Chapter 425 - The Foreign Man

Matthew watched the man drink his whiskey. Although he was only staring at his side profile, Matthew could see the slight pain and bitterness that showed briefly on his lips and eyes. "Cats or pets are family." In a matter-of-fact tone, Matthew uttered as he was reminded of Dredd.

Dredd, although, appeared to be a wild beast who could tear a person apart, he considered him as his family. No one could hurt or touch him if they didn't want to experience Matthew's wrath. There was no exception. Matthew would protect his best buddy just like how he would protect his family and people.

Maybe, this man had done something unforgivable. After all, friends would never ask their friend to choose between them and family. The phrase: blood is thicker than water wouldn't exist if there's no solid foundation in it.

"Well, I can't disagree with that." The man shrugged his shoulders, nodding his head in agreement. 

After that, there was a moment of silence between them as the man didn't strike another conversation. Surprisingly enough, this time around, Matthew was the first one to break the silence. "So, your friend, you betrayed him, huh?" Without casting him a glance, Matthew didn't beat around the bush as he was clearly on the side of the friend the man was talking about.

"Haha, do you have a personal issue with me to assume it's my fault?" The man humored, chuckling as he was rather comfortable talking to him since the beginning.

"Can't blame me, I have a cat at home." 

"Hehe, no." The man shook his head sideways, staring at his reflection on the whiskey in his glass. "He is like a brother to me. I wouldn't be the person who I'd become without his help. I owed him; why would I betray the only person who believed in me?" The man responded, there was a trace of sincerity in his voice.

"Sadly, he changed." The man paused, casting Matthew a glance. "His beliefs and views changed causing our perspective to clash and so we parted ways. He did his own thing while I continued on with my life alone. It was such a shame that he will somehow be involved with the person I hated the most." 

"You always talk as if you're talking about the future." As he listened to him more and more, Matthew noticed how the man spoke. It was as if what he was saying hadn't happened yet. For some reason, Matthew was reminded of Zoey.

Zoey sometimes spoke in past tense. Especially in the times she wasn't aware of her thoughts, confusing him a little. Thus, meeting a person who talked in future tense made him feel the similarity.

"Hehe. Because I came from the future." The man just chuckled, shaking his head sideways as he gestured to the bartender for another drink. 

Yet, his last remarks caused Matthew to remain silent. 'And they say almost the same thing.' He thought internally, recalling the time Zoey spoke about time-travelling.

Was this a trend nowadays? Using time-traveling as an excuse? Matthew wondered if he should be displeased or just let this excuse pass.

"Will you even believe if I say I came eight years from now?" The man arched his right brow, no one could tell by his tone if he was still joking or asking seriously.

"You'll be rich if you come from the future. I would buy all the lands I can that I know will have twice its original value in a few years -- maybe, start a business that would be popular by then." In a matter-of-fact tone, Matthew replied as he gave a creative response of indirectly telling him he didn't believe him.

"Haha! Maybe that's why you're not lucky enough to time-travel because of that. That sort of makes sense. You know, there will be people that will be affected -- you'll steal their fortune and bright futures." The man chuckled, joking at how his mind works which was the same like everybody else.

"That's the first thought every person has. If only one could guess the lottery numbers tomorrow, they will make a bet in a heartbeat." Matthew shrugged, justifying his argument indifferently. 

Well, people were greedy, Matthew included. Also, wasn't that the first thought if you ask someone those what ifs? In his perspective, it was not him who was a little weird, but the person who was claiming he came from the future.

"Well, yeah… I'll be winning tomorrow's lottery anyway." The man confidently said, "Thank you," He turned to the bartender before returning his gaze back to Matthew. "You're funny, though. You didn't laugh when I said I came from the future. I remember telling someone and she laughed."

"Why would I laugh? If that's what you want to believe, why is it my business?" Matthew didn't glance at him as he replied before taking the last liquor in his glass. "If she's your woman and laughed at you, she's no good for you." Slowly, Matthew placed his glass down.

"Hehehe… yeah, But at least, she had a nice laugh before I cut her." All of a sudden, the air around the man grew darker that caught Matthew's interest.

Matthew scrutinized the man's side profile, his eyes narrowed. As the man sensed the intense gaze from him, he laughed. "I cut her means cut ties with her." He clarified. "Anyway, I haven't asked your name. It's rude that I've been chatting with you not knowing your name." The man smiled, sounding naturally calm and casual as ever.

"You say it's rude, yet, you didn't know that it's rude asking someone else's name without giving yours." Matthew arched his right brow, his gaze traveled across the bar nonchalantly. 

Well, it was good that this man was a little chatty. At the very least, he was able to divert Matthew's attention from the story inside his head. Those confusing memories or vivid dreams.

"Hehe… right. Sorry, I'm a foreigner." The man humored, chuckling as he slightly shook his head. The next second, he offered his hand towards Matthew. "Inigo is the name." He grinned, raising his brows briefly.

Matthew darted his gaze from his pair of hazel eyes down to his hand. "Matthew.." After a moment of contemplation, Matthew decided to shake his hands as he dropped his first name.