Our Love Story: Hard to Guard Against the Sudden Love Strike-Chapter 249 - 246: Hope and Grace

The car drove a little further, and Sienna Thornton asked, "What were those two bags you handed to Maeve and her friends when we left just now?"

"Membership cards for The Imperial Court Club and customized gift boxes."

"What kind of gift boxes?"

"Probably just some souvenirs or something, I’m not really sure."

Although The Imperial Court Club is affiliated with the Forrester Group, gifts like these are handled by the operations department. As a nominal director of the Forrester Group, Simon Forrester doesn’t usually come to The Imperial Court Club, let alone give away those gift boxes, so how would he know what’s inside?

"Honestly, only those who chase after the title of The Imperial Court Club would consider these gift boxes as treasures." Simon Forrester laughed disdainfully.

The implication was that he knew what Maeve’s team needed, so he instructed the person in charge of The Imperial Court Club to prepare it.

Mentioning The Imperial Court Club, Sienna Thornton suddenly remembered a question she wanted to ask the first time she went: "How long has The Imperial Court Club been around? Why is it named after you?"

Simon Forrester thought for a moment and smiled, "It was founded the year I was born. As for why it uses a character from my name, I guess it’s because my grandfather really liked the character ’Cyrus’."

The character ’Cyrus’ inherently suggests the idea of management and control of subordinates, and in feudal society, it was even associated with emperors, which shows how deep Old Master Forrester’s expectations were for Simon Forrester.

Old Master Forrester’s son is named Zane Forrester, with "Zane" probably being a generational character, and "Forrester" is an ancient place name in Henara Province. Old Master Forrester gave his son this name hoping that his hometown would prosper.

But for his grandson Simon Forrester, he boldly chose the character "Cyrus" based on the next generational character, hoping the young man could become a ruler, always leading in some field.

"Your grandfather has high expectations for you, doesn’t he?" Sienna asked softly, glancing at Simon Forrester.

Simon Forrester continued to focus on driving, responding briefly, "Probably not. He often tells me that being happy and healthy is all that matters."

Sienna Thornton: "...That’s because you’re inherently outstanding, so your grandfather doesn’t need to constantly remind you."

Simon Forrester suddenly laughed, his lips curving into a charming arc. "That could be the case. It’s like our neighbor, Uncle Grant, who never tells his grandsons Gage and Ronan just to be happy. When I was a kid, I often heard Uncle Grant yelling at them over the wall, ’What are you two laughing about all day? Go study! You’re not allowed to eat or sleep until you’ve finished your homework!’"

Sienna Thornton laughed heartily, thinking that the Grant family with five boys was indeed full of humor.

Once her laughter subsided, Simon Forrester suddenly turned his head to glance at her and asked, "What about you? What’s the meaning behind your name?"

Sienna Thornton didn’t hesitate, answering directly, "’Hope and Grace.’ My mom said I am her hope and a gift from heaven. She said she never regretted giving birth to me.

Melinda Linton now lives in a two-bedroom apartment in the center of Brimfield, accompanied by her two daughters. During the day, she takes care of buying groceries and cooking. In the evening, after dinner, she even joins the community dancing in the square. The simple and gentle Melinda has gotten along well with the elderly ladies in the community.

Sienna Thornton gives her three thousand dollars every month. Besides using some for herself and Jenna Raines’s living expenses, the rest is saved. Melinda, who has always been poor, has an obsession with saving money, finding a sense of security as she watches the numbers in the passbook steadily increase.

Melinda Linton’s current later years could be described as quite fulfilling. Without giving birth to Sienna Thornton, how could she have such a pleasant later life?

Taking a step back, had she not been pregnant with Sienna Thornton and not been kicked out by her parents, reaching a marriageable age, she might have followed the matchmaker’s advice and married a rough country man. Now, she could have just been a poor village woman living in a poverty-stricken county. Perhaps she might have married a mild-tempered farmer who didn’t hit or scold her, but the geography and environment would have still prevented her from living a good life.

In some ways, Sienna Thornton truly was heaven’s hope and gift to Melinda Linton.

...

Simon Forrester got lost in thought and forgot to respond to Sienna Thornton.

Sienna Thornton thought he found her name unpleasant, so she asked, "Why aren’t you saying anything? Do you think my name is old-fashioned?"

Simon Forrester snapped back to reality, "Who says your name is outdated?"

Remembering the past, Sienna Thornton felt a bit annoyed, "I just went to high school in Z City, wasn’t I poor and unrefined? I was short, dark, and skinny, and I couldn’t afford new clothes, so I looked ugly and shabby. Then, in the second semester of my first year, I suddenly became fairer. Maybe it’s because I stayed in the dorm reading and didn’t get sunburnt. I also grew tall from eating in the cafeteria every day. So I went from being dark, short, and shabby to fair and tall. Then some male students from other classes would often come to our class to see me. Some female classmates laughed at me behind my back, saying with my demeanor and poor looks, how could I have a name like the heroine’s from ’Endless Love?’ She was called ’Eun-suh,’ right, and she died of leukemia. Those girls cursed me, saying if I used the same name, I’d get the same disease."

Simon Forrester: "..."

Those words left Simon Forrester speechless and heartbroken. He knew Sienna Thornton had a tough time as a student but didn’t know she had endured bullying.

After calming the murderous urge in his heart, he gritted his teeth and said, "There are really people who curse others with leukemia? What kind of monsters are these people? Did you see them at the class reunion in your hometown?"

"No, the classmates at the hometown reunion were from the science classes in sophomore and junior years, all well-mannered top students. Those girls who bullied me were basically at the bottom of the class and not in the same class," Sienna replied.

Simon Forrester was so angry he hit the gas, and the car sped down the deserted coastal highway late at night.

Narrowing his eyes, he growled, "They better hope you live a long life, or if anything happens to you, I’ll deal with those vicious women!"

Just after recalling the bitterness of her school days, hearing Simon Forrester defend her so fiercely filled Sienna Thornton with emotion. She turned slightly, leaned in, and kissed Simon Forrester on the cheek. 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝚠𝕖𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝕖𝚕.𝚌𝗼𝗺

Having delved into Sienna Thornton’s memories earlier, the kiss made Simon Forrester momentarily dazed as if young Sienna were kissing him. He felt like thousands of ants were crawling over him, itching his heart. At this moment, he suddenly wanted to love her well, to make her feel his presence strongly.

After crossing the sea bridge, the car didn’t head straight to the apartment in the New District but took a detour off the ramp.

Noticing the wrong route, Sienna Thornton thought Simon Forrester was so angry that he took the wrong road and quickly asked, "Where are you going?"

"We’ll go home later," Simon Forrester’s voice lowered, "to the beach."

"Why go to the beach in such cold weather?"

"...You’ll know when we get there."

"I want to know now."

"Stop talking, save your strength, you’ll need it later..."

"..."