When it came to this matter, Rachel Saintclair's face turned a bit gloomy, but she couldn't show too much disgust, lest Ethan Winston misunderstand.
So she could only say, "It's nothing serious. Just a fever. Your brother made a big deal out of it, and then we got caught by the paparazzi."
Ethan Winston grinned and said, "You're really something, little sister - in - law, to be able to make my brother overreact like this!"
Rachel Saintclair's face darkened even more. She definitely didn't want to be that "something"!
She wrapped the quilt around herself more tightly. "Did you come just to see what happened?"
"Oh, not entirely." Ethan Winston was completely straightforward. "Mainly, after such a big news broke out, Grandpa wants you two to go for a meal together. But I think if you're so sick that you had to go to the hospital, there's no need to go for the meal, right?"
Rachel Saintclair nodded in understanding. "So you're here to test the waters and see if I'm really critically ill and bedridden."
Ethan Winston burst into laughter at her words.
Rachel Saintclair chatted with him about a lot of random things. She really enjoyed talking to Ethan Winston. It felt as warm and natural as chatting with an old friend she hadn't seen for years.
Although Ethan Winston was Leonard Winston's younger brother, the two brothers were completely different. Rachel Saintclair highly admired the creator for giving Ethan Winston all the perfect qualities.
If Leonard Winston were like Ethan Winston, perhaps she would have fallen in love with him. Unfortunately, as the eldest son, Leonard Winston was destined to be who he was.
"By the way, little sister - in - law, where are your parents?" In Ethan Winston's mind, if his own daughter was seriously ill and had been sent to the hospital and even made the headlines in the newspapers, her parents wouldn't be so silent.
In fact, what made him even more curious was that Leonard Winston had been constantly involved in scandals and affairs. If little sister - in - law didn't mind, didn't her parents mind either?
But when this question was brought up, the cheerful look on Rachel Saintclair's face gradually faded, and her mood became a bit low.
"My parents divorced when I was very young," she said. "My father has kidney cancer and is currently in a coma in the hospital. He hasn't woken up yet."
As soon as she said the first sentence, Ethan Winston knew he had said the wrong thing. He originally wanted to change the subject, but Rachel Saintclair still continued.
Perhaps it was because she was sick and her resistance was weak, and her emotions were also more vulnerable, and she wanted to find someone to talk to. Or perhaps it was because she had an inexplicable sense of dependence on Ethan Winston. In any case, Rachel Saintclair said a lot more.
"I'm really grateful to Leo. At least he gave me a hand when I needed help the most. He hasn't disliked me all these years and has helped me a lot. I'm really thankful to him." These were Rachel Saintclair's sincere words.
Back then, introduced by Camille Dubois, she became Leonard Winston's contracted wife. Almost without hesitation, Rachel Saintclair signed that contract. Of course, at that time, she had no other choice.
She originally thought that her life would be trapped in the intrigues of the wealthy family, becoming a lamb at the mercy of others, unable to turn things around, and she had already prepared herself mentally for enduring humiliation and such things. However, unexpectedly, Leonard Winston gave her everything except love and a real home.
So, she was really grateful to Leonard Winston.
It was just a pity that they could never become each other's support and accompany each other for a lifetime.
Ethan Winston didn't understand these things, and she didn't want him to understand. Ethan Winston was like a ray of sunshine. Wherever he was, there was light. Such purity shouldn't be dragged into the quagmire.
Presumably, Leonard Winston also thought the same way. So even though they were in the huge quagmire of Winston Group, Ethan Winston still remained innocent and bright, untainted by the dirt.
It was... unbearable to look at directly, yet hard to look away from.
Just as the two were chatting happily, Leonard Winston's cold voice suddenly came from the door. "Come down for dinner."
The two looked up at the same time. Rachel Saintclair's heart skipped a beat. Leonard Winston was angry again. But what on earth was he angry about this time?
After saying this, Leonard Winston turned and left. If Rachel Saintclair wasn't mistaken, Leonard Winston glared at her the moment he turned away.
It was simply inexplicable!
Ethan Winston didn't notice anything wrong at all. As soon as he heard about dinner, his eyes lit up. "Let's go, little sister - in - law. My brother specially bought delicious food for you. When I first came in, I saw Aunt Lily preparing it in the kitchen. The smell was amazing, tsk tsk tsk..."
Rachel Saintclair was startled. "You said... Leo bought it?"
"Yeah." Ethan Winston nodded. "You're surprised too, right, little sister - in - law? I was also shocked! I never thought my brother would become so family - oriented after getting married. He wasn't like this before."
Rachel Saintclair was indeed surprised, but she knew it wasn't because of what Ethan Winston said about being family - oriented.
The more Leonard Winston behaved like this, the more flustered she felt inside.
She had pretended to be asleep and ignored Leonard Winston just now because she hadn't figured out how to face him yet.
After the initial shock and confusion caused by that news exposure, Rachel Saintclair understood that Leonard Winston was warning her.
What troubled her even more was that whether she pretended to be okay and tried to please him or made a clear promise, it didn't seem like a good thing. Because between the two of them, there was an awkward contract expiration date.
Brilliance was the end point of that deadline.
She didn't dare to mention Brilliance or work overtime, for fear that Leonard Winston would misunderstand. But she also had to try her best because this was a design tailored for Elizabeth Collins.
And now that she had met Henry Edwards... Rachel Saintclair really wished she could disappear right away.
"What are you talking about? Come down quickly!" Leonard Winston's voice rang out again, but this time it was impatient, and he raised his voice from downstairs.
The two looked at each other, and Ethan Winston playfully stuck out his tongue at Rachel Saintclair.
The two came down the stairs one after another. Ethan Winston was very considerate and stayed by Rachel Saintclair's side, afraid that she might accidentally trip on the stairs.
All of this was seen by Leonard Winston, and another burst of anger rose in his chest. Although he knew clearly that there was nothing between them, he still felt that something was wrong.
The porridge, snacks, and side dishes on the dining table were all neatly placed. Ethan Winston was almost drooling and started eating heartily with his chopsticks.
Rachel Saintclair sat down a bit timidly. Opposite her was Leonard Winston with a cold face, and she always felt a bit guilty.
If he asked about that news later... how should she answer?
As it turned out, Leonard Winston really spoke up, but what he asked was not about the news.
"You seem to have a good relationship with my brother."
"Huh?" Rachel Saintclair was stunned. What kind of topic was this?
Ethan Winston waved his chopsticks and said excitedly, "Yeah, yeah! Little sister - in - law is really nice. Brother, I really missed out on a lot of fun by not being able to attend your wedding and only coming back after graduating three years later!"
Leonard Winston snorted coldly. "If you had come back a few days later, I'm afraid you wouldn't be able to find any of this fun anymore."
"What do you mean?" Ethan Winston didn't understand, but Rachel Saintclair knew exactly what he was talking about.
She silently lowered her head to drink the porridge, trying hard to act like a patient.
But Leonard Winston didn't intend to let her off. "My things, even if I don't like them or don't want them, no one else is allowed to touch them casually. Because... I have a cleanliness obsession."
Rachel Saintclair's hand holding the spoon trembled.
Leonard Winston's eyes darkened. "Although the date is approaching, you don't have to be too impatient. Do what you should do and think less about useless things. Otherwise, you'll have a hard time."
"Brother, what are you talking about?" Ethan Winston finally realized that Leonard Winston's words were directed at Rachel Saintclair. Although he didn't understand, he could tell that he was accusing and hinting at something.