Chapter 476
Standing Before Love
It was a busy day, where some people were happy while some were sad. Myra and Tony were a perfect match, and those who were skeptical about this couple finally stopped commenting on them.
Tony was worried that Myra would be exhausted, so he sent her back to the lounge to get some rest.
After all, it was inadvisable for pregnant women to stand for too long. Myra was indeed exhausted too, so she listened to Tonyâs advice. Originally, Tony wanted to ask Heather to keep Myra accompanied, but Myra stopped him from doing so.
âLook at them. They seem to be getting along pretty well, so letâs not disturb them,â Myra said while pointing at Heather and Lucas, who were standing not too far away from them. Tony didnât want to spoil his brotherâs good time either, so he restrained from calling Heather along.
When Heather realized Myra and Tony had disappeared, the couple were already having a sweet time in the lounge. Noticing Heather was gazing around, Lucas asked casually, âAre you looking for someone?â Lucas was not used to getting along with ladies, and neither was he skilful in courting them.
âThe bride and the groom have gone missing,â Heather said in resignation. In fact, she didnât dislike Lucas. She even found him pretty cute with his clumsiness.
âTheyâ¦â Lucas paused halfway through his sentence. âThey might have gone to take a rest.â Lucas was nervous about being stared at by Heather, and he thought this was the result of sparks flying.
âI guess so.â Heather tried to put on a gentle expression as she attempted to get along naturally with Lucas.
However, she couldnât find a topic to continue the conversation with Lucas, unlike when she was with Matthias; she could be herself and say whatever that was on her mind.
She could even be more real when she was with Matthias compared to Myra. After all, Matthias was aware of her dark sides. This was probably the reason why Heather had feelings toward Matthias which was inexplicable.
âYou must be hungry. Iâll go get you some food.â Lucas was quite thoughtful. It was just that he wasnât enlightened yet at this moment and didnât know how to please women.
Heather was about to reject him, but Lucas had already left to take the food, seeing which Heather thought it was inappropriate to stop him. She was indeed hungry, but she didnât feel all that hungry anymore after starving for some time. Moreover, that glance from Matthias had made her flustered and lost her appetite.
Soon, Lucas came back with some food and drinks. Heather didnât want to turn down his kindness and she had to eat anyway, so she dug in while Lucas continued staring at her, to a point where he himself had forgotten to dig in.
âArenât you hungry?â Heather lifted her head. She felt uneasy being stared at by Lucas and had lost her appetite even more.
Feeling shy, Lucas quickly lowered his head and tucked in. Heather had an inexplicable feeling as she looked at Lucas. She somehow felt that Lucas was like an innocent boy.
Heather had seen too many flirty guys, so she was actually quite interested in naive guys. However, she was still in a complicated relationship with Matthias, so she couldnât get involved with Lucas.
âSorry, Iâm not good at talking to ladies.â Lucas felt useless because he couldnât help but to be nervous and tongue-tied when he spoke to Heather.
Heather smiled amiably. âYou donât have to be so nervous. Youâre making me nervous too. Just ease up.â Heather could feel Lucasâs tension, and she didnât know how to carry on with the conversation seeing him as such.
Nonetheless, Heather was surprised at how honest Lucas was. The more she talked with Lucas, the more she perceived him as a special man.
Deep down, Heather was thinking they might be able to start off as friends first because she was keen to befriend someone like him. She no longer held onto her belief that one shouldnât be friends with their potential date. Anyway, Heather didnât deem Lucas as her potential date yet at this point of time.
âIâm not nervous,â Lucas said instinctively, but he regretted it immediately because the atmosphere became even more awkward the moment he said that.
This guyâs EQ is indeed⦠Even Heather had no idea how she should respond to him. Lucas wore an apologetic expression and said, âI mean⦠the wedding went well today, and weâve completed our tasks successfully.â Lucas started saying what he could think of as he panicked. Even he himself felt an immense awkwardness.
âItâs worth celebrating.â Following that, Heather lifted the wine glass on her right and winked at Lucas to lighten up the awkward atmosphere.
Lucas quickly lifted his wine glass too. He didnât expect that Heather wouldnât mind his awkwardness, and she even took the initiative to ease the tension. As such, he adored Heather even more.
âYeah. Itâs worth celebrating. Cheers.â Lucas clinked glasses with Heather and smiled brightly.
Heather found the contrast rather cute. Myra had once brought up Lucas to her, and he indeed had a mature appearance. When she saw how clumsy the mature man was in front of her, as if he was dating a woman for the first time, Heather couldnât find it in herself to fault him.
Heather intended to be more patient with him. Even though Lucas was extremely untalented in carrying a conversation, Heather didnât mind putting in more effort so that the conversation could be continued.
Both Lucas and Heather bottomed up and smiled at each other after putting down their glasses.
Heather didnât mind being friends with someone like Lucas, thinking they might be able to become close drinking pals, but at the same time, she was worried that Lucas would be attracted to her.
