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

Chapter 157: Chapter 157: Wish Her a Safe Journey

”She said she needs to sort everything out, and while she’s at it, see if what we have between us is real love.”

Asher Keating lit a cigarette. Faint smoke rose, shrouding his face and making his expression unreadable.

”Huh? Real love? After everything she’s done for you, how could she not love you?”

Ethan Shaw was dumbfounded. ’Why can’t I seem to understand what he’s saying? Have the last few days fried my brain?’

Asher Keating looked at him as if he were an idiot. ”Are you an idiot?”

”...Asher, I know you’re upset. If you want to lay into me, go right ahead!”

But Asher Keating remained silent. There was no doubt that Leah Sinclair loved him. And as for why she had left, he was slowly beginning to understand after the initial agony had passed.

’It’s just that Mabel Grant probably threatened to come after me if Leah didn’t go back with her. That girl... she always puts me first.’

’But the road ahead is full of hard-fought battles. It’s better that she’s not here. With Mabel Grant protecting her, nothing will happen to Leah, and I’ll be able to operate without holding back.’

’Thomas Sterling’s health hasn’t improved. I know Morgan Sterling is behind it. The Sterling Family will likely have a new head before the year is out.’

’And I need to move quickly. That waste of space, Aaron Keating, isn’t even worth mentioning. I don’t see Timothy Keating as a threat either. The one who matters is Alan Keating.’

’But it shouldn’t be too much of a problem. Alan Keating controls the two main financial pillars of the Keating Group—finance and investment—but I’ve managed to install quite a few of my own people there over the years.’

’I just need the right moment—a chance to crush the main branch of the Keating Family so thoroughly they can never get back up. Once I’ve dealt with the Keatings, the Sterlings are next.’

「A few days later」

The news that Mabel Grant, president of the Grant Group of Kingsford, had found her daughter, Leah Grant—lost for twenty-three years—sent shockwaves through the business communities of Kingsford and the entire nation.

Mabel Grant, who had always disliked banquets, was holding a grand celebration at Kingsford’s largest hotel to welcome her daughter home. This alone showed how much she treasured her. Of course, the largest hotel in the city also happened to be one of the Grant Family’s properties.

Many prominent business families from Kingsford were invited. From Riverfall, the Grant family only invited the old master of the Keating Family and its second branch, the Shaw Family, Riley Sterling’s family, and the younger generation of the Hale Family. Oh, and the main Sterling Family was not invited.

Thomas Sterling furiously called Mabel Grant to demand why he hadn’t been invited. No matter how you looked at it, Leah Sinclair was his niece. Mabel Grant’s reply was curt: if he breathed another word about Leah being connected to the Sterling Family, she would make them disappear from the map of Riverfall by the next day.

When a furious Aaron Keating accused Asher of only getting into the Grant Family’s good graces because of Leah Sinclair, Asher simply replied with a calm, ”And so what?”

That single sentence sent Aaron Keating into a rage, making him practically jump on the spot. He never could have imagined that the worthless hostess he’d looked down on was actually one of the Grants. Hah. No one could have seen that twist coming.

「Asher Keating’s Office.」

”Asher... are you going?” Ethan Shaw and Riley Sterling asked hesitantly from their seats across from him.

Asher Keating gave the document a languid glance, saying nothing either way.

”Sheila said... Leah, she’s... going abroad. And if she goes, it could be for several years,” Ethan Shaw ventured, watching his expression carefully.

The words had barely left his mouth when Asher Keating’s thin lips pressed into a firm line. He then looked up at Ethan Shaw. ”When does she leave?”

”Sometime in the next few days. Leah’s going to Eldoria. Mason Grant is studying there, and Aunt Mabel thinks he can look out for her. She’s enrolling in Tim Academy for advanced studies. It was all arranged in a hurry. Aunt Mabel originally wanted her to join the Grant Group, but as soon as Leah arrived, she insisted on studying abroad and said she wouldn’t consider a position at the company.”

The moment Asher spoke, Ethan Shaw quickly relayed everything he’d learned from Sheila Hughes. After their last unpleasant parting, Ethan had spent days begging for her forgiveness. Sheila had only just forgiven his presumptuous words from that day and shared some news about Leah.

But Asher Keating simply lowered his head and resumed reading his document. Ethan Shaw and Riley Sterling exchanged a glance, unsure of what to say. ’What is he trying to say?’

The two of them sat there in awkward silence for a long time, but Asher didn’t speak. Finally, they couldn’t take it anymore. They had to get back and pack for their trip to Kingsford the next day. Sheila was going with them.

”Wish her well for me, and tell her... to have a safe trip.”

Just before Ethan Shaw closed the door, he heard Asher utter those words. Ethan hesitated for a moment before gently pulling the door shut. Asher continued to stare at the page in front of him—the same page he’d been staring at for a full half-hour—and slowly closed his eyes.

「The next day, Ethan Shaw’s group met up with Sheila Hughes at the airport.」

”Where’s Asher? Is he really not coming?” Sheila Hughes asked, peering behind Ethan for a long time but seeing no sign of Asher Keating.

”Yeah. He told us to tell Leah... to have a safe trip,” Ethan Shaw said with a deep sigh.

”What the fu—”

In the end, Sheila Hughes swallowed her curse. She didn’t know what to say. She knew Asher blamed Leah; she was sure of it.

But the thought of Leah being gone for years, that the two of them wouldn’t even meet one last time before she left, made her heart ache.

After exchanging a look, the three of them boarded the plane in silence.

Sean Yates knocked and came in. ”President Keating, President Shawn just called to confirm... Are you... really not going? The banquet starts at six p.m. If you leave now, you can still make it.”

Asher Keating, who hadn’t gone home from the office last night, looked up and scoffed. ”Go for what? To personally put her on the plane?”

「Kingsford. The G&S Hotel.」

Tonight’s banquet was a sensational affair, drawing attendees from every conceivable industry.

A throng of reporters, shouldering their cameras, had been camped out at the entrance for hours. Everyone was eager to see what kind of person she was—this second young lady of the Grant Family, the one Mabel Grant treasured so dearly.

The banquet officially began at six. Under a sea of expectant and skeptical gazes, Leah Sinclair, clad in an off-the-shoulder white gown, descended gracefully from the second floor.

The fabric of the gown shimmered under the crystal chandeliers. Its tightly cinched design accentuated her impossibly slender waist, one that looked as if it could be encircled by a single hand. The entire dress was adorned with countless diamonds. Her long hair was left to hang loose, and her makeup was minimal, lending her a cool, somewhat distant air. A single jade bracelet graced her wrist, and a delicate rose gold necklace rested at her throat.

The moment they saw Leah, any lingering doubts vanished for those who remembered what Mabel Grant looked like in her youth. Leah’s eyes, her brow—the resemblance to a young Mabel was simply uncanny.

As she reached the last few steps, Mason Grant smiled and offered her his hand. With a slight dip of her gaze, she placed her hand in his.

”You look so beautiful tonight, Sis,” Mason Grant whispered as they walked, his eyes shining with admiration.

”Don’t talk to me,” Leah whispered back, forcing herself to keep her back straight. ”I think my heart is about to beat out of my chest.”