Just as Jasmine Sinclair had expected, Clara Sinclair couldn’t resist. She not only started patting her head but found she couldn’t stop.
Jasmine Sinclair’s hair was soft, smooth, and silky, like stroking the finest silk. It felt incredible.
As she patted Jasmine Sinclair’s head, Clara Sinclair’s voice softened without her realizing it. "Alright, stop crying. I believe you didn’t take it apart."
Seeing that Clara Sinclair had started to comfort her, Jasmine Sinclair gradually stemmed her tears. Crying was effective, but she knew it was best not to overdo it; she understood the wisdom of quitting while she was ahead.
"Really? Sister, do you really believe me?"
Jasmine Sinclair looked at Clara Sinclair, her eyes shimmering with unshed tears. They held a mixture of surprise, uncertainty, and a hint of caution.
Clara Sinclair nodded and confirmed, "I do."
’Why does this little schemer have to call me ’Sister’ so sweetly? I’m not her real sister, after all. Still, it does sound pretty nice. If she can stop causing trouble from now on, I suppose being her sister wouldn’t be so bad.’
As she stroked the little schemer’s head, Clara was reminded of Goldie, the dog from the entrance of Barrowden. Whenever she petted it, it would let out these little whines to get more affection. This girl liked to act all cute and helpless too, just like Goldie.
’But Goldie never cried. If anyone dared to bully it, it would bite back without hesitation. The little schemer couldn’t compare. Her constant sniveling was just annoying. When I grabbed her by the neck earlier, she didn’t even try to resist. If someone did that to Goldie, it would’ve bitten their hand clean off.’
Jasmine Sinclair meekly let Clara Sinclair pat her head like a dog, a cunning glint flashing in her tear-filled eyes.
’Back when I used to read novels, I’d get so mad at those ’green tea’ characters who were always sniveling. I could never understand why the scumbag male leads believed every word they said and would feel heartbroken over a few tears. But now that I’m playing the part myself, I realize what a wonderful tool tears are. Even a supposedly untouchable heroine like Clara can’t resist them, let alone those trashy men.’
Half an hour later, the car came to a slow stop in front of the Capitoline University gates. Jasmine Sinclair pulled a carton of milk from her bag and pressed it into Clara Sinclair’s hands, her voice syrupy sweet. "Sister, I noticed you barely touched your breakfast. This is for you."
Jasmine Sinclair gave Clara no chance to refuse. As soon as she handed over the milk, she pushed open the door and hopped out of the car. She then turned back to the stunned Clara, flashing a sweet smile and a wave. She pointed to the milk carton, miming for Clara to drink it, before jogging through the campus gates.
Clara Sinclair stared at the still-warm milk carton in her hand as a wave of warmth spread through her chest.
’Not even my own parents or brothers noticed that I’d barely eaten breakfast. But this stepsister of mine, the only one I’m not even related to, actually did. She even brought me milk.’
’This little schemer was so concerned about me, yet I’d just grabbed her by the throat. I accused her of stealing my engine without a shred of evidence. Have I been too cruel?’
’Someone as delicate and helpless-looking as her... how could she possibly dismantle a motorcycle engine? She probably couldn’t even loosen a single screw. It looks like I really did wrong her. No wonder she was crying so hard earlier. She must have felt incredibly wronged.’
The driver got out, walked around to the back of the car, and respectfully opened her door. Just as Clara Sinclair was about to step out, her eyes caught sight of a pink phone on the seat beside her.
’A phone this pink could only belong to the little schemer. She must have been in such a hurry to get out that she forgot it.’
Clara Sinclair hooked the phone’s little rabbit charm with her fingertip and poked its ears. ’This charm is actually kind of cute,’ she thought.
Tucking the phone into her pocket, Clara also got out of the car. She hadn’t taken more than a few steps before it started buzzing with message notifications.
At first, Clara planned to ignore it, but the notifications kept coming one after another. The right side of her hip was starting to go numb from the constant buzzing. She had no choice but to pull out the phone to see who was spamming the little schemer with messages.
