The Night I Left, He Turned Grey

The three of them had reached the roadside.

A black Cullinan pulled up in front of Leila Jennings. Nathaniel Cole got out, and without a word, shoved his sister into the car before turning to Leila.

"Get in."

Cherry Cole, who had just been shoved into the car and bumped her head, was bewildered. ’What the hell?’

’Is he even human?’

’My own brother?’

’Whatever. Now isn’t the time for infighting. We need a united front.’

"Leila, get in."

Without looking back, Leila Jennings ducked into the car. She had no desire to get entangled with Sean Sinclair here and listen to his pointless excuses.

"Leila!" Sean Sinclair stepped forward.

Nathaniel Cole turned and blocked his path.

"President Sinclair, show some self-respect."

’Nathaniel Cole again, with that same condescending gaze.’

"Self-respect?" The word struck Sean Sinclair as hilarious. "President Cole, you’re the one who should show some self-respect. Every time something happens between Leila and me, you come sniffing around. Are you trying to butt in..."

"Rest assured," Nathaniel Cole cut him off, his glacial gaze scrutinizing him. "Leila Jennings doesn’t give me three million a month, nor has she bought me a flat at The Aquarina, millions in jewelry, or a two-million-dollar car. I’m not the other man."

"President Sinclair, don’t judge a gentleman by your own petty standards."

Sean Sinclair was left speechless.

Every word from Nathaniel Cole was like an accusation, weighing down on him.

He could barely lift his head in front of Leila.

Victorious, Nathaniel Cole got into the car, shut the door, and signaled the driver to go.

In the end, Sean Sinclair never got to deliver the speech he had carefully prepared for Leila.

’The three million a month was a private investment.’

’The jewelry was a simple exchange of gifts between friends.’

’Sarah borrowed the money for the car and the house from him.’

’The things Nathaniel Cole had investigated were a mix of truth and lies, not all of it real. It was all just one of his underhanded tactics, a way to push him and Stellaxis Technologies out of the ring.’

He watched Leila drive away in Nathaniel Cole’s car and kicked a nearby flower bed in frustration.

"Tsk, tsk. To think the famously gentle and polite President Sinclair could also have a day where he loses his mind." Cherry Cole pulled her head back inside the car and gave her brother a thumbs-up. "I think what Mom said back then was wrong. It’s a good thing you’re not a mute."

Nathaniel Cole shot her a cold glare.

Seeing as she still needed her dear brother’s help to get home tonight, Cherry Cole quietly shut her mouth.

Nathaniel Cole turned to Leila. "Does Sean Sinclair have a radar on you or something?"

Leila was also confused. She had already left the Sinclair residence, deleted and blocked every member of the Sinclair Family, and had security protection. It should have been impossible for Sean Sinclair to have someone tailing her.

Leila’s identity was now public, and many people knew she held the core data for the self-developed chip. Her safety was even more critical than before her identity was revealed.

If Sean Sinclair dared to follow her, he wouldn’t just be taken to a police station for questioning, but to the Ministry of State Security.

Leila thought for a moment and said, "Cherry and I ran into Sarah Lynch while we were having dinner."

Nathaniel Cole: "Sarah Lynch wouldn’t have notified Sean Sinclair."

Cherry Cole: "And Julian Grant was there, Bro. Your arch-nemesis, remember? I told you."

The Neville and Grant families had always been close. Every year on the second day of the Lunar New Year, when her family went to visit their maternal grandfather, they would run into the Grant Family paying a New Year’s visit.

Ms. Neville had once tried to set her brother up with Stella Grant. Unfortunately, her brother was a celibate workaholic back then with no interest in women, and he always gave Stella Grant the cold shoulder.

When her brother didn’t want to dance with the young lady of the Forrester family, he could spin nonsense like claiming his leg was broken. So, of course, his response to the young lady of the Grant family’s invitation for a walk to admire the scenery wasn’t any better.

He had said, "I’m blind."

In short, her brother always seemed to be physically impaired when in the presence of other women.

Both Hailey Forrester and Stella Grant were heiresses from prominent families. They had spent their entire lives being the ones to reject others; when had they ever been rejected themselves?

