The Night I Left, He Turned Grey

When Leila saw Sean and Sarah, she froze and instinctively took a step back, putting distance between them—as if trying to stay away from something shameful.

Sean didn’t know he had already signed the divorce papers, and no one else knew about it either. So in their eyes, she was still his wife.

Caine greeted them with a bright smile. "Good afternoon, President Sinclair, and this must be... Mrs. Sinclair?"

Sarah shot Leila a look of open provocation when the title was placed on her.

"She’s not," Sean said, his eyes fixed on Leila.

Sarah’s smile faltered for a split second before she added, "Sean and I are just friends."

Caine and Gwen were used to presidents having secret lovers—they’d seen plenty of that. The two just smiled and pretended not to notice anything.

Leila, however, felt a chill spreading through her from head to toe.

"Hey, Leila." Sean suddenly called out her name.

Sarah offered Leila a smile. "Leila, why are you acting like you don’t know Sean and me? Don’t get the wrong idea. We’re just shopping together."

So, a huge apartment and shopping here? Sean had promised to take her here, but that promise was never kept—and now it had been transferred to someone else. Leila thought bitterly.

Well, where there was love, there was money.

Caine and Gwen were taken aback. "Leila, you know President Sinclair personally?"

Leila looked at Sean and replied coldly, "Yes."

She didn’t expose their relationship, and somehow that made Sean’s chest tighten—though he should have been glad she finally knew how to protect his reputation.

Sarah didn’t know Caine and Gwen worked for Nathaniel, so she said with a smile, "Are you Leila’s friends who brought her here? Leila rarely visits places like this. You shouldn’t mind if she makes a few silly mistakes."

Women understood each other best. They all knew exactly what Sarah meant by that.

Gwen’s expression flickered, and Caine took Leila’s arm as she quickly sized Sarah up and down. "Yeah, we’re friends here, shopping together. We need to be off now. Enjoy your time."

She’d wanted to snap back at Sarah, but thinking the woman was President Sinclair’s companion, she held her tongue.

They were just about to leave with Leila when Sean called out her name again and even reached for her hand.

Leila didn’t move but asked, "What is it, President Sinclair?"

Caine and Gwen noticed something was off. 𝒻𝑟𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝑛𝘰𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝘤𝘰𝘮

Gwen instantly pulled out her phone and texted: [Zachary, please help! President Sinclair seems to have taken an interest in Leila and is trying to force himself on her. We’re their competitors—we can’t be seen with anyone from their company. Please help us, Zachary!]

When Zachary saw the messages, he almost fainted. Leila and President Sinclair were husband and wife—there was nothing about her being forced. But it seemed President Cole had a different idea...

Meanwhile, back at the mall, Leila pulled her wrist free.

"What did you just call me?" Sean frowned. She’d called him everything before—honey, hubby, Sean, baby—but never President Sinclair. It felt like she was drawing a line between them.

"Please, President Sinclair," Leila repeated.

"Are you still upset about last night?" His voice softened as he noticed the red marks on her wrist. "We can talk about this when we get home, alright?"

Sean had regained his gentleness, but Leila wasn’t happy at all. She felt disgust swelling up in her throat. It was like when she was little, craving an apple she thought was a gift left for her—only to bite into it and find the core rotten. That bitter taste lingered in her mouth, and no matter how hard she tried to wash it away, the stench of rot wouldn’t leave.

"I’m at work, President Sinclair," Leila said.

Sean glanced around. "You’re at work?"

Caine nodded quickly. "Yes. President Cole assigned us to do some shopping."

Sarah caught on quickly. "You’re working for Nathaniel?"

The secretaries exchanged a glance. This woman addressed President Cole by name directly. So she knew him personally—and perhaps well?

"We’re President Cole’s secretaries, and so is Leila."

Sarah was surprised. She’d only mentioned this to her grandfather yesterday, and now it was already done?

"Congratulations on the promotion, Leila," Sarah said with a heartfelt smile. "That was fast."

Sean, however, wasn’t happy. But he couldn’t exactly whisk Leila away in front of Nathaniel’s secretaries.

"Sarah, I need to speak to Leila privately. Please go ahead."

Sarah believed she had nothing to worry about now—she had both Sean’s heart and his body. So she said with a smile, "Okay!"

After Sarah left, Sean asked politely, "Excuse me, ladies—could I have a word with Leila alone?"

The two secretaries hesitated. Something was definitely off here. But they were faced with the prestigious President Sinclair and couldn’t exactly refuse.

Leila, however, didn’t want them dragged into her personal affairs, so she told them to wait up ahead.

Once the two girls turned the corner, they whipped out their phones and kept texting Zachary. They even snapped a picture of Leila and Sean together.

Leila was grabbed by Sean, who led her all the way to the security exit. He asked, "Leila, why did you address me as President Sinclair?"

"I’m President Cole’s secretary, and I’m at work. Of course I should address you by your title. You addressed me as Miss Jennings last night at dinner too."

"So you’re upset about that?" Sean had his grip on her shoulders and bent down to explain. "Leila, it’s not that I don’t want to make our relationship public. It’s just that we can’t do that while you’re working as a secretary for the Cole Group—as my wife!"

"Just let go of me first." Leila couldn’t break free from Sean’s grip—he was much taller and stronger than she was.

Sean didn’t let go. Instead, he let out a sigh and started apologizing. "Alright, I’m sorry. But can’t you see this from my perspective? Either you have a career, or you’re a housewife—I can’t have it both ways when it comes to telling people about us. You’re not staying at home for me, and now you’re working for President Cole! Even if you’re just his secretary, so what? You know how people talk about that job. There’s that saying about secretaries being... well, you know. Anyway, you’re my wife. I won’t have you working for another man!"

Sean’s voice dripped with disdain, though there was also a hint of jealousy buried underneath. He pressed on, "That’s exactly why I told you to quit and have a child with me. You can decide how many you want, alright? I know you’ve always wanted kids—you’re just saying you don’t because you’re angry."

"Sean Sinclair." Leila said his full name, her tone ice-cold. "What made you change your mind about children? You always said you didn’t like them and didn’t want any."

"That was in the past. Things are different now."

"What changed?" Leila held his gaze, searching his face for any flicker of guilt or evasion. "Or maybe nothing changed at all. Maybe I just never knew the real reason."

Sean’s heart skipped. Had she overheard something? A knot of panic tightened in his chest.

"Honey—"

"Don’t call me that. I hate it."

Emotional betrayal was like a slow-acting poison that seeped into the bone. But physical betrayal was filth you could feel on your skin. Sean had given her both.

The thought made her stomach lurch. She turned away, scanning for a trash can.

Sean grabbed her wrist, his voice sharp. "What’s wrong with you? You weren’t home last night, and now you’re sick. Where did you go? Who were you with? What did you do?"

So that was it. He wasn’t concerned—he was deflecting, trying to pin the blame on her.