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

Chapter 139: Chapter 139: Are You Really Going to Blow This Up?

Asher Keating’s pupils constricted as he watched Leah Sinclair lean down and start to kiss him. But under the combined effect of the drugs, he was growing frantic. Sensing his impatience, Leah’s hands trembled as she untied the ropes.

With his limbs free, Asher Keating could no longer control himself. He flipped over, pinning Leah Sinclair beneath him, his scorching body feeling as if it would burn her alive.

Leah Sinclair felt a sharp pain but bit down hard, refusing to cry out. She just called Asher’s name, over and over again. Hearing her repeated calls, Asher Keating’s mind began to clear, and his movements gentled.

When it was finally over, Asher Keating was panting, his head buried in the crook of Leah Sinclair’s neck. After a long while, his breathing began to even out. He propped himself up and looked down at Leah, whose face was pale beneath him. His eyes reddened slightly.

”Asher, are you feeling any better?” Leah Sinclair asked, her voice hoarse as she caressed his face.

His heart ached for her. He placed a kiss on her lips. ”You silly girl. Didn’t I tell you to wait for Chester Hale?”

”I was afraid you couldn’t hold on.”

Leah Sinclair managed a weak smile. ”It didn’t hurt that much. Don’t worry.”

Asher Keating carefully carried her to the bathroom to clean her up, inspecting her thoroughly. When Leah saw him staring down at her, her face instantly turned beet red. She tried to cover herself, but Asher held her hands away.

After checking and finding that things were better than he had feared, Asher breathed a small sigh of relief. Once she was clean, he carried her back to the bed and called Chester Hale, telling him to come over and give him a shot.

”It looks okay for now, but we should go to the hospital for a proper check-up. I’m afraid... you might be hurt internally,” Asher Keating said, kissing Leah.

Leah shifted slightly. ’It doesn’t feel that serious. I managed to prepare myself before Asher went completely wild, which eased the impact a bit. In the end, it wasn’t as terrible as Madeline Sterling made it out to be.’

She took Asher’s hand, her voice filled with regret. ”Asher, it’s all my fault. I didn’t tell you... If I had told you then, you... you would have been on your guard.”

Asher Keating silenced her with a kiss, holding it for a long moment before letting go. ”If she was determined to make a move, it wouldn’t have mattered how prepared I was. This has nothing to do with you, so don’t let your imagination run wild.”

The doorbell rang. Asher tucked her into the covers. ”You rest here. I’ll go take care of this.”

”Mm.”

Asher Keating kissed her again, threw on some clothes, picked his phone up from the floor, and left the room. The moment he was gone, tears began to stream down Leah’s face.

’The image of Asher Keating tied to the bed earlier was a deep shock to her. He was such a proud man, yet he had been tied up by Madeline Sterling like that.’

’It’s all my fault. What Asher said was just to comfort me. With his intelligence, there’s no way Madeline Sterling could have possibly succeeded if he’d been on guard.’

At the door, Chester Hale gave Asher Keating the injection. Waves of desire still washed over Asher, but having found release once, they were no longer as difficult to control.

Chester Hale put away the syringe. ”It’ll probably be a little while before you’re fully back to normal.”

”Right. Where is she?” Asher Keating pulled back his arm, exhaling deeply as he suppressed the discomfort still lingering in his body.

”Next door. The others are all in there,” Chester Hale said, packing up his medical kit and gesturing to the adjacent room.

Asher Keating’s eyes turned to ice as he walked into the room.

”Third Master!”

When Ethan Shaw and the others saw him enter, they knew he had recovered. Nearly two hours had passed. They were furious, but there was nothing they could do to Madeline Sterling. Even Nathan Grant, after an initial barrage of mockery, couldn’t be bothered with her anymore.

Madeline Sterling stood in a bathrobe with her arms crossed, wearing an expression that suggested the world owed her a massive debt. The drug was potent in men but had little effect on women, so she was largely unaffected.

