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

Before Madeline’s lips could even touch his, Asher Keating expressionlessly grabbed her by the hair and shoved her head into the hot spring. Madeline immediately began to struggle, sending water splashing everywhere in the pool. Asher was using all his strength, and she was powerless against him.

After a long moment, when Asher decided she’d had enough, he finally let her go. He then leaned in and whispered in her ear, "How does that feel?"

Madeline coughed uncontrollably, scrambling backward in terror. Asher stood up with a cold smirk. "Consider this a warning. Next time, it won’t be over so quickly."

With that, he leisurely stepped out of the hot spring, casually threw on his bathrobe, and walked away. He left behind Madeline, her face a bruised purple. A few minutes after he was gone, a disheveled Madeline struggled to her feet in the pool.

She straightened her hair, put on her bathrobe, and smiled as she snapped off a fingernail that had bent back during the struggle. "Asher Keating, you just had to do this the hard way, didn’t you? Well, don’t blame me for what comes next."

Asher went straight back to his room and sent a text to Sean Yates: "Keep an eye on Madeline Sterling. Don’t let her get anywhere near my room."

Though Sean Yates had no idea what happened, he immediately replied, "Understood."

Asher lit a cigarette and sent a text to Leah Sinclair. "When are you coming back?"

A few seconds later, his phone chimed. "I’ll be back tomorrow. Did you miss me?"

"Mhm."

Leah Sinclair smiled at the text. Just as she was about to reply, another one came through from Asher. "More like I want to make you cry."

Leah’s smile vanished. ’This guy...’ she thought. She put her phone down, deciding to ignore him. Asher, for his part, was called away to dinner by the brand representatives and didn’t text her again for a while.

After dinner, once Leah had finished cleaning up, Chester Hale got up to leave. Leah walked him out, and he asked, "Is it okay if we head back after lunch tomorrow?"

"I thought you wanted to do some sightseeing?" Leah asked, a little surprised.

"A meeting came up unexpectedly, so I have to rush back," Chester explained. He had gotten a call from the hospital that afternoon about a crucial meeting he had to attend the next day. "If you still have things to do here, I can head back first, but it’d be a hassle for you to take the train."

Leah thought for a moment. "It’s no problem. As long as Grandma is okay, I don’t have anything else pressing. I can meet you at the hospital tomorrow, then."

"No need for that. Just wait for me at the house. I checked the map; I can get on the highway from here."

"Okay, I’ll wait for you at home."

After seeing Chester Hale off, Leah went back inside to help Grandma Sinclair pack. Her grandma kept insisting she’d bought far too much and that an old woman like her couldn’t possibly use it all. Leah just hugged her and said sweetly, "But I want to give all the best things to my grandma."

Grandma Sinclair sighed with a smile. "Oh, you silly girl."

First Uncle Sinclair and his family didn’t get back until very late, by which time Grandma Sinclair had already gone to bed. When they heard there had been a guest and that Leah had cooked a feast, they regretted not coming home earlier.

In truth, they had gone into town early that morning with their precious grandson specifically to avoid having to pay for the follow-up medical appointment.

Now, looking at the leftover dishes, her aunt-in-law said in a snide, passive-aggressive tone, "Well, Leah. Did it not even occur to you to ask if we were coming back for dinner? Besides, making all this for just one guest... isn’t that a bit wasteful? Has working in the big city made you this extravagant?"

"Auntie, Dr. Hale saved Grandma’s life. Nothing I could do for him would be a waste," Leah said as she tidied up. "And I bought plenty of groceries. There’s meat in the freezer and vegetables set aside. It should be enough to last you all for a while."

Her aunt-in-law rushed to the refrigerator. Sure enough, it was stuffed full of meat and vegetables. She beamed, her eyes practically disappearing with delight. ’This will save us a good bit on groceries!’ she thought. She cleared her throat and returned. "Well, that’s more like it."

Leah put down what she was holding and took a deep breath. "Auntie, I noticed earlier... could you please stop feeding Grandma leftovers? She’s not well. The doctor said she needs proper nutrition."

"She’s an old woman. A few bites of whatever is more than enough. Who does she think she is, the queen?" Her aunt-in-law said, grabbing one of the oranges Leah had bought that afternoon and starting to peel it.

"I give First Uncle two thousand yuan every month. That’s for Grandma’s living expenses, not for the rest of you," Leah said, her voice cold. "If you can’t even bear to feed her properly, then I’ll stop sending the money. I’ll save up and take Grandma to live with me instead."

"Fine, take her! Take her right now!" the aunt-in-law shrieked. "You act like we actually want to take care of her! Do you have any idea how much it costs?" First Uncle grabbed her arm, cutting her off.

"Are you stupid?" he hissed. "That’s two thousand a month! If she really takes her, we won’t get another cent from her. Just let the old lady eat. What are you making a scene for?"

After whispering to his wife, First Uncle Sinclair turned back to Leah, his face plastered with a sycophantic smile. "Don’t worry, Leah. She’s my own mother; of course I’ll take care of her. What you saw earlier, we just hadn’t gotten around to throwing it out. That wasn’t for Grandma."

"I certainly hope so, Uncle," Leah replied, her expression hard.

"Alright, alright, it’s late. Go get some sleep," First Uncle Sinclair said with a dismissive smile. "Leah, you can try to squeeze in with your grandma. You know your second brother’s room is a pigsty, and your old room, well, we turned that into a storage closet ages ago."

"No, it’s fine. I’ll just sleep on the sofa," Leah said. "Grandma’s a light sleeper; I don’t want to wake her."

After saying this, Leah got a blanket and spread it over the sofa. Grandma Sinclair’s bed was tiny. They might have managed to share it in the summer, but with the thick winter quilts, it was impossible for two people to fit.

It had been a long time since her room was converted into a storage closet. Whenever she came back to visit, she usually just made do on the sofa. If things were too difficult, she would simply cut her visit short.

Seeing her settle in, First Uncle Sinclair didn’t say another word. He just pulled his wife along and went to put their grandson to bed. The sofa was too small, and Leah slept poorly.

She spent the whole night cold, drifting in and out of a fitful sleep. When she got up the next morning, her nose was stuffy and her throat felt scratchy. ’I guess living in Riverfall has made me soft,’ she thought wryly. ’Catching a cold after just one rough night.’

Leah spent the entire morning washing and sun-drying Grandma Sinclair’s clothes and bedding, and then she gave her grandmother’s room a thorough cleaning from top to bottom.

Her uncle’s family didn’t lift a finger to help, but she was used to that. Once she finally finished her chores, she made lunch. She hadn’t even had a chance to eat when a message came from Chester Hale saying he had arrived.

Leah sighed, texted back that she was on her way, and said goodbye to her grandmother without touching her food.

Grandma Sinclair grew frantic. To appease her, Leah quickly shoveled two bites into her mouth. "Grandma, I’m not hungry, and I’m going to be late! You take good care of yourself. I’ll come back to see you as soon as I can!"

"One more bite! Just one more!"

Grandma Sinclair followed her, only satisfied after managing to feed her another mouthful of food. "Leah, you take care of yourself, you hear? Don’t work too hard."

"Mhm, I will. You too, Grandma." Leah gave her grandmother a quick hug and rushed out the door.

As she neared the village entrance, she ran into her second brother, Jack Sinclair. He didn’t recognize her at first. It wasn’t until Leah called out, "Jack," that he realized the beautiful woman he’d been eyeing from afar was his own sister.

"Leah? Did you get plastic surgery or something?"

"...I have to go, Jack."

"Wait, Leah. I just remembered something," Jack Sinclair said, suddenly grabbing her arm.