Standing Before Love (Myra and Sean)
Chapter 501

As he suppressed his inexpressible emotions, Lucas went to the Langston Residence with lots of healthcare products in his hands, upon which the house's servant had him wait in the living room. Meanwhile, Heather couldn't wait to go downstairs when she heard in the study that Lucas had arrived. After all, she really had something important to discuss with Lucas.

Seeing how impatient Heather looked, Robert said to her nonchalantly, "Don't be hasty. Just let him wait for a while."

Heather looked at Robert puzzledly, for she couldn't tell what he was going to do this time. Was he actually going to test Lucas out as if the latter was his future grandson-in-law? "It's almost time for our date. It's a bad thing to keep someone else waiting!" She could only try to reason with Robert since it was really difficult to read an old man's mind.

Robert wouldn't let another man win Heather's hand easily, though. "What's wrong with letting a man wait for a lady?" To him, a man should at least undergo several tests to do so.

"I have work to discuss with him, Grandpa," Heather replied in resignation. Even she couldn't stand Robert's waywardness.

However, Robert, whose wisdom and experience grew with his age, floored her in just one sentence. "Tell him to go back if you'll only be discussing work with him. You're on leave today, so you won't be discussing any work-related matters."

"Please give me a rest, Grandpa." Heather was both amused and annoyed. Why was Robert so unyielding? She felt as though she probably got her stubbornness from him.

Robert looked stern at once. "Focus on your drawing. Look at what you've created!" Heather could only listen to his admonishment as he suddenly got back to talking about her drawing. Heather glanced at the drawing she made, and it looked very ugly indeed. Since her mind wasn't on drawing at all, the lines she drew were crooked and misshapen. This came as a terrible blow to her, for it astounded her that there was something she couldn't master.

Just then, Robert put down his charcoal and gave her a threatening glare. "I'll go downstairs for a while. Keep working on your drawing, and don't leave the study if you mess up even a single line." Heather looked aggrievedly at Robert from behind as the latter left the room. She was in no mood for drawing; she picked up her charcoal, but she had no idea how to start. Myra and Tony's problem hadn't been solved perfectly, so she needed to discuss this with Lucas, but Robert pulled such a move just when she was about to do so. Heather was thoroughly disappointed with herself-she felt that all she did on this day were stupid things. At this moment, Robert had already gone downstairs to get familiar with Lucas, so she hoped that Lucas could act according to the circumstances.

...

When Robert slowly came down the stairs, Lucas was sitting ramrod straight in the living room with an expression that one couldn't tell was either strained or serious. The instant he saw Robert, he became nervous. Moreover, Robert was wearing a stern look on his face, so Lucas was puzzled about how he had displeased Robert. "Hi, Old Master Langston," he greeted politely. Then, he pushed the healthcare products placed before him toward the old man and said, "This is my first visit, so I brought you some presents as a little token to show my respect to you." Since he had never experienced such a situation, he was inwardly a bundle of nerves.

When Robert glanced at the healthcare products' packaging, he recognized at a glance that these were high-end healthcare products. It seemed that Lucas was quite thoughtful. "You shouldn't have brought me these. You're just paying a visit." His expression softened somewhat, but it still had a distant air to it.

Lucas didn't know how to make conversation with Robert. He felt like he was meeting the parent of a lady he loved, so he wanted to make a good impression on Robert. "This is what I ought to do."

Robert noticed how nervous Lucas was, and he was satisfied with the latter at first glance. After all, a man whom Heather found to her liking mustn't be ordinary. At first glance, Lucas was likely also from a wealthy and influential family, for he was dressed in expensive clothes. However, he thought that Lucas wasn't clever enough. At the very least, he was timid and not manly enough when speaking to him. "Heather is a bit under the weather." Robert mentioned Heather on his own initiative.

"How is she?" Lucas asked, his face full of concern.

"Did Heather not tell you about that?" Robert kept on observing Lucas while a plan brewed in his mind.

Meanwhile, Heather could hardly stay a second longer in the study. As she tried hard to calm herself down, she decided to draw a quick sketch and showed it to Robert directly-with that, she would use this excuse to see Lucas. However, the more impatient she was, the worse she got at drawing, so she took a deep breath to calm her restlessness. When she completed a fairly satisfactory quick sketch at last, she immediately left the study.

