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

Chapter 33: Chapter 33: Wrap It All Up

”I don’t know when you’ll lose interest in me. Before you do, can you... can you at least let me like you with a little dignity?” Leah Sinclair finally choked out the words.

Asher Keating was stunned. He hadn’t expected Leah Sinclair to be so direct. The girl before him had red-rimmed eyes. She was clearly in a lot of pain, yet she stubbornly refused to cry, just looking at him as she confessed she liked him. His grip involuntarily loosened.

Plenty of girls liked him. ”Like,” ”love”—Asher Keating had been hearing those words since his school days, and he was sick of them.

He had long since stopped taking such words to heart. But he never expected that this girl’s confession could actually make a small part of him soften.

Seeing him let go of her, Leah Sinclair knew her words were sudden, but she forced herself to finish what she had to say. With things like this, you had to do it in one go, or your courage would falter.

If she didn’t finish today, she was afraid she’d never have the courage to say it again. ”I’ll work hard. I’ll pay off the money before you lose interest in me. You... you don’t have to worry about me clinging to you. I won’t. When it’s time for me to go, I’ll go.”

Asher Keating sat down and lit another cigarette. ”’Work hard’? How?”

”...I haven’t figured that out yet.” Leah Sinclair had been inspired yesterday—she wondered if she could continue doing part-time jobs, like getting paid to play sports with people or something, but she didn’t dare say it.

Asher Keating took out his phone and transferred the money back to her. ”I’d rather sleep with you than have you pay me back. We can take our time. As for this money, save what you need to, spend what you want to. And the necklace was your birthday present.”

Leah Sinclair stared blankly. ”What do you mean?”

Asher Keating stood up and chuckled. ”It means I’m giving you permission to want something more. As for paying me back, I’d much rather you just sleep with me.”

Leah Sinclair still couldn’t process it. Asher Keating couldn’t resist pinching her cheek. ”Stop thinking about how much money for one night. Isn’t it exhausting? Aside from the times you’re... unavailable, six months. That’s not too much to ask, right? During that time, don’t get hung up on all this with me. My patience is limited. After six months... we’ll talk then.”

’Honestly, this wasn’t a bad deal for me at all; it was even quite generous. I wouldn’t have so much psychological pressure anymore. But I still want to pay Asher Keating back. If I don’t, it will never sit right with me.’

’But I know we can’t discuss this any further right now. If I press the issue, what Asher Keating does next will probably be more than just pinching my chin.’

’I can only silently resolve to keep saving money. After six months, I’ll pay back whatever I can, and I’ll slowly pay off the rest later. This is about not wanting to be in his debt. It’s a separate issue from whether I’m willing to sleep with him.’

”Okay.”

Seeing that Leah Sinclair agreed, Asher Keating didn’t say any more on the matter. ”What are you doing this afternoon?”

”I want to go buy a few outfits.”

Yesterday, while picking through her wardrobe, Leah Sinclair had already decided she needed to buy clothes. After all, she had a job now. It wouldn’t be appropriate to keep wearing her old things. She needed to buy a few decent outfits.

Asher Keating thought about his afternoon schedule. It seemed he didn’t have anything planned. ”Let’s go. I’ll go with you.”

Leah Sinclair was dumbfounded. ”You’ll go shopping with me?”

”Can’t I?”

Asher Keating had never gone shopping with a woman before. He never had to go shopping for his own things. But he was bored with nothing to do, so he might as well go with her.

”No, no.” It was just that Leah Sinclair couldn’t possibly associate Asher Keating with the act of shopping.

”Then stop wasting time. I’m going to change.” With that, Asher Keating went back to his room to change clothes.

Leah Sinclair dazedly cleaned up the dishes. From that moment until she changed her clothes and got into the car with Asher Keating, everything felt surreal. And after they arrived at the mall, it became even more surreal.

Asher Keating was dressed in what was obviously an expensive outfit, which, combined with his natural aura, made her feel like a little handmaiden trailing beside him.

No matter which store they entered, the sales staff’s first look always seemed to ask if they’d walked into the wrong place and should be in the men’s section instead.

Once they realized she was the one shopping, before she could even glance at a price tag, the sales associates would start recommending all sorts of high-end clothes. She was terrified that Asher Keating would wave his hand and say something like, ”Aside from this one and that one, wrap up the rest.”

Finally, Leah Sinclair couldn’t take it anymore. She pulled him out of the store and asked in a low voice, ”Asher, why don’t you go sit somewhere for a while?”

As they spoke, a young woman nearby was eyeing Asher Keating. Forget just nearby; ever since they’d entered the mall, Leah felt like Asher Keating was a walking spotlight, constantly attracting people’s gazes. But he acted as if he didn’t notice, his expression impassive.

”Not buying anything?”

’Asher Keating didn’t get why she had been to several stores without buying a single thing. Didn’t she come here to buy clothes? Why did she just glance around in each store and then leave? Is shopping with women always this much trouble?’

”No, it’s mainly because you’re here that I can’t buy any clothes.”

”Why?”

”Haven’t you noticed? Every store we go into, people look at you like you’re about to buy out the entire place!” Leah was utterly exasperated.

”Have they?” Asher Keating frowned, trying to recall.

Just then, Asher Keating’s phone rang. He took it out and saw it was the old Mr. Keating. He stepped aside to take the call and returned shortly after. ”I have to go back to the old family house,” he told Leah. ”You can shop by yourself. I... might be back late tonight. Don’t wait up for me if it gets too late.”

Leah Sinclair couldn’t wait for him to leave, so she nodded eagerly and even walked him to the elevator. Asher Keating looked at her, a bit speechless at her behavior. ”You can’t wait for me to leave, can you?”

”No, no, of course not. It’s just that your family matters are more important.” Leah fawned, sucking up to him.

When the elevator arrived, Asher Keating pinched her cheek. ”I’m off. Take care of yourself.”

”Okay, okay. Bye, Asher.”

As the elevator doors closed, Asher Keating’s expression turned cold. The old Mr. Keating had called to say that Madeline Sterling and Morgan Sterling were visiting and had told him to come home for dinner. He sneered inwardly. ’I’d like to see what the Sterling Family is scheming this time.’

After seeing Asher Keating off, Leah Sinclair breathed a sigh of relief. She didn’t go back to the stores they had visited earlier. She wasn’t in a hurry anyway, so she just browsed slowly.

She now had over a hundred thousand at her disposal, but she still didn’t dare enter a store that was too expensive. In the end, after comparing prices and styles, she bought two outfits.

She checked the time and saw it was still early, so she bought a milk tea and continued to wander around while drinking it, thinking about whether they needed anything at home. Her browsing eventually led her to the men’s section, where she saw shirts in a PARDA store.

Leah Sinclair was immediately reminded of the shirt Asher Keating had thrown in the trash last night. She remembered it was also this brand—a brand she knew could be described in one word: expensive.

And yet, a shirt that expensive had been tossed into the trash by Asher Keating without a second thought.