Wild Young Miss: Mister, Let's Kiss!

[XI CORPORATION: CEO's OFFICE]

"Why aren't you together if he's that amazing? Where is he now?" 

Zoey drew back a little, turning her head to the side while her eyes were still fixed at him. She sipped from the beer and purposely made him wait for the answer.

"Somewhere close," She humored, which made the side of his lips curl up into a smirk.

"How close?"

"Who knows? I won't tell you. You might do something to him." Zoey shrugged, sticking to her idea of teasing him a little more.

"Haha," Matthew chuckled as he shook his head lightly and drew away. "Not quite. He poses no threat, to be honest."

Matthew remarked in a matter-of-fact tone. His answer caused Zoey's brow to arch.

"How so?"

"Because you're with me and not him." Matthew shrugged as he answered almost immediately, as if he already knew she would ask such a question. 

"If he's so amazing, you wouldn't be here now. He messed up and I won't be giving him a chance to come back." Slowly, Matthew gazed at the city lights.

Although he knew the person Zoey was talking about was the older version of him, Matthew's thoughts didn't change. He was livid at his older version; he would never forgive him for leaving Zoey behind without a word.

If the older version of him was so amazing, then there was no reason for Zoey to travel through time. She didn't have to fight alone and protect him with her life and happiness on the line.

She experienced hell because he was careless. Although the root of the problem involved Zoey and there were tons of hidden enemies lurking around them, the person Matthew despised the most was himself.

Zoey stared at Matthew's side profile and saw the inexplicable glint in his eyes. She was unsure about the sudden change in the air, but Zoey was certain it bore deeper meaning than jealousy.

"Zoey," Just then, Matthew called her name softly.

"Hmm?"

"I will surpass him." Matthew didn't avert his eyes from the view as he uttered his proclamation. "I will surpass that guy until you can only think of me every second of the day."

Slowly, Matthew moved his head and faced her. "I will do whatever he failed to do. Just promise to stick with me till the end."

Zoey stared at his pair of russet eyes bearing firm resolve. For some reason, her heart didn't feel joyous or anything. It was weird because what she felt hearing his words was… fear.

Fear of forgetting the man she loved; fear of forgetting her husband. Technically, the 'Matthew' before her was the person she loved and married in her previous life.

However, they acted differently. It was as if they were two different individuals. If not for the fact that Zoey was madly in love with Matthew — the older version — she wouldn't bat him an eye. 

Now, this younger version of him wanted to compete with his older self. Deep down, Zoey felt conflicted about it.

There was a long silence after Matthew expressed himself. Zoey didn't say anything but looked away. Matthew understood the situation and let her have her space to think about it.

After all, he was competing with the person she loved. The person who died and failed to protect her and their child. Matthew didn't want to think about the details of how she lost their child because he already knew who to blame.

"You knew Nikolai…" After a long silence, Zoey broke the silence as her fingers played around the can of beer. "He was my previous boss — when my biological father tried to kill his bastard: me."

Zoey didn't dare glance at him as she decided to tell this younger version of Matthew more about herself. Matthew remained silent despite remembering the details of her childhood.

"A fateful encounter, and I found myself being part of the Silva Family. I was a foot soldier; someone who did minor jobs like passing messages to some people. Since I passed some messages, I mostly know secrets some adults don't. So the head of the family that time decided to train me because 'I will be a good executive in the family in the future', he said."

Zoey recalled the other memory of her childhood; a part of her childhood that was not any less or better than her other childhood memories. The only consolation she could think of while being part of the underworld family was the skills she acquired.

"But the year before I turned fifteen, Niko's father died and Inigo became the family head. Inigo was eighteen at that time; Niko was sixteen. Inigo was a smart guy and was the perfect candidate to hold the title. Yet, he kept refusing it for some reason. Somehow, Inigo got tired of the constant pressure so he ran away."

Zoey paused as she drank the remaining beer inside the can of beer. After drinking it, Zoey carefully placed it on the side of the couch she was sitting on and grabbed a new one.

"Back then, I thought everyone would look for him. But, the under boss at that time told me Inigo will come back on his own. At the same time, he asked me to deliver a message to someone. It was my first time hearing that name, Sherly." 

Upon hearing that familiar name that Matthew constantly heard from Inigo, he froze and turned to Zoey. Sherly was the name of the woman Inigo loved, even now. He still kept her photo on his desk, but Inigo never really went into details about the woman.

"As a loyal foot soldier, I followed the order. I went to the location where I could find Sherly and passed the message. I found it weird because I usually passed direct messages, but that time, it was just vague, although I understood the meaning behind it."

As Zoey recalled the meaning behind the message, she could not help but let out a short chuckle. Someone who had been doing such a job, Zoey understood one or two things even without someone directly telling her.

"The meaning behind it was to eliminate someone. Who it was, I don't know and I really don't care. As long as I don't do the killing, I'm fine with anything." Zoey scoffed at the wicked mentality she had back then as she was exposed to violence and killings weren't news to her.

"However, who would have thought that the tide would turn and the outcome would change? I ended up meddling with something I shouldn't have, and Sherly died.. I killed her."