Just then, Julian Sinclair’s phone rang.
He glanced at , quickly went to the side to answer the call, deliberately avoiding .
The words that were on the tip of my tongue were swallowed just like that.
Soon after, he finished the call and returned, looking rather displeased.
I didn’t dare bring up the matter of asking him to help with my divorce case.
"Go back."
He said three words and walked straight into the hallway.
Sharon and I followed from a distance.
At this mont, Sharon asked in confusion, "Auntie Ellison, isn’t it really late? Isn’t Uncle Sinclair going ho tonight?"
I paused slightly, then said, "He shouldn’t... not go back, right? I guess his scarf was left at ho, and he’s going back to get it."
Sharon nodded and later said with a giggle, "Actually, it’s good if Uncle Sinclair doesn’t go ho. Whenever he’s here, it feels really safe. And... Doris’s dad wouldn’t dare to bully you!"
I comfortingly patted the little girl’s head and said, "Clever girl!"
When we got ho, Julian Sinclair changed his shoes but didn’t seem like he was planning to leave.
Instead, he walked a few steps into the living room and sat on the couch, seemingly lost in thought.
I stood at the entrance hesitating for a long ti and said to Sharon, "Sharon, it’s late now, why don’t you go wash up?"
"Okay."
Sharon obediently went to the bathroom.
After sending Sharon off, I walked up to Julian Sinclair and sincerely said, "Thank you for spending New Year’s Eve with us tonight; it ant a lot to ."
Julian Sinclair gazed intensely at and asked, "What does it an?"
His straightforward question caught off guard, and I nervously avoided his gaze.
Though there were so many things I wanted to say in my heart, they felt stuck in my throat.
I was afraid I was overthinking it, afraid I was being too sentintal, and more afraid that my status would complicate things for him.
Yet, he just stared at like that, almost as if forcing .
I tensed up and the words that ca out were instead, "How... how will you go back later? It’s pretty late, drive safely."
Julian Sinclair’s eyebrows furrowed slightly, and he asked, "Are you trying to kick out?"
"No... I... I an..."
I tried organizing my words for a long ti, but Julian Sinclair interrupted , "Could Timothy Xavier stay here, but I can’t?"
I was suddenly stunned, looking at him incredulously.
It seed Julian Sinclair realized his words were inappropriate. He said softly, "I’m really tired today and don’t want to hassle. Just prepare a guest room for , and that’s enough."
After speaking, he walked toward the door.
I thought he was joking earlier, quickly caught up to him, and said, "Let see you out."
Julian Sinclair stopped, gave a cold snort, and said, "I’m going to grab my luggage from the car."
Feeling awkward, I said, "Then... I’ll prepare the guest room for you."
Then, Sharon ca out of the room after bathing, and seeing tidying another room, she asked in surprise, "Is Uncle Sinclair really not going ho tonight?"
"Yeah, he said he’s too tired and doesn’t want to drive."
I feigned calm and said.
Sharon replied happily, "Great, then Uncle Sinclair can cook for us tomorrow!"
I was speechless and said seriously, "Rember how I explained things to you? Uncle Sinclair is my boss, we can’t always ask him to cook here, and we shouldn’t trouble him with other things, understand?"
Sharon pouted and said quietly, "But it’s not working hours, isn’t it after work now? And... Uncle Sinclair definitely doesn’t see himself as your boss."
As I was making the bed, I casually said, "How do you know?"
Sharon reasoned, "Uncle Sinclair’s company is so big, why doesn’t he go to other employees’ houses to cook or spend New Year with other employees? So in Uncle Sinclair’s heart, you must be more than just an employee, he doesn’t treat himself as your boss."
"You little thing... how co..."
I shook my head and said, "You sure have a way with words, might as well beco a journalist like in the future!"
Tonight, Sharon was especially excited from the fireworks and wanted to continue chatting.
I directly took her to the guest bedroom and said, "You should be sleeping now!"
I accompanied Sharon in the guest bedroom for a while. When I ca out, Julian Sinclair was already back.
"I’ve prepared the guest room, see if it’s satisfactory."
I spoke as I led him to the guest room.
Julian Sinclair lightly acknowledged with an "Hmm" and then turned to ask , "Where’s the bathroom? I need to shower."
"The b-bathroom..."
I awkwardly said, "Sharon and I both shower in the master bedroom; the shower in the guest bathroom is broken. Maybe... you shouldn’t..."
Before I could finish speaking, he interrupted , saying, "Whichever bathroom is available, I’ll use that one."
What he really ant was that he’d be using my bedroom to shower, right?
At that mont, he slowly walked up to and suddenly touched my cheek.
I was so scared that I trembled and took a step back.
Julian Sinclair asked with a mischievous smile, "Why are you blushing? It’s just a shower."
"I... I know. I’ll... go adjust the water temperature for you..."
