Since Matthias wanted to please Robert, he had no reason to refuse Robert’s offer to stay. Heather grinned at Matthias, since it would be interesting to see how Matthias would act with the Langstons around during dinner.
When they came back down, the living room was already wrecked by the kids. They pulled no punches because Robert wasn’t around to control them. The sight shocked Matthias, who had never seen how destructive kids could be, but Heather was already used to it. On the other hand, Robert was dangerously quiet. These kids are getting rowdier. Didn’t see that during my kids’ time. How unbecoming.
The kids immediately quieted down when they saw Robert. Heather had a strict upbringing, but the kids were nothing but spoiled brats. Robert was ashamed that Matthias had to see that, but he pretended that nothing had happened, while Heather shot a look at the kids, and they started shivering. I see Heather holds some sway on them, huh?
The kids were also scared of Robert, so they quickly went away the moment Robert came down, and everything was quiet. It was getting late, and the adults were going to be home soon. The Langston Family was a big one, so not everyone was working at the company. Some members had their own pursuits, so they worked elsewhere.
Blake would be home soon. Since there wasn’t much to do domestically, he preferred to work from home base. The work was easier to handle, and working at the headquarters was more secure than toiling overseas.
On the other hand, Heather would have stayed overseas if not for Robert’s plea. She had done a good job there, since she had successfully expanded the business in other countries. Robert wanted her to stay abroad for a few more years, but since his health was in decline, he was worried he might die before he saw Heather again.
Sometimes Robert thought he was just a burden for Heather, since he was the only thing tying her to the family. If or when he passed, he knew she wouldn’t stay in the family any longer. “Take a look at this, Heather.” Robert took some documents out of his study, which was surprising, since they usually wouldn’t talk about work at home.
Heather took the documents from him, but she had a lot of questions in mind. According to their deal, she didn’t have to help the company out unless it was on the verge of collapse. Besides that, Blake was supposed to be the one to access the documents instead of her, so she wondered what Robert was thinking. But nothing good can come from this. He won’t do something like this otherwise.
Heather only skimmed through the documents, unlike Robert. She didn’t want Blake to stumble across this, or he’d try to trip her up again. Since she had left the company, she didn’t want to make things worse between her and Blake. If it weren’t for Matthias, she wouldn’t even have taken the documents from him. We had a deal, so stick to it.
“I don’t see the problem here, Grandpa.” She quickly handed it back to Robert, at the same time wondering why Blake wasn’t home yet. Matthias wondered why she was looking like she was getting rid of something disastrous, but Robert knew why she did that.
“Blake needs to see some clients tonight. We’ll go on ahead without him.” Robert took the documents back.
“I see,” Heather answered calmly. Robert was just trying to tease her, but just as he expected, Heather was walking on eggshells around Blake after her departure from the company. They used to be in a competition, but now Heather was staying away from him. Robert thought it was a good thing, since he didn’t want their relationship to worsen any further.
Matthias was still confused. He thought Heather was refusing to work with the Langstons because she had another target—the Hart Group. It was precisely because he had that thought that Matthias wanted her to work with the Langstons. The Locke Group wanted to partner up with the Hart Group after all, so he couldn’t let the Langstons work with the Harts.
…
The other Langstons started coming home just when dinner was done. Dinnertime was the merriest time in the Langstons, as they had a tradition of having dinner at home. If they didn’t, the family would eventually break apart, as nobody would talk to anybody.
It was the first time Matthias ever experienced a family gathering. Back in his family, Matthias rarely had dinner with his family, for he was an aloof man. It was the first time he thought family gatherings were nice. Since the main problem in the Langstons was between Heather and Blake, most of the family were disinclined to pick sides.
However, as Blake was a social man, he maintained a cordial relationship with everyone. On the other hand, Heather was a lone wolf, so the family was on better terms with Blake. But since Robert supported Heather, none of them ever picked a side when Heather and Blake got into a fight. Robert was the head of the family after all, and he was the decision maker for the most part. Technically, Blake didn’t have full control over the company yet.
