It was because of the call that the light-hearted and harmonious atmosphere in the private room immediately became heavier.
After Heather hung up, her face darkened as she considered whether to watch the video. Even though the cover of the video was pitch black, she was hesitating because she had an ominous feeling about it.
Seeing the change in Heather after answering the call, Everly felt slightly suspicious. She merely looked at Heather, not knowing what to say to console her. After all, Everly had no idea what had just happened.
“Everly, I’m full. You continue eating without me.” After taking just a few bites, Heather claimed that she was already full, which made Everly unable to continue eating as well.
“Heather, I’m also full. Why don’t we head home?” Everly replied thoughtfully, thinking that it would be a better option to return.
Heather shot a glance at Everly. She just started eating, so how could she be full? She must be accommodating me. I don’t want my private matters to affect her emotions either.
“Eat more.” She tried to persuade Everly. Even though she did not have any appetite, she still asked Everly to eat more.
However, Everly shook her head. Seeing that there was nothing Heather could do about this, she agreed with Everly’s suggestion.
“In that case, let’s go home.” With that, Heather rose to her full height. At this moment, there seemed to be no better options apart from going home.
On the way back, Everly remained silent while Heather had no idea what to say. Both of them remained silent, as if they had made an agreement to do so.
Everly was curious about what had happened earlier, but she was also a reasonable person. Even though curiosity flooded her at this moment, she did not ask Heather any questions at all.
Heather’s driving was rather unstable, which showed the uneasiness in her heart. The night had completely fallen and she did not expect that the upsetting day was about to be over just like that.
The journey that usually took 20 minutes took half an hour today. She had no idea what she had been thinking as she drove the car into the garage worriedly.
Both of them entered the living room one after another. Robert was waiting for them to return in the living room. When Everly saw him, a flicker of panic appeared on her face as she was surprised to find him waiting for their return in the living room.
Heather merely shot him a glance before looking elsewhere as she continued walking forward, as if nothing had happened.
Robert knocked his walking stick on the ground twice. The loud and clear thud entered her ears before his old voice rang.
“What’s wrong with you today, Heather? Is this your attitude toward me?” He was quite displeased with her attitude, thinking that she was not respecting him.
Upon hearing that, Heather turned around. She did not want to hide the incident from Robert, but she also did not want to worry him. After thinking about it, she decided to keep it from him, but she had no idea what to tell him since her mind was completely blank at this moment.
Then, Everly quickly spoke on Heather’s behalf to provide an excuse, “Grandpa, Heather is not feeling well today.”
Upon hearing that, he fixed his gaze on Heather. Indeed, she doesn’t look good, but not to the point of being unwell. Thinking that it was an excuse, he shot a fierce stare at Everly to tell her not to be involved in this matter.
“Everly, you have been busy with school for the entire day. Why don’t you head upstairs to take a rest?” he immediately suggested. Obviously, he wanted to steer her out of the discussion.
She looked at him before looking back at Heather again. She did not dare to disobey Robert, but as she also did not want Heather to be reprimanded by him, she had no idea what to do.
Heather saw her worried expression and immediately responded, “Everly, you must be tired. Quickly go upstairs.” It’s better for me to face Robert privately.
Everly wanted to say something, but Heather shot her a warning look to stop her. After seeing that even Heather wanted her to leave, she did not stay any longer.
Robert watched as Everly headed upstairs before the living room was only left with Heather and himself. “What are you waiting for? Come here,” he barked.
Hence, Heather could only walk to him. She stared into his eyes, knowing that he liked to look into the eyes of the person he was reprimanding, so she naturally did that first.
Noticing that she showed no remorse at all, he became even more annoyed, but she was just thinking of another important matter.
Until now, Heather had not watched the video. The most pressing matter for her was to quickly return to her room to investigate the video that the ringleader sent her.
However, Robert had stopped her in the hall to listen to his lecture. As a result, she could not pay any attention to what he had said.
He thought that she was still annoyed at what happened earlier that morning and spoke directly, “Heather, are you displeased about me trying to intervene in your relationship with Matthias?”
Heather shook her head. “Grandpa, I know you care about me and I also know I’m wrong about it. I don’t have any complaints about your actions.” She tried to seem gentle and obedient, as she was well aware that no good would come out of a disagreement with him at this moment.
“In that case, why have you been pulling a long face the entire day for me to see?” Robert asked. Her obedience and mellowness made him feel that something was off.
