Heather shot him a look, and he gave her the key. Nobody could stop her once she had decided on something. There was an imperial vibe about her that stopped anyone from giving her a refusal. Once she took the key, she waved the guard down. “Come back here for the key after an hour.”
She didn’t get to swim right away though. Once the butler had settled Blake down, he came to see Heather. Right after the guard’s departure, he came up to her slowly. “Old Master Langston requests you in his study, Miss Heather.”
Heather stopped opening the door. Grandpa wants me to see him at this hour? That’s weird. She couldn’t just yell at the butler, so she asked somewhat annoyedly, “Why is he calling me?”
“I am not very sure. But you’ll find out once you see him.”
The butler looked serious, so she looked at the key she was holding before handing it to him. “Give this back to the guard, and don’t follow me. I can see him by myself.” Frustrated that her swim was disturbed again, Heather went to the study. Blake was nowhere to be seen when she came back to the living room, so she thought someone must have taken him back to his room.
The air still reeks of alcohol. She scrunched her nose up. The butler will handle it later. Then, she tiptoed to the bedroom, since everyone was asleep. Her elders were living on the second floor, so she couldn’t make any loud sounds.
The study room was ajar, and she could see the light coming from inside. Heather opened the door and came face to face with Robert, who was in the center of the room. After that, she closed the door before going up to him.
“Where were you going?” Robert was inscrutable, so she couldn’t guess what he was thinking. Did I make him mad?
“Downstairs,” she answered honestly, since Robert seemed to know what she had done. Obviously, the butler told him everything.
“The pool’s closed at this hour. Don’t you know the rules? This isn’t the time for a swim.” Robert was troubled by her rebellious tendencies at home.
“I just felt like swimming. Can’t control the urge, you know. Why should the pool be restricted anyway? It should be open 24/7,” she retorted. Heather wasn’t one to acknowledge anything easily.
Robert didn’t want to argue with her about the pool’s opening hours. He noticed that Heather had been acting very weirdly since morning, and she was more caustic toward Matthias than before. Something happened. “Tell me about your relationship with Matthias.” They could talk openly, as they were alone in the study.
She stared at him, dumbfounded. Why is he bringing Matthias up? There’s nothing to talk about. “What do you want me to talk about? Be specific.” She didn’t want to answer it. If it weren’t for Caleb, she wouldn’t have gotten into this mess.
“Answer me. You don’t want me to match you up with him, right?” He was sacrificing his sleep because he wanted to talk about something important with her, or it’d only be a waste of time.
“Isn’t that obvious, Grandpa?” She thought it was obvious that she hated Matthias. Heather had never considered the possibility of marriage, but Robert wanted to marry her off to him. She would act it out if she could, but she would never really fall for him. Matthias wasn’t the kind of partner she wanted, and she knew that. Since he didn’t meet the criteria she set, it was impossible for them to date.
“Matthias is your best choice for now, at least compared to Caleb. Are you sure you don’t want to give him a chance?” Caleb was the reason Robert wanted Matthias to court Heather. He knew Matthias wasn’t Heather’s perfect partner, but there was no better option, at least for the time being.
Heather wasn’t there to see the horrors caused by the Moriartys, so she didn’t understand how terrifying they were. The moment Caleb laid eyes on her, he had decided that she would be his prey.
“And I have to sacrifice my happiness just because of the Moriartys?” Heather was hesitating. She didn’t understand the terror of the Moriarty Family, nor was she sure what they wanted to do to her.
“Now that Caleb has chosen you, it’s time we face this matter head on. I don’t want you to fall to his hands. He’ll ruin you,” Robert said genuinely, because the Moriartys loved to ruin the things precious to him.
“But if Caleb has set his eyes on me, he can still ruin me even if I date Matthias. Can he even help me out? If the Moriartys are that terrifying, can the Locke Family even win?” Heather had her own concerns. She wondered why she was ‘chosen’. Chosen for what?
