Before long, three days passed by in a flash. When their stay had come to an end, Leon was a little reluctant to leave. He turned to take another look at the villa, unsure of when he’d be visiting again—after all, he had bought this villa to be some sort of a vacation home.
“Head over to Nordico Residence,” Heather said to Leon as he sat in the driver’s seat.
Leon blinked at her blankly, not understanding what she meant by that.
Heather quickly explained at the sight of his confusion. She said, “I recently bought a unit there. Someone as lazy as you should just stay in an apartment.”
When Leo realized that Heather had bought him a place, a brilliant smile appeared on his face. “You treat me so well, Heather.”
Later on, Heather finally drove away on her own after making sure that Leon was settled in. Instead of going back to the Langston Residence at once, she went to visit Myra instead.
When she knocked on Myra’s door, a hint of nervousness filled her heart; it made her recall all those years ago when she would clutch her exam papers in her hands after failing to achieve the highest grade.
Finally, the door opened. This time, the housekeeper’s face was an unfamiliar one. She studied Heather from head to toe slowly and carefully, probably unaware of the latter’s identity.
“May I know if Mrs. Hart is home?” Heather asked her gently. Ever since returning from Iceland, Heather had lost the cockiness and arrogance she once had. Now, she had a much softer and milder temperament.
“May I know who you are?” The housekeeper’s eyes had a slight wariness in them. After all, she had just started working here not too long ago, so she’d rather keep an eye out whenever possible.
“Heather Langston. I’m a friend of Mrs. Hart’s,” Heather told her truthfully.
“Mrs. Hart isn’t home.” The housekeeper tried to dodge the question with a lie, and she sounded a little nervous when she spoke.
Heather already had a feeling that Myra wasn’t going to let her in, and she wasn’t surprised either. She told the housekeeper politely, “In that case, let me wait for her inside. I think she should be back very soon.”
The housekeeper was even more nervous at the sound of that, for she didn’t expect Heather to reply in such a way. She hung her head and occasionally stole a look at Heather. Then, she finally said after a long time, “That would be quite inappropriate.”
“In what way would that be inappropriate? I’ll just sit in the living room, so I won’t be disturbing anyone.” Heather stepped forward and tried to go inside as she spoke.
The housekeeper looked up at Heather in a panic. She instinctively closed the door, but Heather’s hand was already placed against it; when it came to force, an ordinary woman wouldn’t be able to go up against Heather.
“Mrs. Hart has been out for a few days, so she won’t be back for some time. There’s no need to wait for her, Miss,” the housekeeper said shakily. Her eyes were begging for Heather to stop putting her in such a difficult situation.
This new housekeeper seemed to look quite frail and pitiful. Unfortunately, the sympathy card didn’t work on Heather since she wasn’t a man.
“Is that so?” Heather said sarcastically as the look in her eyes became sharp.
The little housekeeper felt suffocated under Heather’s overbearing pressure, so she didn’t know how to handle the situation. Myra had informed her precisely to not let a ‘Heather Langston’ into the house under any circumstances, and she was told to do whatever she could to make the woman leave.
Myra still hadn’t fully calmed down at the moment, so she wasn’t ready to meet Heather. However, the latter’s personality was no secret to her; Myra had a feeling that she would definitely visit her upon returning from Iceland.
While the housekeeper was having trouble with Heather, Myra was already aware of the situation outside as she stayed in the bedroom. She frowned slightly and contemplated whether or not to let Heather in.
Growing up, Heather had never experienced any cold shoulder treatment from someone else. Right now, Myra was still mulling over her decision for the sake of Heather’s pride—she knew that the woman highly prioritized her self-regard and dignity.
She had already given Heather a heavy blow before this, so she was worried that the woman might feel hurt again if she didn’t give her a chance this time. Right now, it was simply too soon for Myra to get over what happened; deep inside, she still cared for Heather. After all, Myra was awfully soft-hearted, so she couldn’t truly hate Heather no matter what.
However, Myra didn’t wish for their conflict to grow bigger—if they really were to meet today, perhaps a bigger problem might arise if they weren’t able to come to an agreement.
While Myra was debating with her thoughts, Heather was getting more and more persistent outside. In truth, she could have forced her way in with just a little push, but since she had come to apologize and not rob the house, it wouldn’t be suitable to resort to force.
Just then, Heather took in the determination on the housekeeper’s face. The fact that the housekeeper could be so relentless in keeping her stand with her small and weak stature was quite an applauding feat—she was extremely competent as a housekeeper.
The housekeeper seemed different from the usual stereotypical ones, so Heather had a feeling that she was a college student working part-time.
“Are you still in school?” Heather’s tone of speech changed all of a sudden as she started showing concern for the housekeeper.
Other housekeepers wouldn’t have bothered to respond if someone asked them personal questions, but the younger girl was naturally more than happy to see Heather change the subject on her own.
“Yeah,” the housekeeper replied truthfully.
“Are you working here part-time?” Heather continued to ask.
The housekeeper nodded and said, “Yeah, it’s to cover my allowance.” She didn’t think working part-time to support her expenses was anything embarrassing at all. In fact, to live on her own hard-earned money was something to be proud of.
“Interesting.” Heather smiled. She thought to herself that it was unfortunate for the housekeeper to have met her today. If she were some promising, handsome young man at the door, the situation would’ve probably played out differently—perhaps a beautiful romance between an arrogant CEO and an ordinary girl might have unfolded.
“I really can’t let you in right now, Miss Langston. I’ll let you know when Mrs. Hart comes back.” The housekeeper took advantage of Heather’s slightly better mood and quickly brought up the main subject again.
Heather put on a sweet smile and said, “Okay.”
