The Night I Left, He Turned Grey

Cecilia Sinclair stared at the disconnected call, a sense of unease creeping into her heart.

Sarah Lynch had already seen who was calling and asked, "What’s wrong? Did Sean chew you out?"

"No, he just told me to go home. But I get the feeling my brother’s a little mad." Cecilia Sinclair sent a message to her mother to ask what was going on.

She quickly found out from her mother why her brother was looking for her.

She was floored. "My brother actually wants me to apologize to Leila Jennings? On what grounds!"

Sarah Lynch glanced at the message, her attention drawn to the latter part—that Sean was looking for Cecilia Sinclair about something more important.

’What could be so important?’

’It’s probably related to Leila Jennings.’

’Could it be anything other than the incident at The Cole Crest Hotel?’

Sarah Lynch felt a flicker of unease herself. She had clearly sensed that Sean was growing more and more concerned about Leila Jennings lately, even to the point of wanting to keep his distance from her, Sarah.

Last time, Leila Jennings had suspected that she was the one who put Cecilia Sinclair up to it.

’Did Leila tell Sean about her suspicions?’

’It wasn’t impossible.’

"Cecilia, don’t blame your brother. Leila probably whispered poison in his ear." Sarah Lynch reached out and patted her head, her smile gentle. "Don’t be afraid. You’ve always been the one your brother dotes on the most."

"I know." Cecilia Sinclair, always easily instigated, pouted. "It’s all Leila Jennings’s fault. My brother has been getting harsher with me lately, and he’s always defending her."

"Sarah, come back with me. If Mom and Dad can’t stop my brother, you can go up and hug him!"

"Wouldn’t that be inappropriate?" Sarah Lynch looked troubled. "Sean and I, right now..."

She left the rest unsaid.

Cecilia Sinclair said sympathetically, "Sarah, don’t be scared. No one in our family likes Leila Jennings. My brother actually cares more about you. He’s just blind and can’t see his own heart clearly."

Sarah Lynch’s expression faltered for a moment.

"You’re the one he clearly loves. He just refuses to divorce Leila Jennings because of some sense of responsibility. We’re all adults, what kind of responsibility could it be? It’s not like my brother slept with her and she didn’t sleep with him." Cecilia Sinclair never minced her words.

A flash of disgust passed through Sarah Lynch’s eyes.

’In reality, the only presentable members of the Sinclair family are Mr. Sinclair and Sean Sinclair. Both father and son are intellectuals with respectable jobs.’

’Mrs. Sinclair and Cecilia Sinclair, on the other hand, are a mother-daughter duo who inherited the same lack of brains. They love to gossip but can’t string together an intelligent sentence, resorting only to crude and vulgar language.’

"Cecilia, I’m actually a little worried that when your brother talks to you, he’s going to ask if I had a part in the incident at The Cole Crest Hotel. You know, Sean is your own brother. He can scold you a bit and it’ll blow over. I don’t hold the same place in his heart as you do. If he finds out I was involved, he’ll probably get angry with me, and that will only make him and Leila Jennings get closer."

Ever since Sarah Lynch had returned, the thing she heard most from Cecilia Sinclair was how Sean was treating her because of Leila Jennings, always with the emphasis that she, Cecilia, was Sean’s closer family member.

’What ill intentions could Cecilia Sinclair possibly have? She’s just a little girl who craves her brother’s attention and wants to be more important to him.’

Cecilia Sinclair looked down on Leila Jennings and was constantly scheming to make her brother and sister-in-law divorce. If Sean and Leila’s relationship were to improve, how could this "little girl with no ill intentions" possibly be content?

With just a few short sentences, Sarah Lynch had Cecilia Sinclair’s thoughts wrapped around her little finger.

Cecilia Sinclair told her to rest completely assured.

"Sarah, I’m not that stupid. No matter what my brother asks, this has nothing to do with you. Even Mom and Dad aren’t that mad. My brother’s the only one throwing a fit."

