Chapter 538


    It was early in the afternoon. Rays of sunshine shone through the drawn shades, dimly lighting up the


    study room. The atmosphere at the Langstons was quite lively with the noises of children ying with


    each other in the lounge. While it was fortunate to be surrounded by so many younger generations,


    Robert somehow felt that something was amiss.


    They entered the room and then silently shut the door behind them. Meanwhile, Matthias directed his


    gaze at Heather, and his eyes blurred together just then. After that, Robert switched on the light and


    the whole room immediately became illuminated, thereupon Heather’s face appeared clearly in front of


    Matthias.


    “Take a seat.” Robert made himselffortable on a chaise as he invited them to sit, his hands


    carrying the information provided by Matthias. The former put on his reading sses because the


    words on the paper were just too tiny for him to decipher. As for Heather, she casually took a seat on a


    bronze-colored wooden chair, and to her annoyance, Matthias swiftly took the seat next to her. Seeing


    this, she furrowed her brows in response.


    Matthias then directed a warm smile toward her, but she chose to ignore him; she had no intention of


    talking to him. Nevertheless, she was preupied with her thoughts regarding the Lockes’ rtionship


    with the Moriartys. Matthias is the current leader of the family, so it’s not possible for him to be unaware


    of that matter.


    She contemted whether it was necessary to feel him out. I won’t be able to obtain the information


    I’m after if I keep ignoring him. Due to Robert’s presence in the study room, she couldn not get close to


    Matthias so they could only look at each other andmunicate silently with the asional eye


    contact.


    Initially, she avoided his eyes and her expression clearly revealed her displeasure toward him.


    Nheless, slowly, she suppressed the disgust she felt and met his eyes a couple of times.


    As for Matthias, he also tried hard to convey his feelings through his expression; he hoped that she


    could look at things from his point of view. Gradually, her expression softened. Clearly, both of them


    needed some private time to talk things through, face-to-face.


    After a while, he took out his cell phone and tapped on his screen, and Heather heard the ‘ping’ sound


    indicating a notification on her messenger system shortly after. She tapped to open it and evidently, it


    was him who’d sent her the message.


    ‘Would you like to join me for dinner tonight?’ He extended an invitation to her. After she had seen the


    text, she switched off her phone without giving a reply.


    Next to her, Matthias saw her series of actions and stared at her with a resigned look on his face. All of


    a sudden, he saw her give a subtle nod; it was merely an inconspicuous movement of her head.


    Just like that, Matthias could not control his glee. He tried hard to suppress the happiness bubbling in


    him and revealed a slight smile. However, she did not even bother to cast her eyes on him thereafter.


    After that, he could not help wishing that time would pass by faster so that he could have some private


    time with her soon. Nheless, Robert had not made his decision yet, so there was nothing else


    Matthias could do but wait anxiously. Unbeknownst to him, Robert was quietly observing all of his and


    Heather’s subtle actions.


    The time passed by quite slowly. Matthias had never felt time go by as slow. As for Heather, she


    maintained a coolposure by his side. Although she’d agreed to have dinner with him, she was still


    trying to figure out how to glean information from himter on.


    Her motive was simple—to figure out the exact rtionship between the Lockes and the Moriartys and


    to find out exactly how much information Matthias possessed. On one hand, she hoped that he would


    have some insider news so she would not have to get too close to the Lockes; on the other hand, she


    hoped that he had nothing to do with the Moriartys. After all, if he was in cahoots with them, then their


    coboration would not be possible and the Langstons would have another enemy to watch out for.


    Staring at his face intently, she wondered if this man could be trusted. As far as things went, for now,


    he had been quite open and frank in his behavior. Besides, he had also mentioned that he had


    provoked Hart Group solely because he wanted to rece Hart Group as Bradfort City’s top-performing


    corporation.


