The Night I Left, He Turned Grey

Sean Sinclair remembered that Leila Jennings was a bit of a neat freak. She couldn’t stand any mess at home; the slightest bit of clutter and she’d immediately tidy up.

But Leila hadn’t been home in days.

The house was a mess.

"Leila, when are you coming back? The house needs you."

"Sean Sinclair, you’re not short on cash. Hiring a maid won’t require you to buy gold and jewelry, and it certainly won’t empty your wallet."

Sean Sinclair’s heart leaped into his throat, and his breathing became shallow.

"What do you mean?"

Leila knew he felt guilty. She blinked calmly. "The literal meaning. What else could it mean?"

Sean Sinclair said softly, "No."

"’No’ what?" ’You didn’t buy jewelry for Sarah Lynch?’

Sean Sinclair felt his guilt surge under her clear gaze.

"When I said the house needs you, I didn’t mean as a maid. I want you to come back. This is your home. What’s this about you always staying at someone else’s place?"

Sean Sinclair’s words reminded her.

’With this bonus money, I should buy an apartment right away.’

"I know," Leila replied. Just as she took out her phone, Sean Sinclair’s eyes fixed on her again.

"When did you get a new phone? Where’s the old one?" Sean Sinclair frowned, a vague sense of unease creeping up on him again.

’Leila has new friends.’

’Leila is starting to care about her appearance.’

’Leila is starting to stay out.’

’Leila even got a new phone...’

"The old one was broken for a while," Leila said, her voice faltering slightly. "It was long overdue for a replacement."

Sean Sinclair’s voice softened. "Why didn’t you tell me?"

"Do I need to report to you when I get a new phone?" Leila looked at him, confused.

Sean Sinclair shook his head. "No, I meant you should have told me, and I would have gotten you a new one."

"Oh, no need. I can get one myself."

"Where did you get the money?"

Leila almost laughed in anger. "President Sinclair, four thousand a month is still money. It can’t compare to your tens of millions a year, of course."

"Leila, do you have to speak to me in this tone?" Sean Sinclair began to explain the night’s events. "I didn’t know it was a big family dinner. If I had known, I would have brought you."

"So who did you think you were having dinner with?" Leila seized on the hole in his story. "You came here to have a nice dinner with Sarah Lynch."

Sean Sinclair was suddenly unable to refute it.

"The company is bidding on a project recently, and Sarah helped me out a bit. I promised to have dinner with her. It’s perfectly normal." He watched Leila nervously, afraid she wouldn’t believe him.

To his surprise, Leila seemed to believe him. She even asked, "Then you just left her to go back alone? That’s no way to treat a benefactor."

"I told you I was waiting for you downstairs."

Leila’s expression changed. ’He’d make the woman he loves go home alone just to wait for me? Unbelievable.’

’That’s not like Sean Sinclair.’

’He’s just feeling guilty.’

"If you’re going to drive me back, you’d better hurry. Don’t you need to go and appease Ms. Lynch? What if she stops helping you with the project? I’ll be quitting my job to stay home, and you’ll have to give me ten thousand a month. Plus those classes, and things for the baby later on—it all costs money."

Sean Sinclair’s heart suddenly calmed at the future she described.

’Looks like Leila isn’t suspicious.’

’Leila trusts me.’

’And she hasn’t forgotten about quitting her job to prepare for pregnancy and be a full-time housewife.’

Leila saw the tension in Sean Sinclair’s expression relax, and a cold smile tugged at the corner of her mouth.

"She won’t be needed much for the rest of it. Otherwise, it might affect her future." Sean Sinclair closed the car door, moved to the driver’s seat, and as he fastened his seatbelt, a thought suddenly struck him.

"You’re Nathaniel Cole’s secretary now. Have you heard what projects The Cole Group is bidding on lately?"

Leila’s hand paused.

’Don’t tell me Sean Sinclair wants me to steal The Cole Group’s project secrets.’

"Yes, a proprietary chip project with the research institute at University A."

"You’ve seen it?" A glint flashed in Sean Sinclair’s eyes. "You’re quitting anyway. If you can, could you take a look at their bid proposal? Just a few key details would be enough."

