I'm Afraid I Won't Be Able to Leave

Chapter 21: Chapter 21: I’m Short on Money

Her performance that night was an improvement over the last two times. At least when Asher Keating told her to kiss him, she didn’t just clumsily gnaw on his lips, though she still nearly bit through them.

Asher Keating had business the next day, so he didn’t actually keep her up all night. Afterward, he was the one who carried her to clean up, because Leah Sinclair’s legs were too weak to stand.

The bed was huge. After Asher Keating carried her back to it, she hesitated. The past few times, she had already been asleep, so she didn’t know how they had slept.

This was the first time she was so wide awake. Worried that Asher Keating might not like her getting too close, she curled up on one side of the bed. He was still in the shower.

She was exhausted but forced herself to stay awake. ’After all, this is officially the first night of being kept by him. I have to be a little more professional. My benefactor hasn’t come to bed yet; it wouldn’t be right for me to fall asleep.’

When Asher Keating came out, he saw her blinking her big eyes, huddled far away. He clicked his tongue, then scooped her over and pulled her into his arms.

Seeing that he didn’t seem to mind, Leah Sinclair lay there quietly. Listening to the steady rhythm of Asher Keating’s heartbeat made her even drowsier.

”I’ll be busy for the next two weeks. You just be good and stay put. Text me if you need anything, call if it’s urgent,” Asher Keating said after a moment.

”Okay.”

Leah Sinclair snuggled against his chest like a kitten. Her hair brushed lightly against his neck, tickling him, and he felt another stir of desire.

But the woman in his arms was already breathing steadily. He silently suppressed the urge. ’Forget it. I won’t torment her anymore.’

The next morning, Leah Sinclair’s alarm went off. She was groggy for a second before realizing she was in Asher Keating’s arms. She quickly turned off the alarm and tiptoed out of bed to wash up. Her legs still felt a bit weak as she stood up.

Asher Keating had also woken up slightly, but he was too lazy to move. He heard some rustling sounds but didn’t open his eyes.

After washing up, Leah Sinclair sat at the table and used her phone’s flashlight to write something down. She then placed the note under Asher Keating’s phone. Her eyes had adjusted to the dark room, and in the dim light, she wasn’t sure why, but she leaned over and gave him a light kiss on the lips.

Asher Keating had sensed her lingering by the bedside for a moment and was about to open his eyes. He was caught completely off guard by the kiss and didn’t quite know how to react.

After the kiss, Leah Sinclair felt like she must have lost her mind. After a moment of shock, she quickly fled. Once outside the door, she cursed herself for her sudden lapse in judgment. ’Thank goodness Asher didn’t wake up.’

Lying in bed, Asher Keating let out a silent smile. He got up and pulled open the curtains. The weather was nice today, and he felt his mood was just as good. He lit a cigarette before picking up the note.

”Asher, I’m off to work. There’s porridge in the pot and buns steaming. There are some side dishes too, so please make do. Just leave your clothes; I’ll wash them when I get back.”

Her handwriting was quite lovely—elegant with a hint of sharpness. Asher Keating smiled as he finished reading. After his cigarette, he went to wash up. A glance in the mirror revealed a few scratch marks on his back from where Leah Sinclair had clawed at him in her passion last night. They didn’t hurt.

He was reminded of how she had pitifully cried out his name from beneath him last night. She seemed like a kitten, but Asher knew that deep down, she was definitely no cat. Perhaps she was a little tigress who had yet to reveal her claws.

For the next two weeks, Leah Sinclair was busy studying under Mr. Langdon or visiting construction sites with her colleagues. She hadn’t seen Asher Keating for nearly that entire time.

Just as he’d said, he was very busy. Leah Sinclair had no reason to contact him, and he never texted her either. Between her busy job and coming home to review documents or browse her phone, she actually found her days quite fulfilling.

