The Night I Left, He Turned Grey

Especially that slender figure. Sarah Lynch wracked her brain. She had definitely seen it somewhere before.

But to everyone else, Sarah Lynch’s thoughtful expression looked like she was staring intently and maliciously at Leila Jennings.

Alarm bells went off in Professor Cheney’s head. He shot Chloe a look, and Chloe shifted to stand in front of Leila Jennings, mostly obscuring her from view.

Leila Jennings instinctively lowered her gaze.

Her view suddenly blocked, Sarah Lynch started to step forward, but her grandfather grabbed her arm.

Mr. Jacobs’ face was grim.

’What on earth do you think you’re doing?!’

’Haven’t you caused enough trouble?’

"Come with me," Mr. Jacobs said, pulling her away.

Professor Cheney breathed a sigh of relief. "Take care, Mr. Jacobs."

Chloe bowed slightly as well, watching the grandfather and granddaughter retreat into the distance. She let out a heavy breath and patted her chest.

"That scared me to death! I felt like Ms. Lynch was about to come over and rip off Leila’s mask and pull her hair. Leila’s the Chief Engineer! How could she be so brazen?"

"It’s what happens when someone has seen more than the average person, but still not enough." Professor Cheney sighed. "Ms. Lynch was something of a child prodigy. She was always by Mr. Jacobs’ side, met plenty of important people, and naturally, caused her fair share of trouble. But everyone saw she was just a child, and Mr. Jacobs’ granddaughter, so no one ever reprimanded her."

"What about when she grew up?" Chloe pressed. "Surely no one was still spoiling her then?"

"I remember Mr. Jacobs stopped taking her to any events once she started high school."

"Why?"

"Because at the high school he sent her to, most of the students were smarter than her. Mr. Jacobs became much stricter with her, but her college entrance exam scores were... awkward. Mr. Jacobs could only let her pick her school, not her major."

The best program for a certain major isn’t always at a top-tier university, and top-tier universities have mediocre programs, too.

"Things quieted down for a while after that. Then Mr. Jacobs arranged for her to go to grad school and study abroad. Once she was back on the path he’d paved for her, she became fearless and reckless again." As he spoke, Professor Cheney shook his head, then turned to Leila Jennings. "How are you doing?"

Leila Jennings shook her head. "I’m fine."

But she suspected Sarah Lynch might recognize her.

’Sarah Lynch had seen her dressed up at the cocktail party and at Eden. It must have left an impression that there was more to her than just a drab, dusty appearance—that she had another side.’

That was what Leila Jennings was worried about.

Professor Cheney reassured her. "It’s only a few more days. Even if she does figure it out, there’s nothing she can do. I’ll put in a word with Mr. Jacobs. He understands the importance of this matter and will keep an eye on her."

Leila Jennings nodded. "Thank you, Professor Cheney."

The three of them walked on together.

Professor Cheney asked, "How are you settling in over there? You’ve already resigned from The Cole Group, right?"

"I’m settling in just fine. I was actually at my farewell dinner tonight when I got the alert and rushed over." Leila Jennings glanced at Chloe and decided not to hide it from her. She went on to mention the divorce. "And my divorce papers came through."

Professor Cheney nodded.

Chloe froze on the spot, stammering, "Di-di-di... divorce papers!"

"Leila, you and your husband got a divorce?" Ever since she’d been assigned as Leila Jennings’ assistant, Chloe had known she was married. She also knew how much Leila cherished the marriage; her expression would always soften when she mentioned her husband, and she never seemed to mind the work of cooking and doing laundry.

In her three years with Leila, Chloe had never seen her take a proper rest. She balanced her work and family life incredibly well.

Leila was so thin, she even had low blood sugar sometimes. 𝐟𝕣𝗲𝕖𝕨𝗲𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝗲𝚕.𝗰𝚘𝐦

And now, so suddenly, a divorce.

Chloe didn’t ask why they divorced. She just threw her arms around Leila and hugged her tight.

It was more of a stranglehold, actually. Leila Jennings’ arms were pinned to her sides, unable to move.

"Leila, you can finally stop working yourself to the bone!" Chloe was so emotional she was on the verge of tears.

Leila Jennings gave a helpless little smile. "You’re hugging a bit too tight."

"Oh, right." Chloe immediately let go. As the three of them neared the entrance, they saw Mr. Jacobs shoving Sarah Lynch into a car in the distance.

