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

After Asher Keating hung up the phone last night, he immediately notified Sheila Hughes. She and Ethan Shaw were just about to go to sleep, but when they got the call, they rushed over to Leah Sinclair’s room.

The others, however, had no idea Asher Keating had arrived. Mason Grant and Cecilia Peyton, who were following behind Phoebe Peyton, also looked completely stunned.

“I haven’t been here long. What is it?”

Phoebe Peyton snapped out of it and immediately smiled. “I was just about to go get breakfast with Cecilia and Mason and thought I’d come ask Leah Grant to join us.”

Asher Keating glanced at the people in the doorway and said, “You all go on ahead. We’ll be there after we wash up.”

“Okay.”

With that, Phoebe Peyton turned and headed toward the dining hall with Mason Grant and Cecilia Peyton. Her mind was a complete mess. ‘Why would Asher Keating be in Leah Sinclair’s room?’

Following Morgan Sterling’s instructions, she had put a bit of a drug in Leah Sinclair’s cup yesterday. It wasn’t an aphrodisiac. Morgan Sterling had said that because of the past incident with Madeline Sterling, Asher Keating was extremely sensitive to them.

He had calculated that after Leah Sinclair and Liam Peyton slept together, Asher Keating would definitely investigate. So, he’d had someone procure a drug that could make a person drunk in an instant. Just a tiny amount was enough to make even someone with a high tolerance become intoxicated quickly.

It also dissipated quickly, so after a night, no trace would be found even if someone investigated. During dinner yesterday, she’d heard Mason Grant ask Leah Sinclair to go to the bonfire party, and Leah had refused.

So, just before leaving, while Leah Sinclair was in the restroom, she had placed the drug in her cup.

Once at the bonfire party, she had deliberately mentioned in front of Liam Peyton that as she was coming over after changing her clothes, she thought she’d seen Leah Sinclair drinking alone.

Sure enough, Liam Peyton disappeared not long after. She hurried back and waited in her room, and only after confirming that Liam Peyton and Leah Sinclair had gone into Leah’s room together did she finally go to sleep, relieved.

Then this morning, she had timed her visit perfectly, coming over to ask Leah Sinclair to breakfast. She had even deliberately brought Mason Grant and Cecilia Peyton along, all so they would see Liam Peyton and Leah Sinclair together in her room.

But… how did it end up being Asher Keating?

Then where was Liam Peyton?

At that very moment, Liam Peyton was in the dining hall having breakfast. He took a sip of coffee, turning his head to look at the lake view outside the window. His mind drifted back to last night, to the very moment his lips were about to touch Leah Sinclair’s, when her phone rang.

The melodic ringtone had jolted Liam Peyton’s senses. He took a deep breath, stood up, and picked up Leah Sinclair’s phone. The caller ID displayed a name: Third Master Keating.

After he answered, he heard the breathing on the other end of the line grow heavy. Asher Keating’s voice, as if laced with ice, rang in his ear. “President Peyton, it’s so late. Why do you have Leah Sinclair’s phone?”

“She drank too much. I just brought her back to her room.”

“Then I’ll have to trouble you, President Peyton. I’ll have Sheila Hughes come over to take care of her. It’s getting late. You should go back and get some rest.”

After hanging up, Liam Peyton knew he was once again a step too late. He let out a low sigh, lit a cigarette, and stood by the window. Before he could finish it, he heard Sheila Hughes and Ethan Shaw knocking frantically at the door.

“Brother, you’re finished eating?”

Liam Peyton turned his head and saw Cecilia Peyton walking excitedly toward him with a tray of food. Following behind her were Mason Grant and Phoebe Peyton, both of whom greeted him.

“Just about. You’re only now arriving?” A smile played on Liam Peyton’s lips.

Phoebe Peyton looked at Liam Peyton. “Mhm, we just went to Leah Grant’s room to get her for breakfast and we saw Asher. By the way, bro, do you know when Asher arrived?”

