Standing Before Love (Myra and Sean) novel Chapter 524

The years flew by and Heather grew up to be a rose with thorns, prouder and more headstrong than she had been as a child, and with a will that was forged in steel.

“Please just tell me the story, Grandpa. I’m really, really curious about it,” she pleaded, her eyes bright with the same eager spirit she had as a child whenever she came upon something new.

“I’ll tell you all about it tomorrow, so just be patient until then,” he cajoled affectionately, patting her hand to soothe her. “Now, shall we head downstairs for dinner? It’s getting late and they won’t start dinner without me.”

Upon hearing this, Heather let out a sigh of resignation. It looked like he had made up his mind to leave this conversation for the next day, so she was left with no choice but to wait. Now that she thought about it, it wasn’t as if she was desperate to learn the truth before the day ended. I’ll just have to be patient, even if it means learning the truth much later than planned, she convinced herself.

With that in mind, she linked arms with her grandfather and they made their way downstairs. She liked knowing that she was there to help him down the stairs, though the butler did it most of the time. Robert was no longer young, after all, and he had to be extra careful when it came to descending the staircase. She hated to think of the grim consequences if he were to slip and fall down the steps.

Meanwhile, the rest of the family were already seated and waiting for dinner when they turned to glance at the two figures wending down the staircase. Blake clenched his fists at the sight of Heather holding onto Robert and he cursed deep down, Of course dinner is delayed because of her. Why does everything circle back to her?

When he saw how she was joking with the older man, he grew even more displeased. Heather had been working in the Langston Group for a while now, but he still couldn’t find a way to crack her sickening perfect façade.

It wasn’t as if he could make a big deal of the little mistakes she had made by confronting her. Besides, Robert would always side with her, and Blake doubted if the mistakes she had made were significant enough for him to accuse her of being incompetent.

He had been waiting for the chance to humiliate her, and he wanted to deal a blow so harsh against her that retaliation would be impossible on her part. However, being patient was a futile effort when he realized he had missed all the opportunities to bring her down. Much to his dismay, Heather was thriving now and had worthwhile suitors courting her—one of whom was Matthias, the director for the Locke Group and the other was Caleb, the general of Leisfeld.

That being said, Blake was the first to be incensed to see how well Heather was doing, and he vowed to find some way to make her fall from her pedestal.

Presently, Heather and Robert entered the dining room together, and he made her take the vacant seat next to his. The seating arrangement at the Langstons’ dining table went according to age, with the oldest in the family naturally seated at the head of the table. Under normal circumstances, the grandchildren would never be seated next to Robert, but he had clearly made an exception for Heather today.

Heather, on the other hand, wasn’t sure why she was given such a privilege. Growing slightly uneasy at this, she hesitated to take the seat that was otherwise meant for her uncle; even she knew better than to take away an elder’s seat at the dining table.

“Well, aren’t you going to sit down? The kitchen won’t bring out the food until we’re all seated, you know,” Robert said, beckoning her to take her seat. Heather frowned and did as she was told, albeit unwillingly.

While this was happening, Blake was staring daggers at her, looking as though he wanted to cut her to shreds. She, on the other hand, had never cared for the murderous looks he gave her and she flashed him a triumphant smirk, knowing it would enrage him.

As expected, bitterness rose through Blake when he caught that defiant look on her face, and the anger curbed his appetite. She used to compromise with him just so she wouldn’t get into trouble, but now it seemed as if she thrived in trouble and she had no qualms with offending someone as petty as him. It wasn’t as if she could win his favor by staying in line anyway.

While dinner was in progress, Robert made sure to ladle Heather’s plate with food. It had been a while since he had done this for her, and she recalled how she would grumble about the food he gave her back in her childhood days. It’s been so long, she mused at the memory.

Nonetheless, she couldn’t ignore the fact that her grandfather was behaving rather oddly, and the alarm bells began to chime incessantly in her head. She had an inkling that something bad was about to happen to her. Meanwhile, Blake was close to breaking his utensils as he watched Robert’s interaction with Heather. Seized by wild jealousy, he gritted his teeth as he thought, She’s an adult, for God’s sake! Why is he still spoiling her like she’s a child?

However, Heather and Blake were both so engrossed with their own thoughts that they did not notice the jealous and envious gaze that had fallen upon the former. There had been a shift in Everly’s demeanor from the very moment she laid eyes on Caleb, and she only became more twisted after all the nonsense Blake had fed her.

Truth was, Everly was nothing more than a pretty face in the Langston Family, and she had neither extraordinary talent nor outstanding achievements. With her quiet disposition, she was often overlooked in the family and she would have been as good as invisible if it weren’t for her beauty.

Unfortunately, the Langstons were all handsome creatures, and Everly’s beauty formed part of the general aesthetic of the family. That being said, she had never felt like she belonged in the Langston Family, seeing as everyone else paid more attention to Blake and Heather than they did her. She was painfully aware that most in the family were envious and jealous of Heather, and she so happened to be one of them.

While the Langstons did not interact with Heather much, they still kept an eye on her, though her haughty and icy demeanor kept them from approaching her.

Everly longed to be just like her—accomplished enough to be worthy of Robert’s attention. However, she lacked the talent and ruthlessness to emulate Heather’s traits. On the contrary, she was timid by nature, and was so demure that she was better off blending into the background.

She wondered how long it would take for her to be as bold and sharp-witted as Heather. Perhaps these were innate qualities that she could never hope to attain.

Before this, she had always looked upon Heather with admiration and envy; the jealousy only came after Caleb entered into the scene. Everly had never believed in love at first sight until she saw him, and having fallen head-over-heels for him, she found that there was little she could do about such sentiments.

She remembered the subtle smile that had played on Caleb’s lips when his eyes first fell upon her, and it was that very smile that made her head spin.

Alas, she was nothing more than an interlude to him and when he looked at her, he had regarded her with the same interest as one might have when looking at a pretty bird.