Robert pushed his glasses on the bridge of his nose and a frown appeared between his brows as he stared at Heather intently; he couldn’t tell if her change was for the good or bad.
“I’ve come to realize something recently, Grandpa—the past shouldn’t affect the present,” said Heather with utmost sincerity. She had learned some valuable lessons from Myra, so she hoped that Robert could understand them as well.
“Are you talking about what happened between you and Myra?” In truth, Robert was aware of everything. Heather’s unusual behavior was probably sparked by Myra.
In actual fact, she owed some of the enlightenment to Matthias as well. Without knowing it, her lips curled upward at the thought of the man. She knew that Matthias wanted nothing more than for her to resolve the long line of conflict with Myra. The matter had become very much complicated since it involved the three of them.
“More accurately, it’s what happened between me, Myra, and Matthias.” Heather intentionally emphasized the importance of the third person.
Robert stared at Heather with a meaningful look in his eyes. “Have you fallen for that fella from the Locke Family?” Robert wasn’t too happy inside when he finally realized that she had fallen in love with Matthias. After, Matthias had stolen his precious granddaughter’s heart.
“Don’t try to change the topic, Grandpa.” Heather didn’t admit it straight away, but the way she replied sounded like an indirect confession.
Robert put on a smile which had a hint of resignation. “I don’t feel like talking about this, Heather.” Since he couldn’t avoid the subject, he thought it’d be better to admit his intention right away. Robert truly didn’t want to discuss the matter with Heather; he would feel troubled whenever it was brought up.
“I’m sure you’re wise enough to know that running away isn’t going to solve the problem, Grandpa.” Heather wasn’t willing to let Robert brush it off just like that; she wanted to make sure that he understood her point.
“I know what you’re trying to say, Heather. I’m not hanging onto the past; I just want to make up for all that the Langstons owed you.”
If things were as simple as that, Heather wouldn’t have received such special treatment from him. Was making up for her the only reason behind it? Nevertheless, Heather didn’t think the Langstons were guilty to that extent.
“You wouldn’t be living like this with such a mindset if you’ve really let go of the past, Grandpa,” Heather insisted. She believed that Robert was running away from the problem.
Since they were now stuck in an endless loop, Robert decided to lower his head and continue doing what he was doing before—he carried on scribbling on some papers. Meanwhile, Heather was still unwilling to surrender and continued to express her opinions openly.
“You don’t need to worry about me, Heather,” Robert reassured her; he wasn’t sure why Heather was so persistent to talk him out of this issue.
“There are a lot more things that I’m worried about which concern you, Grandpa.” Heather teased him half-jokingly, but she was partly serious.
“I’m worried about you as well.” Robert wasn’t planning to back down. How could he let his granddaughter worry about him? Moreover, he didn’t have the slightest interest to revisit the topic from earlier.
“Since you don’t want to talk about it, Grandpa, I’ll drop it.” Heather could tell that Robert didn’t want to delve deeper into the subject; if she insisted, he would only bring her round and round in a circle. In the end, she wouldn’t be able to get anything out of it.
Hence, she returned to her bedroom. Heather stared at the familiar arrangement of her room—home sweet home, indeed. Heather used to be reluctant to make the Langston Residence her home, but now that she had painstakingly found her sense of belonging here, she felt that she had achieved more than enough in life compared to many others.
When she was young, Heather used to be constantly unsettled due to her parents. In fact, she found herself unable to let it go even now. In truth, it was pretty funny now that she thought about it; why did she have to put the blame on two people who didn’t matter at all?
The more her parents neglected her existence, the more she was desperate to perform well. When she was little, she did it because she wanted her parents to notice her; by the time she had grown up, it was purely out of spite.
In the end, she was nothing but a pathetic clown who endlessly begged for their slightest attention. Heather had seen past all of that now, for she knew she was as good as anyone else. Even though her parents were uncaring, she had a grandfather who spoiled her to the core. Was that not enough?
Moreover, she didn’t lack love from her family and friends; although her circle was small, Myra and Leon treated her with unconditional kindness. However, she didn’t seem to appreciate them enough back then.
She even had Matthias to shower her with love right now, and Heather felt extremely blessed at this moment. Why did she have to be controlled by external factors which didn’t matter? Wasn’t it enough to have these simple blessings by her side?
Needless to say, humans were creatures of greed—they never cared about how much they owned, and they could only see what they lacked. Heather didn’t wish to become someone like that; she didn’t want to keep on hating her life, so she completely changed her perspective on things.
What will the weather be like tomorrow, I wonder? Heather’s mind wandered aimlessly on random thoughts even though the day had yet to end. Right now, she could think about whatever she wanted to as she lay on that bed of hers—she loved this feeling of being free.
Just then, a knock sounded on her door and instantly disrupted her train of thought. Once she gave the person permission to come in, the butler entered her room while Heather was already seated on the sofa by then.
“It’s time for lunch, Miss Heather.” The butler was quite happy to see Heather.
She nodded and said, “All right. I’ll head downstairs in a minute.”
The butler left after hearing her response. With that, Heather was back to her old life—simple yet pleasant. When she met Everly on the way downstairs, she even took the initiative to greet her cousin.