“At least you have a fighting chance, so why don’t you give it a shot?” As long as he could keep her away from the Moriartys’ jaws, Robert would give anything a chance, even if Heather had to do something outrageous.
“If that is what you wish, Grandpa, then so be it.” Heather didn’t want to talk about it. Every time she brought the Moriartys up, her grandfather would show her a look of sheer terror. Giving in at times was fine for her. She would go down hard on most occasions, but she would take a step back whenever someone she loved was involved. Only when she was before her grandfather would Heather be a complete person; those were the only times she would have emotions, and only then would she negotiate.
Robert heaved a sigh of relief after she agreed to it. He thought she would argue with him for hours, but to his surprise, she agreed easily. Still, he was glad that she did so, since that showed that she understood his situation. “I can see that Matthias likes you, and he told me he’s courting you,” Robert said.
Heather’s face fell, for she never thought Matthias would tell Robert about it. She stared downward, her face scarlet from anger and embarrassment. “Do you think he can be trusted, Grandpa?” Heather grumbled. She never thought Matthias was serious about it.
Love was something sacred for Heather. Only when a couple was in love could a family be built, and only then could they bear a child out of love. Also, it was only then could a family be happy. Heather’s parents didn’t marry out of love, and she had had enough with the imbalance of the power dynamics. She wasn’t born out of love, so she wasn’t loved by her parents.
Heather didn’t want her children to have the same fate as she did. She wanted to give her children a complete and loving family, which she couldn’t see if she was married to Matthias.
“A man knows how another man thinks, so I know he loves you.” Robert was only matching them up because he could see that Matthias loved Heather; he wouldn’t have done it if he didn’t.
“But he hated me. I ruined his first love. I ruined his pure, unadulterated relationship, but now he has fallen for me? I-It’s insane!” Heather couldn’t stay calm anymore. She thought she had to tell Robert that no man could love someone who ruined their first love.
Robert sighed, then he beckoned Heather to come closer. She obliged, and Robert patted her head. “That’s what happened between me and her,” he said cryptically.
Heather was confused, so he explained, “The one I loved ruined my first love too, but I fell for her nonetheless. She’s my sweetheart. You might fall for someone, but that doesn’t mean you’ll end up together. I loved her my whole life, but I didn’t end up together with her.”
That was the first time she heard Robert talking about his past. Wow, this is colorful. She blinked innocently and thought, Men sure are weird. “Men can be really forgiving, huh?” Heather commented. She had to do it, or it would be annoying.
“No. Some men only realize love later in life. Most think that their first love is true love, but true love comes unexpectedly, unknowingly. You would feel something tugging at your heart the moment you see them, then you’d end up trying to vie for their attention,” he explained. Finally, Heather realized what he was talking about.
That’s an experienced person for you. She couldn’t understand him earlier, but she was slowly getting it.
“Men would date the vulnerable woman when they’re young. They love women who are submissive and innocent, but when they get older, they’d start branching out to the sexier women. They didn’t do it when they were younger because they didn’t know if they could, but once they get into the groove, they’ll branch out,” he kept explaining.
Oh, I get it. So that’s why. “Is that the case with Matthias too?” she asked. I would have told Grandpa about it if I knew he had this kind of past. Why’d I even dwell on this?
“Yes, and it happens to most men. They’d fall for someone they never thought they would,” he said. Love was irrational that way, and that was why everyone was crazy for it.
“Thank you, Grandpa. I know what I should do now.” Heather felt much better after listening to him, and the prospect of dating Matthias didn’t seem so bad then.
“Be patient with him. He’s a gem in the rough, at least in the dating scene. He needs to be polished. Men are like children when it comes to love, so women would have to guide them. Women are more mature than their male counterparts if they’re the same age, you know.” Robert didn’t think Heather was that much better than Matthias in romance. In fact, she was even more of a gem in the rough, but if he needed to get her into the groove, he had to praise her. That’s how you deal with women.