My tongue was tied, and I stumbled my way to the bathroom.
When I finished adjusting the temperature, Julian had already co in with his pajamas.
"Go ahead and shower."
After I said that, I imdiately turned to leave, not daring to lift my head as I passed by him, and walked out sideways.
But the more nervous I got, the clumsier I beca, and I slipped, completely losing control and lunging forward.
Instead of the expected pain, Julian’s arm firmly caught around the waist, his fingers inadvertently brushing against the soft skin there, and I instantly froze like a rock.
My nose was almost touching his chin, allowing to clearly see the faint shadows beneath his eyes and the deep, dark gaze that fell on my face as he lowered his eyes.
He didn’t release but chuckled softly, asking, "How many tis has it been tonight, Miss Ellison? Are you throwing yourself at ?"
Julian’s thin lips curved slightly, appearing both dignified and slightly devilishly casual, making my heart race.
The heat from his palm seeped through my clothes, making even the air feel scorching.
I blushed and said, "Sorry, I... I didn’t an to. Can you let go first?"
"Are you that afraid of ? Do you think I would eat you?"
He said sowhat unhappily and released after helping stand up straight.
I imdiately ran to the living room, and soon after, the sound of water running in the bathroom echoed out.
Thinking about tonight’s dreamlike events, my mind was a jumbled ss. I was reluctant to think too deeply about it, yet the na Julian Sinclair kept resurfacing in my mind over and over.
I don’t know how much ti passed when the doorbell suddenly rang at the entrance.
My heart skipped a beat; who could it be at this hour?
When I saw the surveillance at the door, my blood froze in an instant.
Sophia Kendall was standing outside, and beside her was my grandmother.
I never expected Sophia to be so crazy as to co to my house in the middle of the night, bringing my seriously ill grandmother with her.
Sophia continued ringing the doorbell, while I struggled with whether to open the door or not.
The next mont, Sophia stopped ringing the bell and started banging on the door, saying, "Zoe Ellison, I know you’re in there! If you don’t open the door today, we’ll keep waiting! I don’t believe you and Julian wouldn’t co out!"
I was afraid that if she continued making such a racket, the neighbors would co rushing to my house.
I took a deep breath and braced myself to open the door.
"Grandma..."
I forced an extrely unnatural smile, saying, "Why are you here at this ti?"
Grandma looked at seriously, without speaking.
Sophia peered past into the house, a mocking smile on her lips, "Up so late? Can’t sleep because you’re hiding soone in the house?"
I said nothing, my mind racing. When Julian cos out of the bathroom, how will I explain this to them?
I even forgot to invite Grandma inside.
They just stood at the doorway.
Grandma looked anxious and worried, her voice trembling, "Zoe, tell Grandma the truth. Is your uncle... is he here?"
I furrowed my brow, my fingers digging into my palm.
At this mont of indecision, footsteps suddenly ca from behind.
I quickly turned around, only to see Julian Sinclair walking out in dark pajamas.
He had to pass through the living room to return to the guest room after his shower.
It seed he hadn’t expected anyone to be at the door, as a rare look of shock appeared on his usually calm face, and he paused.
But he quickly composed himself and walked towards the door.
However, just as he reached Grandma, she suddenly raised her hand, and with a "slap," she fiercely struck Julian’s face.
Sophia Kendall sneered and said to Grandma, "See, Mom? I wasn’t lying!"
Grandma’s hand was trembling, her eyes filled with disappointnt and heartache, "Julian, how could you do such a thing?!"
Sophia imdiately stepped in to "diate," each word carefully designed to stir trouble: "Mom, you can’t entirely bla Julian. Back then, wasn’t our Timothy also seduced by Zoe Ellison in the sa way? Dad’s mind is muddled now, and you can’t let Julian get dragged down by her too!"
"Shut up."
Julian Sinclair’s voice was as cold as ice, and he swept a sharp gaze at Sophia Kendall, "If it weren’t for my mother’s sake, do you think you and your son could still be having it so good?"
Sophia’s face turned pale, but she was still unwilling to give up, replying shrilly, "How are we having it good? Ever since Zoe Ellison got involved with you, you snatched so much business from Timothy! Julian, we are the real family! Zoe Ellison is no more than a pair of old shoes worn by Timothy, do you really want to put them on?"
These words pierced my heart like a needle.
Even though Sophia’s words were harsh, they suddenly brought clarity.
Julian and I... we really don’t match!
What’s more, there’s the stain of Timothy Xavier on .
I t my grandma’s gaze and finally spoke, word by word: "Grandma, I’m sorry for taking up Uncle’s ti tonight. But he was just here to spend New Year’s Eve with Sharon and , nothing inappropriate happened between us."