"Our Cecilia is the kindest." Sarah Lynch patted her head again, as if training a stupid dog.

The two of them returned to the Sinclair family home together.

Sarah Lynch called out with calm composure, "Sean, we haven’t seen each other in two or three days."

"Work’s been too busy." Sean Sinclair’s expression grew even more complicated as he looked at Sarah Lynch’s bright, gentle smile.

’Sarah could never do something so vicious.’

’But Leila Jennings, with her cool and reserved nature, never lies either.’

Sean Sinclair personally poured Sarah Lynch a cup of hot water and told her to sit on the sofa for a while; he had something to discuss with Cecilia Sinclair in the study.

In the Sinclair household, being summoned to the study was no different than being called to the principal’s office at school. Cecilia Sinclair tensed up all over.

She glanced at her parents, who gestured for her not to worry too much.

She looked at Sarah Lynch and also gave her a look that said not to worry.

The study door closed, and it was nearly impossible to hear anything from inside.

Sean Sinclair got straight to the point. "Besides you, who else was involved in the incident at The Cole Crest Hotel?"

Cecilia Sinclair’s heart skipped a beat.

’So it really is about that.’

’Sarah is a genius!’

"Just me. Who else could there be? Who could I possibly find to help me?" Cecilia Sinclair rolled her eyes. "Bro, you really underestimate me."

Seeing her unrepentant and even proud expression, Sean Sinclair’s anger began to rise.

"Watch your tone! You did something wrong, and now you think you’re justified?"

"It’s not like anything happened to Leila Jennings, right?" Cecilia Sinclair said dismissively.

Sean Sinclair snapped, "But what if it had!"

The thought alone terrified him.

He had never even touched Leila Jennings.

"Don’t change the subject. Answer me honestly, was anyone helping you? Don’t make me investigate this myself. If I do, it won’t just be your allowance I’m cutting off."

"Cut it off, then." ’Besides, I have Sarah. She’s not a cheapskate like Leila Jennings; she’s more than willing to spend money on me.’

"It was my own idea, it had nothing to do with anyone else. I’ve already been to the police station, what more do you want from me?" Cecilia Sinclair said with a wronged expression.

Sean Sinclair ignored her whining and continued, "Where did you get the drug? What’s your source?"

"I... I found it online."

"If you’d found it online, the internet police would have tracked you down long ago." Sean Sinclair shot her a harsh glare. "Cecilia Sinclair, let me tell you something. Illegally buying and selling this stuff is considered trafficking contraband. As long as Leila Jennings doesn’t drop the charges, they’ll keep investigating, and one day they’ll find out the truth. Let’s see who can cover this up to save you then."

Cecilia Sinclair’s eyes widened slightly. She seemed to be getting scared.

"It’s not that serious, is it? Then... then I’ll just go apologize to Leila Jennings, won’t that fix it?"

"Of course you’re going to apologize to her." Sean Sinclair let out a heavy breath. "But you also have to tell me who else was involved. Who introduced you to the seller?"

"What seller? Bro, can you stop trying to scare me like this?" Cecilia Sinclair’s body was already trembling slightly.

Sean Sinclair watched his sister’s expression closely.

’Cecilia really is a coward.’

’She doesn’t have the guts for something this big.’

"Cecilia, who helped you? Was it..." Sarah’s name was on the tip of his tongue, but he forced himself to swallow it back down.

His fingers curled.

"I... I..." Cecilia Sinclair stammered, feeling hesitant. But then she thought about how if her brother and Sarah grew apart because of this, Leila Jennings would be stuck in their family forever, and her resolve hardened.

"I just ran into someone by chance. They happened to have it, so I bought it." Cecilia Sinclair refused to budge, thinking to herself, ’I’m sacrificing so much for this family, for my brother and Sarah’s happiness.’

’In the end, it’s all Leila Jennings’s fault for not letting this go.’