    After all, it was inevitable to be rivals in the corporate world. Most of the time, it was quite hard to


    distinguish between friends and foes. Firstly, Hart Group was not part of Langton Group’s allies. Next,


    Heather was also clearly aware that she had no say in this matter. Furthermore, Langston Group had


    previously intended to wait and reap the benefits without putting in the effort.


    If it wasn’t for the sudden appearance of the Moriartys, the situation in Bradfort City would not have


    be soplicated. As such, if the Lockes were secretly in cahoots with the Moriartys, then the


    whole situation would be unfavorable for the Langstons and the Harts.


    Disregarding the fact that it was very rare for the Harts to cooperate with the Langstons, but even if


    they did, their coboration might not beparable to the joint efforts of the Lockes and Moriartys.


    Everyone was fully aware of what the Langstons and Harts owned because their business dealings


    were rather transparent. They were proper, reputable business enterprises after all.


    Meanwhile, the Lockes and the Moriartys were different. The Moriartys were very mysterious and no


    one seemed to be able to identify their actual business dealings. As for the Lockes, they had a hidden


    side in their corporation that actually touched on the gray side of thew. If the Lockes made use of


    their hidden influence, then they could definitely n a surprise attack behind their rivals’ backs.


    Therefore, in order to get to know in detail the Locke family’s dealings, Heather had to maintain her


    position as Matthias’ girlfriend. Not only that, but Leon had also mentioned to her that Matthias’ family


    was pestering him to get into a rtionship because their family had a golden rule specifying that each


    member had to marry by the age of thirty. Since Matthias was nearing his thirties soon, he would have


    to get married before that.


    The elders of the family had introduced a few women to Matthias, but he’d rejected each of them. Now


    that Heather was officially in a rtionship with him, she would obviously be invited over to the Locke


    Residence; this would be her chance to find out more information and get closer to the other members


    of the family. By then, it would be easier for her to identify the person who was working with the


    Moriartys.


    After figuring out the whole process, the only thing left was to put this n into action. The Moriartys


    were currently keeping a low profile and not making any moves; hence, the only method now was to


    tackle things from the Lockes’ side. Moreover, she reckoned that it was much morefortable to be in


    a rtionship with Matthias than with Caleb.


    From all the years ever since entering the society, she’d never made such a huge sacrifice. Moreover,


    she had never wanted to sully a past rtionship and was quite reluctant to be a despicable person


    who toyed with one’s feelings. However, the circumstances right now gave her no choice at all as she


    no longer had the time to consider things carefully. In fact, her grand-aunt, ris, had lost her life back


    then because of a simr incident.


    Despite knowing that times had changed and it was no longer possible to lose a life from something


    like this, the consequences of everything on Langston Group and the Langston family were serious and


    it was very likely that this could lead to the destruction of everything they owned. Although she did not


    like everyone in the family except for Robert, she also cared for thepany that thetter had put so


    much effort into throughout the decades.


    Just then, Heather had basically figured out all the insider news and everything that had happened in


    the past. Because of that, she could not help feeling worried. At the same time, she finally understood


    Robert’s anxiety.


    However, she silently cheered for herself multiple times to boost her self-esteem, and Leon’s words


    appeared in her mind on and off. The current situation reminded her of her first interview ever—she


    seemed calm on the outside but on the inside, she was anxious beyond words—and her current


    feelings were just about the same.


    At this moment, she recalled her younger, immature self but quickly recollected her senses and tried to


    overlook the messy situation. I need to figure out my own intentions. There’s really no point in being so


    indecisive because once I start to waver, things will surely turn out a mess too.


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    All of a sudden, Robert, who had been going through the documents for quite some time, finally said


    something. His aged voice sounded raspy as he spoke, “Matthias, your proposal is very sincere.”


    Although it was just a simple sentence, it was enough to calm Matthias’ nervousness.


    After all, he had single-handedlypiled all the information provided to Robert, and it was prepared


    concisely. Being the one in charge of the Locke Group, he knew the whole corporation like the back of


    his hands.