Grandma didn’t look at , she just stared intensely at Julian Sinclair and said firmly, "I’ll wait here for you. Change your clothes and co with . Even if I tell your grandmother about this, she will never stand by you!"
But to my surprise, Julian actually turned around and sat back on the sofa, saying coldly, "I’m tired, I want to rest, I’m not going anywhere tonight."
"You..."
Grandma was trembling all over from the anger of his words.
Suddenly clutching her chest, her face instantly turned ghastly pale, and bright red blood gushed from her mouth corner, her body collapsing straight down.
Julian Sinclair’s pupils contracted abruptly, imdiately rising and striding forward to support Grandma.
Sophia was startled, seemingly not expecting Grandma’s reaction to be so intense.
I scrambled to find my phone, dialing for an ergency.
Shortly after, an ambulance arrived from a nearby hospital.
I wanted to go along, but Julian said to , "Stay ho with Sharon, call if anything happens."
After that, he left with the ambulance, leaving standing there.
...
Since that day, Julian Sinclair seed to have completely vanished from my life.
Thinking about how Grandma got sick with anger because of him and , guilt filled my heart, and I didn’t even have the courage to visit Grandma in the hospital.
I feared that my appearance would again make her uncomfortable.
From New Year’s Day to the year’s end, every day was filled with unease.
After much hesitation, I finally sent him a ssage asking about Grandma’s condition.
Long after, I received his reply, simply saying "Discharged, condition improved."
No extra words.
I didn’t expect to feel so lost, why would just a glance or a tone from Julian Sinclair make feel this way?
Days drifted by blandly, and in no ti, it was the end of the year.
The day before the Lantern Festival, I took Sharon to enroll at the kindergarten.
Coincidentally, Timothy Xavier was also getting Doris out of the car.
The little girl was hanging her head in frustration behind Timothy, looking unhappy.
Seeing holding Sharon’s hand, she angrily approached and smacked Sharon’s hand, saying, "Why haven’t you left? She’s my mom, not yours!"
Sharon was startled, staring at her, saying, "Weren’t we having fun during New Year’s? Why are you treating like this now..."
Timothy frowned and said, "Doris, co here!"
He glanced at with dissatisfaction, deliberately saying to Doris, "She’s not your mom, what kind of mom doesn’t like her own child, but instead raises soone else’s child every day?"
Doris said angrily, "Then who is my mom! Since mom has a baby brother in her belly, you all don’t like anymore! No one wants to be my mom!"
Then tears stread down her cheeks but were stubbornly wiped away.
The little girl shook off Timothy’s hand and headed into the kindergarten with her backpack.
Sharon looked at for help and asked, "What’s wrong with Doris?"
"She’s probably upset." I consoled Sharon, stroking her hair, "If she speaks to you, comfort her. If she doesn’t want to talk, then it’s fine."
Sharon nodded, agreeing, "Okay, I got it!"
With that, she also went into the kindergarten.
Timothy Xavier looked at his daughter’s silhouette with deep sorrow in his eyes.
I walked over and said to him, "If Serena Sawyer isn’t taking care of Doris, no matter how much you care about her, she wouldn’t end up like this. Don’t you think she’s very oppressed right now?"
Timothy sneered coldly, saying, "I would love to care, but do I have the ti? Zoe Ellison, you and Julian Sinclair together angered Grandma to the point of illness, and he’s blaming it all on our Xavier Family! Do you know how harsh he’s been on the Xavier Group lately? I have to be on edge 24/7 to keep the Xavier Group’s stock price steady!"
By the end, he was almost gnashing his teeth.
Whenever Julian Sinclair was ntioned, he seed eager to fight him.
I wasn’t surprised by what he said.
I said expressionlessly, "That’s deserved by you and your mom! That night, who brought Grandma here? And who was stirring things up in front of her?"
Timothy Xavier was silent for a mont, then said, "That day, I didn’t know my mom would do that. If I had known, I would have stopped her. I didn’t want anything to happen to Grandma either."
"Enough!"
I sneered, "It’s always soone else’s fault with you, you always have your reasons! But Timothy, isn’t every issue caused by you? Isn’t it you who stood by and watched, who tacitly agreed? Your mom and Serena Sawyer are how they are now because you indulged them. Don’t pretend to be innocent in front of , it’s disgusting!"
I turned around and walked to my car.
He caught up with , shutting the car door I had just opened, and said, "I know, now that you can’t see Julian Sinclair, you vent your anger on . But Zoe, let make it clear, there’s no chance between you and Julian Sinclair! If I’m not mistaken, ever since what happened to Grandma, he hasn’t co to see you, right?"
I looked at the flash of pride in his eyes and felt as if my heart had been crushed by a blunt object, the pain turning numb.
Finally, I didn’t look at him again and turned to walk towards the road, leaving my car there.
Rather than argue with him, I just wanted to escape the suffocating atmosphere at that mont.
