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

Leah Sinclair choked on the food she had just put in her mouth, startled by that comment, and began to cough. She quickly grabbed her water and took a gulp to calm it down.

"Ooh~~ Todd Coleman, so you’re going after someone in your own backyard?" Leo Lawson, who was sitting next to Todd and was on good terms with him, chimed in with a jeer.

"No, I just... We’re colleagues. Isn’t it normal to occasionally buy each other coffee?"

"If it’s nothing, then why are you blushing? And don’t give me that ’just colleagues’ stuff. We’re all colleagues, so how come we don’t get any coffee?"

"Zion!" Leah Sinclair quickly pulled on her arm, urging her not to stir up trouble.

"What’s the big deal? The company doesn’t have a rule against office romance. Manager Langdon, you wouldn’t object if Todd Coleman and Leah Sinclair got together, would you?" Zion Sawyer called out directly to Mr. Langdon.

"Haha, I won’t meddle in you young people’s affairs. Just don’t let it affect your work," Mr. Langdon said cheerfully, taking a drag from his cigarette.

Todd Coleman’s face was beet red as he snuck a glance at Leah Sinclair. Seeing his expression, Leah felt a bit awkward.

She had always been a bit dense when it came to people pursuing her. Recently, Todd Coleman had been buying her coffee all the time, and he would refuse to take her money. Her only recourse was to buy him a small cake or something else in return. But Todd himself had never said a word about his intentions. ’If you’re going to pursue someone, you have to actually say it,’ Leah always thought. Seeing him like this now, she felt so awkward she could only bury her head and focus on her food.

Leo Lawson nudged Todd Coleman and whispered, "If you really want to pursue her, you’d better make a move. A few days ago, that guy from Department Three—what’s his name, Justin?—was secretly asking about Leah. We gotta keep the good stuff in-house, man."

"I... I, should I give it a try?" Todd Coleman replied, sneaking another look at Leah. Her face was slightly flushed now as she focused on eating. From his angle, he could only see her profile.

"Hey, hey, you guys will never guess who I just ran into!" Another colleague from the department, who had just stepped out to take a call, came back in, closed the door, and said excitedly.

"Who, who?" Zion Sawyer, always on the front lines of gossip.

"President Keating! And that’s not even the main point. The point is, there was a woman with him. I think it was that huge star, Madeline Sterling! You know Madeline Sterling, right? Wow, they were so close! Madeline Sterling was even holding his arm! They’re right next door."

"Madeline Sterling??? For real? No way, is Madeline Sterling President Keating’s girlfriend?" Zion Sawyer was so excited she looked like she was about to rush out and see for herself.

"I only saw her profile, but I’m pretty sure it was her! I peeked in when I was closing the door, and it looked like there were other people too. It’s a real party in there."

The group started chattering and gossiping. Leah Sinclair’s grip on her chopsticks tightened. ’So ’something to do tonight’ meant having dinner with Madeline Sterling. And letting her hold his arm, too.’ She suddenly felt that the sweet and sour pork she’d just eaten tasted of nothing but sour vinegar.

Meanwhile, in the private room next door, Asher Keating, Madeline Sterling, Ethan Shaw, and Riley Sterling were having dinner.

Madeline Sterling sat next to Asher Keating and picked up a piece of food for him with her chopsticks. "Asher, try this. It’s a new dish on the menu, and it’s delicious."

Asher Keating raised a hand to stop her. "No, thank you. I can get it myself."

Madeline Sterling’s hand froze awkwardly in mid-air. But she quickly recovered, naturally placing the food into her own bowl before raising her glass. "How about a drink, then?"

Asher Keating didn’t refuse this time. He picked up his glass, clinked it against hers, and took a small sip.

He knew Leah Sinclair and her team had submitted their acceptance report today and could leave work early. He had originally planned to grab her after work and take her home for some "tutoring." But then, Madeline Sterling had called him in the afternoon to ask him to dinner. He’d refused, but she said she had something important to discuss.

He thought about it and told her to invite Ethan Shaw and Riley Sterling. He wasn’t going to have dinner with her alone. Madeline hesitated for a moment before agreeing. When they got out of the elevator upstairs, she’d taken his arm. Although he’d frowned a little, Madeline was a huge star, after all. He wasn’t about to do something that would make her lose face in public.

"So, what did you want to see me about?" Asher Keating asked, lighting a cigarette.

Madeline Sterling glanced at Ethan Shaw and Riley Sterling. Asher Keating chuckled. "Just say what you have to say. I don’t have any secrets from these two."

Madeline Sterling bit her lip. "Just ten minutes. I want to talk to you alone."

"If you wanted to talk alone, you could have said so on the phone. There was no need to say we’d talk over dinner."

Ethan Shaw and Riley Sterling exchanged a look. ’This would be a great time for a bathroom break,’ they both thought. ’Why do we have to be here for their drama?’

Although they looked down on Morgan Sterling with contempt, they still had a pretty good impression of Madeline Sterling. Madeline had always been quite familiar with the two of them.

Ethan Shaw knew a bit more about the situation. ’Even if they don’t end up getting married,’ he thought, ’they can at least stay friends, right? But looking at Asher now, does he not even care about being friends anymore?’

"Asher, are you really not going to give me any face at all?" Madeline Sterling put down her chopsticks, looking at Asher Keating with a wronged expression.

"Heh. Wasn’t your Sterling Family being pretty shameless when you were spreading all those rumors a while back?" Asher Keating took a drag from his cigarette, a slight, mocking smile playing on his thin lips as he looked at her.

Madeline Sterling knew what he was talking about. Previously, she and Morgan Sterling had visited the Keating Family. Morgan had hinted at the idea of a marriage alliance, and Timothy Keating and the others had chimed in to support it, but Asher Keating had given no response.

They knew this was his way of tacitly refusing; he just wasn’t being so direct in front of the old Mr. Keating. After they returned home, their father, Thomas Sterling, had berated the two of them, saying they couldn’t even handle such a simple matter and that the two siblings had to seal the deal on the marriage alliance.

So, a while ago, Morgan Sterling started a rumor that Madeline Sterling was deeply in love with Asher Keating. She herself would also frequently tell her high-society friends that she would marry no one but Asher Keating, that she was madly in love with him.

In Riverfall, the Sterling Family’s status was higher than the Keating Family’s. A marriage between the two families would be a powerful alliance. If she married him, his standing in the Keating Family would surely rise, giving him more say. Even though she knew Asher Keating didn’t like her, Madeline Sterling felt he had no reason to refuse.

But she never expected Asher Keating to be so merciless, to just come out and say her Sterling Family was shameless. Madeline Sterling’s face flushed red, then went pale, then red again. She swallowed her anger, and finally said, "Asher, I want to marry you."

Riley Sterling’s chopsticks fell onto his plate with a loud CLATTER. Ethan Shaw was also startled. "A-Asher, Riley and I are just gonna... go to the bathroom. You two talk." With that, he grabbed Riley and bolted.

Asher Keating lazily extinguished his cigarette. "I’ve said it before. It’s impossible."

Madeline Sterling pushed her chair back and stood up. She was wearing a long, red slip dress with a deep V-neck and a high slit that went all the way up her thigh. She had taken off her jacket in the private room, and the long dress perfectly accentuated her figure. A few strands of her chestnut hair fell across her chest, and her beautiful, almond-shaped eyes looked at Asher Keating, full of seductive charm.

As she spoke, she placed a hand on Asher Keating’s shoulder. "Why not? Asher, didn’t you used to like me a lot? Besides, we’ve... slept together. Don’t you miss me at all? I’ve really missed your body, Asher."