Carla Sinclair’s tone was calm, but her words were resolute.
After hearing her, Simon Adler could only describe his current mood as one of utter astonishnt.
’Simple-minded... who? Mia Grant?’
’What a joke.’
’That girl has more ulterior motives than a block of Swiss cheese has holes.’
’Is this so kind of big-sister filter?’
"If that’s what you want to think... sure." Simon Adler gave her a thumbs-up.
Carla Sinclair said, "I need you to pass on a ssage for ."
"What ssage?"
"I hope to acknowledge her as my sister. If she has any concerns, she can talk to about them. I will do my utmost to overco any and all obstacles to bring her to my side."
"I can relay those words for you, but I can only repeat them verbatim. I can’t try to persuade her."
"If you’re looking for an interdiary to smooth things over, I suggest you go to Silas Grant."
"Even if you don’t want to involve him in this, you won’t be able to avoid Silas if you and Mia Grant actually acknowledge each other in the future."
"Even though they aren’t biological siblings, Mia Grant is extrely dependent on him emotionally."
"Likewise, you’ve dealt with Silas Grant many tis for work, so you should know what kind of person he is."
"He has a right to know about this."
Simon Adler’s words served as a reminder to Carla Sinclair.
’There’s still the troubleso Silas Grant to deal with.’
"Of course, before any of that, you’d better get your own family situation under control. If you can’t handle your family, Silas Grant will never agree to you acknowledging her, regardless of what Mia Grant herself wants."
"Think about it. He was willing to break ties with his own parents for Mia Grant’s sake. What does the Sinclair Family an to him in comparison?"
"Is there anything he wouldn’t do?"
Carla Sinclair was a smart woman; she understood imdiately.
"Let’s skip this topic for now."
She asked about sothing else that was puzzling her. "It’s finals week. Why would she show up in Portia right now? From what I understand, she’s been here for almost a week."
"And she’s been staying at the Hughes family’s residence the whole ti."
"If she ca to see Silas Grant, he’s only been back to Midcrest once in the past week."
"Which ans, even if they did et, it was only once."
"Besides, they’re still siblings in na. Why would she stay there, right under the old man’s nose?"
Simon Adler hadn’t expected her to be so ticulous as to notice that detail.
Seeing him press his lips together without a word, Carla Sinclair’s brow furrowed.
"Is it that hard to answer?"
"Yes." Simon Adler shrugged and picked up his wine glass.
"Then let rephrase. You only need to answer with a yes or no. That should be less of a burden on your conscience. All right?"
Simon Adler raised an eyebrow, signaling for her to ask.
"Her appearing in Portia, at the Hughes family’s ho—was that her own choice?"
"No."
"Was she coerced?"
"Yes."
"The old man?"
This ti, Simon Adler didn’t answer, rely continuing to drink his wine.
Carla Sinclair understood.
She tried to recall the fragnted details she had uncovered, struggling to piece them together.
"Because of Silas Grant?"
"Yes."
Carla Sinclair fell silent.
’I can’t believe it. She’s completely ruled by her heart.’
’Just as I thought. Young, naive, and easy to fool.’
Rubbing the bridge of her nose, she asked again, "What does the old man want? For Silas Grant to get married?"
"Yes."
"No wonder he’s been going on blind dates recently."
"So what’s the aning of making Mia Grant help him with the dates? Humiliation?"
"Yes."
The wine glass in her hand was set down heavily as Carla Sinclair rose to her feet.
Seeing that she was about to leave, Simon Adler quickly called out to stop her.
"Why are you getting so angry now? Are you even absolutely sure that Mia Grant is your sister?"
"Don’t be impulsive."
"Here, take this."
Carla Sinclair turned to look and saw him take a handkerchief from his suit pocket and unfold it.
Inside were several strands of hair.
"They’re Mia Grant’s. You’re welco."
Carla Sinclair didn’t move. "Was this her idea?"
’Sigh.’ Simon Adler sighed. ’As expected, I can’t hide it from her.’
"Yes. Although she has her reservations, she’s willing to cooperate with a DNA test to prevent a misunderstanding and keep you from wasting your ti on her."
"Anything else?"
"The prerequisite for you to fight her battles is that you are, in fact, biological sisters."
—
They were taking a long ti to co back down. Mia Grant was getting hungry, so she pulled Simon aside to get sothing to eat.
In the ti it took her to eat just two small pastries, Ian Sinclair had paraded in front of her a dozen tis, using every excuse imaginable.
Mia Grant desperately tried to give him a look, signaling for him to stay away from her.
But it was like winking at a blind man.
The man only beca more brazen, flaunting himself right in front of her.
It was impossible to ignore him.
She could hardly look up without eting his gaze.
Simon noticed too and whispered, "Miss Grant, is that your fiancé?"
"I saw him from a distance at the engagent party a few days ago. Seeing him up close, I find that the young Mr. Sinclair is quite lively."
’How could he not be "lively"? You’ve got the wrong guy.’
Mia Grant silently sighed but didn’t bother to explain.
"Did he co here specifically to spend Christmas with you?"
"I guess so," Mia Grant said, continuing to eat.
"You two have such a great relationship," Simon said with a wry smile.
’Sigh, the boss has so much competition.’
’I wonder if Simon Adler will ever get his chance at love in this lifeti.’
Speak of the devil.
Simon imdiately put down his plate and said, "The boss is back."
Mia Grant looked up toward the top of the staircase.
At first, she didn’t notice Simon Adler. Instead, her eyes were drawn to Carla Sinclair standing beside him.
Carla’s gaze was fixed directly on her.
Then, Mia Grant saw her and Simon Adler walking over together.
"Didn’t you have sowhere to be?" Seeing Ian Sinclair was still there, Carla Sinclair frowned.
Ian Sinclair wasn’t the least bit embarrassed. He just said, "I suddenly got hungry. I ca back to grab a bite before I leave."
"..." Carla Sinclair thought he was a bit odd, but she didn’t dwell on it. After all, he wasn’t the focus right now.
Mia Grant was.
Across from them, Simon Adler had already reached Mia Grant’s side. They stood close together, whispering, with Mia asking what had taken him so long and what they had talked about upstairs.
Simon Adler, in turn, asked where she had been just now.
As they were speaking, Carla Sinclair approached them.
"There’s cake over there, strawberry-flavored. Would you like to try so?"
"If you’re hungry, you can sit over there and have a proper al."
"The chef tonight is from the mainland and has prepared a few of his specialty regional dishes."
Mia Grant glanced to her side, a beat too slow in realizing that Carla Sinclair was talking to her.
"No, thank you. I’m full."
Carla Sinclair nodded and said nothing more.
The group just stood there foolishly, the atmosphere instantly dropping to a freezing point.
It was inexplicably tense.
Ian Sinclair was standing not far behind Carla Sinclair, so he also overheard their conversation.
It just sounded like a polite pleasantry from the hostess.
Nothing out of the ordinary.
But based on his knowledge of Carla Sinclair, she wasn’t that polite of a person.
Ian Sinclair frowned, lost in thought.
Suddenly, a heavy arm draped over his shoulder from behind. An excited voice said, "Hey, Mr. Sinclair?! Long ti no see!"
"When did you get here? Are you alone? Huh?"
The man’s gaze shifted, and he caught sight of Mia Grant across from them. His face lit up with surprise. "Wow, this must be your fiancée, Miss Grant, right? She’s gorgeous in person!"
"..."
Carla Sinclair turned her head, her gaze locking onto Ian Sinclair. "What did he say? Repeat that."
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