But—
Ideals are lofty, but reality is harsh.
No matter what strategies they devised against Master Rory, she was like an insurmountable mountain.
Before her, the other contestants were like pebbles, unable to reach the summit no matter how much they scrambled.
And so, DAF fought their way into the finals, preparing to compete against the PL champions for the Veridian Glory Championship.
Then one day, just before the final battle, DAF Headquarters was suddenly stord by the Quincy siblings and Aurora Sinclair’s friends.
The voices of Jean Quincy and Luna Jennings in particular nearly blew the roof off the place.
"Aurora Sinclair, you’ve been back for so long, why didn’t you co ho? And why did we have to find out you were back from television?" Jean Quincy fired the first shot.
"Exactly! Do you even consider us friends anymore?" Luna Jennings followed up, demanding through gritted teeth.
"You didn’t make a single phone call in three years. Do you have any idea how worried your grandfather and your uncles and aunts were?"
Jean Quincy had turned into a fire-breathing dragon. With her hands on her hips, she glared at Aurora, a mask of displeasure on her face. "We thought you’d co back to the Sinclair Estate to see us after your tournant. But here we are, and not only have you not co back, you haven’t even called. Are you really that busy?"
Although Aurora’s expression remained neutral, Jean could tell she wanted to look to Alvin Morgan for help. She imdiately grabbed Aurora’s arm and pulled her away from him.
"Looking at Morgan won’t do you any good. Hurry up and tell us where you’ve been for the past three years! Why didn’t you even call?"
"My phone broke."
"If it broke, couldn’t you have just bought a new one? That’s not an excuse..." Jean continued her barrage.
"There was no signal on the mountain."
"The mountain? You can’t fool with that. Grandfather made a special trip to Sunstone two years ago, and Leigh Miles said you weren’t there..."
Aurora froze, asking in disbelief, "Grandfather went to Sunstone?"
Zeke Quincy explained with a complicated expression, "Grandfather was extrely worried about you. He was determined to go to Sunstone to find your master..."
"Oh, and Aurora," Seth Sterling chid in, "the university almost canceled your enrollnt because your leave of absence was too long. Professor Greene was the one who kept stalling for you. You should give him a call..."
The sound of them all talking at once made Aurora’s head buzz.
Just then, Jean suddenly threw herself at Aurora, hugging her neck and sobbing, "You jerk, Aurora, where on earth did you go? Why did you disappear for three years? We reported you missing... We all thought you were..."
At this, Jean couldn’t continue. Her eyes grew red, tears welling up.
Aurora was at a complete loss. "I..."
"Thank God you’re back. You should go see Grandfather when you have ti! He’s... not doing well..." Jean said through her tears.
Aurora’s gaze darkened, and she let out a soft "Mm."
Back then, her mother Noelle Young’s identity had been leaked to the Trent Family by Sue Quinn and the Gordons.
As a result, The Shadow sent assassins to kill her parents, with a plan to secretly abduct her afterward.
But the assassins hadn’t expected her to be in the car as well. Miraculously, she escaped and secretly returned to the Sinclair ho.
Afterward, her aunt raised a storm about the incident, alerting The Martial Affairs Bureau and, at the sa ti, the Morgan Family.
After quickly dealing with the assassins and locking down the news, the Morgans sent a ssage to her grandfather, forcing him to choose between her and the Sinclair Family.
The first option was to send her to live alone on Sunstone. The second was for the Sinclair Family to abandon Kingsford and move to Sunstone, living out their lives in obscurity.
In the end, her grandfather chose to preserve the Sinclair Family’s prosperity. He sent her out of Kingsford alone and fabricated the "calamity" rumor to cover up the truth of the whole affair.
After she guessed the truth, she had been avoiding the Sinclairs, but she never expected her grandfather would go to Sunstone to look for her.
***
When Aurora Sinclair arrived at the Sinclair Estate, she froze at the sight of the person who opened the door for her.
That person froze as well, apparently not expecting her to co.
The two of them stared at each other for a long ti before Stella Sinclair finally spoke first. "Co in."
Stella Sinclair was no longer as proud and arrogant as she used to be; instead, she seed much more approachable.
She was wearing so of Aurora’s old clothes, left behind at the estate. Her face was clean, free of any makeup, and she had taken off all the jewelry she used to love, looking very plain.
"Stella, who’s back?"
A young man’s voice called from inside the house.
A young man in casual clothes walked over. He bore a strong resemblance to Master Sinclair, even carrying so of his steady aura.
’This must be my cousin, Myles Sinclair.’
"You must be Aurora, right? I’m your cousin, Myles Sinclair..." The man smiled and extended his right hand.
"You’re here to see Grandfather, aren’t you? He’s in good spirits today, sunbathing upstairs. You two can go on up."
Aurora’s heart tightened. She turned to look at Stella, who showed none of her past disdain. Instead, she said calmly, "Follow ."
The two walked slowly toward the stairs without saying a word. It wasn’t until they reached the door of her old room that Stella finally spoke. "Grandfather is sick. He doesn’t rember many things clearly anymore, so don’t be too surprised in a mont..."
Then she straightened her clothes, put on a stern expression, stuck one hand in her pocket, and pushed the door open to enter.
By the window inside the room sat Master Sinclair, his head full of silver hair. He was holding a photo fra, as if looking at sothing.
He looked so much older than he had three years ago. His hair was white, his face was covered in age spots and wrinkles, and his gaze seed to have grown cloudy. He was like a lamp on the verge of burning out.
"Grandfather..."
Stella called out, but the old man by the window didn’t react, his eyes still fixed vacantly on the photo fra.
It wasn’t until Stella walked up quickly, took his wrist, and called out "Grandfather" again.
Only then did he stir, as if just waking up. He looked up at her. "Aurora..."
"It’s ."
"Aurora’s back... Grandfather will go wash an apple for you..." Master Sinclair’s wooden expression instantly ca to life, and his cloudy eyes brightened.
Aurora watched as the old man in the chair put down the photo fra in his hands and started to get up.
The fra nearly fell to the floor, but Aurora quickly caught it. Inside was a yellowed photograph—a picture of her with her parents.
"Grandfather, I’ve already eaten..." Stella replied.
But Master Sinclair seed not to hear her, insisting on using his cane to go wash an apple for her.
Seeing this, Aurora was about to stop him, but Butler Sinclair held her back, letting Master Sinclair go wash the apple.
"Second Miss, the Family Head..." His voice choked with emotion as he handed her a red apple from a nearby fruit bowl, still beaded with water.
A mont later, Master Sinclair hobbled back from the washroom on his cane. He had washed the apple and now held it out to Stella with a kindly smile. "Aurora, is the apple good?"
Stella’s eyes were red. She took a large bite of the apple and replied with a smile, "It’s delicious... Grandfather’s apples are the best..."
"If it’s good, then eat more... Grandfather has an apple orchard... Don’t tell anyone... This is Grandfather’s gift to you..."
"Okay..."
Watching the scene unfold, Butler Sinclair said to Aurora:
"The old Family Head was diagnosed with a brain tumor a few years ago, but he kept it a secret from everyone. His condition has worsened these past two years, and his mory is fading. He barely recognizes anyone anymore. But he always rembered that the Second Miss loved apples as a child... So the Eldest Miss has been... pretending to be you... to humor him..."
At this, Butler Sinclair couldn’t go on. He pulled out a tissue to wipe his eyes, taking a long mont to compose himself before saying in a choked voice, "The old Family Head said... the biggest regret of his life... was sending you away, Second Miss..."
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