The Night I Left, He Turned Grey

Rhea Warren told her to go to the Thorne Residence first.

An hour later, Leila Jennings arrived at the Thorne Residence. Rhea Warren and Mr. Duncan were standing at the main gate, waiting for her.

The evening wind was cold.

Leila Jennings hunched against the wind as she got out of the car and jogged over.

"Rhea, Mr. Duncan, why are you two out here? It’s freezing!"

She reached out to help Rhea inside.

Rhea Warren looked serene, patting Leila’s hand. "I’m bundled up, so I’m not cold. You, on the other hand, are dressed too lightly. The temperature really started to drop today; you need to take care."

"Okay."

"You should have told me you were getting your divorce certificate today. Butler Duncan and I would have come to pick you up in style, so the Sinclairs wouldn’t dare look down on you."

"It’s all right." Leila didn’t care about that anymore.

"So, does Sean Sinclair know?" Rhea Warren was worried Sean might retaliate against Leila; after all, they had divorced in secret.

Even though his parents were involved, Sean Sinclair wouldn’t blame them too much. He’d naturally take all his anger out on Leila.

What man could tolerate being divorced behind his back?

Leila shook her head. "No. His parents said not to tell him yet. We have to wait until he’s finished with this bidding project."

The three of them had already entered the house.

As Rhea was older and sensitive to the cold, the heat had been turned on early in the house.

As soon as they sat on the sofa, Rhea had Leila take out the divorce certificate, then passed it to Butler Duncan.

"I’ll be able to verify this quickly," Butler Duncan said, turning to make a call.

Leila was so nervous her palms were sweating.

"Have some water." Rhea Warren poured a glass for her personally, reassuring her, "Don’t worry. The Sinclairs handled the certificate; it’s definitely real."

If it had been Sean Sinclair, on the other hand, she couldn’t be so sure.

Sean Sinclair was the type to want his cake and eat it too—he’d try to keep both sides happy, unwilling to let go of either.

’As if life could be that perfect.’

"Mm," Leila nodded, but she still felt uneasy. It wasn’t that she thought the Sinclairs would trick her with a fake certificate.

After all, in their eyes, she was worthless—she couldn’t bring Sean Sinclair any glory, nor could she help him in his career.

It was just that when she had married Sean Sinclair, she had never imagined a day would come when they would divorce.

Now, the divorce certificate was right in front of her.

Leila pressed her lips together, her eyes fixed on Mr. Duncan as he walked back over with the certificate and shook his head.

Her heart leaped into her throat.

’It’s fake?’

"A certificate issued today won’t show up in the online system yet," Butler Duncan said, pausing for a moment. "Miss Leila Jennings, how about I personally take a trip to the Civil Affairs Bureau tomorrow?"

Leila’s heart settled slightly. She took the certificate and immediately searched online for how to tell if a divorce certificate was real.

She carefully inspected it from three angles: the cover, the inner pages, and the anti-counterfeit markings. Hers was real.

But she was still uneasy that it couldn’t be found in the system.

There wasn’t much time left.

The project contract would be signed next week, and her patent would be approved at the same time.

"Mr. Duncan, I can go check myself tomorrow. I don’t want to trouble you with the trip. I’ve resigned from the Cole Group, so I’m pretty free this week." Leila gave a faint smile. "Thank you, Mr. Duncan."

Butler Duncan said, "But Miss Leila Jennings, didn’t you say you were going to buy gifts for your colleagues tomorrow? Buying gifts, getting your hair and makeup done, and then going to Eden for a farewell dinner all take time. It’s better if I go."

Leila then remembered she had told Rhea and Mr. Duncan about her plans for tomorrow after she got off work.

Rhea said, "Let Butler Duncan handle checking the certificate, so you don’t have to stay so stressed. You should do something relaxing. Go shopping tomorrow, get your hair done, buy new clothes, put on some makeup, and enjoy a nice dinner with your colleagues in the evening."

Leila thought about it and nodded.

After taking a photo of the divorce certificate, she handed it back to Butler Duncan and said, "Mr. Duncan, you don’t have to go first thing in the morning. The weather is so cold, and I’m not in that much of a hurry now."

