question

I am 23, i drank some vanilla extract and replaced it with water. well, the extract has turned to a lighter muddy brown instead of the dark shade it was, is there a reason for this that i can explain to my parents without having to tell them i drank it? My ex (toxic, abusive, etc) made me tell them i was an alcoholic after i had 2 seltzers instead of 1 when meeting my housemate during an internship last year, so my parents aint let me drink