Chapter 190: Approval
Langston’s POV
After finally learning the truth about what is snake Gwendolyn Stuart the fourth really was. Langston Terrell had been furious, (and he still was), mixed in with that rage, had been fear for his grandson. He had worried about Ryan’s current partner, all that he had seen of the woman after finding out about Gwendolyn’s deceit, had been a picture taken from his grandson’s perspective.
As much as Langston had wanted to take that photo as proof that Vivian Rose was a good woman. He had not been able to do so. Even though Ryan had seemed to truly love Vivian, Langston had needed to see her with his own two eyes and make sure that she was truly worthy of his grandson. So he had insisted that Ryan bring Vivian Rose around as soon as possible, something that his grandson had readily agreed to. When they had arrived Vivian Rose had come empty handed, no flowers, no gift... nothing, and Langston Terrell had added that as a strike against her.
But then he had seen her barely glance at all of the expensive decorations and silverware that were in the dining room. Instead she had been enraptured by the painting on the ceiling( the one that his late wife had taken years creating all by herself). The painting was something that a lot of guests that he’d had there often dismissed after only a single glance. But he had seen the look in her eyes, the way that she had been openly appreciating the art, and Langston had felt his heart begin to thaw towards her.
Then the time to eat had come, and without any words spoken and without even noticing that Langston was observing her through lowered lashes, the young lady had begun peeling Ryan’s grapes for him. Doing so one by one until his grandson was satisfied with the amount he had on his plate. Then she’d gone back to her meal, the two of them rubbing shoulders occasionally, seeking easy comfort...affection, and realization had hit Langston like a thunderbolt.
The warmth and life that Vivian Rose gave off naturally was something that Gwendolyn had lacked.
To cover it up she had often dressed pretty and had always made sure to bring him something. Be it wild stories from her travels or gift baskets. That woman had never come to him empty handed because she had known that if she did Langston would realize that she was hollow.
He had never met the real Gwendolyn Stuart the fourth, and he got the feeling that if he had he would not have liked that person at all.
The revelation of her actions against his grandson was proof that as pretty as her outside was, on the inside, Gwendolyn Stuart the fourth was a rotten unsightly mess.
Now that he’d had time to think on it, Gwendolyn as good as her act was, had not been able to fool him completely. There had been times when he had caught flashes of who she actually was. Things like her stories not lining up with the way that she was acting, and the coldness that he had spotted in her eyes from time to time before dismissing it.
In fact, the very first time that Langston had met Gwendolyn Stuart the fourth, he remembered feeling a sense of unease. But then she had smiled and spoken to him in that soothing tone of hers, and he had dismissed it quickly, enraptured by her beauty and the innocence that she projected. Fully believing that she was being sincere with her kindness, unaware that it was all an act meant to fool him.
She truly was skilled to have been able to fool Langston, a man who had made a fortune simply by being able to read people. It was a pity that she had decided to waste her talents on doing selfish things and hurting other people. Thinking on all of the twisted games that she had played, games that had nearly torn apart Langston’s family made him angry.
But that anger did not last, instead it was replaced by sadness and hurt as he thought about his Brian’s role in all of the messed up things that Gwendolyn had done to Ryan.
What had that foolish child been thinking?! Sleeping with his older brother’s woman, Langston had raised him better than that.
How had he not thought of the consequences of such an act?
Gripping his cane tight, Langston forced himself to calm down. It would not do to end up in hospital. The last thing that he wanted to do was worry Ryan. But even once he was calm, the bitterness that he felt towards the situation remained.
Ryan had suffered alone for years, trying to protect Langston and then when his grandson had gotten a bit of happiness, Gwendolyn had swooped in and had nearly ruined that for him. What was wrong with that young lady and why did she seem to have it out for his grandson? But even as he was angry at her, Langston could not help but feel a bit of pity.
Gwendolyn Stuart the fourth had probably never known true happiness a day in her life.
Now that Langston had met Vivian himself, he could tell why the former heiress had felt threatened. As beautiful as she was, and as privileged as she had been, Gwendolyn had always been hollow, empty. Unable to share love because she could not truly feel it. But Vivian Rose was a being made of love. Not only did she love Ryan with an intensity that even Langston’s old eyes could see from a distance, Ryan loved her back just as fiercely. Gwendolyn, as cold as she was, must have known that she could never truly have that. Wherever she was, Langston hoped that she accepted her fate, and stayed away.
Love had triumphed and she could go and die in a dark hole for all he cared.