When they returned to Locke Residence, Matthias wasn’t smiling and Regan had an unpleasant look on his face as he walked behind Matthias. Seeing their appearance, the head of the family thought they had another dispute. At that point, the two of them were the most outstanding members of the Locke Family. Unfortunately, Regan’s status wasn’t as legitimate as Matthias’.
Although the Locke Family was prosperous, the most prosperous ones would be the younger generation. Among the elders, the head of the family was the eldest. Matthias’ father had passed away a long time ago.
Regan was the child of Matthias’ aunt, and Regan’s father was a live-in son-in-law of the Locke Family. In fact, Regan contributed more to the Locke Family, but because of his status, he was always pushed down by Matthias.
The head of the family knew all of this. Based on Regan’s personality, he wouldn’t be comfortable being pressured by Matthias. However, the head of the family supported Matthias’ lineage. The family rules mustn’t be broken, and so he could only allow Regan to be aggrieved.
“Did the blind date go well today?” The head of the family asked Regan although he could already guess from their expression that nothing good happened.
“Grandpa, Matthias has angered all the girls,” Regan complained. After all, Matthias’ words and actions were a little too much.
In fact, the head of the family wasn’t Regan and Matthias’s grandfather. After all, the head of the family didn’t have children. Matthias and Regan were the descendents of the head of the family’s elder brother. But since he was the only elderly at home, everyone respectfully addressed him as ‘Grandpa’, except Matthias who didn’t like to greet others.
The head of the family turned to look at Matthias and saw his stubborn face. He couldn’t scold him in front of others, but he said in a not-so-subtle manner, “Matthias, the family rule of independence at thirty must not be broken.”
Matthias’ lips curled into a bright smile. “I’m not thirty yet, so you guys don’t have to worry about it.” While speaking, he shot a glare at Regan.
He just couldn’t stand him at all, and he despised each and every movement of his. In the past, Regan didn’t know how to hide his desires at all, but now he had learnt to disguise his intentions.
Matthias would always remember the time when Regan beat him up and peed on him. In fact, he would never ever forget that kind of shame.
After making a fuss, everyone was unhappy, and the head of the family didn’t want to force Matthias either. He had met countless people in his lifetime, and he could feel Matthias’ desire for power. One day, he would compromise. Just as he said, he wasn’t thirty yet. When that day came, he believed Matthias would give everyone a satisfactory answer.
“Matthias has booked a flight back for tomorrow afternoon.” Regan didn’t forget to continue backstabbing him. He was dying for Matthias to do something out of the line again so that the Locke Family would become more and more disappointed with him.
Including the head of the family, everyone was shocked. Even the head of the family didn’t expect Matthias to be so reckless while Matthias had a look of nonchalance.
In fact, he had had enough of this. He used to keep a low profile in the Locke Family and would still get into trouble. Since those people wanted to oppose him at every turn, he thought there was no need for him to stay low, so he might as well show them his true temper.
“Yes. I will go back to Bradford City tomorrow. There are a lot of things to deal with at Locke Group, and I don’t have time to spend on blind dates,” Matthias said with emphasis on each word. What he said was true. As the executive director of Locke Group, he couldn’t be away for too long.
However, Regan didn’t think so and he said cynically, “I know that Matthias is a busy man who dedicates his life to Locke Group, but marriage is not child’s play and is equally important. If a man doesn’t have a family at the age of thirty, how is he going to further his career? Internationally, people prefer to choose someone who has a family as a business partner.”
Matthias watched Regan’s performance coldly with a look of disdain. He spoke so much and beat around the bush just to come back around to mock him.
At that moment, the head of the family didn’t want to see them fight against each other and to treat each other like enemies, so he stepped in to mediate. The head of the family also had such a phase of mutual incompatibility with his elder brother, and later when his elder brother passed away, he regretted everything. As such, he did not want the younger generation to repeat his mistakes.
He knew how much effort Regan had made. Although on the surface the head of the family was more lenient to Matthias, in reality, it was also a test for Regan. In fact, he intended to pass the position of the Head of the Locke Family to Regan, but of course on the premise that he and Matthias could get along and treat each other like brothers.
If Regan still did not understand his intentions and still wanted to compete with Matthias, then the head of the family would consider giving the position of the family head and leader of Locke Group to Matthias.
Instead of watching them argue, it would be better to let Matthias alone take on the burden. The head of the family hoped to see their relationship improve in his last days.
Brothers working together were always more powerful than one person, and the head of the family had made a good plan for everything. He would also advise the two in private to love each other.
However, there was little effect. On the one hand, Matthias still could not let go of the humiliation inflicted on him by Regan, and on the other hand, Regan was always saying things he didn’t mean. He was still unwilling to accept Matthias.
