The Night I Left, He Turned Grey

"No." Leila Jennings placed her phone face down on the table. "It’s my first time as a secretary, so if there’s anything I’m not doing well, President Cole will point it out."

Sean Sinclair felt that Leila Jennings was defending Nathaniel Cole, but President Cole was famously aloof and harsh.

"You were never suited for working, anyway. You’re a better fit at home," Sean Sinclair said. "Miss Cole also said your cooking is delicious."

Cherry Cole’s head snapped toward him, her gaze turning grim. "President Sinclair, you’re an expert at taking things out of context. I said Leila’s cooking is delicious, and you twist it into me wanting her to stay home and cook. The way you misrepresent things, I wouldn’t be surprised if Stellaxis Technologies goes bankrupt one day."

The siblings were equally harsh, and he couldn’t afford to offend either of them. Sean Sinclair forced a smile. "You’ve misunderstood, Miss Cole."

"You’re the one who misunderstood me first." Cherry Cole turned to ask Leila, "Are you really leaving?"

Sean Sinclair looked at Leila Jennings.

Leila Jennings nodded. "Yeah. In a little over half a month."

Sean Sinclair smiled and placed a piece of fish in her bowl.

Leila Jennings looked down at it.

’Disgusting.’

Leila Jennings glanced at the red wine in Cherry Cole’s stemmed glass. Knowing her friend’s low tolerance, she advised, "Go easy on that."

Cherry Cole just giggled. "It’s fine."

Then she asked, "How come there aren’t any dishes here that you like?"

Leila Jennings paused, surprised. "How do you know what I like to eat?"

"Spicy food, of course." Cherry Cole leaned close to her ear. "My brother told me."

Sean Sinclair and Spencer Shelby only heard the first part.

Spencer Shelby explained, "Sean’s stomach is a bit sensitive, so he always eats fairly bland food."

Sean Sinclair nodded. "That’s right."

"’That’s right’?" Cherry Cole sneered. "For your sake, Leila doesn’t even cook the flavors she likes, and you have the audacity to say ’that’s right’ as if it’s perfectly normal."

Furious, she chugged two large gulps of red wine.

After those two gulps, her face flushed, and her eyes glazed over.

Spencer Shelby looked on in surprise. "Miss Cole is that much of a lightweight?"

Leila Jennings nodded worriedly and scooted closer. Soon enough, Cherry Cole was resting her head on Leila’s shoulder, both hands clutching her arm tightly.

"Leila, you’re staying with me tonight."

"I don’t care! You’re staying with me tonight!" All Cherry Cole could think about was whisking Leila away and sleeping while hugging her sweet-smelling friend. The very idea made her break into a silly grin.

Leila Jennings seized the opportunity. "Cherry’s drunk. I’ll take her home. You guys carry on."

Sean Sinclair got up as well. "Call the Cole family’s driver to come get her."

Cherry Cole mumbled groggily, "Phone... dead... Don’t let Mommy and Daddy know. They don’t let me drink... Shhh."

She pressed a finger to her lips. No longer clutching Leila with both hands, she lost her balance and nearly tumbled out of her chair.

Leila Jennings quickly steadied her. "Okay, I’ll take you to your apartment. I won’t tell them."

"Thank you, Leila." At that moment, Cherry Cole was like a sweet, obedient little kid. Leila was suddenly reminded of the clingy children at the orphanage she visited, and a gentle smile softened her features.

Her smile momentarily captivated Sean Sinclair.

’If Leila had our child, would she become this gentle?’ he wondered.

Still, he didn’t want Leila to be the one to take Cherry Cole home. 𝘧𝑟𝑒𝑒𝘸𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝓁.𝘤𝘰𝓂

Sean Sinclair said, "We can call President Cole to get her."

Leila Jennings: "He’s not in City A."

Sean Sinclair’s gaze darkened. "How do you know?"

Leila Jennings was exasperated. "My job is to manage his schedule."

Only then did it dawn on Sean Sinclair.

Spencer Shelby’s eyes darted between the two of them. He felt Sean Sinclair was overreacting to anything involving Leila and her boss.

