The Night I Left, He Turned Grey

Early in the morning, Leila Jennings received a message from Liam Forrester, the Crown Prince of the Forrester corporation. He apologized for the controversy and trouble Stellaxis Technologies had caused at the last bidding event and then asked her to dinner.

’Invite me to dinner?’

’What’s the point?’

Sean Sinclair and Sarah Lynch had already shot themselves in the foot. Even if Stellaxis Technologies was apologizing, they weren’t apologizing to *her*.

Besides, she was busy today.

Leila Jennings politely declined, citing that she was busy.

Liam Forrester was visibly disappointed. He wanted to know what she was doing, and even more, where she was going.

So, he started asking around.

Some were happy, some were not.

The happy one was Sean Sinclair. No sooner had Leila Jennings rejected Liam Forrester’s invitation than she headed to the center for her class.

Sean Sinclair looked at the text notification on his phone, a smile playing on his lips.

’Leila can be as angry as she wants, but she’ll still obediently go to her parenting class.’

It was a shame the paint on the new car hadn’t been touched up yet. Otherwise, he would have driven it to pick up Leila today and handed her the keys.

’Then again, I can just give her the keys now.’

Sean Sinclair straightened himself up. The flowers he had ordered had arrived.

He was heading downstairs with a bouquet of champagne-colored roses when he ran right into Sarah Lynch.

"Sean? Where are you going?" Sarah Lynch’s gaze fell on the roses, her hand clutching her purse tightening.

Sean was surprised, too. "What are you doing here?"

"We haven’t seen each other in a few days," Sarah Lynch said, making no attempt to hide her feelings. "I missed you, so I came."

Sean’s first reaction wasn’t joy, but a frown.

"Sarah, I’m a bit busy today. I’ll see you tomorrow."

He started to walk past her, but Sarah Lynch grabbed his arm and asked point-blank, "Are you going to see Leila Jennings?"

Sean didn’t try to hide it and nodded.

"Leila Jennings won’t even see you, yet I’m the one who came all this way to find you. You’re not going to spend time with me, and you’re going to see *her* instead?" Sarah Lynch’s eyes were filled with hurt.

Sean couldn’t quite meet her gaze and looked away.

"She won’t see me because she’s angry. I have to go and calm her down."

Hearing Sean talk about placating another woman sent a sharp pang of jealousy through Sarah Lynch. She bit her lip and demanded, "Do you really care that much whether she’s angry or not? Shouldn’t I be the one you care about?"

Sean said, "She’s my wife."

’There it is again.’

Sarah Lynch couldn’t take it anymore. "You’re husband and wife in name only! You’ve never even touched her, so what kind of wife is she to you?"

The fact that he hadn’t touched Leila in four years had once made Sean feel devoted. Now, all he felt was regret and self-reproach. ’Would Leila see it as an insult?’

"Sarah, let’s talk about this later." Seeing that she was still trying to block him, he continued, "If I don’t go see Leila and smooth things over, we’re going to get served with court papers."

Sarah Lynch froze.

In her agitation, she had forgotten about that.

Leila wasn’t a fool. She’d found out about her and Sean that day and would definitely take action.

She released Sean’s arm.

’It’s right for Sean to go placate Leila,’ she thought. ’I can’t let my jealousy ruin our reputations.’

But Leila had been a quiet member of The Sinclair Family for four years, juggling both her career and her home life. She must love Sean a great deal.

’If she loves him that much, she probably wouldn’t actually sue... right?’

She couldn’t be sure.

After all, Sean really had given her so much.

She hadn’t thought it was much before, but tallying it all up was a shock. It was a debt she could never repay.

"Where are you going to find her?"

"She has a class today."

"What class? Did her professorship come through that quickly? Which university is she at?" Sarah Lynch’s face soured, a mix of displeasure and resentment.

Sean said, "A parenting class."

Sarah Lynch exclaimed, "A parenting class?!"

That wasn’t any better than her getting a professorship.

’Sean actually signed Leila up for a parenting class? That means he wants a future with her, with children!’

’Then what about me?’

While Sarah Lynch stood there, stunned, Sean had already walked away. He left so decisively, as if he’d just been exchanging pleasantries with a casual acquaintance.