That Friday, it was almost 7 p.m. when Leah Sinclair got home. As she was wondering what to eat, there was a sudden knock on the door. Leah Sinclair peeked through the peephole and was surprised to see Chester Hale.

The two hadn’t seen each other since their last encounter at her door. But Chester Hale was a doctor with irregular hours. Besides, she didn’t really want to run into him anyway. ’It’s just too awkward.’

Leah Sinclair hesitated for a moment before opening the door. ”Dr. Hale, what are you doing here?”

Chester Hale held up the cake in his hand. ”I remember your grandmother mentioning that today is your birthday—the same as mine. My mom bought me a cake, but I can’t finish it. If it’s convenient, would you like to have some together?”

Leah Sinclair’s birthdate was written on a note left in her swaddling clothes when she was abandoned, which was how Grandma Sinclair remembered it. Her grandmother had called her at noon to remind her to eat birthday noodles.

Leah Sinclair had agreed but got busy in the afternoon and forgot. Hearing him now, she quickly invited him in. ”Thank you, Dr. Hale. Please, come in. Have you had dinner? Should I make some birthday noodles?”

Chester Hale entered, and Leah Sinclair got him a pair of slippers. He placed the cake on the living room coffee table. ”No need for noodles, I’ve already eaten dinner. If you haven’t, you should eat first.”

”I’m not very hungry either.”

After pouring him a glass of water, Leah Sinclair sat down on the sofa. An awkward silence fell between them.

Finally, it was Chester Hale who broke the silence. ”Leah Sinclair, about last time... I want to apologize. I was a bit presumptuous.”

”No, Dr. Hale, please don’t say that,” Leah Sinclair said quickly. She knew Chester Hale meant no harm; he had taken good care of Grandma Sinclair at the hospital.

”But I still have to say it—you shouldn’t be doing this,” Chester Hale said, leaning back on the sofa and lighting a cigarette.

”Do you even know who the owner of this apartment is?”

Asher Keating happened to see the surveillance footage right as that sentence was spoken. This apartment of his was a smart home, fully equipped with surveillance cameras.

If a stranger entered the apartment, the system would automatically display the camera feed. He had only remembered this feature a few days ago when the feed suddenly popped up while he was reviewing documents on his computer, showing Leah Sinclair just getting home from work.

He had thought about disabling the feature but somehow never got around to it. Instead, he just added Leah Sinclair’s face to the whitelist so the feed wouldn’t pop up automatically whenever she was in the camera’s view.

A few times, when she crossed his mind, he would pull up the feed to see what she was doing. Leah Sinclair’s schedule was very regular. After coming home from work, she would just review documents, watch TV, or browse her phone. It was all very monotonous.

Today, Chester Hale’s arrival had automatically triggered the system. Asher had just finished a meeting and returned to his office, contemplating whether to go to Leah Sinclair’s place that night.

He hadn’t seen her in two weeks, and now this surveillance feed popped up. He frowned, lit a cigarette, and sat down in front of his computer.

Leah Sinclair was silent for a long moment before she finally spoke. ”Does that matter?”

”You don’t even know who he is or what his status is, yet you dare to be with him?”

Chester Hale frowned. He hadn’t wanted to meddle in Leah Sinclair’s affairs, but when he got the cake today, he remembered a conversation he’d had with Grandma Sinclair while visiting her in the hospital. She had mentioned Leah Sinclair’s birthday and that it was, surprisingly, the same as his.

He had noticed that the man hadn’t been around lately, and Leah Sinclair was all alone in the city. So he thought he would ask if she wanted to have some cake together to celebrate her birthday.

But seeing Leah Sinclair now, he couldn’t stop himself from trying to say something. She was still young, after all, and highly educated.

She was in the prime of her life and could have a bright future. She shouldn’t be involved with a man who was all wrong for her in such a dubious arrangement.

”Because I need the money,” Leah Sinclair said bluntly.

”Dr. Hale, I’m sure you’ve already guessed. That’s right. I’m being kept by him.”