[That scared me to death just now! I’m so glad Sister believed me. She even patted my head, I’m so happy! If she knew that I slashed her tire last night and got the boy next door to help me dismantle her motorcycle engine, she would be furious, wouldn’t she? Please, God, let her never find out I did it. I didn’t really want to, I just wanted to ride to school with her so badly.]
Reading the X post, which had been published twenty minutes ago, Clara was so enraged she crushed the milk carton in her hand.
’So it really was the little schemer. She didn’t just dismantle my engine, she slashed my tires, too! That engine was brand new! I’d only put it in two days ago, and I hadn’t even ridden it for two full days before she had it ripped out.’
’That whole teary-eyed, pitiful act from earlier was all fake. And I actually fell for her crap.’
’I knew it. There’s no way someone with her tiny frame could dismantle an engine. So she had an accomplice... The boy next door?’
’Who?’
’Aiden Hayes?’
’He probably wasn’t just the accomplice. He might have been the one who gave her the idea in the first place.’
’How dare he lead my little schemer astray? Fine. Just fine. I’ll remember that name.’
After calming herself down, Clara continued to scroll. She was going to see what other "good deeds" this little schemer had been up to behind her back.
[Why won’t Mom, Dad, and our brothers believe me, no matter how I try to explain? Sister obviously didn’t push me, but they’re all convinced she did and are making her apologize. She must really hate me now. I can’t let this happen. I have to go explain everything to her.]
Clara glanced at the timestamp on the post. It was from last night, just before Jasmine had come looking for her while clutching a pile of junk food.
’So she didn’t fall on purpose to frame me yesterday. Looks like I misunderstood her. It’s also those idiots’ fault for not believing her explanation. If they had, I wouldn’t have thought she was just putting on an act—pretending to back down just to make everyone pity her more.’
[Whoa! I just saw Sister ride off on her motorcycle! She’s so cool! I wish I could ride on the back with her and go for a spin. Sister is so amazing, she can even ride a motorcycle. Unlike me, I can’t even ride a bike. I’m useless at everything except spending the family’s money. I’m just a good-for-nothing.]
Reading this, the corners of Clara’s lips tilted up involuntarily. ’If the little schemer would just behave and stop making trouble,’ she thought, ’I might consider taking her for that spin sometime.’
Just as Clara was being completely won over by a few X posts, she remained oblivious to the fact that Jasmine Sinclair was hiding behind a large tree, watching her every move.
When she saw the corners of Clara’s lips begin to curve into a smile, Jasmine knew she had succeeded.
’Not only had a few X posts cleared my name, but they’d also coaxed a smile out of the heroine. I’m one step closer to getting her to accept our big family.’
’I posted on X intentionally, and I left my phone in the car on purpose. To make it easy for Clara to read, I even switched off the password and just used the swipe-to-unlock feature.’
’I’m not going to be as stupid as the original Jasmine from the book, who thought she could get away with sabotaging the motorcycle. The villa has cameras everywhere, inside and out. Clara is a top-tier hacker; breaking into the security system would be child’s play for her.’
’Rather than wait to be discovered, it was better to ’confess’ my motive on X myself. I even made sure to mention my accomplice, Aiden Hayes. That way, he can absorb some of Clara’s wrath for me.’
’Childhood friends are meant for taking the fall, after all. What else are they good for?’
"What are you doing, skulking around here?"
Just as Jasmine was silently celebrating the success of her plan to clear her name, Aiden Hayes’s chilling voice suddenly spoke from behind her.
Startled, Jasmine whipped her head around, and in that instant, the tip of her nose brushed against something cool and soft.
The cool scent of mint candy lingered on the boy’s lips, and the contact with the warmth of the girl’s nose sent a faint shiver through her. Sunlight spilled over them, draping them in a golden halo.
For a moment, time seemed to stand still. Jasmine could clearly see her own reflection in Aiden’s constricting pupils. The crimson mole at the corner of his left eye glowed under the sun, a bewitching red that could steal one’s soul and dazzle the senses.