Butler Duncan smiled. "Miss Leila Jennings, you haven’t eaten dinner yet, have you?"

"I’m not hungry." Leila truly didn’t feel any hunger, likely because her mind was so preoccupied.

’Divorced.’

’She was really and truly divorced from Sean Sinclair.’

"You should eat a little something," Rhea Warren said, then looked at Butler Duncan. "Please have the kitchen make a bowl of seafood congee."

After finishing the seafood congee, Leila returned to her room to wash up. She turned off the lights and lay in bed, but sleep wouldn’t come.

Scenes from the past flashed through her mind, as did her plans for the future.

She needed to go back to the home she had shared with Sean Sinclair for four years and collect her things.

She didn’t have much, so Sean Sinclair probably wouldn’t even notice when it was gone.

’From now on, Sean Sinclair is my ex-husband.’

She had to buy gifts for Caine, Gwen, and Zachary tomorrow. Caine liked cosmetics and high heels, Gwen liked desserts and plush dolls, and Zachary...

She hadn’t paid much attention to what Zachary liked, but she’d noticed he often wore different pairs of glasses. An eyeglass chain might be a good idea.

And then there was Nathaniel Cole.

’What does Nathaniel Cole like?’

’He lacks for nothing.’

Leila had no experience giving gifts to men. Her only experience was with Sean Sinclair.

Sean Sinclair’s clothes and shoes, his ties and tie clips.

Sean Sinclair’s toothbrush and razor, his shoe polish and shoehorn.

Sean Sinclair’s umbrella, his fountain pen...

Her mind was filled with Sean Sinclair again. Leila’s eyes flew open, and she forced herself to stop thinking.

She rolled over, grabbed her phone from the nightstand, and started searching online again.

’What is a good gift for a boss?’

The etiquette was surprisingly complex. The gift couldn’t be so expensive it looked like a bribe, but it couldn’t be too cheap for a boss, either. The internet suggested a local specialty product.

’Nope.’

’I don’t have many of my hometown specialties left. If I give them away, I won’t have any for myself.’

The next suggestions were tea, cigarettes, and liquor.

Leila decided to go with that and started doing her homework on tea, cigarettes, and liquor. As she read... she fell asleep.

She slept until her internal clock woke her.

The sun was out that day.

It wasn’t cold in the sunlight. Leila spent the morning sunbathing with Rhea, then went to buy gifts in the afternoon.

A makeup set for Caine, a plush doll for Gwen, an eyeglass chain for Zachary, and finally, tea for Nathaniel Cole.

She decided against liquor and tobacco. Nathaniel Cole had a collection of spirits she couldn’t hope to buy.

As for tobacco, it was simply because she didn’t like it.

While she was buying the tea, the shopkeeper asked, "Ma’am, are you buying this for an elder?"

"My superior," Leila replied. She wasn’t used to saying ’boss,’ preferring the term ’superior.’

The clerk understood immediately and recommended a Silver Needle white tea. "This blend is particularly good for business receptions," she said.

Leila nodded and bought the Silver Needle.

Just as Leila left the shop, a new employee asked the clerk, "Hey, why did you recommend Silver Needle for a superior?"

"Didn’t you hear what I said afterward? Silver Needle is for business receptions. In the future, every time her boss serves this tea to a guest, he’ll think of her. And if he thinks of her, won’t he consider promoting her? There’s a lot of social politics involved in tea. You’d do well to learn it."

Leila was already too far away to hear them.

Passing a shop that sold insulated mugs, she remembered that her mentor and Professor Cheney both liked to use them for brewing tea in the fall and winter, so she went inside.

The clerk asked her what kind of insulated mug she was looking for and who it was for.

Leila replied, "For my superior."

The clerk nodded. ’He must be old, then,’ the clerk thought.

"This black model has a tea infuser compartment and is perfect for a superior. It’s a classic design." ’Not just for superiors,’ the clerk thought, ’old men love this kind.’

"This is the one," Leila said. "Please wrap it up for me."