Chapter 527 Agreeing to Cooperate
Timothy hadn't even gotten a response from Matthew when Zachary scoffed, "You think a few words from him can change who I choose as a friend? Sure, Matthew can be a bit of a jerk sometimes, but deep down, he's a good guy..."
Even though Zachary's words were pretty arrogant, Winona couldn't help but agree.
Just as she was thinking this, Matthew chimed in, "Alright."
Zachary and Winona both went silent, totally caught off guard.
Then, the cabinet door, which had been tightly shut, loosened as Matthew pulled his hand away. With no more resistance, Timothy just had to give it a little push to crack it open and spot Zachary and Winona hiding inside.
Zachary's cool demeanor vanished. He frowned, staring at the cabinet door, already planning to give Matthew a piece of his mind later.
Winona was also eyeing the cabinet door, thinking about jumping out and giving Timothy a good smack before he could see them, giving Zachary a chance to slip away.
Right then, Matthew said, "How about we discuss the cooperation downstairs?"
Timothy replied, "Sure, we need to talk, but first, I want to know if you've been hiding my brother from me. Let me check the wardrobe to show you're being honest."
But Matthew wasn't having it. He planted a foot against the cabinet door and grabbed Timothy by the neck, dragging him out of the room and tossing him into the hallway. "Nicholas is your brother, not mine. Do I owe you anything? Talk if you want, or get lost. Negotiations need to be on equal footing, and you should know your place. You have no right to negotiate with me."
Timothy might have been sneaky and backstabbing, but he was physically weak. Even an average guy could take him down, let alone someone like Matthew, who was a regular at the gym and built like a tank.
The door slammed shut.
Matthew turned back, knocked on the cabinet door as he passed, and said, "He's gone."
Zachary and Winona pushed the door open and stepped out, their legs numb from crouching for so long.
Winona winced as she moved, and Matthew's eyes landed on her lips. She had put on a matte dark red lipstick earlier, but now it was completely gone, revealing her naturally pink lips with a faint bite mark at the corner.
It was pretty clear what Zachary had been up to in the cabinet.
Matthew paused, then turned and walked out with big strides, looking like he was ready to throw down. His expression shifted from gentle to cold and stormy.
Winona was startled and asked, "Matthew, where are you going?"
Matthew said, "I'm going to let Timothy back in so he can catch someone in the act and teach a certain shameless guy a lesson."
He should've opened the cabinet door earlier. That jerk Zachary, if he wanted to kiss, couldn't he have done it somewhere else? Did he have to do it right in front of Matthew to rub it in?
Winona was stunned. "Matthew, don't..."
She turned to Zachary, worried Matthew might actually let Timothy back in. But Zachary stayed calm. "He won't," he said.Matthew sneered, washed his face in the bathroom, opened the door, and left. As he walked out, he said, "I'll give you five minutes."
Zachary nodded seriously. "Thanks."
Matthew shot back, "If you really want to thank me, then quit."
Zachary smirked. "Not happening."
Once Matthew was gone, Zachary pulled Winona into a hug and kissed her forehead. "I'm gonna be super busy for a while. Be careful and don't wander around. It's best if you move back to Regal Oaks or stay with our parents."
"Alright," Winona replied, pushing him away. "You should go now. It takes five minutes to run from upstairs to downstairs. You're not twenty anymore; do you think you still have the stamina? Don't get caught."
Zachary grinned. "Even if I'm seventy or eighty, I can still make you cry in bed."
Winona's face turned bright red. "Of course I'd cry if I woke up to find you dead."
Zachary chuckled. "Can't you wish me well?"
Winona sighed. "Just get through this first. Don't actually get poisoned like Matthew said. Next time, I might not be able to knock over the medicine bottle for you."
She remembered how she had crushed the medicine with her foot, wrapped it in a tissue, and thrown it away right in front of Timothy. She had been so nervous, thinking that if Timothy noticed, she'd have to scrape it off her shoe or dig through the trash later.
After she handed the medication to Samuel, he said he'd take care of it, but he never updated her on what happened.
"Yeah, luckily you were there last time, or I might have really been poisoned," Zachary said, holding Winona close. "Samuel sent me the ingredients and side effects of the medicine. Don't worry. I won't take anything from Timothy again."
Then they left the room, one heading upstairs, the other downstairs.
In the banquet hall, Matthew held a wine glass and asked, "So, how do we cooperate?"
Timothy smirked. "Getting a woman isn't hard. Lock her up, make her world revolve around you, brainwash her daily to see you as her savior, or have sex with her daily so she gets used to you. When a habit becomes natural, it turns into love. After ten years or so, when you let her out, she won't run."
Matthew was speechless. He suddenly felt a bit sorry for Zachary. It seemed like Zachary had used up all his luck meeting Winona.
Timothy continued, "Or you can use some violence. In some ways, humans and dogs are the same; they fear pain. To make her obey, you need to show her who's boss."
As he said this, his eyes narrowed slightly, filled with a twisted sense of nostalgia. It was clear he had done this before.
And it was obvious to whom—who else but the unfortunate Zachary?
At that moment, Matthew's wine glass shattered in his hand with a sharp crack.
"Ah." A woman's scream suddenly echoed through the banquet hall.
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