Mr. CEO And His Grandfather

Evelyn stood with the Stone family, waiting for the arrival of the guests. The guests seemed to be pretty prestigious given the level of enthusiasm and carefulness shown by everyone.

The main branch of the Stone family had Richard and Susan Stone, both being Evelyn's grandparents; Caspian Stone, her birth father; Janice Stone, Annalise's mother; Annalise and her although she was hardly counted to be a part of the family; and Evan Stone, her half-brother in elementary.

Evelyn's mother died before her birth, and there was nothing Evelyn knew of her, not even her name. This was because her birth mother was considered a stain, and that's why, measures were taken to erase her existence.

Back when she was a child, she did request to see the woman, but that ended up with her receiving an deep injury to her forehead which needed stitches. From then on, she knew not to cross the boundaries.

Evelyn stared down at her hands. They were covered up in bandages. She didn't treat them with much; she couldn't afford to. All she could do was hope no ugly scars were left behind. The last thing she wanted was to add more marks to this ruined body of hers.

Lost in her thoughts, Evelyn didn't hear when the guests arrived.

The Stone family's enthusiastic talking barely held her concentration. It's not as though anyone cared about her.

"What happened to your hands, Dear? Weren't they all fine yesterday?"

That concerned tone shocked her, and for a second there, Evelyn couldn't process whether or not she was being spoken too. That would be too odd since she was used to voices being cold to her, not this warm.

"Evelyn Dear, are you alright?"

That got her to abruptly raise her head and respond, "Uh, huh."

"Your hands?"

She then recognized the amiable old man from yesterday and subconsciously responded, "They got burned."

The old man frowned.

"Burned? How?"

At that instant, she shuddered, envisioning the glare Annalise was shooting towards her as though daring her to be honest. Of course, she will never.

"I spilled hot chocolate over me," Evelyn said as a sheepish laugh escaped from her lips, and she patted the back of her head.

After that, she noticed that Landon was standing behind the old man, and this got her eyes to widen. She held back the gasp that threatened to leave her mouth.

Of course, her father wasn't pleased with all the attention being directed towards her and stirred the conversation to include him. He invited them to sit at the couch. The snacks along with tea was brought over and served.

From then, the conversation carried on towards business. Evelyn played with her fingers while subtly sneaking glances at Landon. Instead of sitting out awkwardly like her, he added in his opinions.

His voice was so dreamy. It made her want to giggle. And those fingers of his were long and thin, giving her the butterflies. That face— she can't stop once she gets started on it.

Of course, those chaotic thoughts of hers stayed inside. She wouldn't dare let them leave her mouth.

"Oh right, I came here to talk about the engagement."

Her attention finally got lifted off of Landon, and she looked at his grandfather questioningly. Engagement? Of whose?

This made the grin on her father's face widen.

"I am honored that Chairman Parker wants to join our family together through engagement." Her father maintained a humble attitude.

It was strange for Evelyn to see the arrogant man act in this manner. This made her wonder about the power held by the other party.

However, after that, she processed those words, as her eyes shifted between Annalise and Landon. She wasn't clueless; she understood. And that caused her heart to sink.

She didn't want Annalise to take Landon away from her although that was too presumptuous for her to assume. She doubted he even knew her name yet she was claiming him as hers.

Her chest squeezed painfully.

While dread filled her, Annalise looked the opposite. She didn't hide her excitement. Those eyes of hers were bright yet had a certain amount of shyness as they shifted on Landon.

Landon, on the other hand, stared straight ahead nonchalantly as if the matter had nothing to do with him.

"Evelyn Dear, what do you think? Do you want to join our family?" Landon's grandfather asked gently.

This caught her off guard, making her slow to react.

Her? How come?

"Eh, me?" She pointed at herself, blinking her eyes.

Caspian's smile stiffened while Annalise's expression darkened.

"Chairman Parker, I am afraid that won't be possible. This child is still immature. She has a lot to learn. And she doesn't wish to get engaged in this manner. She opts for more freedom. I believe Annalise would be a better option."

Indeed, Annalise would from an objective point of view. She was pretty according to the standards and smarter than Evelyn, knew how to carry herself elegantly and mingled well with the social circle. She had a sparkly clean reputation as well.

Of course, only Evelyn saw her as the biggest menace.

"Frankly speaking, I don't want your daughter as my grandson's fiancé but Marie's daughter."

His words sounded harsh to Annalise, and although Annalise didn't even glance at Evelyn, she knew that the things were going to get terrible for her once they leave. This brought fear inside her.