Half-Hearted: Mr. Sinclair, Stop the Act!-Chapter 81: Can We Make It Out Unscathed in the End? (Revised Edition)
Caleb Sinclair was taken aback.
He wasn’t sure if it was because he had dinner with Vivian Nash that evening, but all the confusion and possessiveness that had been stirring inside him seemed to dissipate.
He sighed helplessly, "Honey, why are you bringing this up again? It’s really all just a coincidence..."
Yeah.
He always used "coincidence" as an excuse to brush her off.
She just wanted to swallow the words she hadn’t asked yet, saving herself the trouble of racking her brain for excuses.
The kiss Caleb had just given her, though it was brief, made her instinctively turn her head, yet she still felt terribly uncomfortable.
She clenched her fist, forcing herself to resist the urge to wipe her face.
She glanced at him sideways and retorted, "Why? Is it okay for you to have coincidences with her, but not okay for me to bump into Sebastian Prescott?"
After speaking, she snorted and turned to go upstairs.
"That’s not what I meant..."
Caleb quickly followed, explaining, "Honey, you’re really wronging me, I didn’t mean anything else, just curious."
Sienna Monroe opened the door, took two steps inside, blocking the doorway, her eyes indifferent, "Still curious now?"
"Not curious anymore."
Sienna murmured "Oh" as she planned to close the door.
Caleb quickly stopped her, asking in a pleasing tone, "Honey, about last time, I know I was wrong. When will you let me back into the master bedroom?"
Sienna frowned.
It had been hard enough to find a suitable excuse to kick him out of the master bedroom.
How could she possibly let him back in?
"You sleep just fine in the guest room, don’t you? Move, I need to take a shower."
As soon as she finished speaking, her eyes shifted slightly, unintentionally catching sight of the lipstick stain on the right back collar of his white shirt.
The mark wasn’t large, but that hint of red was very conspicuous on the white shirt.
It was a coral-pink shade.
She usually used bold colors like orange and red.
And ever since her "pregnancy," she had hardly touched makeup.
Ironically, Vivian Nash always presented herself with a pure image, and she frequently wore pink lipsticks.
But how could a lipstick stain end up on a collar that only outsiders could see?
Sienna looked into Caleb’s deep and tender eyes.
She slowly raised her hand to point at his collar, "Is that... lipstick?"
Caleb was stunned when he heard this, instinctively pulling his collar to see the pink lipstick on it, his eyes froze, and his heart skipped a beat.
Quickly recovering, he frowned and said, "It must’ve been an accident while I was in the elevator this afternoon."
"The company elevator malfunctioned, and we were stuck inside with seven or eight people for about ten minutes, fortunately with no incident."
Sienna couldn’t detect any hint of guilt or apology on his face.
But that was okay.
Since Vivian Nash had deliberately left that mark to provoke her and Caleb’s relationship, she wouldn’t want to waste that "kindness."
She showed a displeased expression, "You’re so tall, even if a woman accidentally rubbed her lipstick on you, it should at most be on your chest or back, how could it end up on your collar?"
"Maybe someone intentionally smeared it on you to make me upset?"
She spoke without intent, but he listened with a purpose.
Caleb was familiar with that lipstick shade.
Last night, after Japanese food, Vivian Nash had coyly asked him to hold a mirror while she reapplied her lipstick, asking if it looked good.
Caleb’s eyes grew darker, and he put on a serious tone, "Tomorrow I’ll check the elevator surveillance at the office, see if it was intentional. If it was, the company won’t tolerate someone like that."
Sienna watched his expression and asked with feigned suspicion, "You didn’t attract some girl, did you?"
Caleb was momentarily stunned, then smiled helplessly, "For heaven’s sake. I’m really wronged here."
Wronged?
When he said that, his conscience was really clear!
Sienna scoffed inwardly, having planted the seed of doubt, and no longer wanted to waste her breath on him, responding coolly, "Oh. I’m tired, I’m going to rest."
After she said that, she closed the door, leaving Caleb’s "Hey" blocked outside.
She then went straight to the bathroom, turned on the faucet, and squeezed some face wash to rub on her face.
She wished she could scrub off a layer of skin from where Caleb had touched.
Only when her left cheek turned red and it began to hurt did she stop.
*
The next morning.
When Sienna arrived at the art gallery, she ran into Nora Joyce at the entrance and told her about the car.
