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

Chapter 95: Chapter 95: The Last Time

After opening the door, Asher Keating looked at Leah Sinclair, who had instantly cocooned herself in the blankets. He asked with some amusement, ”Awake?”

Huddled under the covers, Leah Sinclair froze solid at the sound of his voice. ’Why does that sound like Asher Keating’s voice? Am I... hearing things?’

She slowly lowered the blanket, revealing a pair of dazed eyes. When she saw Asher Keating leaning against the doorway in a bathrobe, a cup in hand and a playful look on his face as he watched her, she felt like her brain had stopped working. It simply wouldn’t turn.

Asher Keating walked over and handed her the cup. ”Honey water.”

Leah Sinclair dazedly took the honey water and took a large gulp. Her throat felt a little better. She moved her lips, wanting to speak, but she didn’t know what to say.

”What, has it been so long you don’t recognize me?” Asher Keating’s lips curled into a smile as he watched her expression. ’This dazed look of hers is just too cute.’

”I... You, Asher... How are you... here? And how did I get here?” It took a long time for Leah Sinclair’s brain to process enough to ask the question.

Asher Keating took the cup from her hand, placed it on the table, and leaned against the edge to look at her. ”You drank too much last night. You called me, crying your eyes out, saying you missed me, so I came to pick you up.”

Leah Sinclair choked. Normally, she might not have, but given her state last night, she couldn’t be sure she hadn’t actually done something like that. As she looked at Asher Keating, her eyes slowly began to redden.

’How could I be so pathetic? I had clearly decided not to bother him anymore. How could I lose control like that? Just because I had a few drinks, I used it as an excuse to pester him, even though he doesn’t want me anymore.’

”I’m sorry. I... I drank too much yesterday. I probably... probably lost control. I’ll leave now.”

Leah Sinclair’s voice was a bit hoarse. After speaking, she quickly got out from the other side of the bed. She couldn’t see her clothes and figured they were probably in the living room. She kept her head down, not daring to look at Asher Keating, wanting only to get out of there as fast as possible.

Just as she reached the door, Asher Keating wrapped his arms around her from behind. ”Are you an idiot?”

Tears nearly fell from Leah Sinclair’s eyes. She didn’t dare move, biting her lip hard. As if he knew she would bite her lip and say nothing, Asher Keating turned her around and kissed her. For a moment, Leah Sinclair was stunned. But she missed him, so, so much. She couldn’t stop herself from wrapping her arms around him and responding.

Asher Keating lifted her up and set her on the table. With trembling hands, Leah Sinclair reached for his bathrobe. ’One last time. Just let this be the last time.’

But Asher Keating let her go and simply watched her in silence. Leah Sinclair’s face flushed red, then slowly drained of all color.

’She remembered now. Asher Keating didn’t want her anymore. So what did her actions just now make her in his eyes? A woman who throws herself at men?’

Leah Sinclair wanted to laugh, but her tears fell before a smile could form. ”I’m sorry, Asher. I... I don’t want to pester you.”

Asher Keating pinched her chin, forcing her to look up. Leah Sinclair was forced to meet his gaze, but her vision was blurred by tears. She couldn’t see him clearly. Asher leaned in and gently kissed her tears away, one by one. ”You believe everything I say, don’t you? You trust me that much?”

”You’ve never lied to me,” Leah Sinclair answered in a low, hoarse voice.

Asher Keating hugged her and sighed. ”That day, when I said we should end this relationship... I was trying to ask you if you wanted to be in a real relationship with me.”

Leah Sinclair froze, forgetting to cry. She pushed Asher Keating away and stared at him in disbelief. ”What did you say?”

”I said, I’m asking you: do you want to be in a relationship with me?”

’Is my brain broken?’ Leah Sinclair wondered. ’Asher Keating says he wants to be in a relationship with me. I’m not dreaming, am I?’

’No, that’s not right. He clearly said he was going to sleep with other people. How did that suddenly turn into wanting a relationship with me? Didn’t he only want to sleep with me?’

Asher Keating watched her expression flicker through a storm of emotions, then gave her cheek a sharp pinch. ”I was originally planning to wait six months to bring it up, so you wouldn’t be so awkwardly fixated on paying me back. But then that whole incident happened, so I figured I’d just ask you directly. Except before I could even finish my sentence, you handed me a card. What was that? Were you settling the bill for my services?”

Leah Sinclair was completely stunned. She said frantically, ”I... I didn’t! That’s not what I meant.”

”It looked like it to me. Ethan Shaw and the others also thought you were paying me for my services, telling me to get lost after you paid up.” The thought of it made Asher Keating fume. Since when did he need a woman to pay him?

”I really didn’t! I thought... I thought because of what happened, you didn’t want any trouble, so you said you wanted to end things and didn’t want me anymore. I... I was just thinking I had to pay you back. That’s not what I meant at all,” Leah Sinclair explained anxiously, grabbing his hand.

”In your heart, is Asher Keating the kind of man who throws a woman under the bus when trouble comes?” Asher Keating shot her a cool glance.

”No! I... That’s not what I meant, I...”

Leah Sinclair felt like she must have fried her brain with alcohol last night. Why else did everything she say feel wrong? She was anxious and a little hurt, but she couldn’t seem to explain herself clearly.

Asher Keating cupped her chin, making her look at him. ”Why are you so obsessed with paying me back? Did you really keep a notebook to track every time you slept with me?”

”I didn’t! I really didn’t! I wanted to sleep with you. It had nothing to do with paying back the money.”

Leah Sinclair explained, her face flushing. This, at least, she could explain clearly. She had never kept a notebook for something like that.

”Leah Sinclair, answer me now. Do you want to be in a relationship? With me.”

Leah Sinclair felt a little flustered under Asher Keating’s gaze. His eyes were deep and profound. He just watched her quietly, like a bottomless pool drawing her in, making her feel as if she were drowning, unable to pull herself free. She could only feel her heart beginning to pound uncontrollably, faster and faster.

But it all felt so unreal. Yet, when Asher Keating pinched her cheek earlier, it had hurt. So was this a dream, or was it real?

Asher Keating watched as her face went from pale to flushed, her eyes, still misty with tears, gazing at him wetly without a word.

A sense of irritation began to build within him. ’This girl isn’t going to say no, is she? After all this, if she still says no, I’ll really have to kill her.’

”So? Are we dating or not?”

”I... Yes! Yes, I’ll date you!”

Leah Sinclair threw her arms around Asher Keating, with no time for further hesitation. Although her emotions felt as wild as a roller coaster ride right now, the joy in her heart far outweighed any lingering pain.

Asher Keating broke into a smile, the coldness in his eyes melting into infinite warmth. He pulled her in and gave her a fierce kiss.

”But, Asher, can you promise me one thing...?”

Asher Keating was in a great mood now. He gently pinched her cheek. ”Go on, what is it?”

”The money... my debt. Please don’t refuse it. Can you let me pay it all back? It might take a long time, but... please don’t say no.”

Leah Sinclair asked nervously. Regardless of whether they were dating or not, whether she was being kept or not, this debt had always been weighing on her mind.