The Night I Left, He Turned Grey

Nathaniel Cole looked down at Leila Jennings. "Are you all right?"

Leila Jennings shook her head.

She had just regained her footing when Sean Sinclair pulled her over again, making her stumble to his side.

Watching her stumble again, Nathaniel Cole instinctively reached out.

"President Cole, Leila Jennings is already married. She’s my wife." Sean Sinclair wrapped an arm around Leila, staking his claim.

Nathaniel Cole noticed Leila’s dirty feet and frowned. He said to Sean, "Since President Sinclair knows she’s your wife, why are you treating her like an object, dragging her around like this?"

Only then did Sean Sinclair notice Leila’s feet. Her heel was bleeding, her foot was covered in who-knows-what, and the floor was cold.

He asked, "Where are your shoes? Wait, I’ll have my assistant buy you a pair. If you can’t wear high heels, then don’t. Trying to be something you’re not doesn’t do you any good—you just end up hurting yourself and making a fool of yourself."

Anger flared in Leila’s heart at Sean’s demeaning words.

"You don’t need to worry about it, President Sinclair."

"Leila, must you use that tone with me? Are you acting this way because you have someone backing you up?" Sean Sinclair shot a hostile glance at Nathaniel Cole.

Leila said, "Don’t drag other people into this. It has nothing to do with President Cole."

Sean Sinclair demanded, "Then what gives you the right to attend a cocktail party with Nathaniel Cole!"

Nathaniel Cole chuckled lightly. "Is there a problem with a secretary accompanying her boss to a cocktail party?"

Leila looked over in surprise. Nathaniel Cole hadn’t denied it.

"Instead of trying to assign blame here, President Sinclair, perhaps you should think about how you’re going to explain this to your date." Nathaniel Cole shifted slightly to the side.

Sarah Lynch was standing nearby, her eyes red.

Sean Sinclair immediately let go of Leila’s hand and frowned. ’Nathaniel Cole really is a vicious bastard,’ he cursed inwardly.

He deliberately brought Leila to the party just to ruin his reputation.

Lantech had always been crushing Stellaxis, and now Nathaniel Cole was trying to crush him, too.

Sean Sinclair wouldn’t fall for it. He took a deep breath. "If President Cole can bring his secretary as his date, then of course I can bring a friend as mine."

"Leila, you know Sarah and I are just friends."

Nathaniel Cole watched with great interest, curious to see how Leila would respond.

Leila forced a smile. "I know."

Hearing this from a distance, the corners of Sarah Lynch’s eyes grew even redder. But not wanting Sean to think she was being unreasonable, she forced a small smile and turned to leave.

Sean Sinclair instinctively started to go after her, but he didn’t feel comfortable leaving Leila alone with Nathaniel Cole.

He was suddenly panic-stricken.

Just then, Sean Sinclair’s phone buzzed. He looked at it and saw a message from Sarah Lynch saying she wasn’t feeling well and was heading home so as not to disturb him and Leila.

"President Cole, if you’ll excuse us." Sean Sinclair pulled Leila away. Once they were a safe distance from Nathaniel Cole, he let go of her hand and instructed, "Wait here for me. I have something urgent to take care of. I’ll be back for you."

Leila nodded. "Okay."

Sean had only taken two steps before he turned back. "What did you mean by what you said outside earlier? I didn’t ask in front of an outsider, but did you misunderstand something?"

Leila knew which sentence he was talking about. She shook her head. "I forget what I said. I was angry, you were dragging me out, my foot hurt... I just spoke without thinking."

Sean looked at her, half-believing, half-doubting.

"Don’t speak so carelessly in the future."

"I know."

She said her foot hurt. He only noticed that she’d spoken out of turn.

Leila watched him stride away in the same direction Sarah Lynch had just gone.

The moment his figure disappeared from sight, a cold laugh sounded from right beside her.

A pair of white flats was dropped in front of her.

