Chapter 193: Because I Feel Inferior
"Heh, well... something like that. This whole time, the boss’s treatment of Tiana Vaughn was, uh... well, heh, you all know. The boss was just trying to lure the snake out of its hole. It was all an act."
"But she thought the boss was for real... She thought she could actually be with him and escape Madeline Sterling’s control. She even told Madeline not to contact her anymore, saying she was with the boss now."
"..."
"..."
"..."
An awkward silence fell. Even though Ethan Shaw and the others had already heard about this from Sean Yates yesterday, they were still speechless. Asher Keating looked around at the faces staring at him, their expressions a mix of resentment, teasing, and sheer speechlessness.
He cleared his throat, a little sheepishly. "I... didn’t really do anything."
"Didn’t do anything? Wow. Buying her clothes, buying her bags, taking her to all sorts of high-end restaurants and exclusive clubs... a thing would happen one day, and the entire company would know about it by the next, okay?"
Sheila Hughes shot him a merciless eye-roll. During that time, she and Zion Sawyer were constantly hearing about how Asher Keating had bought Tiana Vaughn another bag, more jewelry, or taken her out to eat, and it made them seethe.
Noticing the growing resentment in Leah Sinclair’s eyes, Asher Keating quickly grabbed her hand under the table to soothe her. Leah tried to pull her hand away several times but couldn’t, so she just huffed and refused to look at him.
Sean Yates wailed internally, ’Boss, you’re the one who told me to say this. Don’t get mad at me!’
After explaining everything, Sean Yates felt parched. He guzzled a large glass of water before he felt better.
"Wow, Sean Yates, you guys were playing a really big game here!" Ethan Shaw said, looking at him with a speechless expression. "So why didn’t you tell Leah Sinclair? You had us all on edge this whole time."
"I did ask the boss before if we should tell Leah Sinclair. He said Leah had probably already figured it out. He also said... his girl is incredibly smart."
"..."
"..."
Another silence fell. This time, everyone looked at Asher Keating with expressions that practically screamed, ’You’re so smug.’
Asher Keating laughed at their expressions. "So my girl isn’t smart? She really did figure it out."
"Leah, when did you figure it out?" Riley Sterling asked curiously.
Leah Sinclair explained how she had figured it out. When she finished, everyone agreed: she was incredible.
Only she and Asher Keating could be so in tune with each other. Who else could have possibly guessed his intentions just from a nightmare?
"Leah, you and Asher... I mean, you two got through more than three years with no contact at all. So why did you break up with him on the spot that night over the thing with Tiana Vaughn?"
"I honestly thought you were going to put up a fight. Doing that... doesn’t it show a bit of a lack of faith in Asher?"
Ethan Shaw hesitated for a moment before voicing the question that had been bothering him. Now that everything was clear, he knew Asher Keating wasn’t the type to be fickle. He had planned everything with Leah Sinclair in mind.
But Leah Sinclair clearly didn’t trust him much, breaking up with him just like that. Ethan Shaw felt he had to get an explanation for Asher’s sake.
Leah Sinclair was silent for a moment before she said slowly, "Because... I feel inferior."
"Huh?"
Leah Sinclair turned to look at Asher Keating, who was watching her quietly. A smile touched her lips. "If it had been anyone else, someone not like Tiana Vaughn, I probably would have put up a fight. But... Tiana was just too much like I used to be. And yet, she was different."
"Even if I’m the second miss of the Grant Family now, back when I first got together with Asher, I was just a bar hostess. But Tiana Vaughn is different. She’s so innocent. It wasn’t that I didn’t trust Asher... it was that I didn’t trust myself."
"When I saw how he treated her that day, I was terrified... that one day I might become like Madeline Sterling. That would be too horrible. I was afraid of seeing Asher disappointed in me, so... I’d rather he just remember me fondly."
Seeing the redness in her eyes, Asher Keating pulled her in for a kiss. "You won’t."
Leah Sinclair’s somber mood was instantly replaced by embarrassment from the public kiss. She stole a glance around the room and saw that no one had had time to school their expressions, which only made her blush harder.
"Ahem, I have one more question."
Chester Hale suddenly spoke up. "This Tiana Vaughn... does she really look that much like Leah?"
"Her eyes are a dead ringer! I was starting to wonder if Aunt Mabel had another daughter somewhere!"
The moment Ethan Shaw said this, both Leah Sinclair and Shawn Grant shot him a look like he was a complete idiot.
"You think my aunt just goes around having babies all day? You’re asking for a beating!" Nash’s voice came from the phone.
"But they really do look alike, right Sheila?" Ethan Shaw mumbled.
"Yeah, they really do!" Sheila Hughes confirmed.
Asher Keating lit a cigarette and said coolly, "It’s plastic surgery."
"What!?" Ethan Shaw and Sheila Hughes looked completely dumbfounded.
"It’s true. We looked into it before. Her eyes were likely modeled after Leah’s. Her nose was done, too." Edward Yates pulled up Tiana Vaughn’s original file on a tablet for them to see.
"Holy shit! The difference is... insane!"
Ethan Shaw looked at the photo of the original Tiana Vaughn, then thought about the man from yesterday who was a dead ringer for Asher Keating. A chill ran down his spine. The whole thing was just too terrifying. Madeline Sterling must be insane.
After Asher Keating and the others left yesterday, Ethan’s group had called the police. With irrefutable evidence for kidnapping, Madeline Sterling and the look-alike weren’t getting out. Besides, Asher had beaten the man so badly he was basically a cripple. He was still in the ICU.
Shawn Grant spoke up, a little puzzled. "Asher, do you really think Morgan Sterling wasn’t involved?"
"I think he was. In fact, I still believe this whole thing was his plan. He just had Madeline Sterling carry it out."
Asher Keating had always felt Morgan Sterling was involved, even though he was abroad. "Otherwise, with Madeline Sterling’s level of intelligence, I don’t believe she could have orchestrated a plot that spanned several years."
Everyone mulled it over and agreed. It wasn’t that they looked down on Madeline Sterling, but this plan, with its long timeline, was just too meticulous. It seemed much more like something Morgan Sterling would come up with.
"Alright, let’s eat first." Seeing that they’d covered most of it, Asher Keating had the servants begin serving the food.
As they were eating, Riley Sterling suddenly realized something. "Wait a minute, Asher. Didn’t you originally plan to keep Leah out of all this? So how come on the night of Nash’s wedding, you and Leah... um, took her home?"
At this question, all eyes turned to Asher Keating. He gave a speechless "tsk." "I was trying to avoid her that day. But certain people, right? One after another..."
The people in question caught his meaning and, feeling a pang of guilt, buried their faces in their food. It was true that Asher Keating had seemed to be avoiding her that day.
"Hmph. If you really didn’t want to, you wouldn’t have slept with her even if we’d put Leah in your bed," Nash’s voice drawled from the phone. "Wasn’t it what you wanted all along?"
"..."
"!!!"
"My wife sees right to the heart of the matter," Chester Hale added with a grin.
"Pfft..."
One by one, they all failed to stifle their laughter.
Asher Keating looked at a blushing Leah Sinclair, the corners of his lips twitching into a smile. ’It was true. If he had really been determined to avoid her that day, he could have.’
’But he had missed her. He wanted to see her, hold her, kiss her... He wanted her.’
Just as they were finishing their meal, Sean Yates took a phone call. He came back with a strange look on his face to report to Asher Keating. "Boss, Tiana Vaughn... says she wants to see you and Leah Sinclair."