Just when the head of the family was lost in thought, Matthias’ cold words echoed again. There was no way he was willing to be chastised by Regan.
“Cooperation depends on strength. Do I have to marry a woman I don’t like just to please the other party?” Matthias spoke disdainfully. In his eyes, Regan was just a pathetic villain. After all, Regan’s marriage was one of the biggest jokes.
The woman Regan married was like a puppet that depended on him for everything. Perhaps it was because of this nature that he was willing to marry the woman.
In fact, Matthias couldn’t see any love between them. On top of that, Regan wasn’t even willing to spare a second glance at the woman. It was obvious that he did not like her.
He felt sad for the woman for having to marry a husband like that. She was just a victim of political and business alliances. Matthias wasn’t going to become like Regan, and he was not willing to sacrifice the happiness of an innocent woman for the sake of power. He wouldn’t want to get married if it wasn’t for love.
Back then, Matthias’ mother loved his father very much, but so what? His father had a family. Because he did not love his wife, he cheated on her with his mother and gave birth to him, an illegitimate son.
Then, it became a war between the two women. It was the man who made a mistake, and yet in the end, the women had to pay the price. Thinking of his mother’s painful life, Matthias felt that he must not take marriage lightly.
The two argued, and finally Regan compromised. In front of everyone, he didn’t want to be overbearing. He wanted to make it seem like he was being bullied by Matthias so as to win the sympathy of the crowd. Since Matthias wanted this, then he was going to further tarnish Matthias’ reputation.
Just then, Matthias gratefully looked toward the head of the family. No matter whether he was right or wrong, he would always side with him. Sometimes, Matthias really didn’t know why he was so good to him.
Once, the head of the family had said something strange that Matthias could still remember clearly until now. “You look a lot like him.” Matthias regretted not asking the head of the family who he was referring to back then.
The head of the family was also overbearing in his youth and had done a lot of outrageous things to his brother. Perhaps as his retribution, he had no successor.
It was only when his brother passed away and the burden of the entire Locke Family fell on the head of the family that he understood his brother’s good intentions. His brother always gave in to him not because he was afraid of how powerful he was, but for the benefit of the Locke Family and the greater good.
Moreover, his elder brother had always treated him as a brother. It was the head of the family himself who was narrow-minded, which led to the two brothers to be in constant disagreement. Even the day before his brother passed away, they had still been arguing.
Perhaps it was intergenerational heredity. Matthias looked especially like his older brother when he was young. When he looked at him, there would be moments where he thought his older brother had come back to live.
The favoring of a junior was not without reason. Sometimes, the head of the family only treated Matthias as the reincarnation of his brother, and he would do anything in his power to protect Matthias.
Of course, when he came back to his senses, he would laugh at himself. There was no reincarnation. Although Matthias looked similar to his brother, there were still differences after all. Even their personalities were very different.
The next day, no blind dates were arranged for Matthias. It was specifically instructed by the head of the family. Although Regan was still unconvinced, he couldn’t really say anything more. In the end, Matthias did not cancel his flight ticket.
The head of the family led Matthias to the garden behind the residence. Matthias would be leaving in the afternoon, and the head of the family still had a lot to say to him. As such, he wanted to take this opportunity to have a talk with him.
“Matthias, have you met a girl you like in Bradfort City?” the head of the family asked in a straightforward manner.
Hearing this, Matthias was surprised for a moment. He did not expect him to mention this matter, and he did not know how to answer for a moment.
“I know you had a first love named Myra, but she is now married to another man. You need to accept that fact,” the head of the family said with clarity. He knew Matthias better than Matthias thought he did.
“Grandpa, I’m already used to liking her. If you ask me to like someone else, I really can’t do it.” Matthias did not want to lie to the head of the family and he had been wanting to talk to someone about this, so he might as well talk to him about his feelings.
“Aren’t you close with a girl named Heather Langston?” he asked tentatively.
Matthias unconsciously frowned. Once Heather was mentioned, he was distressed. Now, he didn’t have any more thoughts on Myra, but Heather was causing him to be distraught.
“She and I are only cooperating in a way,” he said stiffly. Even he refused to admit to himself that he had feelings for Heather, so how could he admit to others that he had a special affection for her?
“Young man, do not try to deceive others and yourself. Sometimes, you have to quiet down and listen to your own heart,” the head of the family said emotionally. He had also experienced intense love. In fact, everyone had a rebellious past.
“Grandpa, can we not talk about this? Nothing will ever happen between Heather and I,” he said firmly. There was no way he would allow himself to fall in love with Heather.
