
Perhaps he’s missing me right now, she thought to herself. She thought she would be carefree without
him, but it turned out that she found it hard to be separated from him too.
In this game, she no longer cared about winning. Since she was already in love, she resolved not to
trouble herself with relationship issues anymore.
The coffee was slowly dwindling and now, she felt much more clear-headed. Curious, she scanned her
surroundings. The place was relatively empty and she could occasionally hear loving couples
whispering sweet nothings to each other.
All of a sudden, she felt a need to slow down her pace in life. All these years, she had rushed through
life so quickly that others found it hard to catch up to her.
Instead of enjoying the little moments in life, she only felt bogged down by its troubles. While others
were busy seeking love, she was obsessed with working and studying, day after day, over and over
again.
In her world, there were no fairy tales. Like a fruit forced to mature early, she had grown up young and
moved forward before she was truly ready.
Suddenly, she envied the people here and the comfortable expressions on their faces. Perhaps there
was something to be learned from them, and she forced herself to relax the muscles of her face to look
less severe.
Right now, she could hear a group of girls whispering about her at the table next to hers. Her beautiful
looks always drew discussion and, long used to that fact, she let others talk about her as they pleased.
She looked how she looked. The fact that some people found that a hard pill to swallow had nothing to
do with her.
As the hours passed, the coffee shop slowly grew emptier. When she recalled that there was a good
place for gambling in Singapore, she contemplated whiling away her evening hours there.
Because she departed in a rush, she didn’t have much cash on her. It had been a long time since she
participated in such exciting games, and the mere thought of it made her heart race in anticipation.
Meanwhile, far away in Bradfort City, the kidnappers were flummoxed to learn that Heather had gone
all the way to Singapore during such a stressful period. They couldn’t help feeling like she had some
kind of trick up her sleeve.
And so, one of the kidnappers asked respectfully, “What should we do, Master?” Within this empty
space, the man who stood before the kidnapper gave off a spine-chilling aura. “Interesting. Very
interesting, indeed,” he murmured in a low voice. It was hard to tell whether he was pleased or
enraged.
Baffled by his response, the kidnapper could only continue with a follow-up question. “Should we give
her a warning?”
At this point, the man gave the kidnapper a sharp, cold look. Instantly, the latter bowed his head,
displaying even more respect.
“She can vacation whenever she wants,” the man answered carelessly. Truthfully, he wasn’t bothered
by her departure from the country and instead, he found it quite amusing.
“What should we do next, Master?” The main purpose of the kidnapper’s visit was to ask for the next
step in their plan.
After taking a few steps back and straightening his collar, the man crossed his arms over his chest and
asked in a demeanor that suggested he was listening to a joke, “Do you need me to teach you that?”
Duly chastised, the kidnapper turned red. Once again, he had embarrassed himself in front of the man.
It made him feel useless like he couldn’t even say the right things. “I-I’m sorry, Master,” he chattered
through his teeth. He had a bone-deep fear of the man, for the bloody scene that heralded their first
meeting was unforgettable.
After shooting a scornful look at the sniveling drudge, the man then let out a meaningful smile. This
kidnapper had many murders to his name and it was a smart decision to have him kidnap Myra.
After dismissing the kidnapper, the man decided to go see Myra. During this period, he was
experimenting on her like she was some kind of lab rat, and he wondered how she was doing at the
moment.
Thus, he got in his car and drove to a place in the suburbs that nobody would think of. He imagined
that the ‘smoke bomb’ in the kidnapper’s hands would last for a good while.
Now, his nondescript car stopped outside an unremarkable building. Because of how well-disguised he
was, the unobservant would never recognize his real identity.
He was satisfied with his disguise, but the problem was that there was one thing he miscalculated.
Because he hadn’t managed to keep full tabs on Heather’s comings and goings, he had no idea of
Zayne’s existence.
In this battle of wits and bravery, no one had the opportunity to catch their breath. Even the immensely
private Heather was forced under scrutiny.
