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 blame 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 planning. Once Robert had passed and they had gotten the share
of the wealth, they’d move out. Everyone had the same plan anyway. The whole family was just
together in name only, for everyone was branching out in different industries, so there was nothing in
common between them.
Living together was torture for some people, since not everyone could be a success story, and they’d
feel bad once they compared 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 getting late, 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 explanation 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 plan’s feasibility,
wondering if she would really fall for Matthias if she accepted 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