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

Chapter 142 - 140: Secretly Keeping Her Photo

Mia’s breath caught, and she instinctively turned to flee.

But it was too late.

"Mom? Mom, Mom, Mom... What are you doing? Hey..."

Mrs. Sinclair pushed the meddling Ian Sinclair aside and barged right in.

It was too late for Mia to run.

"And this is?"

A sharp hiss of breath.

Mrs. Sinclair’s voice, full of unspoken meaning, came from behind her.

Mia sucked in a sharp breath and then slowly exhaled. Quickly schooling her features, she turned around, a smile fixed on her face as she inclined her head slightly. "Good evening, Mrs. Sinclair."

Mrs. Sinclair’s eyes instantly lit up, and she stepped forward and grabbed her hand.

Mia’s eye twitched, and her body tensed instinctively.

’Alarm bells went off in her head as a myriad of possibilities flashed through her mind.’

Mrs. Sinclair sized her up, her eyes gleaming.

Mia’s eyelashes trembled. For the first time, she was so unnerved she couldn’t maintain her composure.

Even though she had heard from the System that Mrs. Sinclair liked her a lot, she couldn’t help but feel flustered at their first meeting.

Mrs. Sinclair and Mrs. Grant were also friends, and she was terrified Mrs. Sinclair would be just like...

Before she could finish the thought, Mrs. Sinclair suddenly exclaimed, "Oh my, it really is our Mia! The last time I saw you, you were just a little thing, not even as tall as me. In the blink of an eye, you’ve blossomed into such a beauty."

"No wonder Felix has been hiding you away. You’re a real treasure. You see? I can’t even bear to blink when I look at you."

"..."

Mia was stunned, staring blankly at Mrs. Sinclair.

The adoration in someone’s eyes is impossible to hide, and that was exactly what she saw in Mrs. Sinclair’s gaze right now.

Felix was reserved and introverted. Thankfully, Ian was warm and boisterous, which had given her plenty of practice.

But Mrs. Sinclair seemed to be on another level entirely.

The delight in her gaze was even more intense than Ian’s had ever been.

Mia swallowed nervously. "Mrs. Sinclair, you know who I am?"

’The main reason she hadn’t introduced herself was that she’d been hoping to throw Mrs. Sinclair off.’

’What if Mrs. Sinclair didn’t recognize her?’

’She could have pretended to be a classmate who was just helping out.’

Mrs. Sinclair smiled. "Of course. I’ve seen your picture."

"Was it from my parents?"

"That too. But..." Mrs. Sinclair winked mysteriously and whispered to her, "I first found a picture of you in Felix’s room."

Mia’s eyes widened.

The more Mrs. Sinclair looked at her, the more she liked her. She had no filter and spilled everything she knew.

"I suspected Felix was in a relationship a while back. Even though he’d never admit it, we, as his parents, could tell his whole demeanor was much better than before. It couldn’t be for no reason, right? We know our own son best."

"Later, I went to his room to drop something off and decided to tidy up the papers on his desk. That’s when I noticed he’d forgotten his wallet."

"I casually opened it, thinking I’d check which cards he’d taken with him."

"I randomly pulled out a card, and there was your picture, tucked right behind it."

"Can you believe that boy? He’d deliberately hidden it behind a bank card, like he was terrified someone would see it."

Mrs. Sinclair was about to say more but was interrupted by Ian’s slightly annoyed voice from behind. "Mom, what are you doing here so late?"

"Let go of her. You’re scaring her."

Mrs. Sinclair shot him a glare. "Get out of here. This doesn’t concern you! Now beat it. Disappear."

"..." Mia was stunned.

’That line sounded so familiar.’

The moment she turned back, Mrs. Sinclair’s expression instantly softened into a warm, friendly smile. She squeezed Mia’s hand, unwilling to let go. "I just got a sudden phone call. Someone saw our Felix get drunk at dinner and said he was with Ian and a girl."

"Of course, I was worried, so I had to come and check. I never expected it would be you, Mia... You brought Felix all the way back here?"

"Oh..." Mia’s mind caught up, and she nodded nervously.

’She racked her brain. She and Ian hadn’t done anything that could be mistaken for intimate on the side of the road, had they?’

She slowly breathed a sigh of relief.

"We were at a club get-together. Felix had one drink during a game and got drunk. Ian and I brought him home."

"He’s already asleep now. He didn’t throw up, so he doesn’t seem to be in too much discomfort. Why don’t you go in and check on him? I’ll head back to school now."

’This is no place to linger,’ Mia thought. ’I’ve got to get out of here, fast!’

"Hey, wait!" Mrs. Sinclair tightened her grip, refusing to let go. "It’s too late. The dorms must be locked for the night."

"If you don’t mind, why don’t you just stay the night? You can go back to school with Felix in the morning."

Before Mia could refuse, she said in a grave and earnest tone, "Our Felix... he’s hardly ever had a drink in his life. All his uncles worry about his health, so no one dares make him drink, not even during the holidays."

"I’m just worried... he seems fine now, but what if he suddenly gets sick in the middle of the night? Or runs a fever..."

Mia’s eyelid twitched.

"Mom!" Ian couldn’t take it anymore.

Mrs. Sinclair shot him a look that said ’zip it,’ then turned back to Mia with a beaming smile. "What I mean is, if you don’t mind, you can stay at Ian’s place for the night. He has a guest room."

"Then we can have Ian stay here and look after his brother."

Hearing this, Mia breathed a sigh of relief.

’She had thought Mrs. Sinclair was going to ask her to stay and look after Felix.’

’And Felix only had one bed.’

’Wouldn’t that mean they’d have to share a bed?’

’Not that they hadn’t before... but being told to do it by his mother just felt weird.’

Mrs. Sinclair left Ian behind and led her toward Ian’s apartment. "Come on, I’ll take you over."

"Mom..." Ian chased after them, but as soon as he reached the door, he was warned off by a look from his mom.

"Take care of your brother! If you need anything, use his stuff. Don’t you dare leave this apartment!"

BANG. Mrs. Sinclair slammed the door shut.

"..."

Mrs. Sinclair entered the password. "Come in, Mia."

"Okay."

This was Mia’s first time in Ian’s apartment.

The decor in Ian’s apartment was completely different from Felix’s.

Just like their personalities: one winter, the other summer.

Felix’s apartment was done in simple, muted colors, while Ian’s was bold and vibrant.

"The guest room is here, and the bathroom is over there. Have a seat. I’ll go find you a fresh set of pajamas."

A few minutes later, Mrs. Sinclair returned with a large T-shirt. "It’s Ian’s, but it’s new."

"Thank you, Mrs. Sinclair."

Seeing how sweet and well-behaved she was, Mrs. Sinclair’s heart softened.

’This girl is completely different from the rumors. Where’s the arrogant, bossy person everyone talks about?’

"Mia, when did you and Felix get together? Was it back in high school...?"

Mia shook her head frantically.

"No, no! We absolutely were not dating in high school!"

Seeing her so flustered, Mrs. Sinclair gave her an all-knowing look. "The reason I ask is because the photo in Felix’s wallet is your high school ID picture."

"I took it out to get a good look, and there were even adhesive marks on the back. If you didn’t give it to him, then that boy must have peeled it off of some document."

"If that’s the case, he must have liked you a lot even back then. Otherwise, knowing his personality, there’s no way in hell he would’ve done something like that."

Suddenly, an image flashed through Mia’s mind...