Leila looked up.

Nathaniel Cole was like a ghost she couldn’t shake.

’Did he plant a tracker on me or something? How else could his mockery arrive so quickly?’ she wondered.

"Put them on." Nathaniel Cole stood beside her, his gaze directed elsewhere.

Leila looked at the clean shoes, then down at her own dirty feet. She was about to rummage through her purse for a tissue, but her small clutch only contained her phone.

THUD.

A pack of tissues landed on her lap.

THUD.

A pair of socks landed on the shoes.

THUD.

A box of adhesive bandages dropped in front of her.

’Is this man a walking general store?’ Leila looked up, curious.

With one hand in his pocket, Nathaniel Cole slowly walked away. After a few steps, he paused, turning his head slightly. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Leila bending over to wipe her feet, and after cleaning them, putting on the socks.

As she put on the sock, it brushed against the cut on her heel. Only then did she remember she hadn’t put on a bandage, so she took the sock off again.

"So stupid," Nathaniel Cole muttered under his breath.

...

After sending the message to Sean, Sarah Lynch stood waiting near the entrance. She only turned around when she saw him looking for her.

From the back, she looked utterly devastated.

"Sarah." Sean pushed through the crowd, striding towards her.

The area was crowded, and the handsome man and beautiful woman quickly attracted everyone’s attention.

Sean grabbed her wrist.

Sarah Lynch pulled her hand away, saying with red eyes, "Don’t do that. It wouldn’t be good if Leila saw."

"She’s way back there, far from here," Sean said.

’This was not at all the answer I wanted to hear. I wanted him to say that Leila didn’t matter, that I was the most important one.’

"If you were going to bring Leila to the party, you should have told me. I could have found my own date instead of just waiting around miserably for you." Sarah Lynch deliberately tried to provoke him.

As expected, Sean blurted out, "You can’t do that."

"And why not?" Sarah Lynch said, feeling utterly wronged.

After a moment of silence, Sean said, "I’d be jealous."

Sarah Lynch was overjoyed inside, but she wore a sad expression. "But I get jealous of you and Leila, too."

"You’ve misunderstood. Leila didn’t come with me," Sean explained. "She came with Nathaniel Cole."

Just the mention of it made him angry.

His expression instantly turned cold.

Sarah Lynch was taken aback for a moment, then said in surprise, "President Cole brought her to the party? Then are they...?"

Sean frowned.

"There’s nothing going on between them."

That sentence sounded more like he was trying to convince himself.

’How could someone like Nathaniel Cole possibly be interested in Leila?’ Sarah Lynch thought, shocked.

’The Cole Family, a family I wouldn’t dare dream of getting close to in my entire life... and that worthless hick Leila has managed to latch onto them?’

’If Leila actually gets with Nathaniel Cole, wouldn’t that make her so much better than me?’

’No, no, no. The Cole Family would never accept someone like Leila, and neither would Nathaniel Cole. At most, he’s just interested for a little while, toying with her in secret.’

The thought made Sarah Lynch feel a little better.

"Sean, can you come outside with me for some fresh air? We can come back later, okay?" She reached out and hooked her fingers around his.

Sean led her outside.

Once they found a slightly darker spot, Sarah Lynch deliberately fell into his arms, tilted her head back, and started kissing him.

First his neck, then his chin.

And finally, his lips.

The kisses made Sean’s scalp tingle and his breathing grow heavy. He reached out and gave her a slight push.

"Sarah, be careful. Someone might see us."

"They won’t, Sean. I miss you. I miss you so much. Can you just hold me? We hadn’t seen each other for so many years, and even after I came back, you kept your distance. We finally got together after so much trouble. I want you to be closer to me, just a little closer."

Sarah Lynch was an expert at seduction.

She teased him until his mind was reeling, and in the end, he couldn’t hold back.

The two of them ignited with explosive passion in the corner.

But they had no idea that someone was secretly recording them.