The Night I Left, He Turned Grey

Nathaniel Cole didn’t answer right away.

"You see? You aren’t certain of your feelings yet," Ms. Neville said, gazing at him intently. "Son, you know about Leila Jennings’s situation, don’t you?"

"Yes." Nathaniel Cole nodded. "She and Sean Sinclair are getting a divorce."

"And what about her background?"

Nathaniel Cole looked at his mother nervously. "Growing up in an orphanage doesn’t define who she is."

"It means she was abandoned for the first time," Ms. Neville said calmly. "Her divorce from Sean Sinclair is the second."

"Mom, the word ’abandoned’ isn’t the right way to describe Leila Jennings’s marriage," Nathaniel Cole corrected.

Ms. Neville nodded, acknowledging that her choice of words had been careless. "Then it was a second trauma," she corrected herself. "Leila Jennings is someone who has been hurt twice. If you aren’t certain of your own feelings, if you can’t heal her scars, embrace all her emotions, understand her past, and commit to her future, then please, don’t be the one to hurt her a third time."

His mother’s every word struck his heart like a piercing alarm.

Nathaniel Cole’s fingers curled slightly as he lowered his gaze.

"Nathaniel, instead of thinking about a still-distant second marriage, you should first be certain of your own heart," Ms. Neville said with a gentle smile.

Mr. Cole nodded gravely. "You need to think seriously about what your mother said. Love is one of the most important things in a person’s life. A marriage must be built on love."

"Yes," Nathaniel Cole nodded.

...

「The Jacobs Estate.」

The moment Sarah Lynch stepped into the Jacobs’ home, someone rushed to inform Mr. Jacobs, "Ms. Lynch is here!"

Ms. Lynch was, after all, the one Mr. Jacobs doted on most.

Everyone in the Jacobs household was friendly and welcoming, and Sarah Lynch greeted them all in turn.

"Mr. Jacobs is in the study practicing his calligraphy. Ms. Lynch, you can just go straight in like you always do."

"Alright." Sarah Lynch entered without knocking.

Hearing the commotion, Mr. Jacobs spoke. "It’s been over ten days. What took you so long? Did your parents tie you up?"

"Of course not, Grandpa. Mom and Dad would love it if I stayed here with you every day. That way I’d bother them less. They’ve been very busy lately."

At the mention of Sarah’s parents, Mr. Jacobs showed a hint of displeasure. "They’ve been ’busy’ for so long with no results to show for it. The project they’re on has dragged on, yet they’ve barely published any papers. How are they supposed to mentor their students? You need to pick up the pace, too. The papers for the proprietary chip project need to keep coming. It’s already in the bidding phase."

"Dr. Jennings has never let me into the core lab, and I’ve barely seen any of the core data. How do you expect me to write anything?" This was the very reason Sarah Lynch had come today.

She needed to make Sean Sinclair understand that she was the only one who could truly help him.

"Grandpa, that Dr. Jennings is just too arrogant. I’ve been back for more than twenty days, and I still haven’t even met her."

Mr. Jacobs looked surprised for a moment, then his brow furrowed. "Leila Jennings still hasn’t let you into the core lab?"

"That’s right." Sarah Lynch nodded. She walked over to the desk, spread a fresh sheet of calligraphy paper for her grandfather, secured it with a paperweight, and then moved aside to grind the ink stick.

"How am I supposed to write a paper like this? Besides, everyone calls me ’Ms. Lynch, the expert,’ but since I joined the project team, they’ve never once asked for my opinion on anything."

"Dr. Jennings refuses to see me, and the others are only pleasant to my face out of respect for you, Grandpa. They never include me when they actually discuss the project. How is that any different from them deliberately ostracizing me?"

"Dr. Jennings giving me the cold shoulder is the same as disrespecting you, isn’t it? Grandpa, you have to put her in her place."

With a grim expression, Mr. Jacobs replied, "I’d like to, but when Thorne was still around, he protected her. After Thorne passed away, Professor Cheney took over. What am I supposed to do? Besides, the project can’t function without her."

Sarah Lynch pouted. "Then what about my paper?"

"I’ll go talk to her another day."

"I want to go with you." She was determined to see what this Leila Jennings looked like.

Mr. Jacobs shot her a glare. "Isn’t there enough gossip about you already? If you come with me, it will just look like we’re using our position to bully her."

Sarah Lynch was desperate to meet this Leila Jennings. At the last reception, Brian Shepherd had assumed that the Leila Jennings present was *the* Dr. Jennings, and ever since, a seed of doubt had been planted in her mind.

"Grandpa, Dr. Jennings and Elder Shepherd have met, right?"

"More than just met," Mr. Jacobs snorted. "Elder Shepherd and Thorne nearly came to blows fighting over her as a student back in the day. The student in question was Leila Jennings."

Sarah’s heart dropped. "Then has Elder Shepherd’s grandson, Brian Shepherd, met Dr. Jennings?"

"The Shepherd boy..." Mr. Jacobs pondered for a moment before shaking his head. "Impossible. Leila Jennings joined Thorne’s project seven years ago. It was a classified project even then. After Thorne passed away, it was halted for a time before being secretly restarted with Leila in charge. Her information is protected at the national level. The Shepherd kid doesn’t have the clearance to meet her."

Sarah Lynch let out a sharp breath of relief.

’So he must have been mistaken.’ 𝚏𝕣𝐞𝗲𝐰𝕖𝐛𝐧𝕠𝕧𝚎𝚕.𝐜𝚘𝗺

"Why the sudden mention of the Shepherd boy? Did you run into him at the reception?" Mr. Jacobs smiled knowingly.

Sarah Lynch quickly replied, "Grandpa, I’ve already told you there’s someone I like! And he’s been waiting for me all this time."

"I know. President Sinclair of Stellaxis Technologies. Stellaxis has seen incredible growth these past few years, and he’s even more impressive. He’s made quite a name for himself in the industry."

"Yes, Grandpa, Sean is brilliant. And he made a lot of successful investments while I was abroad." Then, remembering the events at the restaurant that evening, her mood soured.

"What’s wrong? Did you two have a fight?"

"Of course not. Sean loves me too much to argue with me. I’m just worried about my paper. Even though you’re going to talk to her for me, Grandpa, if I don’t even know Dr. Jennings, how will anyone believe I’m really part of the project team?"

Her true motive surfaced.

"So, Grandpa, can you tell me what Dr. Jennings looks like? Do you have a picture? Where is she from? Where does she live? I want to befriend her first. She just doesn’t know me. If she got to know me, she’d definitely like me. All my friends really like me."

"I know you’re very likable." Mr. Jacobs chuckled. "However, I can’t tell you anything about Leila Jennings. Her photo and family information are all encrypted. Back then, only Thorne knew, and now only Professor Cheney knows. I’m not involved in this project, so there are many things I can’t ask about. If I did, I’d be brought in for questioning."

’Looks like I won’t get anything out of Grandpa.’

Sarah Lynch sighed in resignation.

Mr. Jacobs continued, "I had to pull a lot of strings just to get you into this project. The most I can do is go put some pressure on Leila Jennings and hope she knows what’s good for her."

"Will she know what’s good for her? If she did, why would she keep hiding?"

"Thorne is gone, and she has no one backing her now. If she wants to stay on this path, she can’t afford to be a lone wolf," Mr. Jacobs said, full of confidence.

That night, before going to bed, Leila Jennings received a message from Professor Cheney, telling her to come to the research institute the next afternoon.

Sarah Lynch knew her grandfather was meeting Dr. Jennings the next afternoon, so she resolved to secretly find a spot with a view of her grandfather’s office and lie in wait.