HEIRESS REBORN: MARRYING HER EX-FIANCÉ-Chapter 42: Five Years Later (4)

*Next day*

’’So....’’

Ayana lifted her gaze to the sight of a familiar brown-haired man seated before her. ’’Why are you here?’’

She arched an eyebrow in question.

’’Urgh! How heartless of you to say that, sister-in-law.’’ Matt Easmond clutched his chest in an exaggerated manner, as though Ayana’s words had shot him straight into his heart.

’’...’’ Ayana stared blankly in response, clearly unimpressed at his actions. Despite the age difference between them, this man would always act like an immature teenager between them when he was more of an adult than her.

’’If you have nothing else to say, can leave my office then, Matt? You interrupted my work.’’ She lowered her gaze back to her work, recalling how he had burst into her office in his usual exaggerated fashion, right in the middle of her discussion with her assistant.

’’No can do, sister-in-law.’’ Matt shook his head and leaned back with a mischievous grin. ’’You see, I have my own goals for coming here.’’

"Really?" Ayana casted him a skeptical glance.

"Yup." He popped the "p" with the same grin.

"My cousin’s birthday is coming up, and I want to invite you to the banquet as my partner on July 28th."

The pen stilled briefly on the paper at those words.

’’Oh...’’ was her only reaction, and she continued making her corrections on the paper without looking up.

’’That’s new. Why haven’t you invited me all these years then?’’ Done with that paper, she flipped over to the next one.

The cousin that Matt was surely talking about was the famed medical genius of the Easmond family.

The reputed Young miss Easmond.

’’Well, I have a feeling that this birthday banquet would be an unforgettable one for my cousin and our entire family.’’ Ayana looked up after those words. She caught an unfathomable look in Matt’s eyes, yet a hint of his usual mischievous smile tugging at his lips. ’’Also, my cousin has a certain affection for an engaged man who, by the way, just so happens to be your fiancé. Imagine the look on her face when she sees you with me at her birthday banquet.’’

’’You want us to fight?’’ She almost scoffed at his words.

"No." Perhaps sensing the displeasure in her voice, he quickly denied with a smirk then playing on his lips. "That is just to annoy her a bit."

"Besides, sister-in-law, you’re not exactly the type to engage in a fight with another young miss." He also added with a confident grin.

’’....Can I ask why the birthday banquet will be an unforgettable one to her and your entire family?’’ Ayana asked after a moment of silence.

’’You can’t, sister-in-law.’’ Matt playfully shook his head. He leaned back in the chair with a wider smile. ’’That’s a secret until the day itself.’’

’’...’’

’...If I remember correctly, that happened around this time.’ Ayana went back to her work in silence.

For the past five years, she had never attended the birthday banquets of this famed Young miss Easmond. Even Matt, whom she had a good relationship, had never questioned her abstinence from social events.

Though he sometimes teased her for being boring like her fiancé, he had never once invited her to a banquet—especially to one of his own family.

Why would he ask her to attend his family’s birthday banquet now, when he hadn’t in the past?

’My guesses must be correct, then.’ Ayana glanced at the man now fiddling with his phone.

’You were the culprit for what happened to your cousin in my past life, Matt.’ Her mind connected the dots.

’Though I don’t recall how Matt had exactly the Young miss Easmond.’ She dropped her gaze back to her work.

’’I’ll go.’’ She broke the silence with that answer.

In response, Matt shifted his gaze to her in silence, and she diligently continued flipping the papers after making corrections.

’’.....’’

’’.....’’

’’....!’’

Perhaps now fully grasping her words, he scrambled to sit upright, his phone almost falling to the floor as his eyes widened in disbelief.

’’Really?!’’ His expression shifted to one of excitement.

’’Yeah. I owe you one for helping my family, and it’s high time I return the favor.’’ Ayana said, without looking up.

’I’m also curious about that what happened in the banquet.’ She added in her heart.

Another moment of silence passed and when Ayana did not hear any reply from Matt, she looked up and what she saw made her freeze. Her face almost twisted in disgust at sight of the person before her.

’’....What are you doing?’’ She asked after a long pause.

’’You are so kind, Angel Ayana.’’ Matt Easmond started his usual fit of his exaggerated self. His voice also sounded a bit squeaky and weird.

’’...’’ Ayana blankly stared at the twenty-one-year-old man who covered his mouth in brimming tears and dramatically wiped them with his finger, as if struck by some profound moment of gratitude.

She let out a frustrated sigh.

’’Leave my office when you’re done with your antics.’’ She said, returning back to her work.

As always, Matt Easmond must annoy her with his dramatic self.

’’Not yet, Angel Ayana....’’

’’Matt.’’

’’Alright, Alright.’’ Hearing the warning in her voice, Matt shifted back to his normal self and quickly changed the subject.

’’When will you invite us to your graduation?’’ He asked after leaning back.

’’Us?’’

’’Axel and I.’’ He pointed out and raised his eyebrow. ’’Surely, you won’t miss this one like you did with your middle school graduation?’’

’’...’’

He furrowed his eyebrows at her silence. ’’Wait, don’t tell me....’’

’’He is coming?’’ Ayana looked up, swiftly interrupting his words.

’’...Well...’’ Matt shifted uncomfortably at her sharp stare, clearly hesitant to continue. ’’I mentioned your graduation to him.’’ he revealed in an awkward manner, rubbing the back of his neck.

’’You guys have been acting like strangers and not fiances for the past five years. It’s quite painful to watch honestly.’’

’It’s also hard to tell what you think about each other.’ He finished in his mind.

Matt had always been observing the relationship between his two best friends who were also fiances.

And what he has been seeing over the years was too painful to digest.

The irrational and crazy symptoms of love had neither taken its form nor shape between his two best friends.

What seemed more important in the lives of these two were their respective family businesses. None bothered to communicate with each other or tried to meet up in a dinner date or an outing.

Even the times when Ayana would meet with the Old master Kratos, she would only spend some few minutes with her fiancé, and during those times, the atmosphere would be rigid and awkward, that he who would be peeping at them could feel the tension from his bones.

The words exchanged between them were few, and their interactions, though polite, felt hollow, as though they were utter strangers.

Their interactions made Matt believed that his two best friends needed a matchmaker who would push them down to path of love, and so, he had decided to take the important role and force the two upright workaholics down to the irreversible path of love.

’This graduation is an opportunity!’ Matt inwardly shed bitter tears at finally discovering a splendid opportunity for them to meet up in public.

Eros, the greek god of love, was definitely on his side!