Fortunately, Lucas was sensible and did not express his feelings during the conversation. Hence, Heather decided to stop worrying and start off with Lucas as friends first.
Lucas knew he shouldnât carry on like this, so he decided to talk about finance-related topics as Tony had given him a hint before this.
Lucas gradually directed the conversation toward some wider aspect, specifically regarding the business circles in Bradfort City, which made Heather loosen her tongue at once.
Heather was basically a workaholic, so she naturally became more chatty when the conversation was directed to a topic of her interest.
Meanwhile, Philip tightened his grip on his wine glass as he witnessed Lucas and Heather chatting heartily. He couldnât walk up to them because he was not that close with Heather, and it would be abrupt of him to just walk up and accost her.
Moreover, both him and Lucas were aware of each otherâs intentions. He would appear to be rather insensible if he butted in just to win Heatherâs attention.
As such, he could only watch them from afar. After all, he was not as fortunate as Lucas who had been chosen as the groomsman.
Elliot noticed Philipâs odd reaction, so he went up and patted Philipâs shoulder. âCome and have a drink with me. Iâm a groom-to-be too.â He glanced cheekily at Tilly while saying so because the second half of the sentence was meant for her.
However, Tilly didnât bother with him at all. Instead, she said sarcastically, âWhen did Young Master Elliot get engaged? Why havenât I heard anything about it?â
Elliotâs wide grin disappeared at once as he felt embarrassed being roasted by Tilly. Meanwhile, Philip burst into laughter heartlessly. âServes you right!â Trying to be lovey-dovey in front of me, huh?
Elliot glared at Philip, thinking he was an ungrateful brat. Elliot had come to comfort Philip seeing him disheartened on his own, but the latter laughed at him in return.
Philip stopped laughing and quickly placed his arm around Elliotâs shoulder intimately. He was worried that Elliot might be annoyed if he continued laughing at him.
âLetâs go have some drinks.â Philipâs mood was actually lifted after messing around with Elliot.
Tilly rolled her eyes at the two guys who were behaving like childrenâthey mocked each other and made up again the next second.
Then, she walked away to look for Estelle as she didnât want to stay with Elliot anymore lest he spouted nonsense again. Elliot looked at Tilly sulkily as she left and asked Philip, âDid I annoy her just now?â
Philip shook his head. âGuess both of us did.â
Resigned, Elliot mumbled, âI donât understand women at all.â
Meanwhile, Estelle and Shawn were having a drinking competition. Of course, Estelle was no match for Shawn and she was drunk after a short while. Little did she know this was Shawnâs scheme as it would be easier to lay his hands on her after she was drunk.
However, Shawnâs plan was ruined by an emergency call which summoned him back to the city council because there was an urgent meeting and attendance was compulsory. Shawn was left with no choice either.
However, Estelle, who was drunk, was throwing a tantrum and would not allow Shawn to leave. âNo way. You canât go. How can you leave early on such a happy occasion?â Shawn ate his heart out because there was no way he could reason with a drunk person.
âI really have an urgent meeting.â Shawn couldnât possibly bring the drunk Estelle along to his meeting.
He looked distressed as he had ended up bringing trouble upon himself.
âIâm not going to let you leave. You said you wanted to marry me, but youâre not sincere at all. How dare you run away from the wedding banquet?â Estelle pointed right at Shawnâs face.
What even⦠Shawn stared at Estelle, baffled at the nonsense she was talking about. However, when he heard Estelle say âmarry meâ, heâd rather be late to the meeting than miss the chance to get her to agree to marry him.
So, he opened the recorder on his phone and started luring Estelle into a trap. âAlright, Iâll stay and marry you. Shall we get married on National Day so that the whole nation will celebrate with us?â
Shawn was waiting for Estelle to say yes. Sure enough, she nodded, but she just tugged at Shawnâs arm and didnât say a word. Thatâs not going to work!
As such, Shawn continued luring her. âMarry me during National Day, will you?â He pressed on the record button while asking Estelle.
Estelle was swaying as she felt even dizzier. She was even seeing two of Shawn as her vision became blurry. âStop moving around,â Estelle mumbled in a displeased manner.
âWill you marry me?â Shawn patiently repeated himself again.
âOkay. You have to marry me.â Finally, Estelle gave an answer which satisfied Shawn.
âWeâll get married on National Day, alright?â Shawn continued luring Estelle. His goal was about to be achieved.
Estelle gazed at Shawn and smiled foolishly without replying to him. Shawn wore a rare, gentle smile as he waited for Estelleâs reply. It was very rare for him to be this patient.
Just then, Tilly, who was not far away from them, asked out of kindness, âDo you need help?â Hearing that, Estelle quickly turned around and looked at Tilly. As such, Shawnâs scheme was disrupted at the crucial moment.
He pressed the red button in disappointment to end the recording. What a bummer! He glared resentfully at Tilly who was approaching them.