Sean Sinclair changed his approach. "We’ll take her together."

Leila was surprised and glanced at Spencer Shelby, as if to say, ’Your friend is still here, you know.’

Spencer Shelby said, "It’s no problem, Leila. I’m not drunk, I can call for a driver to take me home."

"I don’t want him taking us home," Cherry Cole slurred, glaring at Sean Sinclair. "One man taking two women home... people will get the wrong idea. I’m afraid that Lynch woman will come looking for trouble. Not that she’d dare do anything in front of me, but it’s not good for people to think we have anything to do with him."

Sean Sinclair, who was usually gentle and polite, felt his expression harden. "Miss Cole, Leila is my wife. We most certainly have a relationship."

"Tch." Cherry Cole gave him a look that clearly said, ’I’m not listening. What are you going to do about it?’

And it was true; no one there could do a thing to her.

Leila Jennings helped Cherry Cole to her feet and said to Sean Sinclair, "I’ll take her home. You guys go on and eat."

"Come back soon. I’ll wait for you at home," Sean Sinclair said, getting up to open the door for her.

Leila Jennings pretended not to hear him.

’She didn’t believe he would actually wait for her, anyway.’

Spencer Shelby didn’t believe it either. The moment the door closed, he couldn’t help but ask, "Sean, you’re not actually starting to have feelings for her, are you?"

Sean Sinclair looked up.

"You get upset when you hear about her and her boss, you publicly acknowledge her as your wife, and now you’re saying you’ll wait for her to come home." Spencer Shelby listed the points one by one. "Sarah Lynch has been back for a while now. You’ve given her countless expensive gifts, but you’ve never considered divorcing your wife to marry her. Is it really just because Leila takes such good care of the house?"

The fingers of Sean Sinclair’s lowered hand curled slightly.

"I married her. I have a responsibility toward her."

"Just responsibility?" Having had a few drinks, Spencer Shelby couldn’t stop a scornful laugh from escaping. "So, Sean, are you really going to wait up tonight?"

"She barely ate." Sean Sinclair’s gaze fell on Leila Jennings’s bowl and chopsticks. Half a bowl of rice remained, along with the piece of fish he had given her.

’Every other time he’d put food in her bowl, Leila would eat it right away, leaving nothing behind.’

’This time, that thoughtless Miss Cole had eaten plenty of every dish but hadn’t given Leila a chance to eat properly.’

「In the car.」

The driver had been waiting for some time. "Miss, Miss Jennings."

Cherry Cole pushed Leila inside, scrambled in after her, and yelled to the driver, "Quick, quick, go, go, go!"

She was a little drunk, but not that drunk.

Once the car was a safe distance away, Cherry Cole flopped back against the seat, turning to fish for compliments. "So? Didn’t I tell you to leave it to me? I said I’d handle it, right?"

Leila Jennings smiled. "Thank you."

"Don’t mention it. It’s just a shame we couldn’t finish the food you made. But I tried a bit of everything, so it’s not a complete loss," Cherry Cole said, rubbing her stomach. "I noticed you didn’t eat much. I’ll have a late-night snack delivered to my place."

Leila looked at her. "You can still eat?"

"I can have a little. The main thing is for you to eat more. I’m going to order you something extra spicy." Cherry Cole fumbled with her phone, repeatedly tapping the wrong thing before handing it to Leila.

Just then, a message popped up from a contact named "The Crown Prince."

[You traded my treasured wine for a meal cooked by Leila Jennings?]

It seemed "The Crown Prince" was Nathaniel Cole.

After placing the order, Leila handed the phone back. "A message from President Cole just popped up. Looks like he’s mad you took his wine."

"Let him be mad. He has a whole wall of vintage wines. I just took his wine, it’s not like I took his wife," Cherry Cole said, taking the phone back nonchalantly.

Another message popped up on the phone.

The Crown Prince: [She got the worse end of that deal.]

Cherry Cole’s hand trembled. ’Looked at it that way, it seemed she really had messed with her brother’s future wife...’