Chapter 7 Is Mathews A Coward

"No, thanks. I'm afraid it won't be convenient for me to stay in your place!"

Mathews chased after Emory and refused politely.

He was saying it for her sake. After all, if a single man moved in with a single woman just like that, lots of unsavory rumors would float around the neighborhood.

"Why not?"

Emory asked indifferently, continuing to walk towards her place.

"I know I'm safe with you."

Seeing the casual, matter-of-fact way she proclaimed her trust in him, Mathews had no choice but to agree with a bitter smile.

Emory's place was actually a condo in an old neighborhood nearby, with a living room and three bedrooms. Compared to the villa of the Coleman family, it was just quite small, but in Mathews' eyes, this place was much more warm and comfortable.

After tidying up the spare room, Mathews and Emory were both exhausted and starving.

Wanting to show his appreciation for her, Mathews said, "Emory, thank you for helping me and letting me stay. How about I treat you to dinner today?

I went to an amazing restaurant recently, and the chef there makes delicious food!"

Emory's beautiful eyes immediately lit up in excitement. "Did you say delicious?"

Mathews couldn't help but smile at her cute reaction.

"Yes! I'm sure you'll like it."

A while later, the two of them arrived at Choria Hotel.

"Well, it's a nice place, isn't it?"

Mathews asked with a smile.

Emory looked at the hotel carefully.

It was a grand hotel with resplendent decoration. Even the cars parked outside were all luxury brands.

"Don't you think it will be too expensive?"

Emory asked worriedly.

Mathews blinked reassuringly.

"Don't worry. It's nothing."

Just then, a young, arrogant-looking man walked over with a group of people.

He greeted Emory with an obscene smile.

"Emory, what a coincidence! Are you here to have dinner too?"

Emory just frowned in response.

The man standing in front of her was Tobin Wallace, a notorious playboy in town.

He was also Emory's classmate, and had incessantly hit on her from the moment they had met.

In Emory's eyes, he was nothing but a shameless trust-fund baby.

Besides, she was annoyed by the way he often harassed her.

It was said that he had some connections with the Wallace Group, and was related to the famous Wallace family.

The two boys and three girls who accompanied Tobin were also their classmates.

"Now that we've met here, we must have dinner together!"

Tobin insisted, letting his filthy gaze linger on Emory's exposed collarbones.

"No," Emory refused firmly, holding Mathews' arm. "I'm going to have dinner with Mathews."

It was only then that Tobin even seemed to notice Mathews' presence, and glared at him with contempt.

Tobin would never let a poor good-for-nothing guy like Mathews win over him in anything, let alone in the matter of women.

"What? Emory, are you here on a date with Mathews?" a red-haired girl exclaimed.

"No," Emory replied in a low voice, blushing.

"Well, if you're not here on a date, then let's all have dinner together! The more, the merrier!" the red-haired girl said with a smile.

Then, she held Emory's arm and dragged her forward.

Although Mathews didn't want to spend his evening with these people, he had no choice but to walk into the restaurant with them.

In order to show off in front of his classmates, Tobin specially asked the waiter for a private room--a Bronze Room.

"It is very difficult to book a Bronze Room here. Ordinary people won't be able to afford one," Tobin remarked airily, shooting a sideways glance at Mathews as he said these words.

The two men next to Tobin also looked at Mathews in disdain. They knew that Tobin wanted to have Emory.

One of the men sneered, "That's right. Mathews, you should count yourself lucky that it's Tobin's treat this time. Take this opportunity to eat more."

"Yeah, it's not good for you to always eat other people's leftovers," his friend echoed.

These people were belittling Mathews as if he was a beggar.

"Stop it, or I'll leave now," Emory said angrily.

Tobin immediately winked at the two men, gesturing for them to shut up, and then changed the topic.

Mathews just maintained a knowing smile on his face and stayed silent. He just wanted to eat something and leave this place as soon as possible.

He then remembered that the last time Saul had invited him here, they had occupied a Diamond Room. And Tobin was boasting about the Bronze Room? How lame!

The female classmates, however, were disgusted to see Mathews' lack of reaction to the men's taunting. They thought that he was a coward.

The group ordered a lot of dishes to share, and chatted animatedly as they ate.

In the middle of the meal, the red-haired girl who had gone to the washroom ran back crying.

She choked out between sobs, "A pervert groped my butt just now!"

"Damn it! Who the hell dared to lay a hand on you?"

"Fuck! I'll kill that bastard!"

The whole group seemed to burn with indignation.

Seeing everyone's reactions, the grievance in the red-haired girl's heart slowly dissipated.

She said timidly, "I slapped him hard. It should be fine, right?"

"One slap is not enough! Guys, come with me. Let's teach that bastard a lesson!"

Tobin growled, pounding the table with his fist.

His two male friends jumped to their feet, but Mathews remained seated.

Tobin looked down at Mathews and snorted in disdain. "Mathews, don't be a coward. Come with us."

Hearing this, the rest of the group looked down on Mathews even more. Even Emory frowned slightly.

The truth was, Mathews had witnessed the death of his mother when he was a child, and his tragic childhood experience had made him much more matured than his peers.

He was not as impulsive or as reckless as they were.

But all others saw when they looked at him was a weakling.

Just then, there was a loud bang; the door was kicked open!

More than a dozen hooligans swarmed into the private room. The last one to enter was a strong bald man with tiger stripes tattooed on his upper body.

"Damn it! Who dared to hit my subordinate just now? Come out!" the bald man shouted ferociously.

"Isn't that the leader of the Tiger Gang, Rowe Cruz? They are doomed!"

"I heard that a guy who got on Rowe's bad side got his legs broken and became a cripple!"

The onlookers outside the private room gossiped among themselves as watched the scene.

But their words were loud enough for everyone in the Bronze Room to hear. The girl with red hair who had just slapped one of Rowe's men trembled all over and didn't know what to do.

Gulping down his nervousness, Tobin stepped forward and plastered an ingratiating smile on his face. "Please don't be angry, sir. It's all a misunderstanding. I'm Tobin Wallace from the Wallace family..."

Before he could finish his words, Rowe smashed a bottle of wine on his head!

Broken shards of glass scattered all over the floor, along with drops of blood from Tobin's heavily-wounded head.

"Screw you! Who the hell do you think you are?

Your friend should feel honored that one of my men took an interest in her!

How dare she hit him?"

Rowe roared arrogantly.

He looked at the four women in the room with his burning gaze.

They were all in the prime of their youth, with soft tender skin and a pure beauty.

"All he wanted was to have a drink with that girl, but now, she must spend the night with him!"