CHAPTER 203: CHAPTER 203: TEN YEARS OF SECRET LOVE

When the words "Blake Sinclair posted on Weibo" were spoken, all the reporters and fans, including Shannon Yarrow, pulled out their phones.

Just now, Blake Sinclair had posted three Weibo entries in a row.

The first Weibo entry was a Polaroid photo.

Under The Myrica Tree, a little girl with two pigtails was holding a large plate of berries, smiling joyfully at the camera.

Behind her was a little boy sitting in a wheelchair, his gaze not on the camera, but turned, falling on the radiant little girl in front of him.

The accompanying text was simple: [Summer of 2001, Port Kallow. Our first photo together.]

The second Weibo entry was even more direct, with close-up shots of two marriage certificate covers placed side by side, solemn and sacred.

The caption was: [Summer of 2023, I finally married the girl I had long had a crush on.]

However, the most intriguing and buzzworthy was the third Weibo entry.

It had no caption, just a picture.

The image appeared a bit blurry, as if taken in poor lighting conditions.

It seemed to be a metal plaque with some vaguely visible engravings, but the exact content was hard to discern.

While people were speculating, Blake Sinclair revealed the answer in the comments section.

He posted a piece of text:

[My wife Holly, born in Port Kallow, raised in Beldon Lane.

Gentle yet resilient, clear and pure at heart.

To me, she is the light of chaos, the beacon homeward.

A decade of affection, hidden in the years.

Half a life of solitude, blessed to have her company.

Now I give her a title, a long journey ahead, wish to walk it with her.

Pray to the ancestors to bestow mercy, allow me to protect her for life, love her for eternity.]

This declaration was heartfelt and sincere.

Immediately after, he attached three pictures in the comments section.

The first was a Mutton Fat Jade Pendant, warm in texture, with the surname Sinclair engraved on it.

The second was a Jade Pendant, with Holly Crowe’s name inscribed on it.

The third was a sachet, its paper opened to reveal: [Hope Holly will love me.]

"What kind of divine romance is this?"

A young reporter couldn’t help but marvel.

The Weibo comment section was already in a complete frenzy.

"From 2001 to 2023, twenty-two years, this is what you call childhood sweethearts!"

"What kind of novel has come to life! So those saying Shannon Yarrow was President Sinclair’s true love, does it sting now? They were promised since they were five!"

"That sachet note ’hope Holly will love me’, melted my heart. Even President Sinclair had such cautious moments!"

The netizens understood the meaning of the first two Weibo posts and the sachet, but the blurry photo and incomprehensible words in the third Weibo post left them baffled.

Until a blogger with the ID "Tanya Sinclair" posted a piece of text.

She was a daughter of the Sinclair Family’s collateral branch, usually sharing fashion tips, never touching family matters, yet now she posted a lengthy message:

[As a junior of the Sinclair Family, there are some things I’d like to tell everyone. The photo my uncle posted is of the Iron Book that must be engraved to acquire a Sinclair Jade Pendant. According to ancestral rules, every generation’s Sinclair heir must engrave the name of the woman he marries word by word. The Jade Pendant in the second photo symbolizes the matriarch of the Sinclair Family, only bestowed upon the truly recognized mistress.]

With this Weibo post, netizens went into overdrive.

"Personally engraving the Iron Book? That’s too sacred and romantic!"

"No wonder the image is blurry, he must’ve engraved with too much force it shook!"

"Where are the people who were criticizing Holly before? Come see what true love is!"

The online opinion quickly shifted, with all doubts and slanders naturally dissipating.

But the atmosphere inside the venue was particularly delicate.

The reporter who initially made a fuss and Shannon Yarrow’s vocal fans wished they could bury their heads in the ground, shrinking away in embarrassment, not daring to look at Holly again.

A sharp-eyed reporter compared his phone’s image, suddenly exclaiming.

Her gaze turned around Shannon Yarrow, "Doesn’t the Mutton Fat Jade Pendant President Sinclair showed in the comments look familiar? It resembles the one Teacher Shannon has around her neck..."