Meanwhile, Everly turned to Heather in surprise, not expecting the latter’s sudden kindness. There was a slight smile on Heather’s lips, and it was rare for her to be so friendly.
“You’re graduating soon, right?” Heather asked casually, wanting to make small talk with her cousin.
Everly nodded and replied in a slightly nervous manner, “I still have more than a year to go, but there isn’t much to do in school anymore.” Everly didn’t fall short to Heather when it came to intelligence; she had already completed a lot of her courses ahead of time, so she was deciding whether or not to take a double degree.
“Your third year should be the busiest,” Heather replied lightheartedly. She didn’t think much of it, but her words made Everly even more nervous. In any case, the latter always felt jittery whenever Heather was around, but she couldn’t do anything about it either.
“You don’t have to be so nervous around me. I’m your cousin, so just take it easy.” Heather tried to soothe Everly’s nerves. Naturally, her younger cousin’s edgy and wary behavior made her feel uneasy to even share a light conversation with her.
Everly gave Heather an embarrassed smile and said, “I’ve already completed all my courses ahead of time.” She didn’t feel the need to mention something like that to Heather, for such achievements were nothing compared to the latter’s.
“That’s great,” Heather praised. It seemed that Everly was far smarter than she’d imagined, and someone like her should work for the Langston Group.
Heather pondered the question of when to recruit Everly into the company. I’ll need to have a discussion with Grandpa soon.
With that, the two of them descended the stairs together. There used to be a huge gap in between them at all times, and nobody dared to stay too close to Heather. When Robert saw Heather walking downstairs together with Everly, a proud and satisfied smile appeared on his face.
Heather seemed to be a lot more mature now, and it was good to see that. After all, Robert always hoped for her to find the warmth of a family with the Langstons.
Today, there weren’t many people at home in the Langston Residence; only three of them were at the dining table. Meanwhile, Everly was exceptionally nervous under the rare silence of the house. She was already quite uneasy in front of Robert, but with Heather around as well, Everly felt a lump in her throat with both of their eyes on her at the same time.
In truth, Everly hated her timid personality. She was undoubtedly skilled in a lot of things, but she lacked severely in terms of courage—she was afraid to present herself.
“I see that you’re getting along with Everly these days, Heather.” Robert brought it up on purpose to pull them closer.
“I like Everly very much.” Heather affirmed his statement right away. She felt that Everly needed more encouragement, so there was no harm in giving her more support to boost her self-esteem.
Everly blushed all of a sudden, and she became a little embarrassed after hearing those words from Heather. Then, she stole a glance at the other. Since when did her cousin become as gentle as this? As she stared at the placid smile on Heather’s face, a faint hint of guilt spread in her heart.
“I’m very glad to see that you two are getting along like sisters,” Robert commended. After all, it wasn’t easy for Heather to take the first step on her own.
The family had a harmonious time together at lunch, and this was probably Everly’s most relaxed day throughout her time in the Langston Residence. In fact, she couldn’t believe that such a scenario had actually happened.
“You probably don’t have any lectures to attend for now—right, Everly?” Robert had realized this for quite some time, but he naturally wanted Everly to help out in the Langston Group earlier than planned once he heard Heather’s remarks.
“Yes, Grandpa.” Everly still hadn’t recovered from the sudden kindness she was showered with, so her guard was still up inside.
“Since you have nothing going on at school, you should come and help out in the Langston Group as soon as possible,” Robert said solemnly. After all, business matters were meant to be said seriously.
A look of joy came over Everly at once. “Are you sure, Grandpa?” Aside from Heather who had joined Langston Group while she was still a student, everyone else had only been recruited after they graduated. Everly never thought that she’d have the privilege to join the Langston Group ahead as well.
“Yeah, I have confidence in her talent as well,” Heather agreed from the side with an encouraging smile.
“Thank you, Grandpa and Heather,” Everly said enthusiastically. She could finally showcase her abilities, and she didn’t want to be looked down upon.
“Do your best. I believe in you, Everly.” Robert was also supportive toward Everly with his speech.
Heather loved the atmosphere around them. Why didn’t she pay more attention back then? With just a reassuring and warm look, she could easily change anyone’s mood for the better.
She used to be so oblivious as to how others felt. Heather finally understood one thing—to offer happiness to another person was a way of receiving happiness herself.
After all, they were her family; even though she would never forgive her own parents, she figured that she should at least be compassionate toward her peers in the family.
The Langston Family was already chaotic on its own, so Heather hoped that she could unite her family members in the perilous situation that they were in. Heather didn’t want the Langstons to be destroyed in the hands of Blake, and she wanted to do her best to protect her family for the rest of Robert’s life.
Meanwhile, Everly was beginning to feel that Heather simply had a tough mouth with a soft heart—she liked that about Heather very much. Now, she knew that Heather wasn’t as horrible as she seemed on the surface.
“Which position do you think suits Everly, Heather?” Robert asked his granddaughter for her opinion since she had a great judgement for people.
“My position has been empty ever since I left the Langston Group, so Everly should take my place!” Heather said generously. Her place in the Langston Group was an important one, but she easily gave it to Everly without a second thought.
