Chapter 249: Secrets and Names

Hearing that familiar voice, Sierra relaxed. But then she remembered—they were still right outside the lab building. The thought made her a little uncomfortable.

“Let’s head back first,” she suggested.

“Mm,” Jonathan murmured, loosening his hold on her. Instead of letting go, he laced their fingers together and walked her away.

As they walked, Sierra caught a faint scent of alcohol. “You were drinking?” she asked, surprised.

“Maddox is back. We had a drink together and talked about the gathering this weekend,” Jonathan explained. Then, looking at her, he asked, “You’ll be able to make time, right?”

“Yeah, I already told Finn and the others.”

Hearing that, Jonathan’s mood improved. Not seeing her for the past two days had left him restless.

“I kind of regret letting you go to North Salem University,” he muttered. “You’re even busier than me.”

He let out a self-deprecating chuckle. He never thought he’d have this kind of feeling. “How’s your research going?” he asked.

“It’s going well,” Sierra replied, saying little more.

Jonathan glanced at her, a little surprised. She used to love discussing her research with him. But now, she barely said a word about it. He knew this wasn’t her personal project—it belonged to a research group, and there were confidentiality agreements to consider. But still, something about it didn’t sit right with him.

Jonathan had always been controlling. He usually hid it well, but maybe the alcohol had lowered his restraint. He squeezed her fingers slightly and asked, “You can’t tell me?”

Sierra shook her head. “It’s not classified. I just thought you wouldn’t be interested.”

“I’m interested in everything about you,” Jonathan said matter-of-factly.

The corners of Sierra’s lips curved up slightly. She briefly explained the general direction of their research. “It’s still just a rough plan. We’ll need to wait for our professor to return before we finalize anything.” Come to think of it, she hadn’t even met the professor in person yet.

“Not bad,” Jonathan commented. “The direction makes sense, but it depends on what your professor wants as an end result.”

They continued discussing as they walked back. After a moment of hesitation, she asked, “What about you? What have you been busy with?”

Jonathan never felt the need to report his activities to anyone. Hearing Sierra ask was almost refreshing.

“I’ve been going over my family’s business records from the past few years.” A family empire wasn’t something you could just take over overnight. His grandfather had already decided to announce him as heir after his birthday, which was only ten days away. That gave Jonathan just enough time to get a handle on things. Technically, the Wynn family had rules in place for succession, but there were still plenty of people who would try to make things difficult for him.

Sierra noticed that Jonathan wasn’t bothered by it at all—if anything, he seemed completely at ease. She didn’t press further.

The next morning, the two of them started preparing for the gathering. But in the end, it never happened. At around ten, Jonathan received a call. His expression darkened instantly. As soon as he hung up, he grabbed his coat and headed for the door.

“My grandfather is in the hospital. I’m going over. I already told Mateo and the others—they won’t be coming,” he said over his shoulder. Before Sierra could even respond, he was gone.

Dickson had arrived earlier to help with preparations. Seeing Jonathan leave so suddenly, he asked, “Mr. Yeager’s grandfather is sick? Sierra, aren’t you going with him?”

Sierra opened her mouth, then paused before replying indifferently, “He didn’t invite me.”

Dickson thought about it for a second and realized she was right. From the moment Jonathan got the call to the moment he left, he hadn’t asked Sierra a single question. His words were just a statement of fact—he had never considered bringing her along.

Dickson frowned. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

Sierra’s expression didn’t change. “His family is complicated.”

From the little Jonathan had mentioned, it was obvious that he came from a powerful background, and it was equally obvious that his relationship with his family wasn’t great. Maybe that was why he didn’t see the need to introduce her to them. That was the best explanation she could come up with.

By the time Jonathan’s cancellation reached Mateo and the others, they had already arrived. So instead of leaving, they just came upstairs anyway.

“Why’d he suddenly cancel?” Mateo asked, frowning.

“His grandfather was hospitalized,” Sierra answered simply. Since these people had an unusual friendship with Jonathan, there was no need to hide it from them.

“What? Mr. Wynn is in the hospital? And at a time like this?” Mateo looked shocked.

“Wynn?” Sierra turned to him. “Isn’t Jonathan’s last name Yeager?”