Chapter 23: What More Do You Want?

“Sierra!”

Her grandmother looked anxious. Sierra immediately understood why and gave her a reassuring smile. “It’s okay, Grandma. You can stay in touch with her. Just don’t tell her where you are.”

She knew her grandmother was talking to Yulia. That was fine—after all, Yulia was her daughter.

Hearing Sierra’s words, her grandmother sighed. “She’s like this because of me. I sheltered her too much when she was young, never let her do anything on her own. That’s why she grew up so timid.”

“She just asked where I was and said she wanted to come take care of me. I refused.”

“Don’t worry, Grandma understands.”

She knew her daughter well. Yulia had always been too soft-hearted.

No matter how many times James had hurt her, the moment he said a few sweet words, she would forget all the pain she’d suffered. She had already burdened Sierra too much. She couldn’t let James drag her down as well.

Hearing that her grandmother was aware of the situation, Sierra felt relieved.

“Grandma, I’ll be busy with school and research from now on, so I won’t be able to visit every day.”

“If anything happens, you have to call me. Don’t keep things to yourself.”

“And don’t worry about money. I’m doing fine.”

Her grandmother hesitated before gently holding Sierra’s hand. After a long pause, she finally asked, “Are they… treating you well?”

Sierra froze for a second before smiling faintly. “Yes. No matter what, I am their biological daughter, aren’t I?”

Her grandmother didn’t doubt her. Even if she had been brought back halfway through life, she was still their own flesh and blood. How bad could it be?

“And her? How is she doing with the Xander family?” Her grandmother hesitated before asking.

After finding out the babies had been switched, she had struggled to accept it. She had raised Sierra herself—how could she suddenly not be her granddaughter anymore?

Eventually, she came to terms with it. Gaining another granddaughter should’ve been a good thing. But that child never once came back. Over time, she stopped hoping. Still, she was her biological granddaughter, so she couldn’t help but ask about her well-being.

“She’s doing well,” Sierra answered casually. But Denise didn’t deserve that concern.

If she had even remembered she had a grandmother, Grandma wouldn’t have suffered so much, wouldn’t have ended up like this.

After leaving the hospital, Sierra headed straight to the lab. Jonathan’s lecture today had given her some inspiration. Afraid she’d get too caught up in research and lose track of time, she set an alarm for herself.

She returned to the Xander family’s house at nine in the evening—not too late. Even if Bradley wanted to pick a fight, he wouldn’t have an excuse. Except, today, it wasn’t Bradley looking for trouble. It was Evan.

The moment she stepped inside, Evan’s voice rang out. “What’s your relationship with Mr. Yeager?”

His suspicion wasn’t unfounded. Today at school, he had found out that Jonathan had personally requested to teach first-year courses. That was an absurd waste of his talent. And just yesterday, Yaron had told him something that made him even more uneasy.

Sierra met his gaze, her tone cool and indifferent. “To answer Mr. Evan’s question, Mr. Yeager is my professor. That’s all.”

“Anything else you want to ask?”

Evan was annoyed by her attitude. He had only asked a simple question, yet she had to be so sarcastic about it. His tone turned colder. “As long as you understand. He’s close with Bradley. Even if he’s been looking after you, it’s only because of Bradley. Don’t flatter yourself.”

Sierra’s lips curled slightly. “Don’t worry, Mr. Evan. I never do. I’ve always been well aware of my place.”

With that, she turned and went upstairs. It wasn’t until a moment later that Evan realized—she had been mocking him. His expression darkened. Sean was right. Sierra was getting more and more insufferable.

The next morning, Sierra skipped breakfast and left for school early, just to avoid the Xander siblings. She had another small class today and was actually looking forward to seeing what Jonathan would teach this time. But her good mood didn’t last long before an unwelcome guest arrived.

“Sis, why did you leave so early today?”

Denise had come to school, all dressed up. There was no trace of the sickly pallor from before—on the contrary, she looked perfectly healthy.

“Evan and I waited for you forever. We didn’t even eat.” As she spoke, her eyes landed on the unopened bread sitting on Sierra’s desk.

Noticing her gaze, Sierra let out a cold laugh. “Denise, is there anything you don’t want to steal?”