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Chapter 315

Chapter 313 A Seat at the Table
Afewdays later, Sierra received a call from the school.
It had been over a month since the incident with Azure, and Capital Academy had finally reached a decision.
It had to be said–Capital Academy was nothing like Northwind University. When something happened to their group, Capital didn’t rush to distance itself. Instead, they did everything they could to protect everyone involved.
Word had it the president of Northwind had been trying to pull strings behind the scenes—if not for that, even Professor Martin might’ve been caught up in the fallout.
The call today was to let them know they’d be resuming classes next week. They’d still be under Professor Martin, just temporarily removed from the national research projects.
To Sierra, this was incredible news. She’d been sure Professor Martin wouldn’t take them back. The fact that everything was staying the same–it was the best possible outcome.
́Everyone else got the news too, and their usually quiet group chat suddenly lit up with excitement.
Sierra couldn’t wait to share the news with Johnathan. She didn’t want to wait for him to come home, so she headed straight to his office.
It was just around lunchtime when she arrived. She’d planned to grab a meal with him–what she hadn’t expected was to find Quinn already there, sitting in his office. And in front of Johnathan was a full spread of homemade dishes–it was obvious Quinn had cooked everything herself.
Seeing Sierra, Quinn greeted her warmly.
“Ms. Sierra! Come sit. You haven’t eaten yet, right? I brought extra today–come eat with us.”
She didn’t wait for Sierra to respond, already pulling out another set of utensils.
Before Sierra could even get a word in, Quinn added, “I got all the clothes and toys you bought for Dora–thank you so much. Dora loves them. She’s been begging to see you. Things have just been crazy lately–I was going to invite youoveronce everything settled down.”
Quinn kept chatting and serving food, leaving Sierra no room to speak.
Instinctively, Sierra glanced at Johnathan. He was still busy with work and hadn’t come over yet.
Noticing the look, Quinn offered a quick explanation. “Don’t blame Johnathan, Ms. Sierra. He’s been swamped lately. Mr. Wayne handed him some new responsibilities. Now he’s not just running his company–he’s helping out with family business
too!”
She continued, “He hardlyeatsproperly these days andhatesordering takeout. So I made extra food this morning and broughtitwith me.Otherwise,he’d probably skip lunch altogether. The last time we visited Mr. Wayne,evenhe said Johnathan looked thinner.”
Therewasnothing inherently wrong with Quinn’s words, but to Sierra, they landed wrong–sharp and unwelcome.
Johnathan was getting involved with the Wynn family business? She hadn’t heardasingle word about it. In that moment,she felt like an outsider.
Johnathanhadn’tplanned on eating–he really didhavetoo much work. ButoncehesawSierra,hewrapped things up quickly andcameover.
“What brings youhereallofasudden?”heaskedwith concern.
But theexcitementSierrahadfeltearlierwasgone.Shegaveacasualreply,“Nothing much.Ijustgotacall.We’reresumingclassesnextweek.Thought I’dcometellyou.”
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7:58PM
Chapter 313 A Seat at the Table
Finished
He asked a few questions about Professor Martin and the program but said nothing about his own situation. Instead, it was Quinn who brought up work–related topics, and the two of them started chatting–first casually, then faster and faster, more and more absorbed.
There were three people at the table, but Sierra felt completely out of place.
Eventually, Quinn noticed. “Ms. Sierra, you’re not eating? You’ve barely touched your food. Are you feeling okay?”
Johnathan looked over instantly. Sure enough, she’d barely eaten a thing. He reached out and gently touched her forehead.
“Are you feeling sick?”
“No, I’m just not that hungry,” Sierra replied with a strained smile.
“Did I make something that’s not to your taste?” Quinn chimed in. “I didn’t know you were coming today, so I mostly made things Johnathan likes.”
Then she asked, “Ms. Sierra, what do you like to eat? I’ll make it for you next time.”
Quinn’s warmth felt overwhelming.
Sierra pushed down her discomfort and answered politely, “It’s fine–I’m not picky. Thisissomething I like too.”
Johnathan watched her, frowning slightly.
After the meal, Quinn packed up and left the office.Once it was just the two of them, Johnathan finally asked,
“What’s really going on with you?”