The Night I Left, He Turned Grey

"Leila, what do I have to do for you to let this go? Tell me. I’ll give you whatever you want." Sean Sinclair’s voice was as gentle as ever.

He took Leila’s hand. She tried to pull away, but he held it tightly with both of his.

"Do you remember what Dean Thatcher told you about your name? She said it was about having a hopeful future. I’m doing this for *our* future, Leila."

Leila’s ’mother’ at the orphanage was Dean Thatcher. She gave every child a beautiful name, and Leila’s was inspired by the word "future."

The dean had felt the common character for her name sounded too cold, so she chose one that meant ’ginger,’ for its warmth that could dispel the cold.

The second part of her name was chosen to evoke the tenacity of wild grass, hoping Leila would grow up with an unyielding spirit.

Dean Thatcher had told Sean all this when he accompanied Leila on a visit to the orphanage.

After Sean learned this, he had smiled and told her, "Leila, your name carries such a beautiful wish. You’re sure to have a wonderful future."

The contrast between then and now was jarring.

A suffocating feeling settled in Leila’s chest.

Sean continued to persuade her.

"Let’s just let last night go, okay? You’re fine now, thankfully, and I’ll make it up to you. Just call and withdraw the lawsuit. Then, when we get back, you can apologize to Cecilia..."

Leila’s head snapped up. 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝘦𝓌𝑒𝑏𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝘭.𝒸𝘰𝑚

She stared at Sean in utter disbelief.

Meeting Leila’s gaze, Sean pressed his lips together. He seemed to know he was asking for too much.

"Leila, this has nothing to do with Cecilia. You’re the one who needs to apologize to her. If you don’t, Mom and Dad’s opinion of you will only get worse."

"From the time we got together and then married, Mom and Dad have had their reservations. They thought your background and your job weren’t good enough. Over the years, they’ve always found some little thing to be unhappy with you about. With Cecilia getting hurt last time, and now you landing her in jail, Mom and Dad’s patience has its limits."

"We’re a family. We’ll have to deal with each other for the rest of our lives. I’m stuck in the middle, and it’s difficult for me. You need to be the one to back down so we can have some harmony in the family."

"So you’ve known all along that they were targeting me." Leila forced a bitter smile. "But you never once took my side."

"That’s not true." Sean shook his head. "I’m always singing your praises to Mom and Dad. I’ve even managed to hold them back a little."

"And I’m supposed to thank you for that?" Leila’s faint smile was like a needle in Sean’s eyes.

She wrenched her hand free.

"I want to get out."

Sean’s palm was suddenly empty, and for a moment, his heart felt empty too.

"Leila."

"I said, I want to get out," Leila repeated, her voice firm. Sean didn’t react. She banged on the door and yelled to the driver, "Stop the car!"

Sean was losing his patience.

"Leila, can you just stop this nonsense?"

As if she hadn’t heard him, Leila rolled down the window, tossed her handbag out, and tried to climb out after it.

A startled Sean quickly grabbed her around the waist.

He was frantic now.

"Leila! Do you have any idea what you’re doing?!"

Half her body was already out the window as Sean desperately tried to pull her back in.

"Are you trying to get yourself killed?"

’One must face death to find rebirth.’

Leila said, "I want you to stop the car."

"You’re using your own life to threaten me? Leila, you’re actually threatening me with your own life!" Sean was furious and frantic, but he still didn’t order the car to stop.

Following close behind, Nathaniel Cole first saw Leila’s bag fly out of the car, followed by half of her body leaning out the window.

’She’s trying to kill herself!’

Nathaniel grew anxious.

The driver looked back. "President Cole?"

Nathaniel commanded, "Force them to stop."

"Yes, sir." The driver slammed on the accelerator, the car rocketing forward to catch up with Sean’s vehicle.

They pulled up alongside them.

The window rolled down. Nathaniel looked at Leila, who was still halfway out the window, and gave her a meaningful glance.

Leila seemed to understand.

Their car surged ahead.

Just as she pulled herself back inside and sat down, her car screeched to a halt, and a loud CRASH echoed in her ears.

The Bentley and the Maybach had collided.

Both Sean and Leila were thrown forward.

Sean barely managed to brace himself, his other hand shooting out to grab Leila, just managing to keep her from flying forward completely.

Leila curled into a ball, cradling her head and doing her best to protect herself.

She wasn’t hurt.

But her head was spinning, and her ears were ringing.

"What was that?" Sean demanded of the driver, furious.

The driver looked back. "President Sinclair, someone hit us on purpose."

Sean and Leila both looked ahead.

The side of the Maybach was caved in. Nathaniel pushed the door open a crack, but it was stuck. He kicked it wide open.

He got out.

With a grim expression, he strode toward their car.

Like a god descending to earth.

Nathaniel reached Leila’s window, swiftly reached inside, and unlocked the door.

Before the still-dazed Leila could react, he leaned in and lifted her out of the car.

Sean, who was sitting right there, stared wide-eyed. A flash of panic crossed his face as he reached for Leila.

Nathaniel shifted to hold Leila with one arm and used his free hand to slam the car door shut.

Sean was still inside.

"Nathaniel Cole!" Sean yelled his full name, watching helplessly as the man carried his wife over to the grassy median and set her down.

He immediately threw his own door open to get out.

Nathaniel’s driver quickly intercepted him. "President Sinclair, I’m so sorry about hitting your car. Look, should we go through insurance, or would you prefer direct compensation?"

"Get out of my way!"

"President Sinclair, direct compensation would probably be best. Insurance is such a time-consuming process..."

The driver was clearly stalling.

After setting Leila down, Nathaniel’s expression remained tense. He snapped, "Who taught you to jump out of a moving car?!"

"I..."

"Shut up." Nathaniel didn’t give her a chance to speak, his eyes frighteningly dark.

Leila looked out at the middle of the road. The front of the Bentley was severely dented, and the side of the Maybach didn’t look much better.

"President Cole, your car is ruined."

"It’s just a car. It’s not more important than..."

Nathaniel swallowed the words before they could escape.

He looked Leila over from head to toe. Thankfully, she wasn’t hurt.

Leila stared at him, dazed. Her eyes held a trace of confusion, but mostly, they held gratitude.

"Why were you trying to jump?"

"Sean wants me to withdraw the lawsuit. And he wants me to go to the Sinclair residence and apologize to Cecilia."

Nathaniel glanced over at Sean, who was still being held up by the driver. His expression turned grim.

He turned back to Leila. "You owe me. Twice."

Then he stepped in front of her.

"President Sinclair. I trust you’re well."

Sean finally broke free and stalked over, his eyes burning with resentment. Seeing Leila hiding behind Nathaniel Cole infuriated him even more.

"Leila, get over here."

He craned his neck, trying to see past Nathaniel.

Leila took a step to move out from behind Nathaniel, but he immediately grabbed her wrist.

The man glanced down at her from the corner of his eye.

It was a look full of warning.

As if to say, ’Just try it.’

She only wanted to step forward on her own. Hiding behind Nathaniel Cole just felt wrong.

But Sean didn’t see it that way.

"President Cole, what is the meaning of this?" Sean’s gaze was sharp, confrontational. "First you ram our car, and now you’re spiriting away my wife. Are you trying to steal her from me?"

Nathaniel Cole: "And what if I am?"