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

Chapter 239: Chapter 239: Better to Just Marry Her

As Morgan Sterling expected, Leah Sinclair was clearly distraught after hearing the news. Liam Peyton’s involvement, however, was a pleasant surprise.

The trending topic he’d originally wanted was something along the lines of ”Second Miss Grant bursts into tears after seeing her fiancé collaborating with an old flame.” He never expected Liam Peyton to shield Leah Sinclair and walk her out.

So, Morgan Sterling changed his plan on the spot. If he could use this to create friction between the Keating, Grant, and Peyton families, it would be the best possible outcome for him.

The only problem was that Phoebe Peyton was too hasty, having the reporters release the news first thing in the morning. ’Women are just too impatient,’ he thought, ’just like Madeline Sterling and Tiana Vaughn.’ Still, compared to those two, Phoebe Peyton at least had some brains.

When Madeline Sterling had wanted revenge on Leah Sinclair, Morgan Sterling had come up with a plan: find a woman, get her some plastic surgery, create a new identity and background for her, and send her to get close to Asher Keating.

That way, he could not only plant someone inside the Keating Group but also ruin things between Leah Sinclair and Asher Keating—killing two birds with one stone.

He had pretended to casually drop some hints to Madeline Sterling, who had caught his meaning. He’d thought she had actually improved, but unfortunately, those two idiots had made a complete mess of such a brilliant plan.

Morgan Sterling’s assistant, Hugh Sterling, knocked and entered. ”Mr. Sterling, the gift for Miss Peyton for tonight is ready.”

”Mm.”

Morgan Sterling responded faintly. Noticing Hugh looked like he wanted to say something, he prompted, ”Spit it out.”

”Mr. Sterling, I feel that Miss Peyton’s status is excellent, and she’s beautiful. Why not just marry her? It would be to your advantage.”

”Heh. You think the Peyton family’s waters are so easy to wade into? She may seem like a Peyton heiress, but in reality, she’s been all but exiled. The moment her stepmother gives birth to a son, what will she have left? Her looks? Should I marry a trophy wife just for decoration? Besides, once you get their clothes off, they’re all just sluts.”

Morgan Sterling’s expression was scornful. He had, at first, wanted to conquer Phoebe Peyton, especially since she’d told him she was the first woman Asher Keating had ever slept with.

He had assumed it would take a lot of effort to get her, which would have been a worthy challenge. But he never imagined the woman could be lured into his bed after just a few expensive gifts.

’It seems she really isn’t favored in the Peyton family. How utterly uninteresting.’

’Why can’t she be more like Leah Sinclair?’ As Morgan Sterling pictured Leah’s face, her lips, her body, his gaze darkened.

”Then, about Second Miss Grant...”

”Release the news tonight. Let’s muddy the waters some more.”

”Understood.”

While everyone was still speculating about a potential marriage alliance between the Grant and Peyton Groups, the Grant Group of Kingsford and the Keating Group of Riverfall made a simultaneous announcement through their official social media accounts, websites, and various other media channels.

They announced the engagement of Asher Keating, President of the Keating Group, and Leah Grant, the Second Miss Grant of the Grant Group, on November 27th, and welcomed all media to attend the ceremony.

At the same time, they issued an apology for the public misunderstanding caused to Liam Peyton, Vice President of the Peyton Group. They also thanked him for protecting Second Miss Grant, Leah Grant, who had to leave the event early because her dress had been soiled.

Not long after the Grant and Keating announcements, the Peyton Group released a statement of its own, congratulating the two groups on the alliance. Liam Peyton himself also stated that he had simply been in the right place at the right time, and that helping was the least he could do.

With the release of the three statements, the rumors of a Grant-Peyton marriage alliance were debunked. Public attention then shifted to the relationship between Asher Keating and Leah Sinclair. Many suspected that the Grant Group was simply using the Keating Group as a shield to divert attention.

However, thanks to some slick maneuvering from Ethan Shaw, Riley Sterling, and Shawn Grant, the story of Asher Keating and Leah Sinclair’s love was spun into a touching, epic romance. They provided proof that the two had been together for several years and were truly in love—definitely not a convenient shield.

When Phoebe Peyton saw the news, her face went pale with rage. If only the Keating and Grant groups had been involved, she might have been able to pay to have the story removed from the trending topics. But with the Peyton Group also participating, she didn’t dare make a move.

She stared at a post from an unknown social media account, which detailed the words Asher Keating had spoken to Leah Sinclair on the day he proposed, his arm around her. The look in his eyes was one of deep, lingering affection.

Beneath the post, countless Riverfall residents testified to how beautiful the fireworks had been that night and how long they had lasted. It turned out that incredibly extravagant firework display was for the President of the Keating Group’s proposal to the Second Miss Grant of the Grant Group.

”Vice President Peyton, where would be a good place to put this tea set that Second Miss Grant sent over yesterday?”

Phoebe Peyton’s newly hired assistant entered holding the tea set from Leah Sinclair. Yesterday, Phoebe had said she loved it, and the assistant agreed it was very elegant, so she thought she would bring it in to display in Phoebe’s office.

But upon entering and seeing Phoebe Peyton’s expression, the assistant grew flustered, especially when she mentioned the gift was from ”Second Miss Grant.” The dark look in Phoebe’s eyes made the assistant shudder involuntarily.

”Bring it here.”

With trembling hands, the assistant passed the box to her. Phoebe Peyton reached out to take it, but somehow missed her grip. The tea set fell to the floor and instantly shattered.

”Tsk. Why are you so clumsy? Didn’t you know I really liked that tea set?” Phoebe Peyton snapped.

”I... I... It wasn’t... I just...”

The assistant’s face turned white with fright. She was sure she had seen Phoebe Peyton take hold of it before she let go. How was she suddenly the one who had dropped it?

”You what? Are you trying to say it was my fault?”

Seeing the fury on Phoebe Peyton’s face, the assistant didn’t dare speak again. She lowered her head and wrung her hands, the rims of her eyes turning red.

”What are you still standing there for? Aren’t you going to clean this up? Or do you expect me to do it?”

Phoebe Peyton slammed her hand on the desk. The assistant quickly apologized and went to get a broom. After sweeping up the mess, she bumped into someone while taking out the trash.

”P-President Peyton.”

”Mm? What’s wrong? I thought I just heard something break over in Phoebe’s office.”

Liam Peyton’s office was right next to Phoebe’s. The assistant hadn’t closed the door when she went in, so he had heard the sound of something shattering and Phoebe losing her temper, though he couldn’t make out the words clearly.

”Yes. The tea set that Second Miss Grant gave to Vice President Peyton was just accidentally dropped.”

Liam Peyton raised an eyebrow. ”The set Leah sent over?”

”Yes. I’m sorry, President Peyton. I was holding it steady, but Vice President Peyton... she didn’t get a good grip on it. But she thinks I wasn’t holding it securely. I really was.”

Tears of grievance streamed down the assistant’s face. She had replayed the moment in her head several times and was certain she had been holding it steady. Although her hands had been trembling a bit, she would never be so careless with such an expensive item.

Liam Peyton glanced thoughtfully toward Phoebe’s office, then patted the assistant’s shoulder. ”I understand. Phoebe probably wasn’t paying attention. I’ll buy her a new set, so don’t worry about it.”

”Thank you, President Peyton! Thank you so much!”

The assistant left, thanking him profusely. She had just looked up the price online. While not absurdly expensive, the tea set cost more than a month of her salary. Having to pay for it would have been devastating.