And girls tend to be thin-skinned. Stella Grant had been so embarrassed in front of both families’ elders that she could have clawed a hole in the floor, her face flushed red with anger.

Because something had happened to Stella Grant when she was a child, Julian Grant had always been extremely protective of his sister.

And so, the feud between her brother and Julian Grant began.

That top lawyer didn’t have a kind word to say about anyone, and her brother’s tongue had been dipped in poison since birth. Their mutual acquaintances never dared to invite them both to the same party.

"Serving as Sarah Lynch’s lawyer... Is he handling her case, or is he just getting into her briefs?" Nathaniel Cole sneered. He had never heard anyone describe Julian Grant as such a warm-hearted person.

’There’s no way they aren’t sleeping together.’

Cherry Cole said, "Sarah Lynch must be something special, having two men wrapped around her finger."

Leila Jennings: "Shit stinks, so it attracts a lot of flies."

The brother and sister both turned to her in unison, not expecting her to curse, and so accurately at that.

Leila glanced at them. "It’s a proverb from my hometown."

Nathaniel Cole: "You’ve got a mouth. Use it more often."

Cherry Cole nodded in agreement.

Leila hummed in response. Before, when dealing with the Sinclair Family, it was a case of "love me, love my dog."

Now that her love had been worn away, there was no "love my dog" left.

The car first drove back to No. 9 Norsen.

Leila got out of the car, crossed the spacious yard, and saw Miss Moss standing at the door with a wide smile.

"Miss Jennings, you’re back."

"Miss Moss? What are you doing here?" Leila asked, puzzled. After unlocking the door with her fingerprint, she immediately ushered the woman inside.

Miss Moss placed her hands on her stomach and bowed with a smile. "Miss Jennings, I’ve been assigned to take care of your daily needs."

Leila was taken aback. ’What?’

She was about to ask what she meant, but the meaning was already quite obvious. So she asked, "Whose idea was this? President Cole’s?"

Miss Moss nodded.

"Miss Jennings, this is the first time the Young Master has ever shown such concern for someone."

’That familiar sentence structure and tone...’ 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝓮𝒘𝙚𝙗𝒏𝙤𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝒐𝙢

Leila was speechless.

"Miss Moss, I can take care of myself. You should go back to No. 1."

"I can’t, Miss Jennings! If you send me away, the President... no, the Young Master will fire me on the spot!" Miss Moss said with a pitiful expression. "The Young Master said that if you don’t let me stay, I’ll have to pack my bags and leave the Cole family for good."

Leila couldn’t figure out what Nathaniel Cole was playing at.

But she knew he was more than capable of doing something like this.

She thought for a moment. "Then I’ll pay your monthly salary."

"No," Miss Moss refused immediately. "The Young Master would still make me pack my bags and leave."

Leila: "But if I’m paying your salary, he can’t make you leave."

Miss Moss was out of excuses.

The next second, she decided to appeal to emotion. "Miss Jennings, please just let me stay and take care of you! I can’t leave the Cole family. I have elderly parents and young children to support. I really need this job, and I need the Cole family’s help to send my child to a good school."

Leila looked troubled.

"Miss Jennings, the Young Master sent me to take care of you mainly because he hopes you can dedicate yourself completely to your joint project. It’s very important to him!"

"Lantech Technology is the Young Master’s life’s blood! The Cole Group belongs to the Cole family, but Lantech is his own!"

Miss Moss spoke with impassioned fervor.

Leila was skeptical. "Is that so?"

Miss Moss: "It is! Miss Jennings, please, do me this kindness. I can’t lose this job."

Leila was genuinely worried that Miss Moss would lose her job, so she had no choice but to nod.

"Thank you for your hard work, Miss Moss."

"Not at all, not at all." Miss Moss took a small room on the first floor and, as soon as she was inside, pulled out her phone to report to Nathaniel Cole.

"Reporting, Young Master. I have successfully infiltrated the future young mistress’s inner circle."

Nathaniel Cole, on the other end of the line, was speechless.

"I sent you there to take care of her, not to be a spy."

"Really? In that case, Young Master, I won’t report things like Miss Jennings being unhappy anymore."

Nathaniel Cole: "Take that back."

Miss Moss: "Yes, Young Master."