Standing Before Love (Myra and Sean)
Chapter 517

The next morning, Heather woke up on the couch. She tried to open her sleepy eyes but her entire body was aching. I can't believe I fell asleep on the couch! After getting up, she loosened up her neck uncomfortably before quickly taking a bath.

She came out of the bathroom feeling refreshed, and her eyes were bright as she dried her wet hair. Then, a knock was heard on the door, so she quickly opened it and saw the butler standing outside. "What's the matter?" Usually, the butler would follow Robert around to serve him, so the former would rarely see to others in the Langston Residence.

"We have a guest outside. He is your friend, Miss Heather."

At the moment, Heather was still wearing her pajamas and her hair was wet. She tried to guess who it was and she wondered, Who would visit us this early in the morning?

Looking at the butler's mysterious expression, she slowly muttered, "I'll change my clothes and be right there." After that, she closed the door straight away but at the very last second, she took a glance at the butler's smiling face.

Even the butler has started acting strange lately. Quickly, she began dressing herself up since she couldn't go downstairs in such a mess. As she dressed herself up as fast as possible, she regretted not asking the butler who the guest was.

After she was done with everything, she slowly came down the stairs and saw a man standing in the living room. The man had a suit on and his back was to her, so she couldn't see his face clearly. It was as if he didn't want to look at her on purpose.

When she came to the living room, she finally saw who the man was-it was none other than Matthias. Immediately, she went on the alert because she somehow felt that he had other intentions in coming here at this moment in time.

Matthias seemed to be especially friendly toward her and he had a perfunctory smile on his face. In the meantime, Robert was sitting across from him and because of that, Heather reluctantly smiled back at the young man.

"Miss Langston, we meet again," Matthias said politely.

However, she felt that something was wrong because Robert's attitude toward him was a bit different today and her grandfather was much more enthusiastic than usual. Therefore, she looked at the older man confusedly since she was trying to replace clues from his expression. He even took out his favorite high-end tea to welcome Matthias.

"Director Locke, you seem very free lately." Her voice was full of sarcasm since it was impossible for her to establish a goodwill with him in this instance.

On the other hand, Robert was delighted to see the banter going on between her and Matthias.

Upon seeing that, Heather thought to herself, Why is grandpa so friendly toward him today? Back then, he would tell me to avoid Matthias for the sake of our interest, so what is the reason behind his friendliness toward him right now?

"I came here to propose a collaboration." Matthias smiled brightly, but Heather had already heard him say the same thing many times before. Grandpa will never agree to a collaboration between the Langston Group and the Locke Group. Let's see how he is going to reject Matthias.

However, she didn't get to see the outcome that she expected. Instead, Robert replied, "I asked Director Locke to come here to talk about the collaboration. There are many aspects that the Langston Group and the Locke Group can join forces on."

Heather was so shocked that her jaw almost fell to the floor when she heard that. Is grandpa actually asking him for a collaboration? Wasn't he the one who rejected Matthias' proposal to collaborate many times in the past?

"Old Master Langston, thank you for your trust in me. Not only that, it also shows your trust in the Locke Group. We will certainly live up to it," Matthias quickly reassured politely.

Looking at the friendly scene between Matthias and Robert, Heather felt as though she was still dreaming, albeit a rather realistic one at that.

"Don't just stand there. Come and sit with us," Robert murmured to her.

However, she asked innocently, "What time is it?" It's a little weird not seeing Blake at this time. Also, where is everybody? Why can't I see anyone in the house?

"Miss Langston, it is currently 10.16 AM," Matthias answered seriously while she quickly looked outside the window.

The sun was shining brightly outdoors. I can't believe it's already 10 AM. Time flies so fast! No wonder I couldn't see Blake and the others. But it's a holiday, so why is there no one at home?

At the moment, she wanted to pinch herself to see whether she was still in a dream but she felt that it was too childish, so she decided to see how the situation would progress.

"Grandpa, where is Blake and the others?" She wasn't used to Matthias' proud looks since she couldn't understand his quick ascend in the Langstons. Yesterday, he was driven away by the Langston Family's servants but today, he became the family's VIP guest. It must have felt like a rollercoaster to him.

"They went out for a walk." Robert gave a lazy excuse.

Upon hearing that, Heather stared at him in disbelief. I don't believe him at all! The whole family was probably asked to leave!

However, she didn't intend to let Robert get away easily with such a simple answer. "Grandpa, why didn't you ask me to go with them?"

In the meantime, Matthias was watching Heather while she kept shooting herself in the foot. As expected, she is completely fearless in the Langston Family to a point where she isn't scared of defying Old Master Langston's orders. She obviously knows that he is replaceing a way to change the subject, but she won't allow him to do so.