Once she finally let go, the housekeeper quickly closed the door. However, Heather hadn’t moved her foot that was wedged in between the door, so the former couldn’t shut it at all.
As such, the housekeeper looked at Heather with a confused expression, not knowing why she was doing this. The next moment, Heather swiftly retrieved a name card from her handbag—she had the habit of bringing them around. “You can contact me here.”
When the housekeeper accepted the namecard, Heather was finally able to see the anticipated surprise in her eyes. Needless to say, the housekeeper probably had no clue that the visitor had such a renowned status.
“Also, this might be off topic, but what’s your college major?” Heather decided to achieve her goal by taking a detour.
“Finance,” the housekeeper said timidly. She finally recalled that Heather was none other than a genius in business; she had looked up the woman’s information and achievements before, but they were already long forgotten since it was quite some time ago. Nonetheless, she didn’t expect Heather to be standing in front of her right now.
In truth, Heather wasn’t that amazing to the extreme. However, in a place like Bradfort City where the corporate world was dominated by the male population, she was the most outstanding one amongst women in business. Hence, it was only natural for her to be looked up to, for diamonds were only sought after for its rarity.
“I believe you’re quite capable in a professional setting. You should work for me if there’s a chance.” Heather offered her an opportunity in hopes to seal the deal.
The housekeeper lowered her flushed face. Indeed, it would be great to work under Heather. However, it did feel odd that Heather would offer her such an opportunity out of the blue. She can’t be doing this just to enter the house, right?
“May I know if there’s anything you need in exchange for me to secure this offer?” The housekeeper was familiar with such tactics, for she didn’t believe in free lunches.
Heather chuckled. Ironically, she saw her younger self in the housekeeper’s eyes just for a brief moment. Eventually, she shook her head and said, “I simply admire your talent.”
Heather promptly left after that, wondering how Myra had found someone like this to work for her. There was a period of time in the past when Heather used to disguise herself behind a tough facade as well.
Back then, she looked fragile and weak with her delicate and naive appearance, but the look in her eyes was tougher than anyone else’s, just like the housekeeper from earlier.
Perhaps Myra was the only one who remembered how she was back then; even Heather had almost forgotten who she used to be herself. Sure enough, as the years had gone by, the past was long forgotten.
Meanwhile, Heather didn’t have a choice but to return to the Langston Residence after leaving Myra’s house. Sadly, she didn’t have the chance to see the latter. However, since she was only there to offer her sincere apologies, she didn’t mind visiting a few more times if she had failed on the first attempt. Third time’s the charm, after all.
It was pretty common for couples to have fights, and it was no different for best friends. Heather came to realize that she had always treated Myra like family, so she couldn’t bear to lose that friend of hers no matter what.
She had to find a way to save their sibling-like relationship; at the same time, she believed that Myra felt the same toward her as well. One way or another, the conflict between them was sure to be resolved in time.
When Heather arrived at the Langston Residence, the entire house was empty; there was no one in the living room. This wasn’t unusual since it was still office and schooling hours, whereas the others were probably enjoying their day out at a mall. Right now, Robert was probably the only one at home.
As such, Heather went straight to the study to look for Robert. She knocked on the door gently and his voice could be heard from inside at once.
After she pushed the door open, her mouth curved into an affectionate yet spoiled smile as she stared straight at Robert.
“Hey, little girl,” Robert said gently. It had been some time since Heather last heard him call her that.
“Grandpa.” Heather went up to him.
“You were gone for a long while again this time,” Robert said with a sigh. These days, he seldom meddled in her affairs since he had already put his full trust in her.
Even though Robert was old, his mind was still sharp as ever—he was aware of everything that was happening in the Langston Family, so he understood Heather’s pain as well.
“I’m not leaving anymore, Grandpa. I’ll settle down in Bradfort City for good.” Heather used to think of making a living somewhere far away from home where there were better opportunities, but she just couldn’t leave Bradfort City behind. Thus, she’d rather stay here—she was more than capable to be successful in this city itself, after all.
“I know your ambitions, little girl. I shouldn’t have kept you here in the Langston Residence.” Robert understood all of Heather’s recent struggles, and he knew that she was facing a lot of pressure from many parties.
“I don’t want to see our family fall either, and the Langston Family is my responsibility too. I understand now, Grandpa. I used to be too self-centered, and I should’ve cared more about the people around me.” Indeed, when she recalled her past, Heather did used to over-prioritize her own feelings. She wasn’t willing to let herself get hurt even a little, whereas Robert had already tried to give her the best there was.
“Why do you suddenly think so, little girl?” Robert looked at Heather with a surprised expression. At that moment, he felt like she had really grown up. She was different now, and there was an added sense of gentleness to her as well.
“Do you not like how I’ve changed, Grandpa?” Heather smiled slightly and tilted her head to the side. She looked pure and innocent, and it seemed as though she had gone back 10 years in time.
“That’s not it, but I don’t want you to push yourself too much.” Even though Robert was happy with how she changed, he still felt unbelievably sorry for her. Just then, he was once again reminded of his sister who had died young.
“You don’t need to feel guilty for my sake too, Grandpa. Look carefully—I’m your granddaughter,” Heather said, her words carrying another underlying meaning to them. She knew that her grandfather had been treating her as Claris all this time, for he was always guilty when he faced her. Moreover, he treated her with a sense of pity and regret that came from the longstanding knot in his heart throughout all these years.
Robert still couldn’t get over his sister’s death. He blamed himself for it, and he couldn’t forgive himself; he had always believed that he and the Langston Family were the ones who killed Claris. Since he didn’t have anyone to take his guilt out on, he could only give Heather all the kindness he could offer.
Now, Heather no longer wanted to rely on such kindness; she wanted to help Robert untie the knot in his heart once and for all.