Everyone longed to become the winner but Heather could not afford to lose. It was just a pity that she
had only just learned to admit defeat before being dragged into this mess. Now, she was learning that
being able to surrender was sometimes a blessing.
What she wasn’t aware of was how Tony was being tested or what kind of games the kidnappers were
playing on him.
In Tony’s heart, he had already killed the woman who pranced around in front of him every day a million
times. If it weren’t for Myra’s sake, he would not have been so tolerant of this woman.
The truth was, he was waiting for the perfect timing, but the wait was wearing him down after so many
days that he felt like he was going to explode. He didn’t know when things would come to an end and
however calm he remained, he had no way of accepting that Myra had been missing for so many days.
Every day, the woman paraded herself in front of him as if nothing was wrong. Yet, whenever he looked
into her eyes, he could tell she wasn’t as uncomplicated as she appeared. There was a certain pure
brightness to her gaze that clashed jarringly with her deliberate actions.
“You don’t have to put on such a performance,” he told her coldly now.
Unabashed, she leered at him. “You’re so cruel, Director Hart. Can’t you humor me for putting on such
a good performance?”
Casting her an indifferent glance, he answered, “There’s no need for you to act like this in front of me. I
only want to save my wife as soon as possible.”
Upon hearing that, the woman let out a smile that was entirely inappropriate for the severity of the
situation and faked innocence as she said, “I’m only responsible for keeping you company, Director
Hart. I don’t know about anything else.”
“Alright. I understand your meaning.” With that, he ended the conversation, for saying too much
wouldn’t help his chances.
“Don’t fault me for not reminding you that your wife is actually in a safe place, Director Hart. You don’t
have to worry too much. We want to build a good, collaborative relationship with you, and that naturally
means we would never dare mistreat your wife.” Her words sounded nice, but even a fool would realize
that this wasn’t the way to seek business partnerships.
Nevertheless, Tony did not offer a rebuttal. What was there to say at this point? All of a sudden, he felt
like he hadn’t run into a group of kidnappers but rather a group of thick-skinned, shameless hooligans.
“If you’re here to seek collaboration, why not tell me your conditions?” he enunciated clearly as he
stared at her. There was nothing he wished for more than the opportunity to tear her to shreds.
While the woman knew he hated her, she didn’t care. She had long gotten used to the taste of hatred
and now, she was happy to watch him slowly be consumed by his hatred.
“I don’t know the conditions of the collaboration, Director Hart, so please don’t be impatient,” she told
him calmly, instantly making his rage flare up. He couldn’t help feeling like she was making fun of him.
“You say you want to collaborate but you don’t even know your conditions. Is this the way to seek
collaboration?” Tony questioned, his patience quickly becoming frayed.
“I’m just a poor lackey, Director Hart. Getting angry at me won’t change things.” The woman retained
her affable smile, seemingly unruffled by his attitude.
Seeing that nothing would scare her into submission, he decided not to say anything. It was no use,
anyway; he might as well just shut up.
“It’s lunchtime, Director Hart. What kind of cuisine do you like?” Once again, she changed the topic as if
nothing was wrong. Nonetheless, he didn’t deign to answer her.
Such was their mode of communication during this time. It made him feel like she was trying to seize
total control of him, which he was not pleased about.
Deep down, he was already thinking of how to avoid her surveillance. Yet, right now, she was still
standing there persistently. At this rate, he wouldn’t be surprised if she followed him into the washroom.
“I’m not hungry, so please leave.” Since this was his room and he had no wish to see her, he
unceremoniously dismissed her.
“Your food intake has grossly decreased lately, Director Hart. I’m very worried about your health,” she
told him, putting on such an attentive air that he felt deeply disgusted by her.
“Get out,” he repeated firmly as he glared at her.
Nonetheless, she refused to budge, repulsing him with her pompous behavior. Well, he would find a
way to show her that he, Tony Hart, was not to be controlled by anyone.