Chapter 541


    Everly came out of the study and came across the butler. He smiled at her, and she returned the smile,


    since she was polite to everyone in the family. In most cases, Everly would be a likable girl, but the


    Langstons only cared about an individual’s ability. Someone like Everly would never get their respect,


    for all she knew was study.


    Her parents had told her to learn from Heather, who was already financially independent when she was


    still a high schooler. Back then, Heather was already studying abroad and handling the family business


    there. On the other hand, Everly was just a normal undergraduate. She still had to rely on the family for


    money, and she couldn’t provide any help either. To make things worse, she chose to major in pure


    arts, which was useless to the family. All she did was paint, so her parents had given up on her.


    They didn’t me their daughter though, since they couldn’t help their family either. Not to mention they


    were still living in the house because Robert was still the head of the family. Everyone was still living


    together on his request. “Nobody is allowed to live by themselves as long as I live. Anyone who lives by


    themselves will be exiled from the family.” That was what he said, and everyone was living under the


    same roof only because of that. They’d live separately otherwise.


    Everly knew what her parents were nning. Once Robert had passed and they had gotten the share


    of the wealth, they’d move out. Everyone had the same n anyway. The whole family was just


    together in name only, for everyone was branching out in different industries, so there was nothing in


    Living together was torture for some people, since not everyone could be a sess story, and they’d


    Text ? 2024 N?velDrama.Org.


    feel bad once theypared themselves with the better members of the family. Everly didn’t like her


    life in the residence, but she liked the estate. Her friends thought she was a princess and would call her


    such, much to her delight. But she knew there was only one princess in the household, and it wasn’t


    her.


    Sometimes she wasn’t just envious of Heather, but was jealous of her. Everly had always thought she


    was a talentless woman, unlike Heather. Heather had been smarter than her peers ever since she was


    a child. She was a natural-born businesswoman, so the older she got, the more cutthroat she was.


    There was one time where Everly got on Heather’s nerves when they were little, and the memory still


    haunted her until this very day. Her curiosity led her to Heather’s room, but the door was shut. She


    knew Heather was inside, and she wondered what Heather looked like when she was alone.


    Everly hesitated for a long while, but she couldn’t bring herself to knock on the door. She couldn’t bring


    herself to see Heather for fear of getting looked down. She knew Heather could see through everyone,


    so she never looked her in the eye. After all, Heather was a fearsome figure for her.


    Unbeknownst to her, the butler saw the whole thing. Under Robert’s behest, the butler started keeping


    an eye on her after she left the study. He noticed Everly was going the wrong way, since her room


    wasn’t in that direction. Her room was on the fourth floor, so no matter if she took the stairs or the


    elevator, she shouldn’t have reached Heather’s room.


    The butler thought it was weird, but his job was to report everything to Robert. Everything else was


    outside his jurisdiction. He pushed every question aside and kept observing Everly. She’s been


    standing there for a while. Does she want to see Heather? But she’s not knocking. What is she trying to


    do?


    In the end, Everly left, and she went upstairs. Once he heard her going upstairs, the butler stopped


    following her. It was gettingte, so she must have retired for the night, he thought. He wouldn’t get


    anything else even if he continued following her.


    The castle-like Langston Residence had six floors. The first floor housed the body, the gym, and the


    swimming pool. Robert’s quarter was on the second floor, where he and the family’s important figures


    lived. The third floor was where the young couples lived, while the fourth was where the less important


    members lived. The fifth and sixth floor was where the servants stayed.


    Heather couldn’t sleep that night, for she was still mulling over Matthias’ answer. His interaction with


    Everly and his awkward exnation haunted her, so she wondered if she could trust him.


    It wasn’t the first time he had let her down, so she wondered if he was wooing or torturing her. Is this


    how everyone treats their crush? No, it’s just him. She was pondering on the n’s feasibility,


    wondering if she would really fall for Matthias if she epted his confession.


    Heather had no need for an unpredictable future. Matthias was the biggest surprise in her life, and he


    was already causing her a lot of trouble. Ever since their meeting, her life had been spiraling into


    chaos. She tossed and turned, but her frustration kept the sweet embrace of sleep away from her.


    Since she couldn’t sleep, she wanted to do something.


