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

Leah felt a chill as she stepped outside. She pulled her clothes tighter and started to walk slowly. She really wanted to get drunk, but she didn’t dare drink too much right now.

She decided to wait until she got to Transterra, where she would drink her heart out with Sheila Hughes. Sheila had told her the kumis there was incredible.

「Everluck.」

Asher Keating had had a bit too much to drink, so he stepped outside for a smoke and some air. He had been in Everluck for five days. Looking at his chat with Leah on his phone, he saw it was still paused on their last exchange. He had said they would talk when he got home, and Leah had simply replied, "Okay." Nothing since.

Because he was occasionally in the mood to have sex in the living room, Asher had removed all the surveillance cameras. Now he had no way to see what Leah was doing. He lowered his phone, blew a smoke ring, and chuckled self-mockingly. ’To think I’d be this hooked on a woman.’

But the thought of Riley Sterling’s words made Asher’s heart grow restless again. For the past few days, he had thrown himself into his work, trying not to think about Leah, trying not to think about what state their relationship was in now.

He didn’t know if Leah truly liked him, but he knew that he liked her.

"Alright, alright, I really haven’t had that much. I’ll be home in a bit, okay? Be good and go to sleep first. It’s so cold, don’t wait up for me."

A voice interrupted Asher’s thoughts, and he turned to look.

"Oh, right, President Keating! Honey, I’ve got to go." It was Harold Hawkins, a sales manager for the Everluck office.

Asher responded with a slight smile, then asked, "The wife checking up on you?"

"Yeah, hehe... My wife, she’s worried I’ll drink too much." Harold Hawkins laughed, a little embarrassed.

Asher offered him a cigarette. "I remember, Manager Hawkins, you’re on your second marriage, aren’t you?"

"Yes."

Harold Hawkins took it with some apprehension. After lighting it, he began to speak slowly. "My first wife and I were set up by our families. There were no feelings between us, we were just making do and getting by. When I was out entertaining clients or working overtime, no one cared when I got home. She’d just eat her own meals and go to sleep on her own time. Eventually, I couldn’t stand it anymore, so I asked for a divorce."

Harold Hawkins sighed. "Sorry to have made a fool of myself in front of you, President Keating."

Asher shook his head and said, "Not at all."

"But my current one... we met during a business collaboration later on. We fell in love before getting married, you could say. And President Keating, let me tell you, it’s a world of difference when there’s love and when there isn’t. Now when I go out for these functions, she keeps tabs on me. She’s afraid I’ll drink too much, or that I’ll be back late. But no matter how late I get home, there’s always a light on, and someone is waiting for me. And my heart... it just feels so full."

As Harold Hawkins spoke, the gentle smile on his face was impossible to conceal. Asher listened, a faint smile on his own lips, and his thoughts turned to himself. Leah asked him every day if he would be home for dinner. Whenever he said yes, the table was always filled with his favorite dishes.

If he had a business dinner, Leah would wait up for him no matter how late. Even if she dozed off on the sofa, she would jolt awake the moment she sensed he was home and insist on making him honey water, only resting after she’d watched him drink it.

"Look at me, President Keating... heh, I talk too much when I drink. Do you have a girlfriend, President Keating?"

"Mhm, I do."

The corners of Asher’s mouth curled up. ’He refused to believe Leah didn’t like him.’

"That’s wonderful. I’m sure your girlfriend is the same way, President Keating?"

"She is."

Harold Hawkins turned to look at Asher. For the past few days, this man had been like the Devil himself. While he hadn’t lost his temper, his keep-away aura was so intense that no one in the company dared to breathe too loudly around him.

But now, as he spoke of his girlfriend, a gentle warmth softened his features.

"President Keating, are you all heading back tomorrow? After being away for so many days, your girlfriend must miss you terribly, huh?"

"Mhm."

Asher stubbed out his cigarette, his voice low and heavy.

The next day, after the plane landed, Sean Yates hesitated for a moment before asking, "Sir, where should I take you?"

Asher was about to say Europa Gardens, but after a moment’s thought, he called Leah. An automated voice replied, "Sorry, the number you have dialed is currently switched off."

He had planned on going back to have a proper talk with Leah—he hadn’t finished what he wanted to say last time. But when the automated message played, Asher’s heart sank again. ’That girl actually turned her phone off.’

"Back to Silverwood."

On her way home after finishing her work handover, Leah was bumped by someone running past in a hurry. She was in the middle of discussing her trip to Transterra with Sheila, and the impact sent her phone flying. Before she even had a chance to pick it up, a car rolled over it. In that instant, she felt her breath catch in her throat.

She walked over in a daze and picked up the shattered phone. It held photos of Asher. Over the past few days, whenever she missed him so much she couldn’t bear it, she had survived by looking at those photos again and again.

She hadn’t taken any of the things Asher had bought for her—not the necklace, not the watch, none of it. But now that even her phone was broken, it felt like she had lost the very last thing she had to remember him by. She stood up, feeling completely lost and adrift.

Chester Hale had a business dinner at Azure Bay that day. As he walked past the bar, he saw Leah and was somewhat surprised.

Realizing he hadn’t seen her around lately, he walked over and tapped Leah on the shoulder. "Leah, what are you doing here all alone? Where’s Third Master Keating?"

Leah looked up at him blearily. "He’s... on a business trip."

Chester Hale frowned. Something about her seemed off. "Even if he’s on a trip, you shouldn’t be here all by yourself. What’s wrong? Did you two have a fight?"

"Hah. We didn’t fight. We’re over."

Leah sat up straight and repeated softly, "Mhm, it’s over."

Chester Hale’s hand, which was steadying her, froze. Leah gripped his clothes, her consciousness fading as she mumbled, "But I miss him so much."

After a moment of silence, Chester Hale helped her lean forward to rest on the table. He took out his phone and sent a message to Ethan Shaw. They had run into each other at someone’s birthday party, and Ethan had proactively added him as a contact. Chester hadn’t refused.

"Where is Asher Keating?"

Ethan Shaw replied quickly. "He was on a business trip. Just got back. What’s up? You need something from him?"

"Leah’s at Azure Bay. I’ll give him one hour. If he’s not here by then, I’m taking her with me."

Ethan Shaw’s call came through almost immediately. "Whoa, wait, Second Master Hale, what do you mean by that?"

"Exactly what I said."

Chester Hale hung up as soon as he finished speaking. Ethan immediately tried calling Leah, but her phone was off. Growing anxious, he quickly dialed Asher, but there was no answer. His villa was in the same Silverwood neighborhood as Asher’s, so he grabbed a jacket and bolted out the door.

He didn’t know why he was in such a rush, but his gut told him he had to find Asher and tell him what was happening right away.

He kept calling Asher as he ran, but Asher never picked up. When he finally got to Asher’s front door and saw the lights on inside, he swore under his breath and started hammering the doorbell.

"Asher! Asher! What the hell... You’re home but not answering your phone?"