The Veiled Heiress

02-Tyler's Reaction

Tyler was looking at a goddess. The young woman standing in the entrance was utterly gorgeous. Her black hair shimmered blue in the sun and her tanned skin glowed. What captivated him the most was her blue-gray eyes, which would have looked like a storm brewing if she would look up at him and not avoid making eye contact. Right now, she looked like a deer in the headlights, unsure of herself and what to do.

Unfortunately, she was standing next to that old hag. He had met Lucinda a couple of different times already, and each time he saw her, his disdain grew for her. Her perfume reeked, and her plastic surgery looked fake. He could just tell that she was a gold digger, but good luck trying to tell his dad anything different. Though Tyler did not listen much to what Lucinda said, he knew for sure that she never mentioned a daughter. Tyler noticed that even his father did not look happy to see her but chose not to make a comment.

Tyler and his father have been very distant, ever since his mother left them. Henry can be a control freak with a short temper. He likes to tell people that he built the business from the ground up, when, in fact, he merely inherited it from Tyler’s maternal grandfather. When they married, Henry changed the company's name since Tyler’s mother changed her surname. Henry not only took her business, but also had her stay at home to be a homemaker. He would control the money she spent and criticize everything, from how she kept the house to how she acted out in public. Eventually, it got too stifling for her, so she just picked up and left. Never to look back again.

As Tyler watched Ashton interact with his father, he was left to wonder if she was exactly like her mother. She did not really see all that excited to be her, but his father can be very intimidating to new people. How long until she started to ask for money for things that were completely unnecessary? Tyler did not bother with shaking her hand or expending much energy into any type of conversation. He just stood there as Henry invited them further into the house. He hoped that they would just be temporary housemates.

“Please come in. Tyler, why don’t you help Ashton take her things to her room,” Henry demanded more than requested of Tyler, wanting to get Ashton out of his sight as quickly as possible. Tyler shrugged noncommittally but did grab a couple of boxes, leading Ashton to what would be her room on the other side of the house, far away from the rest of the inhabitants. Tyler found it odd that Lucinda did not want her daughter that close to her own room, but did not care too much, since that would mean that she was far away from him as well.

“Well, here you go,” Tyler said as he opened the door and dropped the boxes harshly in the middle of the floor.

“Thanks,” Ashton replied, flinching at the banging of her boxes. It was not that she cared about what was in the boxes. Most of her important stuff was in her uptown apartment. This was all mostly clothes and essential things. Ashton brought her head up but could not make herself look straight at him.

Tyler noticed how Ashton would not look him in the eye. He began to wonder if this innocent vibe was an act. Tyler despised fakes. For years, women would act all innocent just to try to bed him. Of course, bedding him led to them wanting relationships that focused on his name and money. Not many seemed too interested in getting to know the real him, so he tended to only have one-night stands. It was easier to be one and done with them. It made him seem cold-hearted and cruel, but he was not looking to be liked. Tyler liked to be alone most of the time.

As he left Ashton to unpack, he could not help but take one last look at her. He knew looks were not everything, but damn was she hot. He just hoped that she was not cut from the same material as Lucinda. Tyler figured he would learn more about her as time passed.