The car was driven smoothly on the road and soon came to a stop at the entrance of Hart Residence. As Heather was always thoughtful, she had brought along some gifts out of courtesy. She lifted her head to marvel at the residence. It was an unpretentious and humble mansion. Indeed, the Hart Family didn’t need a glamorous appearance to attract the others.
From the moment Heather got out of the car, she had been wearing a standard, courteous smile as if she was here to attend an important banquet.
“Relax. You’re making me nervous too with that serious look,” Myra murmured next to Heather’s ear.
“I don’t dare to ease up because I don’t want to embarrass you,” Heather said decorously while still wearing a smile on her face.
Just then, Tony came out to welcome them and took Myra’s hand from Heather. Then, they intertwined their fingers, so Heather inevitably had to witness their public display of affection.
“Welcome to Hart Manor,” Tony said amiably. He sincerely wanted to establish a good relationship with Heather.
“Nice to meet you again, Director Hart.” Heather was extremely polite.
On the other hand, Myra didn’t wish to see them being this formal with each other because one of them was her partner while the other was her close friend.
“Come on in!” Myra pulled her hands out from Tony’s clutch and held Heather’s arm again. Heather came alone to the Hart Residence as a guest, so of course Myra wanted to support her.
Tony glanced at his hand which was shoved away by Myra and then retracted it forlornly. I guess I won’t understand women’s friendship.
“Your residence is very beautiful,” Heather praised as she gazed at the exterior of the mansion. She thought it was much more aesthetic than the extravagant ancient bungalow of the Langstons’.
“Thank you. It’s an old residence,” Tony said humbly.
With that, the two of them started being polite to each other again, and it went on and on. Meanwhile, the old Hart couple were awaiting the guest’s arrival in the living room.
Sebastian’s eyes lit up the moment he saw Heather. With a pair of alluring eyes, Heather had an aura which resembled that of Robert Langston when he was young, and she looked beautiful and delicate in her plain dress.
“Nice to meet you, Old Mr. and Mrs. Hart,” Heather said sweetly. It was a courtesy and act of respect to address the elders.
“You must be Heather. Come over here. What a beautiful girl.” Lisa quickly called Heather to her side.
Heather sat gracefully beside Lisa while Myra sat next to Heather. It seemed like Lisa was pretty fond of Heather.
Sebastian too kept observing Heather with mixed emotions reflected in his eyes. Heather wore a sweet smile all the time and did not show enmity toward the Hart Family at all. It seems like she has really not taken to heart the grudge between the Harts and the Langstons.
“I heard from Tony that you and Myra have been friends for over a decade. How sweet of you both!” Behaving overly affectionate, Lisa couldn’t help holding Heather’s hand, but she soon realized her action was inappropriate so she quickly let go of Heather while looking awkward. Looking at Heather, Lisa was reminded of the days when she was young and pretty, during which there were often two gentlemen following her around.
Those were the good old days which Lisa reminisced even though she could only recall fragments of scattered memories now that she had aged.
Nonetheless, Heather didn’t show the slightest bit of discomfort, and her sincerity had won favor from the old couple as she said politely, “Thanks for the scrumptious dinner. I’m very honored. I’ve prepared some gifts for you, let me go get them from the car.” Heather changed the topic and was going to present the gifts that she had prepared. She had indeed prepared some gifts before coming to the Harts, but for some reason, she didn’t bring them in when she got out of the car just now.
Myra looked at Heather in puzzlement as she didn’t understand Heather’s intention. Tony too was perplexed as he thought Heather was a strange woman.
“You’re too kind, but you don’t have to do that. It’s just a casual dinner.” Lisa gazed at Heather in a loving manner as she was extremely fond of her.
On the other hand, Sebastian was rather disturbed by the scene because he was worried that his wife was still thinking of the Langston Family. Due to my insistence, I’ve not made up with Old Man Langston all these years. Lisa must be hoping for the two families to be on good terms again.
“It’s my first time visiting, so please don’t reject my gifts,” Heather said with a smile while casting a glance at Sebastian.
In a very short time, Heather could already tell that Lisa held no grudge against the Langstons, but Sebastian was still stubborn. Like her grandfather, none of them were willing to take the first step to patch things up.
“Alright then, but let’s eat first before you go to get the gifts,” Lisa said. She adored Heather even more as she thought she was sensible.
“It’s my fault. I was so excited chatting with Myra just now that I forgot to bring the gifts in. I only remembered after stepping into the house,” Heather explained. Sebastian was sharp-eyed, so he could naturally tell that Heather was not as simple as she appeared to be.
“There, there. Let’s stop talking about the gifts and tuck in. I hope you like the food.” Lisa warmly received Heather.
Tony had not expected this scene. Although it turned out to be much better than he had imagined, he still had an uncanny feeling. It doesn’t seem like a good thing that Grandpa is remaining silent under the current atmosphere.
