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

"...I just bumped into something."

Leah Sinclair’s eyes were still red, and so was the tip of her nose. That bump just now... yeah, it was a hard one. So hard that she still hadn’t quite recovered.

"Do I look like an idiot to you?" Shawn Grant rolled his eyes at her.

Leah Sinclair studied him for a moment. "You do."

"..."

Leah Sinclair was on pins and needles. She kept catching the faint, crisp, woody scent wafting from Asher Keating next to her. She snuck a glance out of the corner of her eye—he hadn’t brought a date.

A wave of bitterness and sorrow washed over her. The moment the ceremony on stage ended and the house lights came up, Leah told Shawn Grant she was going to the restroom and practically fled.

Ethan Shaw watched her run out and smacked Shawn’s arm. "Damn it, Shawn! Leah’s back and you didn’t say a word?"

"I only found out when my sister mentioned it just now. The girl didn’t tell anyone. I have no idea why she came back so secretively. Is she planning on sneaking in and then sneaking right back out again?"

As he spoke, Shawn hit him back, but his eyes darted toward Asher Keating. Asher’s expression remained impassive, showing no emotion. ’Hmph,’ Shawn thought with a snort.

Leah Sinclair went to the restroom and splashed some water on her face. Staring at her reflection, she forced herself to calm down, repeating to herself, ’Steady. Don’t overthink it. Don’t let your mind run wild.’

Leah finally managed to pull herself together. But as soon as she sat back down, Shawn struck a pose that screamed, ’My family’s god of drinking has arrived! You’re all going down!’

He leaned back in his chair like a ruffian and drawled, "Alright, pour the drinks! My cousin’s back. I’d like to see any of you try to drink me under the table now!"

Nathan Grant had found out she was pregnant two weeks before the wedding. Chester Hale was so nervous he wouldn’t even let her go to the office, so Nathan simply used the opportunity to have Shawn fill in for her.

He’d been completely swamped lately with far too many business functions, getting drunk under the table several times in the process. Now that Leah was back, Shawn felt he could finally even the score.

Hearing this, Leah kicked him under the table. "I haven’t had a drink in ages."

"Tsk, who’re you kidding? Mason was just tattling to my sister the other day. He said we’re only halfway through May and you’ve already been drinking on at least ten of those days, haven’t you?" Shawn scoffed, lighting a cigarette and playfully tweaking her ear.

"...My mom, she doesn’t know, right?"

"Drink them all under the table tonight, and I won’t tell Auntie. Otherwise... heh heh, just watch me call her later," Shawn taunted.

"...You’re ruthless."

Speechless, Leah took the glass. She had only told Mabel Grant and Mason Grant that she was back, wanting to surprise Nathan.

As for the fact that she’d been drinking for days, Mason had only figured that out when he’d dropped by her place unexpectedly over the weekend and counted the empty bottles.

The moment they saw her pick up a glass, a crowd of people swarmed around her.

"Second Miss Grant, I’m Howard Hawkins from Apex Corporation. I heard you’ve been living abroad. It’s an honor to finally meet you. Allow me to offer a toast."

"Second Miss Grant, I’m Eugene Carson from Duran Interiors..."

"Second Miss Grant, I’m..."

A constant stream of people came to introduce themselves and toast her. After one round, people from other tables started coming over. She couldn’t keep track of who was who.

Some of these people knew Leah personally, while others only knew her by her family name, Grant. Noticing Asher Keating’s stoic expression, Ethan Shaw and Riley Sterling hesitated and decided against going over to talk to her.

They were good friends with Shawn, but he was currently occupied with business associates. There was no reason for them to butt in and add to the commotion.

After a few rounds, both Shawn and Leah had had quite a bit to drink. Leah gritted her teeth and hissed at Shawn, "I’m going to tell Nash you’re bullying me."

"I’m innocent! Have you seen how much I’ve had to drink?"

Shawn swirled the drink in his glass, at a loss for words himself. If it hadn’t been for the sheer number of people, he would have loved to just sit back and watch Leah handle them all.

He made up his mind: he wasn’t drinking any more toasts, no matter who offered. He’d been drinking almost every day while Nathan was out of the office, and he was honestly hitting his limit.

"I’m stepping out for a bit." Leah shot him a glare and swiped his pack of cigarettes and lighter.

"Tsk, at least leave me the lighter!"

Leah ignored him and walked straight outside. Shawn sidled over to Asher Keating. "Asher, got a light? My cousin swiped my lighter. Of all the things to learn from my sister, why did it have to be smoking?"

Asher Keating glanced coolly in the direction Leah had gone and tossed him the lighter. While Leah and Shawn had been drinking a lot, Asher had been fielding endless toasts himself. He’d had a fair amount to drink by now, too.

Out in the hotel garden, the early summer breeze carried the scent of flowers, dispelling some of the turmoil in her heart. Leah felt a sense of peace. She lit a cigarette and leaned against a wall, smoking slowly.

’Should I be the one to go say hello to Asher?’ she wondered. But then, he hadn’t so much as glanced her way since she’d arrived. She gave a small, self-mocking smile.

’I was the one who insisted on going abroad, after all. And Asher made it clear he wouldn’t wait for me forever.’

’That’s right. No one is obligated to stay in one place and wait for someone else.’

’It turns out I was the only one who couldn’t move on.’

She hadn’t been out there for long before she started to feel drowsy. She was still jet-lagged, and she’d just had a lot to drink.

She let out a small yawn. ’Maybe I should just say goodbye to Nathan and head out,’ she thought. She wasn’t sure she could handle staying so close to Asher any longer.

Asher Keating stood in a corner on the floor above, watching Leah from a distance. ’She never used to smoke,’ he thought.

The few times she had smoked, it seemed, had always been connected to him in some way. Now, seeing how practiced she looked, he couldn’t help but frown.

Inside, he’d watched her down drink after drink. He hadn’t seen her in three years, but her tolerance for alcohol was as high as ever. In fact, it seemed even better than before.

Ethan Shaw came over. "Asher, are you really not going to say hello? Leah... I heard from Sheila that she hasn’t dated anyone these past few years. And she probably doesn’t know that you..."

Asher smoked his cigarette without a word. After waiting a moment for a response that never came, Ethan went back to his seat. Asher watched as Leah raised her wrist, seemingly to check the time, before slowly starting to walk back inside.

Leah found Nathan Grant and Chester Hale and told them she was heading home. Nathan thought for a moment, then offered to get a driver to take her. Leah agreed, and Nathan had someone arrange it. As Leah was being escorted out, Nathan went over and whispered something to Chester Hale.

After listening, Chester Hale gave her a helpless look. "Are you sure about this? Won’t Leah and the Third Master be angry?"

"She snuck back, wasn’t it to see the Third Master? And look at him, too. Just look at how awkward they both are. Can’t I just give them a chance to have a proper talk?" Nathan scoffed.

Chester Hale figured she had a point. He scanned the room and finally spotted Asher Keating sitting in a corner. He walked over and cleared his throat. Asher lifted an eyelid but otherwise ignored him.

"Leah’s gone."

"And?"

"..."

Chester Hale was taken aback. He clicked his tongue. "She came here for our wedding first, but she’ll probably head back to Kingsford in a day or two. I heard from Nash that Aunt Mabel called her back mainly to set her up on some blind dates."