The Night I Left, He Turned Grey

A message quickly popped up on Sean Sinclair’s phone.

Leila Jennings: [What is it?]

Sean Sinclair: [You just got back, why did you leave again?]

Leila Jennings: [I thought you weren’t coming home until you were done with work next week.]

That was genuinely what Leila Jennings had thought. She was a little surprised that Sean Sinclair had actually found the time to come home.

Reading Leila Jennings’s message, Sean Sinclair felt as if every word was an accusation, blaming him for being a workaholic who was never home. 𝗳𝐫𝚎𝗲𝚠𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝘃𝚎𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺

He explained: [It’s not that I don’t want to come home. I’m doing this for work, for our family’s future.]

Leila Jennings: [I know.]

To Sean Sinclair, those two words seemed to hold a certain resentment. A flare of anger rose within him—’She’s so inconsiderate!’—but he suppressed it just as quickly.

A thought flashed through his mind. Leila Jennings wasn’t home because she was visiting her elders. He was the one who was truly never home. How could he be angry at her?

Sean Sinclair shook his head gently, trying to dispel his angry thoughts, and replied: [Things will be better after next week. I won’t leave you home alone anymore.]

[We still need to get ready to have a baby.]

At the mention of having a baby, the corners of Sean Sinclair’s mouth turned up slightly, and a flicker of desire stirred within him.

As he showered, he couldn’t help but close his eyes, and the person who popped into his mind was Leila Jennings.

Instantly.

His chin tilted up, and he came to a release.

Staring at the cloudy fluid in his hand, Sean Sinclair froze. He never expected Leila Jennings to have such a powerful effect on him.

Spencer Shelby’s words echoed in his mind: "Don’t you feel anything for her at all?"

Sean Sinclair let the hot water cascade down his back. He pressed both hands against the wall, closing his eyes as he pondered the question.

’Haven’t I ever felt anything?’

’Do I really not like her?’

Sean Sinclair reached up and touched his chest over his heart, a flicker of confusion in his eyes.

After his shower, he went to the mirror to grab his toothbrush, only to find the cup empty. A sticky note was attached to the side.

[New toothbrush and toothpaste are in the cabinet behind the vanity mirror]

Sean Sinclair reached up and opened the cabinet. A new toothbrush and a new tube of toothpaste lay quietly side-by-side.

Next to them lay two plain rings.

Sean Sinclair recognized them. They were his and Leila Jennings’s wedding rings.

The day Sarah Lynch returned to the country, Sean Sinclair had taken off his wedding ring when he went to pick her up from the airport. He remembered putting it in the bedside table. When had it been moved here?

’It must have been Leila.’

The ring that used to be on Leila Jennings’s ring finger was here as well.

’She probably took it off while doing housework so she wouldn’t lose it and put it here for safekeeping.’

Sean Sinclair picked up the two rings. He put his own back on, and after brushing his teeth, he tucked the other one into his wallet, planning to put it back on Leila Jennings’s finger when he saw her.

...

With only three days left until the bidding for the proprietary chip project, the relevant teams at all the major companies were growing tense.

Meanwhile, the research institute became a flurry of activity, preparing for the bid-opening day, which included the bid-opening meeting and the contract-signing ceremony.

The bids would be opened in the morning, and the contract signed in the afternoon.

Mr. Jacobs called Professor Cheney over to ask if the preparations were in order. When he brought up the signing ceremony, his tone became much gentler.

"That child, Sarah, has caused you some trouble. She’s been very well-behaved recently, just staying at my home reading and writing her thesis. Don’t hold it against her."

Professor Cheney understood. Sarah Lynch had effectively been grounded and wouldn’t be causing any more trouble.

Mr. Jacobs did know how to prioritize.

"Ms. Lynch is young and has a rare youthful spirit," Professor Cheney said, offering praise while his mind churned. ’Mr. Jacobs must have called me here for more than just a simple process check on the bid-opening and signing ceremony.’

’Logistics are the administrative department’s job. We just need to review and be aware of the procedure.’

Then Mr. Jacobs suddenly called him by his name.

"Jason, I recall that the main representatives for the signing ceremony are you and Leila Jennings, correct?"

Professor Cheney immediately understood. Mr. Jacobs was planning to squeeze his granddaughter into the delegation. Fortunately, he and Leila Jennings had already prepared for this.

"Rest assured, Mr. Jacobs. All members who participated in this project will be present to sign with the winning company, and Ms. Lynch is no exception."

How could Mr. Jacobs not know that Professor Cheney was just beating around the bush?

’Witnessing the signing is not the same as being a representative signer, is it?’