“I’m not a picky eater, Old Madam Hart,” Heather responded courteously as she generously met Sebastian’s eyes.
Myra was actually worried for Heather because there was a tinge of hostility in Sebastian’s eyes. Besides, it was unlike him to be this quiet.
Soon, they started digging in. Lisa affectionately helped Heather to the dishes, and Heather’s plate was filled with food in no time. Finally, Tony couldn’t stand the awkward scene anymore and said to Lisa, “Grandma, please let Heather help herself to the food. She might not like what you served her.”
It wasn’t Tony’s wish to call his grandmother out, but seeing Sebastian’s darkened face and how Heather was overwhelmed by Lisa’s unduly hospitality, he was worried about what would happen next, so he had no choice but to remind Lisa to act suitably.
Lisa’s hand which was serving Heather food stopped midair. The atmosphere became rather awkward, so Heather quickly spoke up to ease the tension. “Not at all. I love all the food Old Madam Hart served. Thank you.” Heather smiled brightly. No one would associate her with a schemeful woman given her Mary Sue appearance.
Sebastian’s face turned even sulkier when he heard Heather, and he tightened his grip on his cutlery. He looked at the food on Heather’s plate, which was exactly Robert’s favorite food.
Lisa actually remembers Robert’s preference even after so many years. Sebastian was displeased. Meanwhile, Myra and Tony were clueless as to why Sebastian was pissed off; only Heather would know the reason because of course she would know these were Robert’s favorite food. When she was still young, her grandfather had told her about a woman whom he loved in his youth.
Truth was, Robert and Lisa were a pair of beautiful couple too and everyone thought they were a perfect match. However, Lisa only perceived Robert as a family all along and had chosen Sebastian who showed up later.
One should not settle for less when it came to love. Heather couldn’t help but feel sorry for her grandfather when she heard his love story back then. It was only after she grew up did she understand that a woman would always choose someone whom she truly loved.
Even though Robert had done a lot for Lisa, the latter still chose to follow her heart because it didn’t feel right to stay by Robert since there was no love between them. She would only find happiness being together with someone she loved. Alas, Robert was too prideful; otherwise, he wouldn’t have lost both his lover and best friend. Three of them were once close, but now they were enemies.
Heather had never imagined that one day, she would personally step in to resolve the grudge between the Harts and the Langstons. Nevertheless, she would not involve herself in something that did not bring her advantages. Currently, not only was the Hart Family powerful in Bradfort City, but their influence had even expanded overseas.
Heather came back to her home country this time with the plan to establish her own business empire. She was not interested in inheriting her family’s business at all because she thought it was more meaningful to strive for what she desired.
Since she planned to start her business in Bradfort City, it was wise to not set herself against the Hart Family because she would need to collaborate with them in many aspects. She wouldn’t want to lay up trouble for her company which had yet to be established due to the grudge between the two families.
Naturally, it was ambitious to want to completely resolve the grudge between the two families. Both Sebastian and Robert were very stubborn and were still standing against each other despite their old age. Hence, it would be impossible for them to bury the hatchet in a short time.
In fact, what worried Heather most was her relationship with the Harts. It so happened that the fiancé of her best friend, Myra, was Tony Hart, and this had provided her a perfect opportunity.
On one hand, she had to indicate her stance that she would not meddle with the grudge between the two families. On the other hand, she was searching for opportunities to collaborate with the Harts. That was Heather’s ultimate plan even though she was aware that it was impossible to become close to the Harts through one dinner.
Heather already had a rough idea. Firstly, she had to show her friendliness during the dinner and make a good first impression on the Harts. Then, she would take the opportunity to observe during the dinner who was the one holding enmity toward the Langstons.
Anyway, she had successfully accomplished her task today and did not have to worry about Lisa as she was pretty sure that she had left an extremely favorable impression on her. Other than that, she wasn’t bothered by Tony all the more because he would certainly establish a good relationship with her in order to please Myra.
The person whom she was most concerned about was Sebastian. Although Sebastian didn’t straightforwardly reveal his hostility toward her, the aura given off by him was unpleasant. If Heather wished to win Sebastian’s favor, she could only adopt an indirect way to achieve it. As a matter of fact, she had heard of the matters of Stark Group before she came back to the country.
Now that the appearance of Matthias had added on to the uncertainties of Stark Group and caused Myra’s plan to be delayed, Heather would definitely not sit back and remain indifferent because besides being Myra’s best friend, she also wanted to curry favor with the Harts.
Moreover, she had just come across Matthias during the day, and she was actually impressed by how successful he had become. However, no matter how great the support Matthias had, Heather was determined to defeat him. She had resolved to meddle with the affairs of Stark Group. In fact, this was her priority at the moment and she deemed it even more important than establishing her own business.
Once this matter was achieved, she would be killing two birds with one stone because both Stark Group and Hart Group would then become her close business partners in the future.
