The Night I Left, He Turned Grey

"I already submitted my resignation. Renee, the Vice President of HR, confirmed the one-month notice period. As for my transfer to the President’s Office, that wasn’t a decision an ordinary employee like me could make. It was President Cole’s."

Leila stood in the wind. The autumn air was cool, lifting a strand of hair across her face, but her gaze remained steady and open.

Sean saw no trace of deceit in her eyes. "Then why does President Cole want you as his secretary?"

"I don’t know." Leila honestly had no idea what Nathaniel was thinking. In any case, she didn’t believe the explanation he had given her.

Sean didn’t know much about Nathaniel either. The Cole Group existed in an entirely different world from his own. Even if he worked for the rest of his life, he would never come close to touching the level where Nathaniel stood.

What he did know was that the head of the Cole family was cold, ruthless, and kept his distance from women. In business, he was even more merciless. He showed no favoritism, not even toward his own relatives. His judgment was almost frighteningly accurate as well.

People often said Sean had a golden touch—that anything he invested in turned to profit. But most of those were just small businesses.

Nathaniel was different. Whenever he set his sights on something, he invested heavily, and the returns multiplied many times over. At twenty-two, he made a fortune from a single landmark investment, establishing both his reputation and the Cole Group’s foothold in the emerging tech industry. Lantech Technology, one of the group’s most successful subsidiaries, was even registered directly under his name.

Lantech, backed by the Cole Group, had become Stellaxis’s fiercest competitor in recent years. Someone once described the difference this way: Sean was the child who worked the hardest, while Nathaniel Cole was born for it. He was a genius.

Hard work was merely the price of meeting a genius face to face. That was what Sean had done—fought so hard just to earn a seat at the same table as Nathaniel tonight.

"Leila, President Cole may only be twenty-eight, but he’s calculating and impossible to read. He didn’t make you his secretary without a reason. Can’t you just quit as soon as possible?" Sean said as he gripped her shoulders, his face twisted. "You shouldn’t think he’s interested in your talent—you have no talent worthy of his appreciation! He may only be interested in your... looks."

So, among all her talents Sean tried to search for, the only thing he came up with was her looks? Leila was aware that she mattered almost nothing in his eyes, but hearing him say it so bluntly still felt like being stabbed right in the heart.

"President Cole is a businessman. Businessmen pursue profit. Every secretary around him is young and attractive. Good looks are just another networking tool." Then he said firmly, "You must resign immediately."

Leila parted her lips. "Once the process is complete—"

"There is no process for quitting a job! Submit your paperwork, hand over your work, pack your things, and leave. That’s all!" Sean was barely containing his anger and couldn’t explain why it bothered him so much to see Leila standing next to Nathaniel.

He told himself it was because Leila was his wife—his possession. She shouldn’t be close to any other man!

Leila had rarely seen him get this angry during the four years they were married. Those moments only started to occur recently.

Sean was angry when she argued against the Sinclairs.

Sean was angry when she "hurt" Sarah.

Sean was angry when she stopped cooking.

Sean was angry when she refused to have children with him.

Sean was angry because her resignation wasn’t happening quickly enough.

The husband who had once seemed gentle and patient had vanished the moment she stopped being a silent, compliant housewife who endured everything without complaint.

Leila finally understood one thing—only after she started being herself could she see people for who they really were.

Leila took a deep breath and replied, "It wasn’t my decision, it was—"

"My decision," Nathaniel said, appearing from nowhere. He was standing on the steps nearby, looking down at them. He might have overheard their conversation.

Sean and Leila both looked up at him. Yet they only saw his side profile. "I won’t approve of Leila’s resignation." Nathaniel tilted his head slightly as he spoke, his gaze demanding.

"President Sinclair, since you and Leila are merely friends, this shouldn’t be your business. If anyone wants to have a say in this, it should be her husband—the incompetent man who can’t even afford to buy his wife a new phone and lives off her modest salary."

He really knew how to pull his punches.

Hearing that, Sean shrank and couldn’t say anything back. He couldn’t possibly admit that he was the incompetent husband of Leila’s.

"Leila." Nathaniel’s expression turned serious. "That was a long bathroom break. You should keep up."

Leila quickly followed, letting out a sigh of relief as she put a few steps between herself and Sean. Nathaniel noticed this subtle move and showed a slightly complicated look, asking, "Is this why you wanted to join the dinner tonight?"

"What?" Leila was momentarily confused, but soon realized that Nathaniel must have noticed there were problems in their marriage. She nodded. "Yeah, mostly."

"How long have you been married?" he asked.

There was no point in hiding it when Nathaniel already knew the story.

"Four years." She paused and added, "Four years and one hundred fifteen days."

"You keep count."

"Yes." She nodded.

"But he denies that you’re married."

Leila paused before answering. "Yes."

When they returned to the private room, she had completely lost her appetite for any food, especially seeing those tycoons across the table.

Sean returned soon. His hair was damp—he had apparently splashed his face with cold water.

He continued chatting and drinking, offering toasts to people one after another, and faltered at the sight of Nathaniel. Nathaniel didn’t accept his toast. And the people present could tell there was bad blood between President Sinclair and President Cole now.

No one knew when it had started or how serious it was. They couldn’t have known. Nor did they care. What they knew for sure was that if President Cole turned down President Sinclair’s toast, the latter was going to have a very hard time in the coming future.

Was Nathaniel standing up for Leila? Sean wondered, but why?

Sean just couldn’t understand what Nathaniel had seen in Leila. She had no skills—except making good food during the past four years she was with him. Or perhaps, they were sleeping together?

Sean couldn’t resist showing displeasure when this thought struck him. Nathaniel might not accept his toast, but Sean still had to finish his drink. So he emptied the glass in one gulp.

Then came the end of the dinner, and Nathaniel took leave before everyone else did. So did Leila.

By this moment, Sean had gotten slightly drunk. He was leaning against his chair, scrolling through his phone contacts, and made a call. "Hey, Sarah."

Leila’s heart stung a little as she heard the name. She hung up and got Sarah’s number from her assistant Chloe, and sent a message to Sarah.

When Leila finished the call, Nathaniel told her that she could go home now—she was off duty at this hour. Then he drove away.

Leila stood alone in the cold night air, waiting for Sarah to arrive. She watched as Sarah rushed in to carry Sean out into the car, and followed up.

The car window rolled down gradually. It was Sarah’s intention to allow the cool air to sober Sean up, while showing Leila how her husband was leaning against her shoulder at this moment.

At that moment, Sean let out a murmur, "Leila, honey."

Sarah froze. She knew exactly what Sean was thinking. As the car drove away, Leila started to walk forward, hands in her pockets, adjusting the strap of her bag. A taxi came, and she raised her hand—but it just passed her by.

Soon after, a low-profile Pullman glided up from behind and came to a stop by her side. As the window went down, Nathaniel’s perfect face appeared right before her.

"Get in," he said flatly.