Chapter 152 She Never Loved Me
Today Matilda made another trip to check on the villa renovation. They were waterproofing the third-floor bathroom. She took one look and asked the worker, "Isn't waterproofing supposed to cover all four walls? Why is one side missing?"
This wasn't the same worker from last time. This guy had an attitude and wasn't easy to talk to. "I do what I'm told from above. What's the problem?"
"Can you call your supervisor and ask why the wall by the door doesn't need waterproofing?" Even though that wall had less surface area, skipping waterproofing would let moisture seep in. The wall would end up moldy.
The worker didn't bother calling. "I'm a professional. I've done plenty of major projects. This wall won't get moldy."
"You won't call? Then I will." The worker ignored her and kept working.
Matilda walked out to the balcony to make the call. The renovation manager's phone didn't connect. Matilda figured the signal was bad here, so she walked toward the entrance. It took forever to get through, and when she finally did, the manager seemed busy with something—kept asking questions left and right. Matilda finally said, "Why don't you just come see for yourself?"
These days, even the big-name renovation companies mostly outsourced to external crews. Some crews were good, some weren't. Workers got assigned randomly. If you were lucky, you'd get a skilled professional. If not, well, you'd get an asshole with an attitude.
While Matilda was arguing with the manager, someone suddenly grabbed her phone. Nason snatched it from her hand and barked into it, "You have twenty minutes to get your ass over here, or you'll be unemployed by the end of the day. Try me."
The voice on the other end sounded panicked. "Who is this—"
"I know your boss."
The manager immediately replied, "Yes, of course. I'll head over right now. Please wait."
...
The renovation manager arrived quickly. The waterproofing issue got resolved, and at Nason's insistence, the manager also conducted a thorough inspection of all the work, checking every little detail.
Turns out the waterproofing wasn't the only problem—there were issues with the plumbing and electrical layout too. Some were oversights on Matilda's part, others were due to sloppy workmanship. If they hadn't caught these problems now, they'd have to redo everything later. That would cost a fortune, not to mention the time.
Matilda wasn't an expert, so she had to let Nason take charge of the inspection. The guy usually came across as cocky and rebellious, but when he worked, he was meticulous and detail-oriented. His attitude was no-nonsense too—every problem he pointed out, the manager promised to fix.
Looking at him now, he wasn't actually a bad person. He had his principles. Just incredibly vain and shameless.
After the inspection wrapped up, Nason reverted to his usual swagger. "See? I just did you a huge favor. Don't you think you should buy me a meal?"
Matilda thought for a moment. "Is this meal absolutely necessary?"
"Of course." Nason moved a bit closer to her, but maintained a safe distance. Psychologically speaking, this distance communicated 'I want to get closer to you, but I won't pressure you.' If a woman felt attracted, she'd blush and her heart would race. If she wasn't interested, she'd instinctively step back.
Matilda stepped back. Then she asked, "Anything's fine?"
"Absolutely. As long as you're treating and we're eating together." Nason felt like he was making progress.
Matilda then opened a food delivery app and ordered two meals.
Nason fell silent. "Are you seriously half-assing this right now?"
Matilda couldn't help but smile at him. "Didn't you say anything was fine?"
Maybe because of that smile, Nason felt momentarily dazed and agreed to the delivery food. He thought to himself: Delivery's fine. As long as we're eating together, that's what matters. As long as we eat together, she'll eventually fall for him. Besides, this was just her playing hard to get.
...
The delivery arrived—two bowls of chicken noodle soup. Matilda handed him one and took the other, sitting on a stone bench across from the villa to eat. Nason sat down beside her.
As he ate, he put on a show of savoring every bite. "This is the best chicken noodle soup I've ever had in my life."
Matilda said flatly, "You're so fake."
"Fake?"
"Yes. You've definitely pulled this before. This isn't the first time you've said something like that, is it?"
"Hasn't Wentworth said stuff like that to you?"
"He has. But when he says it, it doesn't sound fake. It just sounds sweet."
Nason put on an aggrieved expression. "We're both human beings. How come when he says it, it's not fake?"
Matilda smiled. "By the way, what do you like about Wentworth?"
"That question, well..." Matilda figured since he'd asked, she might as well be completely honest. Once she laid it all out, Nason would definitely back off. "Wentworth would give up his life for me."
Nason's hand trembled. "But he's alive and well, isn't he?"
"That's because he got lucky and has good combat skills. He saved my life twice. The last time, a criminal shot at him. He was wearing a bulletproof vest, but if the guy had aimed for his head, Wentworth would be dead."
Nason felt awkward. The noodles in his hand suddenly didn't taste so good anymore. If his mother were here, she'd definitely mock him. 'You idiot, look at the Gonzaga brothers—they risk their lives pursuing their wives. And you? Besides throwing money, houses, and cars at women, what else can you offer?'
"I'm full. You take your time," Nason said.
"I'm pretty much done too."
Nason asked, "Want to add each other on WhatsApp?"
Seeing that Matilda didn't respond, Nason added, "We're going to be neighbors anyway. What's the harm in adding each other on WhatsApp? Just think of it as being friends. If you ever need help with anything, you can reach out to me. Like today—having money doesn't solve everything."
Matilda figured adding him on WhatsApp was no big deal. Just because you add someone doesn't mean you have to stay in touch. Her friends list was full of random people she never contacted—clothing store salespeople, customer service reps from phone companies, and so on.
...
Europe.
Zoey was making dinner. Charles hadn't come to help today. He was alone in the bedroom, and ever since running into that woman, he hadn't said a word.
Zoey was pretty philosophical about the whole thing. When two people who once loved each other meet again, no matter how they parted ways, they're bound to remember the past. There's no way their emotions wouldn't be affected.
Zoey finished making lunch and went to call Charles over to eat.
Charles finally spoke. "Thanks for going to all this trouble."
"It's no trouble. We agreed I'd cook for you during this time."
Charles continued, "That person we saw at the church this afternoon—she's my ex-girlfriend."
"Yeah, I know. I heard you two were very much in love."
"Not that much in love."
"Well..." Zoey smiled. "Can you tell me your story?"
"You sure you want to hear it?"
"Of course. She's in the past, right? She's already had a kid, which means she has a husband. Women only have children for men they truly love. And when she saw you, aside from greeting you out of shock, she didn't acknowledge you after that. She's... probably moved on."
Zoey was just sharing her observations.
But Charles let out a quiet laugh. "She didn't move on. She never loved me in the first place."