Chapter 194: I Love You
"I’m not seeing her." Asher took a sip of his drink and refused flatly.
"Oh, come on, just meet with her. She’s... Actually, never mind. I want to hear what she has to say."
Leah quickly stepped in. She had wanted to say that Tiana was pitiful, too, but felt that coming from her, it would sound incredibly sanctimonious, even though she genuinely did feel a little sorry for the other woman.
Asher was silent for a moment before saying, "Fine, tomorrow. In my office."
Sean Yates agreed and stepped away to return the call.
After dinner, they chatted for a while longer before everyone went their separate ways. Leah was a little tired. When Asher came out of the shower, he found her sitting on the balcony, staring into space. He walked over, gathered her into his arms, and kissed her. "What are you thinking about?"
Leah nuzzled against his chest like a kitten. "Nothing... I was just thinking how lucky I am."
"Hm?"
Leah listened quietly to the deep thrum in Asher’s chest and sighed softly. "Asher, if I hadn’t met you, I don’t know what would have become of me. But Tiana Vaughn wasn’t as lucky as I was. If she’d met you sooner, do you think she still would have ended up like this?"
"Even if she had met me sooner, I wouldn’t have liked her."
Leah looked up at him. "Why not?"
Asher lowered his head, his gaze profound. His features seemed to be bathed in moonlight as he reached out, gently cupped Leah’s face, and pressed a kiss to the corner of her mouth.
It held no lust, only love.
"Because in this world, there are a million Tiana Vaughns, but there is only one Leah Sinclair."
Leah hadn’t had a drink all night, yet at this moment, she felt drunk. Her cheeks flushed, intoxicated by Asher’s gentle, lingering affection.
Leah found his hand, gently lacing her fingers with his. As their hands intertwined, she tilted her head back, a glimmer in her eyes. While Asher was still slightly taken aback, she kissed his cool, thin lips.
"Asher, I love you."
Asher couldn’t let her go. He answered with a flurry of deep, lingering kisses. The early summer breeze drifted past, carrying the sweet fragrance of flowers. The moon slowly vanished behind the clouds, as if too shy to witness their passion.
In the depths of their passion, Leah bit down on Asher’s shoulder. Her mind had gone completely blank, but she could still clearly hear the words he murmured into her ear.
"Leah, I love you too."
Leah slept soundly beside Asher. When she woke, the sun was already high in the sky. She groggily reached for the spot next to her, but he was gone.
She jolted fully awake and sat up. Seeing she was in Asher’s room, she breathed an unexplainable sigh of relief.
After freshening up and heading downstairs, she found Mrs. Lowell had already prepared a meal. Seeing her, Mrs. Lowell smiled. "Young Madam, the Young Master has gone to the office. He told me to have you text him when you wake up. He’s arranged for Sean Yates to come back and pick you up."
Leah blushed a little at the title but still gave a soft hum of acknowledgment and sat down at the table to eat.
Mrs. Lowell was an excellent cook. Asher must have given instructions, because everything prepared was something Leah loved. Her eyes curved into crescents as she ate. Mrs. Lowell watched with a smile, secretly texting a report to Ruth Hughes.
"Madam, I believe the Young Madam is quite satisfied. The Young Master said her eyes curve into crescents when she eats something she likes, and I just watched her. Her eyes have been curved the whole time."
"As long as she’s satisfied, that’s what matters. Leah is too thin. Please take good care of her and help her get her strength back. Buy whatever you need; don’t spare any expense."
"Don’t worry, I understand."
Just as Leah was finishing her meal, Sean Yates arrived. She quickly got ready and went out, noticing that Sean was driving the Cullinan again. A little curious, she asked, "Sean, how many cars has Asher bought over the last few years?"
"Huh? Oh... not that many, I suppose. He still drives the same car he always has. When I’m picking someone up, I just use whichever one is convenient."
Sean glanced in the rearview mirror, feeling a little guilty. He hadn’t told Leah that Asher had also bought several sports cars, which he took out to race when the pressure got to be too much.
The thought made Sean’s heart ache. He hesitated for a long moment before saying, "Leah, please... you and the Young Master have to make it work. He never says anything, but these past few years... they’ve been really hard on him."
"Dealing with the Second Young Master was one thing. But the day he successfully wrested control from the Eldest Young Master, he just stayed home and drank all night by himself. I know he didn’t have the heart to be truly ruthless, especially since the Eldest Young Master has his children, Seth and Tanya."
"I know. Asher... he’s always been kind."
Leah watched the streetscape retreat outside the window, her heart aching as she remembered what Shawn Grant had told her about Asher’s struggles against Aaron and Alan.
Asher had shown Aaron no mercy. The first time he and Madeline Sterling were drugged, Aaron’s involvement had been covert. Still, Asher had discovered that the whole affair was a joint scheme between Madeline, Aaron, and Morgan Sterling, which was why he felt no sympathy for his brother.
For years, Aaron had leveraged his status as the Second Young Master of the Keating family to crush competitors and line his own pockets. Many employees at the companies under his control were deeply unhappy with him, and Asher had planted quite a few of his own people on Aaron’s side long before making his move.
During the two months Leah was abroad, he had completely dismantled Aaron’s stock holdings and successfully taken over all of his business assets. Just when everyone thought Asher would move on to dismantle Alan’s shares as well, he stopped.
At the time, Mabel Grant assumed Asher didn’t know how to make a move, since Alan controlled the company’s financial and investment divisions. She sent an anonymous message to Asher asking if he needed to know Alan’s weakness. Asher guessed the message was from her and replied with a single sentence: "I know his weakness. Thank you, Aunt Mabel."
Mabel Grant had even complained about this to Brandon Jacobs, and Brandon had secretly relayed it to Leah. Leah knew Asher was contemplating just how far to go. After all, Alan had two children, and Asher didn’t want to involve them in the grudges of the older generation.
"Second Miss Grant, we’ve arrived."
Sean had already parked and was opening her door, pulling Leah from her reverie.
Leah got out of the car and walked into the Keating headquarters. She was dressed in an LV blouse and black, high-waisted trousers, and carried a white LV handbag. With her hair casually pinned up, she looked crisp and capable, her expression tinged with a cool aloofness.
People passing by, whether they recognized her or not, stared with a mixture of curiosity, envy, and admiration. But more than anything else, their eyes were filled with gossip.
After all, Leah’s two previous visits had both caused a major commotion, providing the Keating employees with plenty of fodder for conversation.
As for the events of the previous day, the President’s Office hadn’t yet sent out a notice, so none of them knew what had happened with Tiana Vaughn.
The moment the doors of the executive elevator closed, people immediately gathered to gossip about what kind of scene Leah’s visit would cause this time. Rumor had it that Tiana Vaughn had accompanied President Keating to meet his friends yesterday, and no one had seen her at all this morning.
Many people were suggesting with knowing smirks that Tiana Vaughn had definitely spent the night at Asher Keating’s home, and that’s why she wasn’t in this morning.
Gossip flew in various group chats. Zion Sawyer was one of the first to get the news. She didn’t know what had happened yesterday either, so she pulled Sheila Hughes aside to ask about the situation.