CHAPTER 419: CHAPTER 419: FUTURE MATEO

Mateo stared at Olivia’s face for a long time, his eyes filled with confusion and hidden anger.

It was as if he was trying to find something behind her calm and irritated expression.

Deep in his heart, he thought that maybe Olivia would at least show some kind of regret. Maybe she would feel jealous that he was now talking about Eleanor instead of her.

Maybe she would feel sad or hurt that he was no longer chasing her like before.

But seeing nothing...no jealousy, no remorse, no sadness...made him furious. Instead of feeling guilty or apologetic, Olivia just looked annoyed, as if his presence was only wasting her time.

He pointed at her for a long moment, but his words got stuck in his throat. He didn’t know what to say anymore.

Olivia looked up from her desk with clear irritation.

"What? Do you not understand basic English or what?" she asked with a sharp tone. "I already said I don’t know where Eleanor is. Do you want me to write it down for you?"

Her words made the nearby students chuckle quietly. Mateo’s face turned red from anger and embarrassment. Without saying anything, he turned around and stormed out of the classroom.

As soon as he left, Olivia sighed and muttered under her breath,

"I must have seen a bad face this morning. Why do I keep meeting such shitty people again and again?"

Her classmates around her couldn’t help but laugh. Some of them gathered around her, patting her shoulder.

"Don’t mind him, Olivia. He’s just being a jerk again," one of them said. "He’s been acting strange ever since he started dating that Eleanor girl," another added.

Olivia smiled faintly and shook her head. "He’s not worth it," she said before turning back to her work, adjusting her books and continuing to solve her problems.

Outside the classroom, Mateo clenched his fists tightly. He stood still in the hallway, his chest rising and falling quickly. He could still hear the faint laughter from inside, and that made his blood boil even more.

He turned his head slightly and looked back through the small glass window. Inside, he saw Olivia fixing her books calmly, her expression completely unbothered.

Around her, a few students were still talking and laughing softly about him.

His jaw tightened. "Is this what they think of me?" he thought angrily. "Is this how they talk behind my back?"

He had always thought that once he revealed who he truly was and once people knew his family background, they would look up to him. He believed that everyone would treat him differently...with respect and admiration.

But instead, all he heard were whispers and giggles, words that made him feel like a fool.

For a moment, he didn’t understand how everything went so wrong. In his mind, he thought Olivia should be jealous. She should regret rejecting him. She should be hurt seeing him care about another girl.

But she wasn’t. She looked bored. She looked irritated. And that realization burned in his heart like fire.

"Was I wrong all along?" Mateo muttered to himself. "Did she truly never have any feelings for me?"

The more he thought, the angrier he became. He felt as if everything he had believed in was falling apart. His pride, his assumptions, his plans...none of it seemed right anymore.

But then, a thought of Eleanor crossed his mind. Her soft smile, her gentle eyes, and how she always looked at him with admiration.

Thinking about her, his anger slowly faded. At least Eleanor cared for him. At least she loved him. That was something he could still hold onto.

Just as that thought calmed him, his phone buzzed. He frowned and took it out of his pocket. There was an unknown number on the screen, and a single video message had arrived.

He hesitated for a moment but then noticed something familiar in the small preview image...it was Eleanor.

Without thinking further, he clicked on the video.

The video started playing, and his eyes widened. He saw Eleanor standing in what looked like a shooting location. She was handing a box of cookies to Theodore, the actor who had recently become a bit popular.

In the video, Eleanor looked emotional, almost teary-eyed, as she smiled and said something softly. The way she looked at Theodore made Mateo’s chest tighten.

His hands trembled slightly as he held his phone. "What... what is this?" he muttered.

An uncomfortable fire grew inside him. His face turned red, his heartbeat quickened. He couldn’t believe what he was seeing.

"How could she?" he whispered furiously. "Didn’t she say she liked me? Didn’t she say she wanted to be with me? Then why is she acting like that with another boy? Why is she giving him cookies like that?"

He gritted his teeth, his thoughts racing wildly. It didn’t make sense. Nothing made sense.

Then suddenly, a new message popped up from the same number.

It read: "I am your future self."

Mateo blinked. "What?" he whispered, confused. His first thought was that it was some kind of stupid prank.

He quickly typed back, "Is this a joke? Are you and Eleanor trying to prank me?"

A reply came almost instantly: "Whatever I say will happen. You can test it if you don’t believe me."

Mateo frowned. He typed again, "Fine. Prove it."

The reply came seconds later: "A company named Rosewood will rise soon. Its share price will multiply ten times. That will be your proof."

Mateo stared at the message for a long moment before rolling his eyes. "What kind of nonsense is this?" he muttered.

He locked his phone and stuffed it into his pocket. "Probably another prank or scam," he said under his breath.

As the days passed, he completely forgot about the message.

A week later, he was sitting at the dining table with his father, eating breakfast quietly. His father was scrolling through the financial news on his tablet. Suddenly, he sighed deeply.

"I really should have invested in Rosewood," his father said, shaking his head.

Mateo looked up. "What’s Rosewood?" he asked casually.

His father gave him an annoyed look. "It’s a company share, Mateo. It just rose ten times in value. Whoever invested a million earned ten million overnight."

Mateo froze. His spoon stopped mid-air.

"Rosewood..." he whispered. That was the exact same company the message had mentioned. His mind went blank for a second. His heart began to pound in disbelief.

He looked at his father quickly. "What... what kind of company is it?"

His father sighed again. "It was an ordinary company. It didn’t perform well for two years. But suddenly, it got backed by a billionaire investor. Now, it’s booming. They say it might even enter the millionaire ranks soon."

Mateo couldn’t hear anything else. His mind was spinning.

That message... it was right. Every word of it.

His hands started shaking slightly. "Why didn’t I listen?" he thought. "If I had invested even ten thousand, I would’ve made a hundred thousand easily. Why didn’t I believe it?"

He felt like slapping himself.

He quickly pulled out his phone, went to his blocked numbers, and unblocked the one that had sent him the message. Then he typed fast: "Are you really my future self?"

There was silence for a few minutes. Mateo stared at the screen, nervous, tapping his finger on the table.

Just as he was about to put the phone down, another message appeared: "Yes."

His eyes widened. He quickly typed back: "Then tell me more. What else should I know?"

The reply came: "I can only send a few messages. So listen carefully. Eleanor is a secret billionaire heiress. She doesn’t know it yet. You must stay close to her and make sure she falls in love with you."

Mateo’s mouth dropped open. "What? Eleanor? A billionaire heiress?"

For a few seconds, he sat there completely stunned. He couldn’t believe it. It sounded ridiculous.

He typed quickly: "Is this another prank?"

The next message came instantly: "No. She was switched at birth. Her real parents are billionaires. In about two years, they will find her. Whoever is with her then will live as a billionaire."

Mateo’s breath quickened. His eyes shone with excitement. "So if I stay with her..." he whispered, "...I’ll become rich."

He typed back: "Then you must already be a billionaire in the future, right?"

After a moment, a new message appeared: "No. I failed. She left me after the kissing incident at the university. She loved someone else. Don’t make the same mistake."

Mateo froze again. His excitement turned into shock. "So that’s what happened..." he murmured. "Eleanor really left him... or me."

Another message followed: "Her real parents will find her within two years. You have to win her love before then. Otherwise, you’ll lose everything."

Mateo gripped his phone tightly, his eyes full of determination. "Then I’ll make her fall for me again," he said quietly. "No matter what."

The next message read: "Good. Remember, if you fail, you’ll end up working in a factory."