The Night I Left, He Turned Grey

The file contained records of every sum of money Sean Sinclair had spent on Sarah Lynch during their marriage.

Never mind the three million per month for research funding. In the month and a half since Sarah Lynch had returned to the country alone, every expenditure was a large sum in the hundreds of thousands or even millions.

’Sean Sinclair is truly lavish,’ Leila Jennings thought.

In their four years of marriage, forget the money he’d spent on her; the single largest expense Sean Sinclair ever made for their little family was just the marital home.

He would even skimp on himself, but he would never skimp when it came to Sarah Lynch, his Lover.

How devoted.

Leila Jennings’s fingers trembled slightly as she placed the file back in the box. "Thank you, President Cole," she said solemnly.

Nathaniel Cole took a sip of water, his expression cool. "That’s only a portion of it. The Cole Group’s businesses aren’t everywhere, but it’s enough."

He added pointedly, "Keep it safe."

Having dirt on Sean Sinclair was the only way to avoid fearing his eventual retaliation.

It would come in handy someday.

"I will," Leila Jennings said.

Dinner was served dish by dish, each one a signature of Eden.

And a bottle of white wine.

As the waiter poured wine for Leila Jennings, Nathaniel Cole casually reminded him, "Not too much."

President Cole’s special assistant and secretaries could all hold their liquor—except for Leila Jennings.

Leila Jennings wasn’t a one-drink lightweight, but two drinks would definitely do her in.

Nathaniel Cole had seen Leila Jennings drunk before: red eyes, a red nose, looking so fragile she might break at the slightest touch.

He couldn’t bear it.

Just as everyone was raising their glasses.

Leila Jennings’s phone vibrated. After taking a small sip, she picked up her phone and glanced at it.

Mr. Duncan: [Miss Leila Jennings, I looked into it. The divorce certificate is authentic.]

In that instant, a strange feeling washed over her. It wasn’t pain; she was long past that.

Ever since she learned of Sean Sinclair’s deep affection for his Lover, her heart felt as though it had been squeezed and kneaded in a fist, then battered and soaked by relentless waves, only to be fished out, shriveled and wrinkled.

The good and the bad from her four years of marriage to Sean Sinclair were like fine grains of sand, hiding in those folds, rolling around in her sodden heart and scraping against it every so often.

The divorce was a spark she had sought for herself. Today, that spark was truly, tangibly baking her sodden heart.

But it was still wrinkled.

But at least the divorce certificate had swept away those grains of sand. She would no longer be scraped raw by them from time to time.

’I should be happy!’

A single, crystalline tear escaped from Leila Jennings’s eye, tracing a path down her flushed cheek.

Caine and Gwen’s heads buzzed. They hadn’t even gotten to the part of the night for drunken confessions, so why was Jennings already crying!

’Is she that sad to leave us?’

The two of them scrambled, one pulling tissues, the other handing them over. Half the box of tissues was gone in an instant.

Caine said, "Jennings, we’re just not going to be colleagues anymore. It’s not like we’ll never see each other again!"

Gwen added, "That’s right! We all live in City A. It’ll be easy to meet up!"

Caine said, "In fact, it might even be more relaxing to hang out when we’re not colleagues anymore."

Gwen nodded furiously. "Exactly!"

Leila Jennings looked at the tissues being offered to her, layered on top of each other like an irregular white cloud.

In reality, she just couldn’t help shedding a couple of tears as a final tribute to her four-year marriage.

But faced with their concern, Leila Jennings couldn’t help her eyes from turning red again, yet the corners of her lips curled into a smile.

’Her marriage to Sean Sinclair was well and truly over.’

Among the people at the table, only Nathaniel Cole knew why Leila Jennings was crying and smiling at the same time.

He had caught a glimpse.

Leila Jennings and Sean Sinclair’s divorce was finalized.

An authentic one.

The corner of Nathaniel Cole’s lip curled up slightly, and he drained the white wine in his glass.

’President Cole can actually smile at a time like this?’ Caine thought. ’No wonder he can’t retain his staff.’