There was a meeting in the morning about the joint exhibition plan, and she could only retrieve the car in the afternoon.
Nora smiled, "What’s the big deal? Nobody will steal it there. I’ll just get it when I’m free."
As they chatted and walked to the elevator, Vivian Nash saw them and greeted, "Good morning, Sienna, Nora."
Sienna looked up and met her gaze, "Morning."
Nora also nodded slightly at her with detachment.
Vivian didn’t care about their attitude, and with an affectionate gesture, she linked her arm with Sienna’s, asking with concern, "Did you sleep well after the tea yesterday?"
Sienna frowned, feeling repulsed and irritated by her touch, and immediately withdrew her arm.
Her voice was indifferent, "Okay. I didn’t drink that tea yesterday."
With her hand hanging in the air, Vivian was momentarily startled but quickly asked, "Oh? Why? Didn’t like it?"
"Hmm, it was just okay."
Her heart skipped a beat, and she probed, "Then why were you carrying that fruit tea yesterday...?"
Sienna replied nonchalantly, "Threw it away."
Threw it away?
She simply threw it away?
Vivian’s heart sank to the bottom.
The money wasn’t the issue, but she had gone to great lengths to procure the Technetium-99m radioactive drug.
She bit her tongue, a trace of malice flickering in her eyes.
Though her chest was filled with intense resentment and anger, she was forced to plaster a gentle smile on her face.
"It’s no big deal, just a cup of milk tea. If you’re not used to fruit tea, you could try milk tea or that non-tea-based black pearl latte. I can get you one this afternoon."
Sienna subtly raised an eyebrow, her eyes settling on Vivian’s face.
After the incident with the fruit tea, she didn’t dare consume anything Vivian offered.
However... while she’d avoid it, she had to give Vivian a chance to spike something so she could collect evidence.
Vivian’s heart was gripped with fear under her sharp gaze, "What’s wrong? Don’t like it?"
She withdrew her gaze, neither agreeing nor refusing, "No."
Vivian Nash always felt that Sienna Monroe was now hard to fathom, completely shattering the static impression she had of her in her mind.
Like a painting that originally only had three colors - red, black, and white, now blooming into a myriad of colors.
Every hue imaginable was present.
A spectacular sight.
Yet she could no longer see what the painting originally looked like.
Even though Sienna still seemed gentle and kind, she could not discern her emotions, and sometimes a single glance from her would cause inexplicable fear.
Vivian clenched her fists tighter and tighter, trying to calm her mood, yet a sense of discomfort and irritation lingered in her heart.
As if she felt that Sienna had again outdone her in this matter.
When the elevator arrived, she stepped inside and said, "By the way, Sienna, my boyfriend and I found a hidden gem of a Japanese restaurant last night. The food and environment are quite nice.
You should try it next time with Caleb Sinclair, or we could go together."
Her tone was gentle and soft, and her clear, spirited eyes reflected Sienna’s gentle yet somewhat cold face.
Yet Sienna could hear the boastfulness and pride in her words.
Especially the emphasis she placed on the words "boyfriend."
She never imagined that one day she would have a conflict of interest with Vivian Nash. 𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖
Oh, and that interest just happened to refer to her husband, Caleb Sinclair.
She thought sarcastically to herself.
Since Vivian was so eager to show off, she decided to help publicize her boyfriend a little.
"I saw your social media yesterday; your boyfriend seems quite considerate. After hearing so much about him, I suddenly feel he’s a lot like my husband, Caleb Sinclair,
especially his hands, quite similar to those in your phone wallpaper..."
She displayed a gentle smile, "Next time when there’s an opportunity, we should have a meal together. They might just hit it off, being so alike."
Vivian’s smile suddenly froze.
Whether due to guilt or some other lurking feeling, she sensed that Sienna’s words had a hidden meaning.
Especially the line "his hands are quite similar to Caleb Sinclair’s."
What did she mean?
Was this intentionally creating a misunderstanding that her boyfriend and her husband were the same person?
In the elevator, besides the two of them, there were also two people from the display team.
Doubt once again arose in Vivian’s mind.
Since the incident with Stella Yates, her reputation at the gallery had plummeted.
She couldn’t bear the scrutinizing and different gazes from others, fearing misunderstanding and gossip.
Thinking of this, her resentment toward Sienna deepened.