’I knew it,’ Leila thought.

’Sean Sinclair is worried about Sarah Lynch’s future, but he doesn’t care that I could go to jail for stealing corporate secrets.’

"I’m not involved, so I don’t have access."

"Nathaniel Cole didn’t involve you? I thought he valued you. He even promoted you to secretary in the same month you’re resigning." The thought of this made Sean Sinclair’s anger simmer.

Before starting the car, he warned, "Leila Jennings, don’t you dare do anything to betray me. Otherwise, Stellaxis Technologies will stop donating to the orphanage where you grew up."

Leila met his gaze, neither servile nor overbearing. "Stellaxis Technologies’ donations to the orphanage are for your company’s public image. It’s a way to expand brand awareness."

"We can just donate to other orphanages. Without me all these years, that place would have gone under long ago with just the pittance you make each month." Sean Sinclair raised his voice, trying to make her face reality.

Leila turned to look out the window, ignoring him.

Sean Sinclair, however, was irked by her bright green dress. "Don’t wear clothes of this color anymore."

"Green is an unlucky color."

’To a dirty mind, everything looks dirty,’ Leila thought.

After dropping her off at The Thorne Residence, Sean Sinclair brought it up again. "Find a way to scout out the contents of The Cole Group’s bid proposal, especially the key data. You majored in this in college, so you should know what’s important."

...

「The Cole Estate.」

Ms. Neville had just gotten out of the car when she saw her husband standing debonairly at the door, his gaze full of reproach.

Mr. Cole’s voice was a bit heavy. "Ms. Neville, you went to support a friend’s new restaurant opening without taking your own husband. What’s the matter? Am I too embarrassing to be seen in public?"

Cherry Cole saw things were about to get hairy and prepared to sneak away.

"Cherry," her mother called out, stopping her. "Call your brother and tell him to come home tonight. I have something to ask him."

"Okay, Mom! Bye, Mom! Bye, Dad!" Cherry Cole made a quick escape, gone in a flash.

Once back in her room, she called her dear brother.

"Bro, Mom wants you to come home tonight. She has something to ask you."

"What is it?"

"How should I know? It’s not like I’m a mind reader. I’m just her sweet, precious daughter."

Nathaniel Cole grunted in acknowledgment, then asked, "Where did you all take Leila Jennings?"

"Bro, why are you so concerned about big sister Leila?" Cherry Cole teased him deliberately.

In response, the person on the other end hung up.

"Hmph. Men."

Cherry Cole ran off to tinker with her bionic robot, just waiting for the right smart chip to be invented.

「10:00 p.m.」

Nathaniel Cole returned to the estate. His parents were sitting on the sofa, staring intently at him.

He took off his coat and sat down across from them.

"What are you two interrogating me about today?"

"What have you been up to lately?" Ms. Neville pushed a glass of warm water, which she had just poured, toward him.

Nathaniel Cole wet his throat and said, "Preparing to bid on the proprietary chip project."

"I’m asking about your personal life." Ms. Neville shot him a sidelong glance. "What are your intentions toward Leila Jennings?"

Nathaniel Cole stiffened slightly and denied it. "No intentions."

Mr. Cole looked at his wife. "That proves he has intentions. Father and son think alike."

Nathaniel Cole: "..."

’What a great dad,’ he thought sarcastically.

"I know." Ms. Neville then asked her son, "Then do you know that Leila Jennings is Sean Sinclair’s wife?"

Mr. Cole’s eyes shot wide open. "So you’ve been refusing all those blind dates because you’re into someone else’s wife?"

"This is not okay." Mr. Cole’s expression darkened. "Anything else is fine, but you can’t go around stealing other men’s wives."

Nathaniel Cole took out his phone. "Dad, say that again."

Mr. Cole repeated himself.

Realizing something, Ms. Neville smacked her husband.

At the same time, Nathaniel Cole’s voice rang out, "It’d be her second marriage. No objections to that, right?"

Ms. Neville put her hand to her forehead. "..."

’I knew it.’

She looked at her son and asked, gently but seriously, "Nathaniel, Mom is going to ask you one more time. What, exactly, are your intentions toward Leila Jennings?"