"Leila Jennings is the Chief Engineer, so she is the signatory. As her mentor, you can’t be absent from the stage."

"Jason, I hope you’ll guide that child, Sarah. You watched her grow up, after all. Guide her. She needs this kind of opportunity for exposure."

Mr. Jacobs looked at Professor Cheney.

Professor Cheney kept a smile plastered on his face, not expecting Mr. Jacobs to be so direct this time.

’How am I supposed to ’guide’ her?’

’The signing ceremony for a national-level project has specific requirements. Each side has three to five people, including the main signatory, the supervising leader, and the head of the relevant department.’

’The main signatory is Leila Jennings, the supervising leader is me, and the department head is another deputy-level leader from the institute.’

Mr. Jacobs wasn’t the highest-ranking official in charge of this project. Aside from assigning Sarah Lynch to the team, he hadn’t interfered in other aspects. However, he paid extra special attention to this project. The other deputy leader was outranked by the director-level Mr. Jacobs, and since Leila Jennings was more than capable, that deputy leader rarely showed his face.

But he had to be present for the bid-opening and signing ceremony; otherwise, it wouldn’t be proper.

That already made three people.

As for the other two, Chloe, as the chief engineer’s assistant, would be responsible for following Leila Jennings to hand her pens and documents.

The last spot was usually for a witness, which was optional.

Besides the main signatory, the other four were accompanying representatives. The seating for these representatives strictly followed the hierarchy of their positions. Even if Sarah Lynch attended as a witness, she would be ranked last.

Clearly, Mr. Jacobs didn’t want Sarah Lynch to be ranked last.

’Would Sarah Lynch be willing to do Chloe’s job?’

’A distinguished external expert demeaning herself to be an assistant? With Sarah Lynch’s pride and arrogance, that’s impossible.’

When it came down to it, Mr. Jacobs wanted Sarah Lynch to take his spot.

’This isn’t about ’guiding’ her. It’s about me ’giving way’ to her.’

Naturally, Professor Cheney was unwilling.

Caught in this dilemma, he heard a knock on the door.

Mr. Jacobs looked up and said, "Come in."

The person who walked in was Leila Jennings. She had rushed over immediately after hearing from Chloe that Mr. Jacobs had summoned Professor Cheney.

Seeing the look on Professor Cheney’s face, she wondered what unwilling task Mr. Jacobs was forcing on him now.

"Mr. Jacobs, I need to see Professor Cheney about something. It’s about the project data."

The moment Professor Cheney heard this, he grew anxious and pulled Leila Jennings out the door.

"Jason, think carefully about what I just said," Mr. Jacobs’s voice called out from behind them.

Professor Cheney’s back stiffened, but he continued to hurry away, rushing toward the lab.

Leila Jennings closed the lab door and explained, "The data isn’t lost or corrupted."

Professor Cheney looked at her in disbelief. "When did you learn to... lie?"

"This past month." For the past month, in order to successfully and secretly get a divorce, Leila Jennings had told Sean Sinclair quite a few lies.

Chloe walked over and asked, "Professor Cheney, are you all right? Mr. Jacobs suddenly called you over. What was it about?"

Not wanting them to worry, Professor Cheney was about to say with a smile, "It’s nothing..."

"It was about Sarah Lynch, wasn’t it?" Leila Jennings cut straight to the point. "And about the signing ceremony."

Professor Cheney was slightly surprised.

Leila Jennings explained, "Sarah Lynch has been telling Sean Sinclair that she’s in charge of this project. If she isn’t positioned prominently at the signing ceremony, it’ll be hard for her to maintain that lie. Besides, Mr. Jacobs has always intended to use this project to boost Sarah Lynch to a higher position."

Professor Cheney nodded helplessly.

Chloe’s eyes went wide. "Ms. Lynch didn’t follow the confidentiality rules? She signed an NDA!"

Leila Jennings said, "She didn’t specify which project, only alluded to the tech sector."

Professor Cheney added, "She’s toeing the line. There are plenty of projects in this field, both confidential and not."

Chloe was so angry she ground her teeth.

"Did you agree, Professor Cheney?" Leila Jennings asked, worried she had arrived too late.

Professor Cheney shook his head. "Not yet, but Mr. Jacobs is waiting for my answer."

Chloe didn’t quite understand. "Agree to what?"

"I’ll tell you later." Leila Jennings was lost in thought for a moment before her eyes suddenly lit up. She looked at Professor Cheney. "You can agree to it for now. That way, Mr. Jacobs won’t try to make things difficult for you. I have a plan for that day."