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

Chapter 66: Chapter 66: I Kind of Miss You

Leah Sinclair didn’t tell Asher Keating she was returning with Chester Hale. Cupping her hand over the phone, she whispered, ”Going back tomorrow would be too slow. If I rush back today, I can take my grandma to the hospital earlier tomorrow. Asher, have you had too much to drink?”

”No, I just finished dinner. I have to go with them to a club later,” Asher Keating said slowly, lighting a cigarette.

”Then don’t drink too much. Is there anyone to take drinks for you?” Leah asked, a little worried. Sean Yates didn’t drink, and she didn’t know how many people Asher had brought this time.

”You’re worried about how much I can drink?”

”No, I’m just worried it’ll upset your stomach if you drink too much.”

”It’s fine. I’ve got a few guys who can hold their liquor.”

”Well, still, drink less. Fix yourself some honey water before you go to sleep.”

”Okay. I’m hanging up now. Be safe.”

A smile touched Asher Keating’s lips. For every business trip he took, Leah Sinclair would prepare honey for him. If it was inconvenient to pack, she would remind Sean Yates to buy it upon arrival. Knowing he didn’t like things too sweet, she would even specifically instruct Sean to make the honey water weaker.

”Okay, Asher. Bye.”

After she hung up, a few minutes of silence filled the car before Chester Hale finally spoke. ”You and Third Master Keating... are things still the same between you?”

”...Mhm,” Leah murmured, her head bowed.

”Have you never thought about really being together?”

”You have a funny sense of humor, Dr. Hale. You yourself said before that he and I aren’t a good match. The gap between our social statuses is just too wide. But... I suppose this counts as being together, in a way. It’s nice enough,” Leah replied with a faint laugh.

Silence fell over the car.

「」

”Asher, are you okay?”

Asher Keating had just finished his cigarette. When he heard her voice, he frowned, a flicker of impatience crossing his face.

”I was worried you might have had too much to drink, so I felt I had to come out and check on you,” Madeline Sterling said with a smile, walking over while lifting the hem of her dress.

”I’m fine.” Asher Keating extinguished his cigarette and started walking back.

Asher Keating was here this time to negotiate a partnership for one of his other companies. The potential partner was a brand they had been pursuing for a long time.

Although his main focus was now on the Aevon Group, with his other companies managed by his father and people he trusted, a partnership this important still required him to show up in person.

Only after arriving did he learn that the brand had just signed an endorsement deal with Madeline Sterling. Madeline had been around for the past few days as well, and once the brand’s representatives found out they knew each other, they dropped their standoffish attitude.

In truth, the brand had decided to partner with Asher Keating from the very beginning. But the client is always king, so they had to put on a bit of a show. Madeline Sterling had also seized the opportunity and shadowed him for two days. The brand had even arranged a group outing for the upcoming weekend.

「」

A traffic jam from an accident on the highway delayed them for a while. By the time Leah Sinclair reached Stonecreek, it was already the wee hours of the morning. Chester Hale’s room had been booked in advance. Leah had originally told him to just drop her off anywhere, saying she’d find a motel to crash for the night.

But Chester Hale didn’t feel right about it, so he took her directly to the hotel where he was staying and booked her a room. Although Stonecreek was a small place, the facilities at this hotel were surprisingly nice. Leah insisted on transferring the money to Chester, and he couldn’t refuse her insistence, so he eventually accepted.

After washing up, Leah was ready for bed. She had already been getting sleepy in the car but had felt bad about nodding off and leaving Chester to drive alone, so she’d forced herself to stay awake. As a result, now that she was lying in bed, she couldn’t fall asleep.

She had gotten used to sleeping with Asher Keating. In the past, she would occasionally suffer from insomnia when he was away on business. It wasn’t so bad at home, but here in this unfamiliar place, she wasn’t the least bit sleepy.

After tossing and turning for over half an hour, she finally gave in, pulled out her phone, and hesitantly sent a message to Asher Keating: ”Asher, I kind of miss you.”

The moment she sent it, she regretted it. ’Asher is probably asleep by now.’ She quickly unsent the message.

But then, a video call from Asher Keating came through. Leah was stunned for a moment before quickly answering. On the other end, Asher seemed to have just gotten out of the shower. His hair was still damp, and he was wearing a bathrobe without his glasses, revealing a portion of his chest. ”Why aren’t you asleep yet? You didn’t just arrive, did you?”

Seeing him like that made Leah blush. ”I got here a while ago, I just can’t sleep. Go dry your hair, or you’ll catch a cold.”

Asher laughed on the other end of the call and tossed his phone onto the bed. Leah heard him walk into the bathroom, and a moment later, it sounded like the phone had been placed on a desk.

Asher casually rubbed his hair with a towel. ”So you miss me when you can’t sleep? At this hour... what exactly do you miss about me?”

”...I unsent it,” Leah mumbled, thinking he hadn’t seen it.

”I saw it before you did. I’m asking you, what do you miss about me?” Asher ignored her deliberate attempt to change the subject and steered the conversation back.

”...All of you,” Leah said, wanting to throw her phone across the room.

Asher’s deep voice, laced with amusement, came through the phone. ”When I get back, we’ll see exactly how you’ve been missing me.”

”...”

’Leah really wished Zion Sawyer could hear this. The man she considered the epitome of a stoic heartthrob... what on earth was he saying right now?’

”Are you staying in a hotel?” Asher asked, glancing at Leah’s surroundings. It didn’t look like she was at home.

”Yeah, it got too late, and there were no rides back home. I’ll head back first thing in the morning.”

Leah lay on her stomach, looking at her phone. Chatting with Asher for a while, she actually started to feel a wave of drowsiness come over her.

”Then get some sleep.”

Asher lit a cigarette, his lips curving into a smile as he glanced at the already-dozing Leah on his screen.

”I’ll go to sleep after you finish your cigarette,” she murmured.

She said as much, but before Asher could even finish his cigarette, she was fast asleep. She was truly exhausted. The drowsiness that had eluded her earlier now washed over her completely. She had propped her phone against the pillow, and it remained there as she drifted off.

When he heard the silence on her end, Asher glanced at his phone and happened to see the side of her sleeping face. Black strands of her hair were scattered across the white pillow. Her eyelashes were long and dense, her nose high-bridged with a delicate tip. She seemed to have blossomed since he first met her a few months ago.

The initial immaturity was gone, replaced by an allure that was more captivating than a young girl’s, yet purer than a mature woman’s. And he, Asher Keating, was the one who had brought about this change. He watched her quietly for a long while before it suddenly hit him: he really liked this side of her.

”Goodnight, my Leah.”

Asher extinguished his cigarette, his lips curved into a gentle smile as he spoke softly. Then he ended the video call. He had also had a fair bit to drink that day. He stood up, finished his honey water, and went to bed.

「」

Leah Sinclair woke up early the next morning. She got up and sent a message to Chester Hale about picking up her grandmother. As she stepped outside with her suitcase, Leah felt she was underdressed. The temperature in Stonecreek had suddenly dropped. Her breath fogged in the cold air, and she couldn’t help but wrap her coat tighter around herself.

Ever since college, Leah rarely returned home except for the New Year. She had to work during winter and summer breaks to earn her tuition. It had been almost half a year since she last came back to take Grandma Sinclair to see a doctor in Riverfall.

Watching the scenery outside the window grow increasingly familiar, the local bus carried Leah back to the small town where she had lived for over twenty years.

Once she arrived in town, Leah called another car. Over half an hour later, she stood staring at the familiar yet strangely distant sight of her home’s entrance. She took a deep breath and pushed open the weather-beaten iron gate.