"I wanted you to stay at home and give me company." Robert smiled warmly, but his eyes were filled with dangerous intent and Heather noticed it.

Therefore, she didn't dare to argue with him any longer. Even though she wasn't happy with Matthias being their guest, it wouldn't be wise for her to keep on embarrassing him in front of an outsider. "Of course I will. No matter where you are, I will be there," she answered with a smile.

Looking at the agreement between her and Robert, Matthias smiled with satisfaction. Everything is going as planned.

However, Heather found an excuse a while later. "You two can keep on discussing your business. I'm feeling a little hungry so I'm going to the kitchen to see what we have." She then quickly excused herself and left the place because she couldn't stand Matthias' stare any longer. I wonder why he is looking at me that way.

As she left, Matthias stared at her back for a long while and at the same time, Robert was looking at him profoundly as he thought to himself, Maybe Matthias is a worthy man for me to entrust her to. However, he wasn't certain about it yet because he still had many worries in his mind, especially the compatibility of Matthias and Heather.

Even so, time was running out, and there was no one better for Robert to choose at the moment because Caleb was already lurking in the background, not giving him a moment to breathe.

As for Heather, she still couldn't feel the impending danger. When Robert finally mustered up the courage to tell her that long forgotten past yesterday, she surprisingly took a step back, so he had no choice but to replace Matthias. Maybe the Locke Family's secret powers can help us.

However, the Locke Family was nowhere near the Moriartys when compared. Luckily for them, they weren't in Leisfield, so not everything was under their control.

Even so, Robert was afraid that the Moriarty Family had been planning something right under his nose. Over the past few years, the Moriartys had secretly infiltrated Bradfort City and they even had their own enterprise in Atrigall City.

The thing that Robert worried the most had finally happened. In the past, he kept on avoiding the Moriartys, but he never expected them to grow in force under his nose. I can't believe I didn't notice their movements at all, even though Atrigall City is not that far away from here.

If Caleb didn't reveal their movements to Robert, the latter would probably still be kept in the dark since he had been lacking foresight lately.

Sadly, he still couldn't figure out the Moriartys motive and why they chose this time to infiltrate Bradfort City. He had a hunch that they probably weren't satisfied with the results in Atrigall City, so they decided to have a share of Bradfort City.

At the moment, Bradfort City was a mess. Just as Robert was about to regain the former power of the Langston Family, the Moriartys unexpectedly joined the fight. At first, Robert wanted to sit and watch while the Locke Group and the Hart Group fought each other so that he could reap the benefits.

However, now that the Moriartys had joined the battle, he had no choice but to consider the interests of the Langston Family. This is the best time to join forces with the Locke and Hart Group.

The Moriartys loved to backstab and this was rather difficult to defend, so Robert was afraid that they would use these tricks on them. They must have done a lot of research. If they decide to strike, it's hard to say whether or not the Langston and Hart Group would receive a massive blow. After all, the Moriartys always like to give a fatal blow.

Presently, Heather was feeling peckish so she was in the kitchen, looking for something to eat. However, the kitchen was spotless and there weren't any leftovers to be seen. After looking at the clean and tidy kitchen with dissatisfaction, she left rather disappointedly as the chef prepared lunch.

When she returned to the living room, she saw Matthias and Robert having a delightful conversation. She, on the other hand, was feeling down in the dumps. Grandpa is a shrewd man so he definitely sees something in Matthias, but I just can't seem to see it. If that's the case, I have to think about what separates him from most ordinary people. I'm afraid that the most enviable thing that he has is the Locke Group. Rumor has it that the Locke Group has a secret power but I think it is all just that-rumors. After interacting with him for so long, I don't think that the Locke Group has any secret powers at all; otherwise, he doesn't have to be so frustrated with his business in Bradfort City. I can tell that Matthias is gloomy about failing to achieve the thing he desires. As far as I've seen, the Locke Group is no match against the Hart Group in Bradfort City, but he dreams of overthrowing the Hart Group and being top of the food chain.

There were some differences between Heather and Robert's perception of the Locke Group, but Matthias himself couldn't represent the entire company, which meant that it was possible the Locke Group hadn't truly made a move yet.

Meanwhile, Robert noticed the confusion in Heather's eyes. He smiled profoundly at her, so she sat down next to him.

Matthias' gaze landed on her instantly and Robert was quick enough to witness it. I can see that he likes her but their relationship is so confusing. Heather once showed affection toward him but today, she seems to be very hostile. Her words and actions are full of hatred for Matthias, and even her eyes look vigilant. If I want their relationship to progress, I must resolve the misunderstanding between them. Since the two of them had feelings for each other, it's probably a misunderstanding that brought them to this state.