CHAPTER 75: CHAPTER 75: THE SINCLAIR FAMILY’S JADE PENDANT (PART 2)

In the car, Holly caressed the Jade Pendant in her hand.

Remembering Ian Sinclair’s phrase, "Like father, like son," she couldn’t help but turn to ask, "Did Dad also seek the Jade Pendant back then?"

Blake Sinclair paused his grip on the steering wheel and nodded, "Mom, it was Dad who insisted on it."

"Before Mom even entered the door, he had already sought the Pendant. At that time, the family called him crazy, abandoning a matched marriage for a painter with no background, and Great-grandfather was so angry he nearly broke his legs."

"So how did he manage it?" Holly pressed on.

"By kneeling at the ancestral hall for seven days and seven nights." Blake Sinclair’s voice grew somber as he watched the flowing car lights ahead, lost in the past.

"In June, when the sun was most scorching, he knelt at the entrance of the ancestral hall, neither eating nor drinking. The elders took turns to persuade him, yet he only had one phrase: ’I will marry none but Julian Finch.’ Eventually, Great-grandfather softened, sighed, and let him into the ancestral hall."

Imagining that scene, Holly’s heart tightened, "That must have been so hard."

"The hardest part was afterwards." Blake Sinclair turned a corner and parked by the roadside, the streetlights flickering through the tree leaves on his face.

Blake Sinclair turned, holding Holly’s hand, his palm warm, "Later, when Mom gave birth to Laurel Sinclair, she finally gained the elders’ recognition. But not long after, there was turmoil within the Sinclair Group, uncles all eyeing the heirship. The elders at the ancestral hall mandated that Mom had to bear a son before Dad could take over the group."

"But after having Laurel Sinclair, Mom already had health issues and was very weak. Dad had packed up, prepared to leave with Mom and Laurel, not caring about the family wealth. Yet, just as they were about to leave, they discovered Mom was already pregnant with me."

These words were spoken lightly, but Holly’s eyes began to sting.

She looked into Blake Sinclair’s eyes, as if she could already see the young, defiant Ian Sinclair of the past, fighting against the entire family for the one he loved.

Blake Sinclair’s Adam’s apple bobbed, his voice hoarse, "When Mom gave birth to me, she hemorrhaged severely, staying in the hospital for more than half a year. The most expensive medicines, the best doctors were used, but in the end, they couldn’t keep her."

Holly’s eyes turned red instantly, gripping his hand tightly, her fingertips trembling.

Blake Sinclair suddenly smiled, but it didn’t reach his eyes, "Holly, aren’t you curious? Why am I the only one in Sinclair Manor who remembers the three hundred and twenty-one family rules?"

Holly shook her head, then nodded.

"Because, before I was seven, I grew up in the ancestral hall."

He looked at the tall buildings ahead, his gaze distant, "The elders at the ancestral hall said I was the root of the Sinclair family and had to be raised according to the rules... until, later on, for some special reasons, I was finally let out."

But by then, there was no longer any trace of Mom at home.

The car interior quieted down, with only the gentle breeze of the air conditioning blowing softly.

Holly rubbed the Jade Pendant in her hand, feeling it become scorching and warm.

Her heart was blocked, and she finally spoke the words hidden in her heart, "But Grandma Young said, given my current health condition... I’m not fit to have children, and it might be difficult to conceive in the future."

Saying those words, a few uneasy feelings lingered in her heart.

But as soon as the words fell, she felt his hand gripping hers tighten suddenly.

"Holly."

Holly looked up, meeting his gaze, the streetlight casting a bright light into his eyes.

His gaze was firm, and his words powerful, "I won’t let that happen. I won’t let any outdated traditions or external pressures harm you, nor will I let the past repeat."

He pulled her into his embrace, gently pressing her head against his shoulder.

The latter half of Blake Sinclair’s sentence remained unspoken.

Even if he had to go against the entire clan, he would never let her suffer even the slightest injustice.

The car restarted, heading toward Glynmere.

Holly caressed the Jade Pendant with her name engraved on it, recalling something, she turned to ask him, "You still haven’t told me how you sought this Jade Pendant? Dad knelt at the ancestral hall, and you? Did you... kneel as well?"

Blake Sinclair kept his eyes on the road ahead, calmly responding with a "Hmm."

Perhaps to reassure Holly, he added, "Don’t worry, it was only two days, those old-fashioned folks were afraid I’d have an accident, so they quickly let me in."

Two days!

Holly’s eyes heated up, "When did this happen?"

After their marriage, she hadn’t seen Blake Sinclair being away for long, so how did he manage it?

Wait a minute!

A thought dawned on Holly, "Was it during the last business trip?"

That time, his unexpected trip was even extended by a few days beyond the original schedule.

After a few seconds, Blake Sinclair nodded.

The last business trip... was the day he announced their relationship at the school celebration, coming to her rescue.

At that time... he mistakenly thought she was upset and they had a cold war for several days.

Holly recalled the day they made up, noticing the red marks on his hand and asking him about it, but he had only said, "The ring engraving accidentally left it."

But thinking back now, those marks obviously had been there for days, along with the faint impression of blisters.

Holly’s voice wavered, "To seek the Jade Pendant, besides kneeling at the ancestral hall, what else did you have to do?"

Looking at her reddened eyes, Blake Sinclair silently sighed, "You have to inscribe the reason for seeking the Jade Pendant and the praises onto the Iron Book as well."

"Iron Book? A book made of iron?"

"Yes, an old rule passed down through generations, using specially crafted iron pages, inscribing the name, family background, and the reasons for seeking the Jade Pendant, meticulously, word by word."

Holly choked, "Wasn’t it hard to engrave?"

Arriving beneath the buildings at Glynmere, Blake Sinclair pressed the brake, stopping steadily, "The iron pages are hard, the chisel is heavy, each stroke requires skill, there’s no rushing it."

Holly recalled the red marks on his hand, "How long did you engrave?"

"Not long, a day or two."

Blake Sinclair spoke lightly, but he didn’t mention that during those days, he barely slept, and his fingertips were blistered and bleeding from the chisel’s grind.

Hearing his words, Holly unbuckled her seatbelt and threw herself into his embrace, "Why didn’t you tell me?"

Blake Sinclair patted her back, raising a hand to caress her head, "There was nothing worth mentioning."

He straightened her up, wiping away the tears at the corner of her eyes, "Holly, none of this matters. What matters is, I obtained it, and you are now rightfully Mrs. Sinclair, beyond question."

Holly squeezed his hand tighter, sniffling, tears still insistently falling, landing on their intertwined hands, and on the heavy Jade Pendant in her palm.

Blake Sinclair looked at her gently.

Holly, none of it matters; what matters is that the Jade Pendant is in your hand, and you are by my side.

That is enough.

On the elevator ride upstairs, Holly kept caressing the Jade Pendant, scenes of her daily life with Blake Sinclair flashing through her mind.

He had carefully taken care of her, and even sought the Sinclair Jade Pendant for her...

Perhaps Celia Stiles was right, she couldn’t stay trapped in the past forever, but... how could she make Blake Sinclair fall in love with her?