I Faked My Death—Now I Have to Tame the Crazy Men I Left Behind

Chapter 296 - 294: Who Knows When We’ll Meet Again

The two of them, brother and sister, were alone in the dining room.

Yuri Sinclair seemed to be out, and Carla Sinclair was on the balcony taking a call.

Mia Grant watched Julian Vaughn. She saw him freeze for a moment, then put down his tray and look up at her.

Their eyes met. Julian Vaughn was silent for a beat before saying, "We don’t really know each other. But I know who she is."

As soon as he learned of Mia Grant’s existence, he had immediately looked into the place where she had lived for the past twenty years.

Therefore, he had naturally also looked over Serena Grant’s file and knew it by heart.

Hearing this, Mia Grant studied him, as if trying to find a crack in his expression.

Julian Vaughn looked back at her, his eyes perfectly calm.

After a pause, he asked softly, "Why bring her up all of a sudden?"

Mia Grant blinked. "I just had a feeling you two might know each other."

Julian Vaughn smiled. "We don’t. I’ve only seen her once, and that was when I ran into her while looking for you at Jynsia U."

"But I only saw her from a distance. We didn’t actually meet."

As he spoke, Julian Vaughn placed the soy milk by her hand. "Has she contacted you?"

Mia Grant snapped out of her thoughts and shook her head gently. "No."

Just then, Carla Sinclair returned, interrupting their conversation.

Carla Sinclair sat down, and the moment she looked up, she noticed Mia Grant didn’t look well.

"Didn’t you sleep well?"

"Ah, sort of." Mia Grant yawned. "I have trouble sleeping in a new bed."

’The same half-hearted answer.’

Carla Sinclair thought for a moment, then said, "What brand of mattress do you usually sleep on? I’ll have someone come change it later."

"No, no, that’s not necessary." Mia Grant, startled by her domineering CEO-like behavior, waved her hands dismissively. "I’ve been sleeping here for a few days already. I’m probably about to get used to it."

"Then go get some more sleep after you finish eating."

"Mhm."

Mia Grant nodded vaguely.

"By the way, why is it just the three of us?"

"Dad went to see a friend. He probably won’t be back until tonight," Julian Vaughn replied.

Mia Grant mumbled an "oh" and lowered her head to eat.

After breakfast, Mia Grant went back to sleep, only waking up again in the afternoon.

Her alarm had gone off much earlier, but she hadn’t even heard it.

She quickly washed up, and when she went out, the sky was already growing dark.

"You’re awake?" Julian Vaughn looked up and smiled. "Perfect timing. It was snowing pretty heavily this morning, but it just stopped not too long ago. We can go for a walk after it settles a bit."

Julian Vaughn figured a girl Mia Grant’s age would surely love snowy days.

They’re great for taking beautiful, aesthetic photos, you can build snowmen, and the atmosphere is cozy and romantic.

Thinking he wanted to go for a walk, Mia Grant rubbed her eyes and nodded. "Okay."

"Where’s Carla?"

"She went out."

Mia Grant’s hand, which was rubbing her eye, froze. ’So, it’s just the two of them in the house right now?’

Thinking about how soundly she had just been sleeping, a wave of fear washed over her.

"Are you hungry? What would you like to eat?" He stood up, ready to cook for her.

Mia Grant shook her head gently.

Julian Vaughn checked the time. "Let’s go out to eat then. We can take a walk at the same time."

"Sure." Mia Grant had no objection.

There was a shopping mall nearby, within walking distance.

"I didn’t expect the snow in Jynsia to be this heavy. Is it like this every year?"

Mia Grant hummed in agreement. "More or less. But it only snows a few times in total, and a snowfall this heavy is rare."

Stepping onto the stairs, Mia Grant’s foot slipped.

Quick as a flash, Julian Vaughn caught her.

"Be careful. No one has cleared the snow here."

Mia Grant thanked him, and once she was steady, she let go of his hand and continued walking, asking indirectly, "What did you major in at university? Something in the arts?"

"No." Julian Vaughn kept pace with her. "I studied finance."

"..." Mia Grant pursed her lips. "Then why didn’t you get a job in that field after graduation?"

"Because I wasn’t interested." Julian Vaughn’s eyes crinkled with a smile, acting as if he had no idea she was probing him. He continued, "It wasn’t my choice to major in it."

Hearing this, Mia Grant basically understood.

"It seems you haven’t been very happy in the Sinclair Family all these years. I thought with your fame, fortune, and status, you’d be quite comfortable."

"Were you happy in the Grant Family?"

Mia Grant froze.

Julian Vaughn raised a hand and patted her lightly on the shoulder, saying with a smile, "See? We’re the same."

"You kept asking me yesterday why I accepted your existence so quickly. This is part of the reason."

"I know that our lives have probably been the same all these years."

"However, I was indeed a bit luckier than you. Hardship isn’t something to be compared, but we can find comfort in each other."

"Your situation was harder than mine, yet you’ve held on until now. I think you’re stronger than I am."

"I know what you want to ask."

His pace was slow, and the hand resting on her shoulder didn’t pull away, as if he were using the opportunity to steady her swaying body.

"I have no interest in the Sinclair family’s assets. If I did, I had plenty of opportunities to replace Carla years ago."

Her thoughts laid bare, Mia Grant didn’t feel awkward and pressed on, "But I don’t understand why the rumors say you and your sister don’t get along."

"Are they false?"

"Not false, but not entirely true either. It’s not as absurd as the rumors make it out to be."

Julian Vaughn gave a knowing smile. "It’s just that when we were children, Grandfather liked to compare the two of us."

He searched for a suitable analogy. "Do you know what the old men in the alleyways of Jynsia like to do for fun?"

"Raise birds?" Mia Grant tilted her head. "And cricket fighting?"

"Exactly. Carla and I were like those two crickets."

"Our relationship isn’t complicated, and there’s no real grudge between us. After all, we share the same blood."

"It was just the pressure from our elders. Gradually, we inexplicably developed a sense of hostility toward each other."

"As time went on, it led to the situation we have today."

"Really, there’s no dark secret behind it all."

"For all these years, I’ve been busy with my mother’s art exhibitions. Part of it is to fulfill her last wish, and the other part is to let Carla know I’m not her competitor."

After listening to him, Mia Grant felt a complicated mix of emotions.

’Is he acting?’

’If he is, then his acting and his lines are absolutely Oscar-worthy.’

’If not, then how did he become the rarely-seen ’villain’ of the original book?’

Mia Grant had always believed she was a good judge of character and was rarely wrong, but this time, she wasn’t so sure.

The brother and sister walked and talked, their pace slow. Seen from a distance, the scene was actually quite picturesque.

In a car not far away, Mrs. Keller withdrew her gaze and looked at her son sitting beside her.

"Are you familiar with the man next to her?"

Kian Keller had his eyes closed, resting, but the prayer beads he was fiddling with in his hand betrayed his current mood.

Mrs. Keller knew her son well enough. "Since we’ve run into them, why don’t you get out and say hello."

As she spoke, she instructed the driver to pull over up ahead.

At her words, Kian Keller opened his eyes. He was about to refuse when he heard his mother say, "If you don’t see her today when we’ve happened upon her, who knows when you’ll get another chance."