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

"I know, but thank you anyway."

Chester Hale hesitated for a moment, then suddenly spoke up. "Thomas Sterling... he..."

Asher Keating raised a hand to stop him. "I know."

Chester Hale was taken aback, then let out a low chuckle. There was a hint of admiration in his eyes. "Truly, you are the Third Young Master Keating."

The corners of Asher Keating’s mouth curved up. "I never go into a battle unprepared."

Chester Hale raised the cup in his hand. "Then I’ll toast to Third Young Master Keating’s triumphant return, with tea in place of wine."

"I’ll buy you a drink then."

Asher Keating also picked up his cup and clinked it against Chester’s. The two men, whose previous encounters had been fraught with hostility, were now in the Sinclair family’s simple courtyard. And with a cup of plain water, they buried the hatchet.

"I didn’t realize it before. Leah Sinclair always said you were a good man, and now I see you truly are worthy of her love."

Chester Hale glanced toward the room Leah Sinclair was in. He had just noticed that aside from the moment they clinked cups, Asher Keating’s gaze had been fixed on that room the entire time.

Whether it was how Asher Keating had protected Leah Sinclair from the very beginning, how he had rushed over that night against all odds, or how he had stayed here for three whole days for her sake, this was the first time Chester Hale truly felt that Asher Keating was worthy of Leah’s love.

"She’s worth it."

Asher Keating gazed at the room, a slow smile spreading across his lips. Chester Hale turned to look at him. Asher’s features were normally cold and sharp, but the look in his eyes as he stared at that room was inexplicably warm.

"Don’t you go too far! She’s my grandmother, by what right can you stop me from going!"

Suddenly, Leah Sinclair’s furious voice shattered the relative quiet of the small courtyard. Asher Keating frowned, immediately stood up, and walked over, with Sheila Hughes following close behind.

She had also been watching the room. She knew First Uncle Sinclair’s family was no good and was worried Leah Sinclair might be getting bullied.

Ethan Shaw and the others stood up, looking at each other in confusion. Asher Keating pushed the door right open, and the room instantly fell silent.

Leah Sinclair was clearly livid. For the past few days, she had been completely silent. No crying, no fussing, just quietly kneeling before the memorial altar. This was the first time in days she had shown such an outward display of emotion.

"Leah, what’s wrong?"

Sheila Hughes rushed in, grabbing Leah Sinclair’s hand. Without a second thought, she shot a vicious glare at everyone in the room—First Uncle Sinclair, his wife, Jason Sinclair, and Jack Sinclair. "Were you bullying Leah?!"

"Who are you? What does my family’s business have to do with you?"

Jack Sinclair had panicked for a second when he saw Asher Keating, but his displeasure returned when Sheila Hughes rushed in. He might be wary of the men, but a woman? ’There’s no way I’m going to be afraid of her.’

Leah Sinclair pulled back Sheila Hughes, who was about to start a fight, her eyes fixed on First Uncle Sinclair. "Uncle, you have no right to stop me from joining the funeral procession tomorrow. We have no custom here that says women can’t do it!"

First Uncle Sinclair glanced at Asher Keating leaning against the doorway and Ethan Shaw and the others standing behind him. He flinched. "Well, you’re not my mother’s biological granddaughter."

Asher Keating and the others finally understood. The Sinclair Family didn’t want Leah Sinclair to be part of the funeral procession for Grandma Sinclair tomorrow. They wanted her to stay home, which of course, she refused to do. This was Grandma Sinclair’s final journey; she couldn’t possibly miss it.

Sheila Hughes shouted, "You’ve gone too far! Leah Sinclair was raised by her grandmother! How can she not be allowed to see her off?"

"Hey, what’s your problem, lady?"

Jack Sinclair started to get up as he spoke, but a single glare from Asher Keating made him freeze in place. He didn’t dare to stand up completely, and his awkward, half-standing, half-sitting posture looked rather comical.

"I don’t care what any of you say, I am going tomorrow! Otherwise, you’ll have to carry Grandma’s coffin over my dead body!"

Leah Sinclair’s resolve hardened. She stared coldly at the four members of the Sinclair family, her eyes filled with a ferocity they had never seen before.

Asher Keating walked in and draped an arm around her shoulder. "What’s this? I paid for the funeral, bought the burial plot, and commissioned the headstone, yet my girlfriend can’t even see her grandmother off one last time?"

"What do you mean, you paid for it?"

Leah Sinclair looked up at him, and realization instantly dawned. She broke free from Asher Keating’s embrace and flipped the table in front of First Uncle Sinclair. "Have you no shame! You didn’t even pay for Grandma’s funeral expenses! Then where the fuck is the money I gave you before?!"

Everyone was startled by Leah Sinclair’s sudden action. They had never seen her truly angry before. Ethan Shaw and Riley Sterling were simply frozen in shock.

Riley Sterling swallowed hard. "Holy cow, is this the first time I’ve ever heard Leah Sinclair swear?"

Ethan Shaw was also dumbfounded. "I think... it might be."

Behind them, Chester Hale and Sean Yates were also stunned. Seeing Leah Sinclair like this, her aunt suddenly began to throw a fit. "Oh, woe is me! You damn girl! Your grandmother raised you for so long, and her body isn’t even cold in the ground yet, and here you are flipping tables! Everyone, come and look! Oh, Mother, is this your precious granddaughter? She’s flipping tables on your son and grandsons!"

A crowd of onlookers had gathered outside. The veins on Leah Sinclair’s forehead throbbed. She truly hadn’t expected them to make Asher Keating pay. ’How can a family be this shameless?’ And now her aunt was causing such a disgraceful scene. Trembling with rage, she started walking toward her aunt.

Asher Keating caught her by the shoulder and pushed her back toward Sheila Hughes. Sheila quickly steadied her, whispering words of comfort. Asher Keating swept his gaze over the four of them, then called out, "Sean Yates."

Sean Yates hurried in, handed him a file folder, righted the table, and then retreated. Her aunt was still wailing like a banshee when Asher Keating slowly said, "Shut up."

His icy voice frightened his aunt into silence. She looked at Asher Keating, and as his calm gaze swept over her, she felt an inexplicable chill and didn’t dare utter another word.

"You all need to get one thing straight. The one who pays is the one who has the right to speak."

Asher Keating sat down in a chair by the table. The four members of the Sinclair family didn’t dare make a peep.

After Asher Keating had said he would cover the costs the other day, the four Sinclairs had spent the past few days scheming about how to inflate the expenses so they could squeeze more money out of him. He was rich, after all.

Asher Keating lit a cigarette, blew a smoke ring, and spoke with a slight smile. "Grandma Sinclair isn’t even in the ground yet, and you’re already turning on us? That’s quite the clever scheme you’ve cooked up. Leah and I put up the money, and you get to take the credit for being the filial ones?"

Jason Sinclair, who had been quiet until now, mumbled, "Well... she’s really not Grandma’s biological granddaughter." He then shrank back under another glare from Asher Keating.

"You’re Grandma Sinclair’s biological grandsons, alright! Have you paid a single cent?"

Sheila Hughes shouted, "You’re absolutely shameless!"

Asher Keating tapped his fingers on the table. "Leah and I are the ones paying. So now, not only will Leah join the procession tomorrow, I want her to be the one to smash the basin and give the call to lift the coffin. She must stand at the very front."