Seeing Asher Keating walk in, Madeline couldn’t stop a shiver from running down her spine, but she forced a cold sneer. ”Heh, you took your time. Third Master... you really are impressive, aren’t you?”

Asher strode over to her. Without a word, he grabbed her by the neck. ”I told you, you were courting death.”

His hand slowly tightened. Madeline Sterling screamed in terror. She had never imagined Asher Keating would be so direct.

Startled, Ethan Shaw rushed forward and grabbed his arm. ”Third Master! Third Master, don’t be rash! She’s not worth it!”

But it was as if Asher couldn’t hear him. He stared at Madeline with eyes like frozen daggers. Ethan couldn’t hold him back alone. Riley Sterling rushed over to help, and only by working together could the two of them restrain Asher.

He violently shoved her away. ”Call Morgan Sterling and Thomas Sterling. Have them come and see how their precious daughter, their precious sister, goes about seducing men.”

”Third... Third Master, are you really going to blow this up?”

Ethan Shaw was still worried. As dangerous as tonight’s events had been, there had been no truly irreversible consequences.

If Asher Keating escalated this to the older generation, it would mean an official, open break with the Sterling Family. And Ethan knew that many of Asher’s plans were not yet in place.

”Do I look like I’m afraid?”

Asher Keating shot him a cold glare. Ethan’s heart seized, and he hurried off to make the call.

”Heh, Third Master Keating is right. The Sterling Family is the one losing face, not your Keating Family. What’s there to be afraid of?” Nathan Grant drawled, lighting a cigarette.

”COUGH, COUGH, cough... Th-Third Master, I was wrong! I was wrong, Third Master! I’ll never do it again! I’ll leave right now, and I promise nothing about tonight will ever get out.”

Madeline Sterling was finally panicking. Nothing had actually happened between her and Asher Keating. She had assumed that no matter how ruthless he was, he wouldn’t drag their parents into it. She never expected him to be so relentlessly direct.

’She could tell that when Asher Keating had been choking her just now, it wasn’t a simple threat. For a fleeting moment, she had seen genuine killing intent in his eyes.’

’She had planned tonight’s events by herself; Thomas Sterling and Morgan Sterling knew nothing about it. If they were to find out...’ She couldn’t help but shudder at the thought.

She tried to stand, but Nathan Grant slapped her back down onto the sofa. ”This one’s for Leah Sinclair. Third Master Keating is a man, so it wouldn’t be right for him to hit a woman. But I’m a woman, so I can hit you all I want.”

Stunned by the slap, Madeline Sterling collapsed onto the sofa and burst into hysterical sobs. She had been so sure of success tonight. Now, not only had nothing happened, she was utterly finished.

Chester Hale took the cigarette from between Nathan Grant’s fingers. ”You should smoke less. It’s bad for you.”

Nathan Grant was taken aback. But when she saw that Chester hadn’t put the cigarette out, but was taking a drag from it himself, her aggressive posture from moments before instantly deflated, and a faint blush crept onto her cheeks.

Asher Keating called Theodore Keating, telling him and Ruth Hughes to come up, but warning him not to breathe a word to the old Mr. Keating. Before answering, Theodore had been wondering where Asher and his friends had all gone.

He’d initially figured the younger generation had gone off to do their own thing and hadn’t given it a second thought. But the phone call set off alarm bells. He sensed something was wrong, and after quickly finding Ruth, they headed for the room.

Mason Grant had maintained a stone-faced expression throughout. He had already sent a message to Mabel Grant. The day’s events, one after another, were getting to him. He didn’t dare act rashly himself, but he could cede the decision to Mabel.

Soon, Thomas Sterling and Jacqueline Vaughn were the first to arrive. They had received the call just as they were leaving the banquet hall. The moment Jacqueline saw Madeline in a bathrobe, collapsed on the sofa and weeping, she let out a shriek and rushed forward.

”Madeline! Madeline, what’s wrong?”