“Grandpa, since when have I deliberately pulled a long face to show you? I just encountered something today, so I’m in a rush to settle it. It’s not because of you,” she explained merrily. After all, she had no idea what else she could say since everything was muddled up together.
However, Robert looked at her with an expression of disbelief. Thinking that she was lying to him, he frowned and he did not want to listen to any of her lies anymore. “What did you encounter?” he immediately demanded, catching on the main point of her explanation.
Heather bit her lower lips. She had no clue how to hide the matter from him since it seemed like he did not trust her at this moment. No matter what she said, he probably would not believe her.
“It’s about starting the company.” She had no idea what else could be more pressing at this moment, so she used this excuse.
There were still some doubts in Robert’s eyes. He still did not believe her, so he narrowed his eyes and asked in a low voice tentatively, “It’s not going well?”
Heather smiled bitterly. “Yes, I’m quite lost right now and I have no idea how to continue.” She pretended as though she was troubled by this matter. However, she really was quite lost and she was unsure whether she should continue to work in the business field.
When Robert saw her expression, he immediately felt sorry for her. After piecing together what had recently happened to her, the doubts in his eyes were cleared, but they were not completely gone.
“Grandpa.” With that, she sat next to him. When she saw that he wavered in his resolve, she knew she had to seize the opportunity.
On the other hand, he was slightly not used to her sudden closeness, as if she did not mind about their confrontation earlier in the morning at all.
“Grandpa, what do you think I should do? Do you think I’m unsuitable for this path?” she voiced out her worries that had been in her mind for a long time. At this moment, she really was exhausted and she did not know when this would end.
“Silly girl.” Robert stretched out with his hand to caress Heather’s head. It was all because of her great acting skills that brought him to another level. “Don’t overthink it. You are just not confident with yourself at this moment. I’ve been through the same thing when I was younger. Once you overcome this, everything will be better.”
He shared his experience as someone who had experienced the same thing. After reflecting on his hardships back in those days, he actively gave her his encouragement.
“Really?” At this point, Heather was no longer putting on an act since she was expressing her true feelings.
“Heather, don’t you believe me?” Robert asked in return. He knew fully well that he had to boost her confidence at this moment. Otherwise, she would just throw in the towel.
She raised her head and looked at him with a pair of lost eyes. When he saw her like that, he felt sorry for her.
“Do you still remember what I told you back then? Don’t take on everything alone. I will always be your strongest supporter.” He told her about the words that he always emphasized to her. He did not like her overly independent character, so he wanted to find a partner for her while he was still alive.
“Grandpa, I feel like a failure. Not everyone will experience this, but I feel like giving up. I feel like a coward.” Heather really felt that she was useless at this moment, seeing the distance between herself and success becoming further apart.
“It’s normal to want to give up and it’s good that you experience this earlier in your life. After this experience, you will understand more truths in life.” Robert looked at her lovingly, as though he could see a shadow of his younger self within her.
However, she shook her head. “Grandpa, don’t cheer me up now. I know that I’m a failure and I hate myself now.” The emotions that were already within her flooded in that instant.
He pulled her into the same hug he always gave her when she was young. Then, he gently patted her back before gently saying, “Heather, I know that you bear a lot of pressure from society, but you can’t take all of them alone. If you feel too stressed out, why don’t you try relieving the burden?”
Heather did not expect that Robert would give her such a suggestion. As she buried herself into his chest in shock, she remembered the sense of security she felt from his sturdy chest when she was younger.
At that moment, someone from the second floor enviously looked at them. The gaze slowly turned vicious and jealous from the person’s initial guilt.
Both Heather and Robert, who were immersed in the atmosphere, did not notice the vicious gaze at all. As a result, they were unaware that danger was just around them.
“Grandpa, who would give such a suggestion? How can you ask me to give the burden to someone else? I can’t honor the hard work by others like this,” she replied in amusement. Actually, he had another childish self within him.
“Don’t turn the expectations from others into pressure. It will be exhausting for you to live this way and you might not even be able to catch a breather.” He gave her such advice based on his own experience. After all, there was a long period of time where he also felt lost.
“I don’t want to let anyone down.” Heather told him about her worries. It was precisely because of her perfectionism that she felt this way now.
“Silly girl. You can’t please anyone. Why are you making yourself suffer because of others?” Robert asked helplessly, not expecting that she would end up in such a dead end.
“I know the logic, but—”
He immediately interrupted. “No ifs and buts. Do what you want to do. It’s only through this way that you won’t have any regrets in life.”
