Tony had assured Myra previously that Philip and Lucas would surely show up if Heather agreed to come over. As expected, the two of them reached a while later.
While Philip and Lucas didn’t confirm their attendance in the group, Tilly and Elliot confirmed that they couldn’t make it. As Tilly was completely overwhelmed by her public affairs, it had been a while since she and Elliot were separated due to her work. Hence, it was normal that Elliot would go look for Tilly when he had free time.
While Shawn was busy every day as the vice-mayor, he obviously wasn’t free during the noon, so Estelle was the only one who replied in the group.
‘Wait for me. I’ll be here in a bit since I wouldn’t want to miss out on Myra’s food.’ After last night, she wasn’t as afraid of Heather any longer. Moreover, it wasn’t as if she had to spend time with Heather alone because everyone else would be there as well.
Since Estelle was the only person left that hadn’t reached, it wasn’t appropriate for them to start eating yet, so Myra texted her in the group chat. ‘When are you reaching?’
‘I’m on my way.’ Estelle was stuck in a traffic jam because this was the time where everyone got off work.
‘How much longer will it take for you to reach?’ Myra was starting to feel hungry. Why can’t Estelle leave her house earlier?
‘20 minutes,’ Estelle replied to Myra’s text in a guilty manner because she could only reach half an hour later at the earliest, considering the traffic jam situation.
Right then, Myra gave Tony a helpless look because they knew that whatever time Estelle told them must be multiplied by two.
Still, they had already achieved their objective for today. At this moment, Philip and Lucas were stealing glances at Heather while she sat tight.
When Heather wasn’t smiling, she looked cold and unapproachable. Despite that, she still looked extremely attractive, and her cold demeanor was the ultimate temptation for men.
While Myra and Tony were observing them, Heather’s gaze was fixed, and she didn’t bother glancing at Philip or Lucas. This made Serena curious because anyone could see that Philip and Lucas were interested in Heather.
I think this is a different kind of blind date, right? she thought to herself before pulling Henry closer to her. Because of how charismatic Heather was, even young boys such as Henry were attracted to her and wanted to sit together with her.
Nevertheless, doing that would be too impolite, so Serena refused to let Henry do that, making Myra giggle as she watched on.
In a blink of an eye, half an hour had passed by, but Estelle wasn’t here yet, so Myra continued rushing her in the group chat. ‘How long do you need to get here?’
Myra was in despair, as she didn’t expect Estelle to take so long to reach this time. By right, Estelle would have texted the group by half an hour later to inform them that she was reaching.
However, she was still quiet this time, and Myra feared that Estelle might take longer than that. I will starve to death if I have to wait for an hour to eat.
At the same time, Estelle was reading the texts in the group chat helplessly. If she had known earlier that the traffic jam would be so bad, she wouldn’t have wanted to go.
Noticing that Myra was starting to get impatient, Estelle could only reply to her with a cute emoji, hoping that it would make her feel better. However, it didn’t work, so Myra repeated her question. ‘How long do you need to get here?’
Knowing that she couldn’t avoid Myra’s question any longer, Estelle replied truthfully this time. ‘You guys should start first. I don’t think I’ll be able to reach anytime soon because an accident happened in front of the road, and the entire street is congested.’
Since Estelle already said that, they all decided to wait for her while eating. If not, the dishes would be cold by the time Estelle reached, and everyone would have to eat cold food together.
Even Heather was already starving by the time they finally decided to start eating, and she could immediately notice the three homemade dishes that Myra prepared among all the dishes from the chef.
On the other hand, Tony kept complimenting Myra’s dishes as if he wanted all of them to himself while Heather quietly reached out to grab some of Myra’s dishes before placing them in her bowl. Myra’s cooking skill is average at best, though, Heather thought to herself.
Still, she played along and complimented as well, “This is quite good. I still remember how we didn’t know how to cook back then.” Back in high school, most of the girls never knew how to cook.
Nevertheless, as Heather continued eating, she felt like she should show everyone her cooking skills as well. She used to have no filter and would say anything without any considerations, but she learned how to restrain herself now. Due to the fact that Myra and Heather were the only ones interacting with each other at the dining table, the atmosphere was slightly awkward, probably because all of them were deep in their thoughts.
I can’t let this go on any longer, Tony thought to himself before he started chatting with Philip and Lucas about their business.
He wanted to find an opportunity to allow them to talk about their strong point, so he kept directing the conversation. Myra and Tony were really trying their best to make things work this time.
However, it seemed like Heather wasn’t interested in them because she never chimed in to the conversation, even though she was listening to their conversation. She’d only look up occasionally in Myra’s direction.
Estelle only showed up when everyone was halfway eating as she apologized, “I’m so sorry that I’m late.”
Right then, her arrival resolved the awkward atmosphere because everyone’s gazes were fixated on her right away.
After getting another set of cutleries, Estelle took a seat next to Heather before giving her a bright smile while Heather returned it with a small grin. From her polite smile, Estelle could tell that Heather was well-educated, and she really wanted to go up to Heather to pinch her cheeks.