    “How do you n to implement our coboration?” Nheless, even though the information provided


    was concise, the details of the coboration were not specified.


    “I’ll bring the proposal over tomorrow.” In fact, Matthias had already prepared everything and only


    needed to make a few amendments once he got home. If he pulled an all-nighterter, then he


    definitely would be able to have it ready by the next day.


    Robert smiled in response. Looks like he’s very keen on working together with us. He’s quite sincere


    about it. The proposal he mentioned would have taken some time to prepare; he must have prepared


    everything in advance to be able to produce it by tomorrow. Thinking of this, he was quite pleased with


    Matthias’ attitude.


    Ultimately, he preferred Matthias as Heather’s other half, instead of Caleb. Between the two, the former


    was the best candidate out of all the people he had met so far.


    There was also Lucas who’d visited them before, and Robert had obtained all of his background


    information from a private investigator. His family background was iparable to the Moriartys.


    Furthermore, even the Harts had nothing against the Moriartys, so the Lockes were their only hope left.


    After all, the Lockes’ were quite powerful and should not be taken lightly.


    In the interim, Heather and Matthias sat next to each other under the flickering light. As Robert looked


    across the room, he found that the two of them looked like a great match. Heather was his darling


    granddaughter after all, and no one else in this world knew her better than he did. Evidently, he could


    tell that she had feelings for Matthias, but there were just way too many factors that made things


    Although he was merely aware of their most recent tiff, he would definitely understand herplicated


    feelings for Matthias if he were to learn about everything that had happened in the past.


    Meanwhile, in the study room, Matthias was deeply engrossed in his conversation with Robert. As for


    Heather, she sat quietly without expressing her opinion, which was quite unlike her. Robert shot her


    multiple questioning looks, but she maintained her impassive expression without responding to him.


    Though he was tempted to chide her, he chose not to do so in front of Matthias.


    Instead, he enjoyed himself talking to Matthias until a slight knock on the door from outside interrupted


    their conversation. “What’s the matter?” His voice turned shriller as he asked the person on the other


    side of the door.


    The butler’s voice rang out inaudibly from behind the door due to the good soundproof system in the


    study room. Impatiently, Robert indicated for him to enter the room. As soon as thetter entered, the


    vibe in the whole room changed all at once.


    He walked forward to stand in front of Robert before saying politely, “Master, I’m here to confirm


    tonight’s menu with you.” Earlier, Heather had instructed the kitchen staff to prepare some special


    dishes for their guest. Everyone knew that Robert paid particr attention to the said guest, so the


    kitchen had purposely brought in the menu for Robert’s perusal before they started preparing dinner.


    Just then, Heather took advantage of Robert’s preupation with the menu to talk to Matthias. “It looks


    like Grandpa will keep you here for dinner.”


    Recalling his invitation earlier, she could not help curling her lips into a smirk. I know Grandpa’s n.


    He wants everyone in the family to realize Matthias’ importance.


    From then on, this would further cement the fact that Matthias and Heather were in a rtionship. As


    most of the Langston family members were not aware of the coboration between the Langstons and


    the Lockes, Robert intended to make use of their mouths to spread the word out to the public.


    Usually, she loathed being taken advantage of, but this time, it was done by her grandpa, who doted on


    her the most. Therefore, she epted it willingly. Perhaps, it was also because she knew that there


    was no other way to handle this. Anyway, there was no harm in going along with Robert’s way either.


    After all, she was well aware that he merely wanted her to avoid the same tragedy that happened in the


    past.


    Overall, this was all due to Robert’s wariness against the Moriartys. He had already nned in


    advance to seek protection for Heather and this could only be because he had no confidence in their


    family. If the same thing happened again, they would remain on the losing end; he had chosen to give


    in back then—in order to protect their family—but this time, he would no longer allow this to happen. He


    would do all he could to prevent the Moriartys from getting their way.


    After Robert confirmed the menu, he pushed the bridge of his reading sses and said to Matthias,


    “Stay for dinner tonight.”