As she got in, Sarah Lynch glanced back one more time at Leila Jennings.

"Stop looking, do you hear me?" Mr. Jacobs was at his wit’s end with his granddaughter. He decided he would have to take her home and watch her himself.

Sarah Lynch explained, "I just want to know what she looks like. She’s always covering herself up so much. Is she really ugly or something?"

"Whether she’s ugly or not is none of your business."

SLAM! The car door shut.

Mr. Jacobs glared at her. "Don’t you get any more bright ideas. If this happens again, even I won’t be able to protect you. Don’t ruin the reputation I’ve spent years building."

"Grandpa!" Sarah Lynch looked furious. "Grandpa, do you think I’m embarrassing you?"

Mr. Jacobs stared straight ahead, his face cold, and didn’t answer.

This only made Sarah Lynch angrier.

’How could Grandpa think of me like that?’

Back at the Jacobs’ home, Sarah Lynch stormed upstairs to her room without even taking off her shoes.

The servants at the Jacobs residence knew at a glance that the grandfather and granddaughter had been fighting. They didn’t dare to breathe a word.

In the entire Jacobs household, only Ms. Lynch dared to throw a tantrum at the old master.

After all, she was the one he had spoiled himself. No matter how angry he got, it would never go too far.

Mr. Jacobs said, "Watch Sarah closely this week. Don’t let her leave the house."

The servant was taken aback.

Was she being grounded?

Mr. Jacobs repeated, "Watch her closely."

This time, the old master was truly angry.

Upon learning that her grandfather had forbidden her from going out, Sarah Lynch slammed her door shut and immediately called Sean Sinclair.

The call only connected on her third try.

"Sean, why did it take you so long to answer?"

"I’m still at the office."

"But it’s so late." Sarah Lynch sounded slightly surprised, then concerned. "Why are you still working overtime? Didn’t you say everything was ready?"

"I need to go over it one more time. This bid is very important to me." This was the biggest project Sean Sinclair had faced since taking his position, and he had to be meticulous to ensure there wasn’t a single mistake.

"Sean, it’s my fault. I couldn’t give you more help. My grandfather already scolded me over this and grounded me." Sarah Lynch’s voice was full of grievance.

Sean Sinclair replied, "Sarah, you really shouldn’t have revealed so much to me. You could have gotten yourself into trouble."

"Are you blaming me, too?" Sarah Lynch was faintly annoyed. "I only did it for you."

Sean Sinclair frowned slightly and explained, "I’m just worried you’ll get into trouble. Look, I have to get back to work. I’ll talk to you after I’m done with this."

Sean Sinclair hung up the phone and set it aside. He raised a hand to pinch the bridge of his nose, leaning his head back slightly, a look of exhaustion on his face.

In truth, he wasn’t just busy with the bid.

He was also competing for the patent held by Elder Shepherd. Everything needed to be fast-tracked and settled before the end of the year. That way, when he went to Forrester for the year-end meeting, his results for the year would look even more impressive.

Sean Sinclair reached for his water glass, but the water inside had long gone cold. His assistant and secretary had already gone home for the day, leaving him alone in the vast office.

’If only I were home.’

Leila Jennings always noticed when he was tired. She would bring him a cup of hot water or get out the neck and shoulder massager for him.

Sean Sinclair suddenly remembered. He hadn’t been home much last month, and Leila Jennings, thinking he was busy with overtime, had told him to bring the massager to the office.

He began rummaging through his cabinets and drawers, searching for it.

Finally, in the bottom drawer of his desk, he found the neck and shoulder massager, still in its original packaging.

It was the kind you wear around your neck.

It was a gift from Leila Jennings.

Holding the massager, Sean Sinclair found himself starting to miss all the good things about Leila Jennings.

He sent a message to Leila Jennings.

[Honey, are you asleep?]

She was probably asleep. Leila Jennings didn’t reply.

He sent another message, this time to his assistant.

[Have you picked out the car? Buy it, then sign her up for driving school. That way she won’t guess ahead of time.]

The assistant sent him a few selected models, all cars in the 200,000 to 300,000 price range.

He called his assistant directly. "Why didn’t you pick better ones?"

The assistant on the other end of the line was clearly taken aback. After a moment’s pause, he asked, "President Sinclair, didn’t you say your wife wouldn’t have any use for a nice car?"