    There was a swimming pool beside the lobby, so she wanted to swim. Moving her body would distract


    her from her troubles for a while. Thus, she wore her swimsuit and covered it with her pajamas before


    going down. Since the pool wasn’t connected to the living room, she had to enter it through the other


    way.


    The wind was cold that night, so she tightened her clothes, looking ahead calmly. ke was sitting on


    a sofa in the living room then, looking drunk. The smell of alcohol wafted across when she went past


    him, and she scrunched her nose up.


    ke was mumbling something, but she pretended not to hear him. Instead, she stayed far away from


    him, since he might puke on her if she got closer. But even though she had stayed away, he stopped


    her. “Hold it, you.”


    She stopped, feeling annoyed, and she looked down at him. Looks like the alcohol made him even


    worse. Right, let’s see what he’s going to do.


    “The project’s ruined because you quit all of a sudden, Heather,” he scolded, putting all the me on


    her.


    Heather smirked, surprised that ke could even me her for that. If she had her phone with her, she


    would have recorded everything he said. “You should know the reason for the project’s failure.” Before


    this, she thought ke could still be redeemed, but now she had seen him for the scum he was.


    He could do anything just to achieve his goal. For example, he dragged thepany down just to get


    back at her. Heather prioritized thepany, so she never duked it out with him, but even so, he never


    let her go, backing her into a corner.


    If excellence was a sin, then Heather thought she would be in the depths of hell when she died. The


    Langstons were jealous of her brilliance, so they never got along with her, and they would talk about


    her behind her back.


    That was how weaklings worked. A truly strong person would acknowledge the gap between them and


    the people ahead of them, then they would work to close the gap and surpass theirpetition. That


    was why the strong became stronger. The weak lost because of their mindset. Without a strong soul,


    they could never ovee the challenges in their lives.


    “You think you’re so good, Heather? The whole family worships you, but all you ever did was insult us.


    Have you ever even seen me as your brother?” ke was throwing a tantrum because he was drunk.


    Heather gave him a sardonic smile. She didn’t care about anything ke said, but she wondered why


    he cared so much. Pathetic. “Have you ever seen me as your sister, then? Everyone hates me here.


    You guys hate me because I’m sessful, but have you ever asked how much I had to give up to be


    where I am today?” The Langstons didn’t care about that. All they cared about was their ownfort,


    even if that was at the expense of others.


    “Well, it seems like you know where you stand. So why didn’t you move out, then? Seeing as everyone


    hates you,” ke interrogated. As long as Heather was there, he could never rest easy.


    “As long as Grandpa is here, then so am I. If you don’t like it, you can piss off right now,” she scoffed.


    Heather didn’t care about ke, since the whole reason she stayed was because Robert was there.


    “I hate you, Heather. Why do I even have a sister like you?” ke gnashed his teeth. If it weren’t


    because of her, he would have been the most outstanding person in the family.


    “Grow up, ke. Don’t make me look down on you more.” Heather didn’t want to waste her time any


    longer. She was here to swim, not to fight, so she left right after that.


    The butler heard the whole conversation, and he would tell Robert all about it. Once that happened,


    ke would get an earful from his grandfather the next day.


    Heather never wanted topete with ke, but he wouldn’t let her go. No longer wanting to ruminate


    over his ramblings, she went around the ce and headed to the pool. He’s not even a worthy rival.


    The air around the pool was chilly, and it cooled her off. The door to the pool was locked, so she went


    to see the guard, since he was the only one who’d patrol the pool at night, and he was the only one


    who had the key.


    I shouldn’t be rash. It’s past the pool’s opening hours, so why am I doing this? I-It’s immature. Did some


    of Matthias rub off on me? The heating system was off at this hour, so the pool would be icy cold. She


    didn’t factor that in, but going back aftering all the way wasn’t her style. She would finish


    everything she started, for giving up was a bad habit.


    When the guard came around, she called out to him. “Open the door to the pool.” Heather insisted on


    her night swim. An autumn swim wasn’t any trouble, since she wouldn’t freeze to death. Winter was


    another story altogether though.


    The guard looked at her with hesitation. He didn’t want to go against her, but he didn’t want to break


    the family rule either. “It’s too cold for a swim, Miss Heather.” He had to remind her about that fact. If


    something were to happen to her, he would be in for a disaster.