Chapter 380: Chapter 378: Hope He Marries Someone Else
"..." Quinn White glanced back instinctively, but only saw the man’s back as he walked away.
Realizing she’d been tricked, she clenched her fists. She took another look at the seemingly harmless girl before her.
Not yet twenty, she was as beautiful as a hothouse flower. Even the cuts on her face couldn’t conceal her beauty.
A single glance was enough to tell how well the man in her life cared for her on a daily basis.
Quinn White pressed her lips together and took a deep breath before asking calmly, "Are you two together?"
Mia Grant gave it some serious thought before saying no.
"Then why didn’t you run? Do you like him?"
"Do *you* like him?" Mia Grant countered, mimicking her tone with a smile.
Quinn White didn’t answer.
The smile on Mia Grant’s lips deepened. "I should have realized it last time. After chasing him for so long, how could you suddenly claim to have given up? It was just a stalling tactic, wasn’t it?"
"You just said all that for my benefit. You acted so nonchalant, as if you truly had no feelings left for Silas Grant."
"You were afraid of stoking my competitive side, afraid I’d decide to stay with Silas Grant."
"Because you knew that neither Iris Cameron nor Carla Sinclair was a threat to you."
"But I, his nominal sister, am a different story."
"Hmm." Mia Grant finally understood. "A clever move."
"Lesson learned, Miss White."
Quinn White didn’t look the least bit embarrassed. Even after being exposed, she met Mia’s gaze directly, completely unabashed.
"So what if it was?"
Mia, a "fake heiress" who’d joined the family halfway, truly couldn’t compare to the innate aura of a true-born lady like Quinn.
Fortunately, Mia didn’t care who she was dealing with and wasn’t afraid of causing trouble, so she appeared relaxed and at ease.
She didn’t speak, just watched her with a smile. For the first time, Quinn White felt her confidence falter.
After a brief moment of panic, she tried to say something. "You..."
"Go after him," Mia Grant said.
"What?" Quinn White froze, her eyes wide with astonishment, looking as if she’d misheard.
"He’s at an age where he really should be getting married. You have my support."
"When you two get married, I’ll be sure to send a wedding gift."
"Go for it."
With that, she raised her cup and lightly tapped it against the teacup by Quinn’s hand.
Quinn White thought the girl was insane, or perhaps just toying with her.
Her tone was nonchalant from start to finish, yet if you listened closely, you could hear an undercurrent of sincerity that made it impossible to get angry.
"Don’t you like him?"
"I don’t know." Mia Grant shook her head gently. "I’m just certain that it’s time for him to get married."
Silas Grant and Kian Keller were the same age. Kian was still undergoing treatment abroad; his health was the priority, so marriage was out of the question for him anytime soon.
But Silas was different.
The Old Master had passed away, and Silas had formally taken over the company. Since then, he’d been wildly successful, with everything going his way.
Who didn’t know of Nike Grant?
It really was time for his marriage to be settled.
’Anyone would be fine, as long as it isn’t me.’
’She would never marry him.’
After a long silence, Quinn White seemed to deflate, leaning back in her chair. "He likes you a lot, doesn’t he?"
This time, Mia Grant didn’t hesitate. She nodded.
Quinn White didn’t understand. "Have you known each other since you were children? Was he in love with you even back then, when you were little?"
It took Mia Grant a moment to catch the deeper meaning in her words. She let out a laugh. "He’s not that much of a creep."
"We didn’t know each other well before."
"We only started getting to know each other during my senior year of high school."
Quinn White did the math in her head and gave a bitter laugh. "That quickly?"
"But I’ve been chasing him for so many years... and just a moment ago, he couldn’t even remember my name."
Mia Grant paused. "But didn’t you two seem to be having a pleasant chat just now?"
"Pleasant?" Quinn White scoffed as if she’d heard a joke. "I tried to talk business with him, but he said he wasn’t in the mood to care about such things today."
"I offered him a birthday gift, and he refused it."
"He responded to everything I said, but it was all completely perfunctory. It wasn’t long before he left, saying he was going to find you. He said he was worried about you wandering off on your own."
Quinn White found it ridiculous. "This is a private club, there are attendants everywhere. It’s not like you could get lost."
"I offered to go with him, to help him look for you. He refused again, saying he didn’t want to bring you around outsiders today."
"..." Mia Grant put herself in Quinn’s shoes and could completely understand why she was so furious.
To outsiders, Silas Grant always maintained a perfect facade. He was especially gentle and polite toward women.
Once you get used to that hypocritical mask, it’s easy to be wounded by the true coldness underneath.
The whiplash is too much; it’s bound to be heartbreaking.
’Back in the beginning, when Silas was hot and cold with her, she’d been heartbroken too.’
’But she hadn’t stayed heartbroken for long before she’d run to Kian Keller.’
’After all, you can’t just hang all your hopes on one tree.’
’If you pick a few, you’re bound to find one that’s a comfortable fit.’
’As long as she swapped trees fast enough, the pain could never catch her.’
Clearly, Quinn White didn’t subscribe to this philosophy. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have spent so many years willingly trailing after Silas Grant.
And yet, for some reason, Mia envied her.
’That kind of affection,’ she thought, ’is what’s truly genuine.’
’So, if Silas absolutely has to get married, she hopes it’s to Quinn White.’
’He should find someone who loves him, someone whose world revolves around him.’
Mia Grant tilted her head back and drained her lemon tea, then, as if having made a decision, she asked in a firm tone, "Do you need my help?"
Quinn White had lost count of how many times Mia had shocked her today.
She felt like she couldn’t keep up with the way young people’s minds worked, even though she was only a few years older than Mia.
"You’re going to help me pursue him?" she asked, uncertain.
"Those things you told me about his likes and dislikes last time... they didn’t work."
"Then just be yourself," Mia Grant said with a smile. "Trust me, you’re very charming."
This time, Quinn White stared at her for a long moment before suddenly breaking into a smile.
"Forget it," she said.
Mia Grant frowned, feeling like she was being led on.
"I used to think that maybe this was just a whim for Silas, that there was nothing about a little girl like you for him to like."
"Besides that pretty face, you didn’t seem to have any other virtues."
"But I’m only just now realizing that he’s never been the type to only care about looks."
"If he could be swayed by a pretty face, then over all these years, even if it wasn’t me, he would have had plenty of other women by his side."
"In our circle, guys start playing the field in middle school and high school. But he never even dated in college."
"I used to think he was just too busy, so I figured I would just pursue him for a few more years and wait it out."
"But that wasn’t it at all."
"He wasn’t busy. He just hadn’t met the right person."
"From my perspective, I should be thanking you for your generosity."
"But from his perspective, he’d be heartbroken if he heard what you just said."
Quinn White glanced back at the distant figure. "Maybe it’s just like you said. You’re still young, you don’t know if you like him or not, so..."
"I do."
Mia Grant cut her off.
Quinn White’s head snapped toward her, meeting the girl’s impeccably beautiful smile. Mia’s voice was light as air as she said—
"But I can’t ever say it."
"Why not?"
"Because if I say it... I’ll never be able to leave."
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