Wrong Love, Final Goodbye: She'll Never Look Back

Chapter 432: You Are Your Own Greatest Support

Tanya Sinclair didn’t speak right away; she studied Leah Thorne carefully.Leah met her gaze, calm and gentle, the curve at the corner of her lips never loosening.

Seeing Tanya fall silent, Leah took a step back and said, appropriately, "I know Ms. Sinclair, your time is precious. If you don’t have time for a meal, how about we just grab a coffee?"

Tanya suddenly smiled.

"All right." She agreed.

They’d only just met, but Tanya knew very clearly that Leah was no fool. Between her and Vincent Hawthorne, it was hard to say who was playing whom.

Leah led Tanya to a café not far from the base.

The server came up at once. "Miss Thorne, the private room you reserved is on the second floor."

Hearing that, Tanya raised her brows and looked at Leah. "You were that sure I’d agree to have coffee with you?"

Leah was very forthright. "I wasn’t sure. But it’s always better to be prepared in advance."

Tanya narrowed her eyes slightly, a trace of appreciation in the look she gave Leah.

The two of them sat down in the private room and each ordered coffee. Once the server left, only the two of them were left sitting quietly across from each other.

Sunlight slanted in through the window, falling across Leah’s profile. Her outline, her expression—Tanya herself was momentarily taken aback.

Leah did look very much like her.

Not just in appearance, but in that force between her brows. Quiet, focused, restrained... yet Leah had something more than she did.

It was unwillingness—

Tanya asked, with genuine interest, "What was your major in college?"

Leah was slightly stunned; she hadn’t expected that to be her first question.

"I thought you’d want to know what my relationship with Vincent Hawthorne is."

Tanya picked up her water glass and took a small sip.

"I’m not interested in his private life. But if you’re going to become my children’s stepmother, then I’ll remind you to treat my children well, and I’ll happily exchange parenting tips with you."

Leah froze for a second, then suddenly laughed.

Unlike the perfectly gentle, mask-like polite smile just now, this smile came from the heart.

"Ms. Sinclair, you’re just as I imagined. No, you’re more interesting than I imagined." Leah relaxed and answered the question Tanya had asked earlier. "I majored in the same field as you. I’m top of my program. And out of personal interest, I’ve self-studied a bit of traditional medicine and law."

Her eyes were bright; there was pride in them.

"Our professor once praised me, said I might have a chance to become the next Tanya Sinclair."

Tanya said, "You don’t need to become the next me. I’d much rather you be the first Leah Thorne."

Leah paused for a moment, trying to find sarcasm on Tanya’s face, but there was none.

Her eyes were full of sincerity and admiration.

Leah wrapped her fingers around the cup. "Thank you. Ms. Sinclair, I came today because I wanted to see for myself what kind of woman Vincent Hawthorne just can’t seem to let go of."

Tanya calmly followed her words. "Besides that, you probably also want to know whether there’s any chance of things working out between him and me, right?"

"Yes." Leah knew the woman in front of her was frighteningly smart. Trying to go in circles with her would only be a waste of time, so she spoke plainly. "If you’re going to give Vincent Hawthorne another chance, then I’m definitely out. I can’t compete with you."

Someone as foolish as Yvonne Hawthorne, she could deal with easily. But Tanya was different.

In front of Tanya, Leah didn’t have that kind of confidence.

The coffee arrived. Tanya gently stirred it with a teaspoon, a small vortex forming in the cup.

She looked at Leah sitting across from her. "Do you like Vincent Hawthorne?"

But before Leah could answer, Tanya already had her own conclusion.

"You probably do. He’s tall, handsome, wealthy. Most of the time, he keeps his hypocrisy, selfishness, cruelty, cowardice... all that hidden, and plays the gentleman in public." Tanya raised her brows and let out a short, sarcastic laugh. "He certainly can attract the vast majority of women. But I don’t think you’re one of them."

For a split second, Leah felt completely transparent under Tanya’s gaze.

"You’re right. I do quite like him—but only on the premise that there’s something in it for me. He’s my best springboard."

This was the first time Leah had laid her ambition bare in front of anyone with no disguise.

"I’m not willing to accept this! I’m smart, I’m capable—so why should I be trapped by my background? By the family I was born into?!"

After she finished, Leah suddenly felt a little humiliated.

She bit her lower lip, dropped her gaze, and her fingers twisted tightly at the hem of her clothes.

"I just can’t accept it..." Her voice was very soft, but Tanya still heard it.

Tanya looked at her eyes, reddened from holding back, and felt a pang of tenderness for this girl.

"Vincent Hawthorne is not your best springboard." Tanya took out a business card and slid it over to her. "Your own ability is. I can be your referee. If you want to join the country’s top-level research team and become part of a Nobel Prize–level project."

Leah snapped her head up, eyes wide. She almost couldn’t believe what she was hearing.

Tanya went on. "Of course, I’m not sending you there to be a vase. The internship period is three months. If you don’t meet the standard, they’ll ask you to leave."

Leah’s eyes turned red all at once. She clutched the business card tightly. "Thank you! I... I’ll really treasure this opportunity!"

"Leah, you don’t have to be anyone’s stand-in. Every shortcut comes with a price." Tanya rose, picked up her bag, and looked down at Leah, who was still stunned in her seat. Word by word, she said quietly, "With your own ability, you can live just as well."

Leah’s eyes grew wet. She gripped the business card in her hand and nodded hard. "Mm!"

Tanya turned and walked out.

"Ms. Sinclair!" Leah called after her. "Can I... still see you again in the future?"

Tanya turned her head slightly. "We’ll see where fate takes us. I’m going to be away for a while. Maybe... for a very long while..."