It was already 11 in the evening when Matthew finally stepped out of the car. The air was cooler now, but his mind was still reeling from the last few hours.
He had expected trouble—long questions, hours locked in so cold room while they dissected everything he did. But none of that happened.
When Duke and his team brought him in, they barely touched him. No cuffs, no raised voices. Just a few straightforward questions—nothing personal, nothing too detailed. They even let him claim his winnings before sending him off like nothing ever happened.
It didn’t make sense until he thought about Alen Tian.
That man didn’t need to speak loudly to move things behind the scenes. Matthew was sure of it now. Alen must have pulled strings, silenced suspicions, and quietly steered the focus elsewhere. He wasn’t being spared because they believed in him. He was being spared because soone like Alen Tian decided it was better that way.
This also ant he had successfully attracted their attention. His goal was accomplished.
And that should be enough to make him happy. Except he now felt like he owe Duke sothing. He clicked his tongue. He disliked that man and didn’t want to owe him sothing.
"Young Master, I’m glad you’re back," Cristoff greeted him at the steps.
Matthew paused, glancing at the lights still glowing from the mansion’s large patio. Several people were moving around, sorting through supplies, and assembling boxes.
"Hm... did sothing happen?" he asked.
Cristoff followed his gaze. "Young Master Lenox and his club decided to use the estate to prepare donation packages. They ntioned distributing them tomorrow. I suggested they rest, it’s late... but they insisted on finishing everything tonight."
Matthew gave a short nod. A vague mory imdiately surfaced in his mind. If he rembered correctly, this was related to the Valentine’s Day charity project.
In his previous life, Lenox and his club thought it would be a good PR move to hand out donation boxes to the holess. The gesture had been well received... but it was also the night before the exams.
In the past, Lenox imdiately started feeling a little sick when they started, so the others asked him to rest, and it was Matthew who ended up doing everything. In the end, he barely passed the exams.
He was still thinking about how absurd it was when a voice called out to him.
"Matthew?"
He turned slightly. It was Sarah, one of the club officers, sleeves rolled up, clipboard in hand.
"Hey," Matthew said.
She walked over briskly. "Since you’re already here, mind helping out? We still need a few hundred more boxes packed. We’re falling behind."
Matthew raised an eyebrow. "Uh..." he blinked. "Why would I?" He wasn’t even a mber of this damn club!
"What did you—" Sarah didn’t complete her words when she heard Lenox call her na.
"Hey, is there a problem?" Lenox asked, approaching them. "Matthew, it’s good that you’re here. Catherine and the rest are there. She needed your help to get so supplies and the boxes over there needed so—"
Sarah stood frozen, blinking in disbelief when Matthew—Matthew just walked away. No explanation. No hesitation. He didn’t even wait for Lenox to finish speaking. One second he was standing there, and the next, he turned and headed straight for the stairs like the conversation never happened.
"Matthew?" Lenox called after him, taking a step forward.
Sarah added, "Hey—what’s with you?"
But Matthew didn’t look back. He didn’t even slow down. He just kept walking toward the main wing of the house, his hands in his pockets like nothing around him mattered.
Sarah’s eyes followed him, confused. That was not the Matthew she knew. He used to drop everything the mont he heard Catherine’s na. It didn’t matter if he was tired or busy or even sick! He always found a way to hover around her. But now? He didn’t even glance in her direction.
Lenox looked uncertain for a second, then suddenly jogged after him.
"Matthew—wait!"
He caught up quickly and grabbed Matthew’s arm.
Matthew stopped. He turned his head, eyes narrowed, and yanked his arm free.
"Don’t touch ," he said.
Lenox stared at him, stunned. He didn’t respond right away. Matthew’s expression looked... furious. Not annoyed, not frustrated—genuinely angry. Was it because he didn’t tell him about the packing of boxes? But Matthew already knew about this last week! Why was he so upset?
Lenox slowly raised both hands and took a step back. "I’m just saying," he started, trying to sound calm. "This is your chance. Catherine’s here. She needs help. If you really want to get close to her, now’s the ti to do it."
Matthew didn’t respond imdiately. He looked at Lenox for a long second, then asked, "Why don’t you help her?"
Lenox blinked. "What?"
"You like her a lot, don’t you?" Matthew said. "So why don’t you help her yourself?"
Lenox was really starting to get on his nerves. Matthew almost wanted to kick him in the face.
"I—I don’t like Catherine," Lenox said, stumbling over the words. "Why would you even say that?"
Matthew gave him a half-smile. "You sure about that? You’ve been giving her things for years. Helping her with everything. Always standing next to her at every event. Why pretend now?"
Lenox’s mouth opened, but nothing ca out. What’s Matthew’s deal now?
"Matthew," he lowered his voice. "I am giving you a chance to be with her. Will you stop being childish?" he asked.
"Childish?" Matthew shrugged. "What makes you think I want to be with her?"
Lenox frowned. "Look, if this is about the birthday gift, then—"
"I gave up," Matthew repeated. "Since you like her so much, you should pursue her. Why keep standing behind ?"
"I’m not—" Lenox tried again, but Matthew had already started walking away. Again, Lenox tried to stop him. "Hey, Matt... I think there’s been a misunderstanding here," Lenox said.
"Misunderstanding?" Matthew asked.
"Catherine was just worried about her mother. I an... her mom’s still at the hospital. What happened during her birthday was just because she was worried about her mother. Isn’t it completely reasonable at this point? She was just worried about her surgery. Why don’t you just let it go?" Lenox said.
"If you don’t let this go, Catherine might never forgive you. Is that really what you want?" Seeing Matthew’s cold expression, he continued. "Co on man. Do you want her to hate you forever?"
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