Heather was still upstairs when she saw the two men conversing in the living room. As she came up to Robert quickly, she interrupted his conversation with Lucas in a clear voice and said, "Look at my sketch, Grandpa. What do you think of it?" She smiled like a little girl while waving the quick sketch in her hand with a proud expression.

Lucas had never seen Heather behave like this before. He was momentarily stunned, and Robert noticed this as well. "Who let you come out?" Robert's face hardened as he didn't expect that Heather would be so headstrong. Was she trying to stop him from talking to Lucas because she was worried about something?

"Grandpa, didn't you say that I could leave the study once I finished a drawing?" Heather couldn't be bothered about the presence of an outsider. She acted like a spoiled child directly in front of Robert, and this completely stunned Lucas.

"Are you calling this a finished drawing? Look at your sketch-it doesn't look like a drawing at all!" Robert rebuked. He had pretty high standards, so Heather couldn't possibly reach them in a short time. Just then, Lucas couldn't help but interject from the side and said, "It looks pretty nice." However, his remark drew a stern stare from Robert. Even though he was defending Heather, Robert didn't like him cutting in on their conversation. As a result, Lucas lowered his head in embarrassment under Robert's stare; he felt that he had become a helpless victim at somebody else's mercy ever since coming to the Langston Residence.

"Draw it again," Robert said in displeasure.

However, now that Heather had come out, she would definitely not go back into the study. "I have something else to do, Grandpa. I'll practice drawing again when I'm free," she pleaded while shooting glances at Lucas.

Lucas wanted to say something in support of Heather, but before he could do so, he was shot a warning glance by Robert-the old man clearly saw the interactions between them. "No," he stated stubbornly, causing Heather to almost go insane.

Lucas looked at Heather sympathetically as he could only bow to 'the forces of evil.' Just when Heather and Robert were caught in a deadlock, another man came in from the outside and approached them. Heather furrowed her brows; she didn't expect the person to be Matthias, and his presence gave her a bad feeling.

"Hi, Old Master Langston and Miss Heather," Matthias greeted warmly in an easy and relaxed manner with no signs of fright.

"Why are you here?" Heather snapped. She didn't expect that Matthias would come to the Langston Residence in pursuit of her. Is he here to raise a ruckus this afternoon? she thought to herself.

On the other hand, Robert watched in secret without answering Matthias. He wasn't optimistic about the relationship between Matthias and Heather because of Matthias's special identity, but he had discovered long ago how differently Heather treated Matthias. He was worried about this, so he hoped that she would replace a more outstanding man as soon as possible. However, upon comparing Matthias with Lucas, he felt that Matthias was a much better match for Heather.

"How could you forget about the car accident in the morning so soon?" Matthias raised an eyebrow at Heather. Now that Heather had made them reach such a point of no return, how could he take this lying down?

Robert's expression changed when he heard the words 'car accident,' and he gave Matthias a dirty look. If Lucas hadn't been present, he would've probably lashed out at Matthias right away.

When she saw how sullen Robert looked, Heather immediately took Matthias to one side. Then, she lowered her voice and whispered to him, "Watch your mouth!" How could she have expected Matthias to visit the Langston Residence directly in search of her? Robert was already displeased with the car accident in the first place, so Heather would definitely be skinned alive if he learned the story behind it. "Don't avoid me." Matthias softened his voice. Heather kept evading him, and it made him feel deeply uncomfortable. What he wanted wasn't much, for he just wanted to take a look at her. "What mischief are you up to again?" Heather looked at Matthias suspiciously. At this moment, she really wished she could throw him into outer space right away.

"Please give me some time. There are some things that I'd like to make clear to you, so let me do so, okay?" Matthias asked in an imploring tone, but he was obviously threatening Heather by doing so. "Okay, but not today." Heather hated Matthias's guts deep down inside, but she could only compromise at this moment. Matthias was obviously driving her away from him because what he was doing right now would only make her loathe him even more and destroy the good impression she had of him back then.

Robert frowned; he thought it was rather impolite of Heather to talk to Matthias like that in front of Lucas as if no one else was present. Lucas didn't seem to understand what was going on, but he seemed sensible enough to refrain from doing anything.