She really couldn’t believe that Heather had become like this because she used to be a devilish person, and Myra was the only person who would always praise her. Everyone was afraid of Heather because her viciousness was on another level, and her existence itself was fearful.
“Heather, how has it been for you all these years in Italy?” Because of Heather, the way Estelle spoke became politer instead of her usual blustering ways.
Yet, Heather stared at Estelle with a dumbfounded look because she didn’t expect Estelle to start a conversation with her. After pondering for a moment, she replied, “Italy was great. The school there was nice, and the years I spent there were fulfilling.” Facing people that she wasn’t close with, Heather usually talked in a polite manner.
Since it wasn’t related to business partnerships, there wasn’t any need for her to cotton up to anyone, so she gave off a cold aura.
From Heather’s face, it was hard to tell that she was actually someone with a cold demeanor because she looked too alluring after all. It was as if she was a real fairy.
At the same time, Myra was staring at Heather in confusion because she had been acting weird ever since last night. For a person who was a great socializer, Heather wasn’t acting like one.
Come on, girl! I mean, you’re supposed to be in the limelight, but why do I feel like you’re a bit too rigid today? That’s weird…
In fact, Myra could also sense a hint of timidness when she glanced at Heather. Still, she would never have guessed that Heather was deliberately being low key because the latter didn’t want to stick out like a sore thumb.
Heather was hoping to get a platonic friendship and wanted to keep her social means for benefit-related purposes only.
On the other hand, Tony was still talking to Philip and Lucas about business-related matters and was trying to get them to talk more about their areas of expertise. Upon hearing that Philip specialized in the medical field, Heather finally looked toward him.
Since Heather rarely cared about others’ appearance, this was her first time looking at Philip seriously. Then, when Philip noticed that Heather was staring at him, she gave him a small smile.
Upon noticing that, Myra figured that Heather was only interested in the fact that Philip was a doctor instead of actually being interested in him. On the contrary, Lucas, who was more mature, had a lower presence and didn’t manage to attract Heather’s attention, while Philip got even more pumped up to talk because of Heather’s gaze.
Still, Heather listened most of the time and rarely chimed in because they weren’t close, and she knew her place while Lucas kept glancing at her. Somehow, he was really attracted by her aura instead of her beautiful face, especially when she was quiet. She was just beautiful, and Lucas really couldn’t put what he was feeling in words.
He felt a connection toward Heather, and it had been a while since he ever felt attracted to a woman. This was Lucas’ first time actually wanting to get a woman. Yet, it was obvious that Philip was interested in Heather as well, so it made him feel conflicted, since he didn’t want to fight his best friend because of a woman.
All of them felt conceited after the meal, and Estelle quickly noticed something wrong. Then, a cheeky grin appeared on her face as she glanced at Philip and Lucas.
When they were young, Estelle had already noticed Heather’s charm because men used to be all over her back when they were young as well. It was just that Heather used to be way colder than she was right now, so none of them succeeded in confessing to her. In fact, she might even humiliate them.
After that, although those who liked Heather didn’t lessen, lesser people tried to confess to her because they would get hated by her after doing so.
Estelle had always thought that Heather was an alluring woman even until now, and from this distance, she noticed that Heather actually put on very little makeup.
In fact, Estelle could tell that Heather’s skin condition was superb, and she probably wouldn’t look any different without any makeup. She was a natural beauty.
Good looks are the root of troubles. Right then, those words appeared in Estelle’s mind. Although she wasn’t as hostile toward Heather as before, it was impossible for her to gain a liking toward her in a short time. Still, Estelle was still confused by Heather’s initiative to be nice to her yesterday.
Back when they were young, she really wanted to befriend Heather because Heather was a really cool person, and she really liked that.
Estelle figured that her best friend’s best friend would be her best friend as well, but she suffered the blow when she found out how hostile Heather was toward her.
Recalling about the past, she realized how terrifying Heather’s viciousness was. Right then, Estelle sneaked a glance at Heather before wondering what kind of plan Heather had in her mind because she was never a simple person before.
Throughout the entire meal, everyone was deep in their thoughts because of Heather. Even Philip felt conflicted because he didn’t want to fight with his best friend for a woman, but he was unable to resist Heather’s charms.
After seeing Heather today, his liking toward her deepened, and he figured that it was the same for Lucas as well. Philip was afraid to think about the possibility of him losing his best friend because of a woman, and he prayed that something so cliche wouldn’t happen to them.
On the other hand, Heather, who had been having her meal quietly, didn’t know that the two men sitting in front of her had already gone through so many thought processes, but she felt slightly uneasy about their constant gazes.
Still, it seemed to her that they were friends worth making because they were Tony’s best friends after all, and she would obviously like them together as a group. Nevertheless, Heather disliked the idea of being friends with people who were interested in her romantically because all of those were only for benefits, and she’d always try her best to avoid it.