Timothy probably thought I had accepted my fate, so he caught up to , grabbed my hand, his tone softening a bit, "Co back to , let’s live our lives well. What happened between you and Julian Sinclair, I can overlook."
I almost laughed at his audacity.
I shook off his hand, coldly saying, "You should deal with your situation with Serena Sawyer instead! You have no right to question ."
"What if I have Serena get rid of the child? Would you give another chance?"
He blocked my path, looking at with burning eyes.
I spoke with exhaustion, "Timothy Xavier, ask yourself, what do you really want? You love Naomi Sawyer but slept with her sister, and still cling to , refusing to divorce. If I go back to you and Naomi Sawyer suddenly returns, what would you do?"
Timothy was stunned, looking at in disbelief, shaking his head, "That kind of assumption has no aning, Naomi is dead; she can’t co back!"
I looked at him with a half-smile, "Ever since my child who died four years ago was placed to be raised at Serena Sawyer’s side, I think there’s nothing in this world that’s impossible!"
Just then, a taxi happened to pass by.
I quickly raised my hand, opened the car door, and got in.
...
The taxi stopped downstairs at the company.
After the New Year, things were particularly busy, many matters needed to be put back on the agenda, and interviews kept coming one after another.
Occasionally, when there was ti to go to the break room, Victoria Monroe would have a chance to chat with for a few monts.
"Have you noticed? We haven’t seen President Sinclair for a long ti." Victoria Monroe took a sip of her coffee and said, "Do you think he’s given up on us because our small company can’t be helped?"
I glanced at her and retorted, "You miss him?"
Victoria Monroe quickly turned her head and said, "Miss him? Stop joking! Seeing his secretary gives a headache. He’s not around, and our work atmosphere is more relaxed! Busy and tired doesn’t matter, I just can’t stand Jolie Joyce staring at us like a supervisor all day."
I didn’t want to continue talking about Julian Sinclair, afraid my face would give away any discomfort.
So, I quickly steered the conversation back to work.
I said, "By the way, I see one of our main interview tasks this year involves Sean Sinclair’s research project. Leave it to , I’ll handle it."
Victoria Monroe nodded, "I was just about to tell you. After all, if Sean Sinclair’s project succeeds, the Xavier Group will lose a huge amount! I was worried you’d have reservations about handling this project because of your relationship with Timothy Xavier... But it seems like you really dislike Timothy Xavier."
I sighed, explaining, "I’m taking on this interview not to get back at Timothy Xavier. I just want to know the progress of Sean Sinclair’s project. This relates to when my mom can break free from Timothy Xavier’s control, and when I can escape his threats."
Victoria Monroe suddenly understood and said, "I was being shallow. I thought you wanted to use Sean Sinclair to give Timothy Xavier a hard blow."
"I’m not that petty." I smiled bitterly and said, "I won’t waste my ti and energy to revenge against him! I just want to draw a clear line with him, nothing more."
After chatting with Victoria Monroe, I returned to my workstation and began gathering information on Sean Sinclair’s project and its progress.
At that mont, the phone rang.
It was Mrs. Ellison calling, saying that tomorrow is the Lantern Festival and inviting to The Ellison Family for dinner.
"If Sharon is there, bring her along." Mrs. Ellison ntioned Sharon Hawthorne, her tone softening, "It’s a pity I didn’t prepare a red envelope for her last ti. Bring her tomorrow, and I’ll give her a big red envelope."
Listening to Mrs. Ellison’s relaxed and cheerful voice, I felt a bit puzzled.
After all, The Ellison Family had long been supported by Timothy Xavier.
Given the state between and Timothy Xavier, I even feared he might retaliate against The Ellison Family.
But Mrs. Ellison’s tone made it seem as though nothing major had happened at The Ellison Family, and only Timothy Xavier was overwheld.
I tentatively asked, "Mom, I heard Xavier Group’s business situation hasn’t been great lately, has it affected you?"
"Oh, that!" Mrs. Ellison laughed and said, "Thank you for taking care of Sharon. The Hawthorne Family contacted your father and offered a project for collaboration. It’s just what The Ellison Group needed urgently!"
"The Hawthorne Family?" I asked, "Is it Mason Hawthorne?"
Mrs. Ellison said, "Yes, Mason Hawthorne said you helped him a lot by taking care of Sharon, so this is their way of returning the favor! So I said to bring Sharon over; she’s our family’s little lucky star!"
I was stunned for a while.
Although Mrs. Ellison didn’t ntion ’Julian Sinclair,’ I imdiately thought of him.
After all, last ti Julian Sinclair gave that Blue Tourmaline Bracelet under Mason Hawthorne’s guise.
But ever since that day, Julian Sinclair hasn’t even called . Could he be secretly helping The Ellison Family?
What exactly is he trying to do?
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