Even though the way Lucas conducted himself this day made Robert think that he wasn't courageous and upright, in reality, Lucas was a truly courageous and upright man. He appeared unusually passive because this was the first time he had ever faced such a situation.

It wasn't until Robert hemmed twice that Heather and Matthias split up. "Haven't you two had enough of chatting?" Robert asked in displeasure, upon which Heather smiled with embarrassment. After pointing at Heather and Matthias, he then continued, "Can any of you explain the car accident to me?" No matter what, he wouldn't let Heather gloss over the incident.

Meanwhile, Heather and Matthias looked at each other before she nudged him. Since Matthias was the one who caused this, he should be the one solving it.

"Well, Old Master Langston, Miss Heather had a minor car accident this morning. Since she had something urgent to do and wanted to leave, I had her car towed for repair." Matthias' explanation was brief and to the point, and he seemed polite all the time with a smile on his face.

Robert didn't believe Matthias' story at all, though. When he looked at Matthias suspiciously, Heather hurriedly joined in and said, “Yeah, that's precisely what happened. He's here to deliver the repair order to me," she said with a smile so broad that a clueless person might think that she was talking about something worth celebrating.

Matthias cooperatively produced the repair order and handed it directly to Heather at once. "I had the car sent to the usual place for repair, and you can pick it up tomorrow."

As he spoke, he specifically snuck a glance at Lucas. He remembered this man-he was the best man at Myra's wedding, whereas Heather was the bridesmaid. Unexpectedly, he saw him here at the Langston Residence right now. Hence, it seemed that this man's relationship with Heather wasn't simple. The issue with the mixed-race person isn't over yet, and now a best man pops up, Matthias thought to himself. Although he knew that Heather was well-liked by men, he didn't expect her to be so well-liked. This put him under tremendous stress.

"You two are doing a pretty good job of echoing each other." Robert saw through their little games, though. Even though Lucas was right beside him, he would never allow them to fool him in such a way. Matthias immediately explained, "Old Master Langston, you have a pair of perceptive eyes that show keen insight into everything. How could we have the nerve to lie in front of you?"

Robert thought that Matthias was getting increasingly smooth-tongued. This man must be a successful businessman, but he was never telling the truth. At the thought of this, however, Robert found him a perfect match for Heather. After all, she was a cunning lady full of deceit and no better than Matthias.

Robert couldn't imagine what it would be like if Heather and Matthias got together, but he somehow wished that the two people would become a couple. Perhaps because he didn't get to be together with the woman he loved back then, he had been unable to rid himself of this regret. Since he loved Heather so dearly, he naturally wished that she could replace someone she loved. On second thought, Matthias' identity was so complicated that Heather might suffer endless hardships if they actually got together. Robert knew a bit about the Locke Family, and it was, in any case, a very complicated family. Moreover, Matthias was currently the Locke Group's managing director. With such a controversial identity, Matthias was probably involved in many power struggles within his family.

On the other hand, Heather didn't want Matthias to keep on staying here, so she immediately pretended to recall something. Then, she said to Matthias, "Don't you have a board meeting to attend at your company? Hurry up and go back."

They looked just like a young couple; it made Lucas feel awful, for he could tell without his intuition that Heather's relationship with Matthias was special. Lucas felt like an outsider as he was probably the only person who felt awkward in the face of the situation before his eyes. He couldn't cut in, but remaining silent would make him appear useless. All in all, he only felt that Heather was so far away from him.

"Yeah, I have something urgent to do at the company, so I'll be leaving after I deliver the repair order," Matthias replied while looking at Robert.

It was good for him to leave earlier since he was quite stressed out while facing Robert. At the very least, he had achieved his objective on this day, for he didn't expect that Heather would agree to talk to him so readily. As such, he looked forward to the next day. In one moment, he hoped that the next day would arrive sooner as he couldn't wait to profess his love to Heather, but in the next moment, he wished that the day would arrive more slowly since he hadn't prepared himself enough.

This day was a frightening and thrilling day, and after some strenuous effort, Heather finally managed to see Matthias off. When she came back, she saw Lucas saying goodbye to Robert. She looked at Lucas a baffled manner, whereas the latter spoke politely. "Miss Langston, you should get more rest at home since you were just involved in a car accident. We can discuss the matter on Messenger," he said while holding up his cell phone. He showed no signs of displeasure, but his words sounded off to Heather.