"Did Leila Jennings say something to you? Don’t tell me she suspects that Sarah and I did it together. What, is she trying to drag Sarah down with me? Don’t you know what kind of person Sarah is, brother? Why would you believe a word Leila says?"

"Leila Jennings just wants to drive a wedge between you and Sarah so she can have you all to herself. Her jealousy is way too strong. Can’t her husband even have female friends?"

Sean Sinclair’s expression faltered. "Are you saying... Leila Jennings is jealous?"

"What else could it be?" Cecilia Sinclair snorted. "Leila Jennings is a vicious person to begin with. You don’t know, but last time I was hospitalized, the other patient’s family came to cause trouble. Leila could have just used money to smooth things over, but instead, she insisted on revealing that you’re the president of Stellaxis Technologies. Was she trying to get them to cause a scene at Stellaxis?"

Sean Sinclair was taken aback.

"Mom and Dad didn’t tell you about this, did they?" Cecilia Sinclair, as if she’d caught Leila Jennings red-handed, immediately turned the tables. "Leila is not a good person. Brother, how can you just believe everything she says?"

"If Sarah knew you suspected her, I can’t imagine how heartbroken she’d be. She’s been working so hard on her research abroad all these years, but aside from her work, her whole heart belongs to you."

"And what do you do? You betray her devotion, and now you even suspect her. I’m going to tell Sarah right now." Cecilia Sinclair feigned a move to leave.

"Stay put." Sean Sinclair stopped her, walked over, and stared down at his sister. "Did you really do this alone?"

"I don’t want to talk to you anymore. I’m going to find Sarah and tell on you." Cecilia Sinclair opened the door, but her brother grabbed her arm.

"Alright, that’s enough. This ends here." In the end, Sean Sinclair chose to believe his sister’s words and Sarah Lynch’s character.

"Don’t go running your mouth. And remember to apologize to Leila Jennings. She’ll only drop the charges after you apologize. Don’t you want to study abroad? If this doesn’t end soon, it will definitely affect your visa application."

Cecilia Sinclair’s eyes flew wide. "I’ll go tell her I’m sorry right now!"

’It’s not like saying sorry is going to kill me.’

"Last time, you took her things and deliberately made her wait. This time, you’ll have to wait too."

"Is she crazy?" Cecilia Sinclair flew into a rage. "What if this affects my chance to study abroad?"

Sean Sinclair shook his head helplessly and walked out before she could.

Hearing the noise, Sarah Lynch stood up and looked toward the study door, her eyes landing on Cecilia Sinclair first.

Trembling with fear, Cecilia Sinclair gave her an "OK" sign.

Sarah Lynch lowered her gaze to hide the look of triumph in her eyes, then walked over. "Sean, you didn’t bully Cecilia, did you?"

"He did!" Cecilia Sinclair tattled, clinging to her as she whined, "Sarah, I already agreed to apologize to Leila Jennings, but my brother kept scolding me."

"Sean, Cecilia knows she was wrong. Please forgive her, okay?" Sarah Lynch looked at him expectantly.

Sean Sinclair gazed into Sarah Lynch’s clear, pure eyes and thought, ’How could I have ever wavered? Sarah would never do something like that.’

But he couldn’t bring himself to blame Leila Jennings either.

Leila Jennings was jealous.

Jealous...

Mulling over that word, Sean Sinclair realized he wasn’t angry at all. In fact, he was a little happy.

Leila Jennings cared about him.

"Sean, what are you thinking about?"

"Nothing." Sean Sinclair shook his head.

Sarah Lynch could tell at a glance that he was hiding something from her, and a sour feeling grew in her heart.

Just then, Sarah Lynch received a phone call from overseas.

"Ms. Lynch, the detailed statement of your research grant expenditures here was sent to your email yesterday. As we haven’t received a confirmation receipt, we’re calling to remind you to please check for it."

Sarah Lynch looked completely baffled.

She had never asked for a detailed statement.

And besides, she hadn’t received one.