Zachary kept his eyes lowered, his expression neutral. There was only one thing that would make Miss Jennings sad but make President Cole happy.

"President Cole." He first poured the man some wine, then raised his own glass, his eyes practically shouting, ’Congratulations!’

Nathaniel Cole picked up his glass, lightly clinked it against Zachary’s, and again drained it in one go.

He was clearly in high spirits.

Leila Jennings only took one tissue to dab the wetness at the corner of her eyes, placing the rest neatly on the table.

"I’m just emotional."

Gwen looked at her curiously, and the others waited for her to continue.

Leila Jennings said, "About not having to go to work."

For Caine and Gwen, who still had to go to work tomorrow, that was a fatal blow.

"Jennings, you’re so cruel," Gwen said, wiping her face and pretending to cry.

Caine consoled her, "Gwen, you have to stop thinking of yourself as a person."

"Right, we’re beasts of burden." This time, Gwen was really on the verge of tears.

Nathaniel Cole swept his gaze over them, and Caine and Gwen immediately looked away. ’How did we forget for a second that we’re having dinner with the boss?!’

Leila Jennings stood up. "I’d like to propose a toast to everyone. Thank you for taking care of me this past month."

She took a sip of wine.

Then, she toasted Nathaniel Cole separately. "President Cole, I don’t know how I can ever thank you..."

"It’s not hard." Nathaniel Cole looked up at her, a faint glint in his deep eyes. "Just remember to repay it, Jennings."

Leila Jennings blinked.

"Of course, President Cole."

"Mm." Nathaniel Cole nodded and took another sip of his wine.

His alcohol tolerance had always been good, but looking at Leila Jennings’s face, flushed from the heat and the wine, his mind started to feel fuzzy.

Watching Leila Jennings purse her lips as she ate her dinner in small, polite bites, he felt a flicker of distraction.

Nathaniel Cole picked up his phone and sent two words to his strategist: [She’s divorced.]

Strategist: [Find out more about how she and Sean Sinclair got together back then, and do the opposite. She’s already had his type, and the filling was rotten. She’ll have her guard up.]

Strategist: [But I’m warning you, don’t threaten her, and don’t start strong and then fizzle out.]

Nathaniel Cole typed with one hand: [Got it.]

As the dinner party was winding down, Caine and Gwen went to the restroom together.

Nathaniel Cole leaned back in his chair, propping his head up with one hand. His eyes were narrowed slightly, giving him the appearance of being drunk, as he shot a glance at Zachary from the corner of his eye.

Zachary understood.

"Miss Jennings, I’m afraid I’ll have to trouble you to take President Cole home. I need to get Gwen and Caine home."

Of everyone present, Leila Jennings had drunk the least. Her face was a little red, and her head was slightly dizzy, but she had no trouble walking or talking.

"President Cole, are you drunk?"

People who are drunk usually say they’re not.

Nathaniel Cole: "Not drunk."

Leila Jennings nodded. "Definitely drunk."

Zachary: "..."

’So gullible.’

Leila Jennings declared, "He’s a lightweight."

Nathaniel Cole: "..."

’Who’s the real lightweight here?’

"Weren’t you just saying you wanted to thank President Cole, Miss Jennings? And it’s on your way. We’d appreciate it." Zachary stood up to leave, swiftly grabbing Caine’s and Gwen’s bags and gifts. He intercepted the two women at the door, and they all left first.

Nathaniel Cole stood up.

Leila Jennings also got up. "President Cole, I’ll take you home."

...

「The Research Institute.」

Sarah Lynch had just gotten past the facial recognition scan when she was suddenly stopped by a security guard.

"Ms. Lynch, we need to perform a routine inspection."

Sarah Lynch was taken aback. "What do you mean?"

She had never been subjected to a routine inspection before.

"It’s a critical period right now. These are orders from above. Please cooperate, Ms. Lynch."

Sarah Lynch was speechless. She went through a full-body security check, her purse was opened and searched beside her, and all her electronic devices were taken out.

’Did they think this would be enough to stop me?’

’How naive.’