For a moment, Liam Peyton’s scrutinizing gaze fell upon Phoebe Peyton, making her panic inwardly. But then his eyes had already moved on. “Is that so? President Keating is here?”

Phoebe Peyton let out a quiet sigh of relief. “Mhm, we were startled too. Isn’t he on a business trip?”

Mason Grant laughed. “Third Master Keating and my sister are very close. He looked exhausted just now. He probably drove all night to get here.”

“And Asher Keating… why do I feel like he’s gotten even more handsome since the last time I saw him in Eldoria? Could this be what they call the ‘glow of love’?”

Cecilia Peyton wore a teasing expression, and Mason Grant bantered back at her. The two bickered playfully, and the subject was dropped.

Asher Keating figured that since Leah Sinclair had drunk too much yesterday, her stomach was probably upset, so he decided against settling scores with her right then. After they washed up, he took her hand and led her to the dining hall. When they arrived, Shawn Grant and the others were still there, so they all sat together.

Chester Hale and Nathan Grant came over, and they also looked as if they’d seen a ghost upon seeing Asher Keating.

Nathan Grant gave him a suspicious look. “Third Master Keating, are you nuts? Rushing here in the middle of the night… anyone who didn’t know better would think you came to catch a cheater.”

Leah Sinclair, who was in the middle of a drink, choked on his words and started coughing violently. Asher Keating patted her back, his tone a bit chilly. “Someone drank too much last night. I was worried, so I came.”

“…”

‘You’d have been better off not saying anything,’ Leah Sinclair thought. The moment those three words—”drank too much”—left his mouth, Mason Grant’s glare was sharp enough to bore a hole through her. “Sis! When did you drink yesterday?”

“Well… after you all went to the bonfire party. I was bored sitting here all alone, you know? So I had a little.”

“That can’t be right, Leah. Don’t you have a high tolerance? You got drunk all by yourself?”

Cecilia Peyton looked astonished. She had gone drinking with Leah Sinclair plenty of times and had never once seen her get drunk. In the past, she had been incredibly envious of her tolerance.

Leah Sinclair stole a glance at Liam Peyton and let out a dry laugh, not daring to answer. But Cecilia Peyton suddenly put two and two together. “My brother also left not long after that yesterday. Bro, did you go drinking with Leah?”

Her question plunged the table into silence. Mason Grant’s heart sank. ‘That’s very possible,’ he thought. ‘No wonder Asher Keating rushed over in the middle of the night.’ He quickly tugged on Cecilia Peyton’s clothes.

Cecilia Peyton looked at him, confused. “What’s wrong?”

Liam Peyton set down his coffee cup and spoke calmly, “Mhm. Leah probably hasn’t had a drink in a while. She got a little dizzy, so I took her back to her room.”

“Sis, just how much did you drink? Wynn isn’t drunk, but you are?” Mason Grant glared at her, annoyed. He knew perfectly well what her alcohol tolerance was like.

“I…”

Leah Sinclair tried to recall but couldn’t remember. She hesitated before asking Liam Peyton, “Wynn, how much did I drink yesterday? I feel like it wasn’t that much.”

Liam Peyton also thought back. “I think… a bottle of red wine and a dozen beers, maybe? Perhaps you just haven’t had a drink in too long, so your body couldn’t handle it?”

Leah Sinclair was a little surprised. “Just that? When did my tolerance get so bad?”

Mason Grant shot Leah Sinclair a glare. “What do you mean, ‘just that’!”

Leah Sinclair was taken aback and muttered under her breath, “There’s no way that would’ve gotten me drunk in the past. You all know my tolerance. I wouldn’t have gotten drunk even if I’d had twice that much.”

Phoebe Peyton’s hand, holding her chopsticks, tightened, and some of the color drained from her face. But she kept her head down, and since everyone else was talking, no one noticed how unnerved she was.

Seeing the cold stares from both Asher Keating and Mason Grant, Leah Sinclair quickly set aside her own confusion. She had to soothe the older one and then the younger one, and it took a good while before she finally managed to appease the two patriarchs. The effort completely wore her out.