It was the merriest time, but dinner went by quietly. Nobody talked when they were eating, since Robert disliked any chattering during meals. The only reason they gathered around was for a feeling of togetherness. Any chitchat was not allowed on the table. Even so, Heather was unusually quiet that night.
At the same time, Matthias noticed the girl who was sitting beside Heather. She was young and lively, and he thought she must still be in school. Everly was also staring back at him from time to time, for she was interested in the man who was embroiled in the scandal with Heather. Everyone in the family knew Matthias, but Matthias noticed Everly because of her outstanding looks.
Since she was already staring at him, Matthias would naturally return the favor. If it weren’t because of the fact that he was dating Heather, Everly would be a star in his eyes. But after he started going out with Heather, he knew that Heather’s beauty came from the soul, while Everly’s beauty was only skin-deep.
True beauty came from within. Someone like Matthias had seen many gorgeous women, so even though Everly was gorgeous, she lacked the X factor for him. Heather noticed Matthias making eye contact with Everly, so she shot him a look, and he stopped staring at Everly.
He only looked because his interest was piqued. Everly was Heather’s cousin, so they looked similar, and thanks to that, he unconsciously compared them. Of course, Everly was still young, but she might grow up and become someone like her cousin.
However, that was all speculation. The truth was that Everly was still a child, and Matthias was just admiring her looks. He wasn’t getting any ideas, but Heather’s look was scaring him. Everly noticed that, and she chuckled quietly. So he’s scared of Heather.
Everly was envious of her cousin, if she were to be honest. She knew most of the family disliked Heather, but at least Heather had the freedom to do anything she wanted. The men who liked her were all prime real estate, as if she was the perfect match for every perfect man. On the other hand, Everly was insecure about herself, just like Blake. Blake thought Heather stole his spotlight, so he tried to trip her up at every chance he got instead of working together with her.
That was his way of venting his insecurity out, but Everly wouldn’t do that. She didn’t even have the guts to be jealous of Heather, let alone going up against her. All she could do was be the nice, quiet girl she always was. She knew Heather disliked the Langstons, but she also knew Heather didn’t hate her, so she had been wanting to befriend her cousin.
She then thought about the case with Caleb. Blake promised he would help her out with her relationship, but he never did. Everly didn’t get into a relationship at school because she didn’t have the courage to accept their confessions. However, she eventually fell for Caleb, and her love consumed her.
In the end, she was even willing to woo Caleb herself. It was love at first sight, and Everly didn’t know why she fell for him no matter how many years had passed. All she knew was that she wanted to marry him.
Heather noticed the love in Everly’s eyes, and she squinted. She thought Everly had feelings for Matthias, but unbeknownst to her, her cousin only loved Caleb. Most people wouldn’t believe it either, for Caleb was an unapproachable man. He was a terrifying killer, so nobody would expect a quiet lady like Everly to fall for him. It was an absurd love story as far as love stories went.
Thanks to that discovery, Heather started glaring at Matthias, and unlucky for him, Matthias looked straight at her. There were only a few people in the family whom Heather didn’t dislike, and Everly was one of them. Hence, she would never allow Matthias to make a move on her lovely cousin.
Matthias wondered why Heather was getting angry, while Everly chuckled quietly. She looked lovely when she smiled, so Matthias smiled back at her. Wrong move. Heather wanted to get him away from Everly, so she got even angrier when Matthias smiled. I have to talk to him after this.
Everly thought Matthias was a gentler person than her cousin, though Heather was a great match for him. Oh, Caleb says he likes Heather. Hm, gotta take him back from her, I guess. Everly was scared by the prospect, then she remembered Caleb telling her about how Heather loved to play men like a fiddle. She then wondered about Heather’s relationship with Matthias. I can see Matthias’ love for Heather, but not the other way around.