When Shannon saw Blake Sinclair’s Weibo post, she finally realized that the unforgettable first love in Blake Sinclair’s heart was actually Holly!

And everything she had done before was a fool’s errand.

Upon hearing the reporter’s words, she instinctively wanted to hide the pendant around her neck, but as soon as her hand lifted, the reporter caught sight of it.

"Teacher Shannon, can you explain the source of your pendant?" the reporter directed the microphone towards her.

Shannon stammered.

Holly let out a cold laugh, unbuttoning the top button of her outfit, and, right in front of the cameras, pulled out the Mutton Fat Jade Pendant she wore intimately from her collar.

The pendant, set against her dark clothing, looked even more lustrous and radiant.

"This jade pendant was a gift from Blake Sinclair’s mother to her two children."

Holly picked up the pendant and said, "One was given by Laurel Sinclair to her daughter Shirley Sinclair. This one was personally put around my neck by Blake Sinclair when I was five."

"So, I’m curious, where exactly did Teacher Shannon’s pendant, that so closely resembles mine, come from?"

Shannon’s face was contorted, clutching the fake jade pendant on her chest so tightly her nails were nearly digging into her skin.

She forced out a smile more hideous than a sob, "Just a souvenir given by a regular friend, I thought it looked nice and wore it, not expecting such a misunderstanding."

Holly couldn’t be bothered to say more to her; such a trivial clown would be judged by the law and public opinion.

She looked back only to find that the reporter who led the slander was nowhere to be seen.

Just then, a commotion erupted at the entrance of the venue.

A few bodyguards in black suits brought in the reporter who had been trying to slip away, along with a few fans of Shannon who had tried to escape.

The crowd automatically parted, paving a path for a tall figure clad in a sharp black long coat, steadily walking towards Holly.

It was Blake Sinclair.

He ignored all the surrounding gazes and cameras, walking straight to Holly, taking her hand, "Holly, I’m late."

Holly returned the hold on his hand, the corners of her lips rising, "Not late, just in time."

The two exchanged a smile, all trust and love understood without words.

The live broadcast captured this deep, emotional gaze perfectly, and the audience went wild.

Only then did Blake Sinclair turn his eyes to the reporters, "Regarding all the false rumors and malicious attacks against my wife Holly on the internet, the Sinclair Group’s legal department will keep track of everything, pursue it to the end, and show no mercy!"

He paused, his gaze sweeping across the venue before finally returning to Holly’s face, solemnly declaring in front of everyone, "I, Blake Sinclair, have only ever loved, and wished to marry, only Holly Crowe—from the past, to the present, into the future, never changing."

This declaration was profoundly resonant.

The reporter under the control of the bodyguards shivered in fear, unable to hold on, crying out and pointing at Shannon.

"President Sinclair! President Sinclair, spare me, it’s all her, Shannon Yarrow orchestrated this! She paid me to defame Teacher Holly at the press conference; everything I said came from her!"

"You’re lying!" Shannon screeched in refutation, her composure completely lost.

"I have the transfer records! Check the bank statements, and it will be clear." The reporter shouted desperately for self-preservation.

"That still doesn’t prove it was I who transferred it! Maybe you faked it!" Shannon stubbornly held her ground, continuing to struggle.

She only knew that she couldn’t admit to this; as long as she denied it, no one could prove it against her.

Otherwise, it would truly be over for her.

The reporter was momentarily speechless, sweating profusely out of urgency.

"Would this, perhaps, serve as proof?"

Skye, who had been watching from the side, stepped forward at this moment.

She pulled out her phone, tapping it twice.

[...Skye, if you truly feel discontented, and want to reclaim the glory that should rightfully be yours... sister can help you.]

[...As long as you wish, I can make you the true Gold Award winner. Someone who relies on dubious connections to rise to the top, how can they deserve to be in this position?]

These were precisely the words Shannon used to entice Skye earlier, not missing a single word!