Chapter 237: Give Me a Few Days

Chapter 237: Chapter 237: Give Me a Few Days

Leah Sinclair looked at Asher Keating’s furrowed brows. His eyes were filled with worry for her, and her heart constricted as if squeezed by a fist. She gasped for air and began to cough violently.

Startled, Asher Keating quickly rubbed her back. After she calmed down a bit, he poured a glass of water and slowly helped her drink.

"Asher..."

After drinking the water, Leah Sinclair called his name softly. Asher Keating set the glass down, wrapped his arms around her, and hummed a response.

"Was your... your first time with Phoebe Peyton?"

Leah Sinclair finally voiced the question. The moment she did, she felt Asher Keating’s body go rigid. She let out a soft, bitter laugh. ’How I wish it wasn’t true,’ she thought.

But Asher Keating’s reaction told her it was.

Asher Keating righted her so he could look into her eyes. Leah Sinclair was smiling, but it was a smile more painful than tears. She just stared at him.

Her eyes were filled with confusion, her already pale lips were now utterly drained of color, and her face was ashen.

Asher Keating opened his mouth, but no words came out. He suddenly recalled telling her a long time ago that he never denied sleeping with a woman.

That time with Phoebe Peyton hadn’t been... complete. But it was his first time being that intimate with a woman.

He’d forgotten when it happened. All he remembered was getting into a huge argument with Aaron Keating over something. He’d been in a terrible mood, drunk too much, and was in a foreign country. He happened to run into Phoebe Peyton, who was also out drinking, and they both had a lot.

Phoebe Peyton initiated it, and he... hadn’t refused.

They never went all the way. It was Asher Keating’s first time, and he was drunk and clueless. After fumbling for a long time without success, he grew frustrated and wanted to give up. But Phoebe Peyton clung to him, refusing to let him leave, and knelt before him to... use other means.

Afterward, Phoebe Peyton had told him she did it willingly and that he shouldn’t feel troubled. She said they could just be bed partners if he wanted, and they could try again next time. Asher Keating refused.

So, he didn’t know if it truly counted as having slept with Phoebe Peyton. But they had done everything—kissing included—short of the final act. He felt he couldn’t deny it.

He hadn’t even thought about this incident when the Peyton Family sought the partnership. At the time, their desire to collaborate was strong, they’d made a very sincere offer, and the contract was signed quickly.

He only remembered after the car race, when Phoebe Peyton mentioned he hadn’t called her ’Phoebe’ in a long time. He seemed to recall calling her that once.

Asher Keating reached out to touch Leah Sinclair’s face, but she turned away slightly. His hand froze in mid-air before slowly clenching into a fist as he drew it back.

Leah Sinclair sniffled. "Asher, I know this isn’t your fault. It’s all in the past. I just... I just can’t accept it right now. Please, let me process this. Just give me a few days."

As she spoke, Leah Sinclair pulled the covers over her head, curling into a tight ball. She bit down hard on her lip as tears streamed down her face. ’I know I shouldn’t blame Asher,’ she thought, ’but I just don’t know how to face him right now.’

Asher Keating watched the lump she’d become under the blankets. She was silent, but he knew she was crying; the subtle trembling of the comforter gave her away.

He’d never thought to mention it to Leah Sinclair, deeming it unnecessary. The incident was so far in the past and, to him, completely insignificant.

When he first agreed to the partnership with the Peyton Group, he was focused on the corporation, not Phoebe Peyton. He had no feelings for her, nor could he ever. He just hadn’t expected Leah Sinclair to have such a strong reaction. ’But how did she find out?’

He worried she would suffocate under the blankets, but he also knew she wouldn’t come out as long as he was in the room. He gave the trembling lump a gentle hug through the comforter. "I’m going for a smoke."

Leah Sinclair nodded vigorously from beneath the covers. When she heard the door open and close, she slowly poked her head out. The fresh air felt good. She wrapped the blanket tightly around herself, trying to force herself to sleep. ’I have to work tomorrow. I have to sleep.’

Asher Keating stepped out of the building, took a deep breath, and lit a cigarette. The image of Leah Sinclair’s face was burned into his memory. He was filled with regret. He never should have agreed to the partnership with the Peyton Group.

Leah Sinclair said she needed time to process this. He didn’t know how long she would need, or how he was supposed to explain it to her. For the first time since Leah Sinclair had left Riverfall three years ago, Asher Keating felt completely lost.

When he returned after his cigarette, Leah Sinclair was already asleep, her brow deeply furrowed and her body curled into a small ball. Asher Keating gazed at her face, then gently kissed her forehead. She stirred slightly but didn’t wake, her frown never easing.

The next day, Asher Keating wanted to take Leah Sinclair home to rest, but she refused. With her head down, she said she wanted to go to work. Her clothes had been changed—he must have done it while she was asleep yesterday. Asher Keating’s brow furrowed.

Leah Sinclair said only one thing: "If I go home, I’ll just overthink things. I want to keep busy."

After a silent sigh, Asher Keating asked Louise Holt to send Leah’s bag to her office, then drove her to Baystream himself. In the car, Leah Sinclair didn’t say a single word. Asher Keating kept his lips sealed as well. Driving, Sean Yates felt a growing unease. Something was very wrong with them.

But yesterday, President Keating had told him to look into what had happened to Leah Sinclair at the hotel. He’d checked, but he hadn’t found anything out of the ordinary.

According to the security footage, Leah Sinclair had only left the event hall once to use the restroom, and she came out quickly. Afterward, presumably to get some fresh air, she went into the garden.

There were no cameras in the garden, though, and Leah Sinclair returned shortly after. She just stood there, dazed, at the entrance to the banquet hall. That was right when President Keating and Phoebe Peyton were on stage pouring the champagne. Her movements didn’t reveal anything suspicious.

When the car arrived at the Baystream building, Leah Sinclair muttered, "I’m leaving," and got out before Asher Keating could reply. He watched her back as she all but fled, then said flatly, "Drive."

Once Leah Sinclair was out of the car, Sean Yates began to report his findings. Asher Keating lit a cigarette without a word. Seeing his boss’s expression in the rearview mirror, Sean Yates shut his mouth.

Asher Keating was wondering how Leah Sinclair could have found out. Based on Sean Yates’s report, the only possibility was that she overheard something in the garden.

None of their old classmates had been at the event yesterday. And at that moment, Phoebe Peyton had been on stage with him. Phoebe Peyton was an ambitious woman; her goals extended far beyond this single project for the Peyton Group.

So, after he had warned her, it was unlikely she would have told Leah Sinclair herself. That much was clear from her last conversation with Leah, where she’d merely claimed they were friends.

Asher Keating had barely reached his office when Edward Yates knocked and rushed in. "President Keating, something’s off with the news today. All the outlets, in both Riverfall and Kingsford, are reporting that the Grant Group and the Peyton Group are arranging a marriage alliance."