A fresh wave of pain washed over Sarah Lynch’s heart.

Without a second thought, she began to follow him discreetly.

Sean Sinclair arrived at the reception desk. The receptionist recognized him and immediately brought him a cup of hot water.

"President Sinclair, here to pick up Mrs. Sinclair again!"

"Yes." Sean Sinclair smiled. "Is her class almost over?"

"Any minute now." The receptionist gazed at his handsome face, feeling a renewed passion for her job. She started gushing with praise, "Mrs. Sinclair has never once been late or left early. She’s so diligent in class, and she takes notes so seriously. She’s working so hard planning for your future children."

At that moment, the anxiety that had plagued Sean for days began to subside.

"Thank you. She’s always been serious about everything she does."

’Especially her cooking.’

’She always remembered what he liked, and what his family liked.’

The receptionist was momentarily dazed by Sean’s gentle smile. She walked away, chuckling, eager to tell Mrs. Sinclair, ’Your husband is here to pick you up again!’

’What an enviable romance!’

’Another day, another reason to believe in love.’

Claire Rhodes heard the news before she had even taken a step out, and she silently turned back.

"I need to make a call first."

She called Leila Jennings.

"President Sinclair is here again. Do you need me to stall him?"

"No, and you don’t need to pay him any mind."

"What if he asks me questions?"

"Just tell him the truth."

Claire Rhodes sounded skeptical for a moment, but she quickly agreed, pocketed her phone, and went out.

"Mr. Sinclair, Mrs. Sinclair is right here."

Sean Sinclair walked in, clutching the bouquet. Hidden among the flowers were the keys to a Porsche.

Just as he approached, he heard the receptionist call out "Mrs. Sinclair" to another woman.

President Sinclair looked at the woman being called Mrs. Sinclair. He’d seen her before.

The last time he came to pick up Leila, this was the woman who had delivered the sanitary pads for him.

"What did you call her?" Sean asked, looking at the receptionist.

The receptionist was confused. "?"

"Mrs. Sinclair..."

Claire Rhodes stated plainly, "I’m not Mrs. Sinclair. Hello, President Sinclair."

The receptionist was dumbfounded.

"How can you not be Mrs. Sinclair? You’re the one who’s been attending all the classes!"

Sean was even more confused. "You’re the one who’s been coming to class?" ’Then what about Leila?’

’Last time I came, wasn’t Leila here?’

A terrible feeling washed over him.

Claire Rhodes said calmly, "It’s been me from the very beginning. She sold the class package to me at a discount."

The receptionist was shocked. "What!"

Sean pressed her, "When did she sell it to you?"

Claire Rhodes looked at this scumbag, playing the part of a good husband with his bouquet of roses, and gave a slight shrug. "She sold it to me right from the start. I’ve been the one attending every single class."

"So you were just tricking me last time?" Sean seized on the main point. "If she didn’t want to attend the class, she could have just not come. Why find someone to conspire with and deceive me?"

"Hold on, President Sinclair," Claire Rhodes countered. "Could she *really* just not show up if she didn’t like it? If that were the case, why would she need me to pretend to be her and clock in for the classes? You, President Sinclair... you’re not being very honest yourself."

The receptionist pressed her lips together and backed away.

’This is President Sinclair of Stellaxis Technologies! And you, a woman who has to buy a discounted class package just to be here... you’ve got some nerve.’

Sean, of course, pressed on, "Why would she do that?"

Claire Rhodes said, "Probably because President Sinclair is having an affair."

The receptionist: "!!!"

’Move, you stupid legs, move faster!’

’This is not gossip I want to hear.’

"Since President Sinclair is already cheating, why is he still expecting his wife at home to prepare for pregnancy? A person shouldn’t be so greedy." With that, Claire Rhodes walked away.

Sean stood frozen on the spot.

’Leila had gotten rid of the parenting class from the very beginning.’

’She didn’t find out about him and Sarah on the day of the bidding event. She knew all along.’

’From the very start, she never believed his claims that he and Sarah were just friends.’

’Leila had been lying to him.’

’She’d been lying to him for over a month!’

’Why?’

’Why go to such elaborate lengths?!’