The rigid smile on her face eased a bit, her voice cheerful, "Sure, next time when we’re free, let’s get together. Last time, he still owes you a meal, let him make it up, pick somewhere pricey."
Sienna looked at her meaningfully, joking, "I just fear your guy is quite the busy man, never having the time. We’ve talked about having a meal several times,
but every time there’s a different excuse, is he... afraid to meet me? I don’t bite."
Vivian’s expression grew awkward for a moment, she bit her lip and explained, "How could it be? It’s just that his company has a new project recently, once this busy period is over, I’ll arrange a time for a meal together,
and make sure he apologizes to you, you’re my best friend, after all, he can’t neglect you."
The elevator reached the third floor, a "ding" sounded, and the doors slowly opened.
Hearing this, Sienna pulled out a faint trace of contempt with her lips, stepped out with a leisurely pace, "Alright, I’ll be waiting for the good news."
As they went their separate ways in the office area, at that moment, Vivian’s eyes were filled with hatred toward Sienna’s back.
She subconsciously touched her stomach.
The child in Sienna’s belly must make way for her future child!
As Sienna arrived at the office door, her phone in her bag suddenly "dinged."
[There will be a friendly race held today at Southridge Circuit 52, with Harrison Hayes’s Apex Racing Club among those participating, although Harrison will not be racing, he will be there. Cecilia York got wind of this and has already gone over.]
She was stunned for a moment.
By now, it was already past the gallery’s clock-in time.
As she passed by the exhibition group just now, she didn’t pay attention to Cecilia York’s desk, but usually, Cecilia would always greet her with a smile upon seeing her.
She frowned and turned to ask Nora Joyce, "Did Cecilia York not show up today?"
Nora was also taken aback by the question, and then hurriedly took out her tablet from her bag, checked the clock-in software management from this morning, and carefully went through the exhibition group.
Finally, shaking her head, "There’s no record of her clocking in this morning..."
Seeing the software’s approval module, she handed over the tablet, "Last night around nine, she submitted a leave application for today, I guess HR just hasn’t approved it yet since they haven’t clocked in."
Sienna’s eyebrows furrowed even deeper.
She nodded and said, "You get busy," before pushing open the office door to go inside.
Just as she was about to message Sebastian Prescott to give Harrison Hayes a heads-up, another message popped up on her phone.
[June Ewing bribed Scott Hanson, the team captain of the Apex Racing Club, shortly after Harrison was released from prison.]
Scott Hanson, whom Harrison had met when he used to race cars, around the same age as him, and to Scott, Harrison was somewhat of a mentor.
After the establishment of Apex Club, Harrison brought him into the team, and shortly thereafter, he became the captain.
Often by Harrison’s side, it was not surprising that he knew Harrison’s whereabouts well.
In this situation, it was quite similar to Vivian, the backstabbing traitor.
Sienna and Harrison poured their hearts out for them, yet they showed no gratitude, instead stabbing them in the back.
Moreover, Harrison had recently suffered an imprisonment ordeal, although she hadn’t noticed anything unusual during their last encounter, Sebastian mentioned there was a psychologist living with the Hayes family.
That incident was undoubtedly a significant shadow for a privileged young master like him.
Sienna’s focus, however, wasn’t on that. She stared at the line of text, her brows knit tightly.
June Ewing bribed Scott Hanson shortly after Harrison got out of jail, intending for Cecilia York to take advantage of the situation.
Does this mean that she had long set her sights on Harrison, and also had a certain understanding of the young masters in the Imperial City’s wealthy circles?
Sienna had realized June Ewing’s ruthlessness and cold-bloodedness from the day she learned about Radiance Beauty Spa’s underground dealings.
Yet she was still stunned by her decisiveness and foresight.
Her breathing became erratic, and her heart pounded uncontrollably.
If it weren’t for the reminders and guidance from this unknown number, even if she discovered the underground dealings, could she truly compete with June Ewing?
Would she be able to retreat unscathed in the end?
Or would it result in mutual destruction with June Ewing?
She didn’t know.
Nor did she want to dwell on such unrealistic hypotheticals that would only add to her distress and anxiety.
Indeed.
In this situation, she held the upper hand.
Therefore, she couldn’t afford to panic.
Sienna steadied her mind, trying to control her trembling hands, to calm her heart, and opened the chat with Sebastian to relay what she had just learned.
