Chapter 256: Leah, I’m Not Asher

When Liam Peyton came over and saw her, he quickly took the glass from Leah Sinclair’s hand. “Your foot still hasn’t healed. You can’t be drinking.”

Leah Sinclair had already had quite a bit to drink. She was a little surprised to see Liam Peyton. “Wynn, why didn’t you go have fun with the others?”

“I was a bit tired. I saw you were still here on my way back, so I thought I’d come over. Did something happen?”

Leah Sinclair pursed her lips. “Wynn, this overseas warehouse project you have with Asher and the others… is it very expensive?”

“Yes, the initial investment is huge. It’s an overseas project, after all, and then there’s all the paperwork for domestic and international certifications. Both our side and President Keating’s have invested over five hundred million each by now. It should get easier later on. Why do you ask?”

“It’s nothing. I was just curious and thought I’d ask since you were here.”

The number made Leah Sinclair’s heart tremble. She’d been wondering all afternoon why Phoebe Peyton had suddenly brought this up with her. But with Asher Keating away on business, she didn’t want to distract him. ‘I can’t believe it’s that much money.’

As she spoke, she reached for her drink again. Liam Peyton moved to stop her, but Leah Sinclair looked at him. “Wynn, it’s been a long time since we had a drink together, hasn’t it? Care for one?”

Liam Peyton looked into her eyes, but they betrayed no emotion. He hesitated. “Are you sure you’re okay?”

Leah Sinclair laughed. “I’m fine. It’s just been so long since I’ve had a drink. You saw how Mason wouldn’t let me have a single drop earlier. I’ve been dying for one.”

Liam Peyton smiled too. “All right, I’ll have a drink with you then.”

He got a clean glass and poured himself a drink. Leah Sinclair raised her glass to clink against his. “I never got a chance to properly thank you for last time. This one’s for you.”

“There’s nothing to thank me for. It was the right thing to do.”

Liam Peyton smiled and took a drink with her. Afterward, he looked at her. “Leah, I’ve never asked… how long have you and President Keating known each other?”

Leah Sinclair clicked her tongue. “Wynn, that’s a little disingenuous, don’t you think? With that whole scandal of mine a few days ago, how could you not know?”

Of course, Liam Peyton knew. But hearing Leah Sinclair say it herself still made his heart heavy. He hadn’t imagined she’d met Asher Keating under circumstances like that, much less that they could have come this far from such a beginning.

He sullenly downed a glass. “I know. It’s just… hard to believe.”

“I know, right? If it hadn’t happened to me, I wouldn’t believe it either.”

Leah Sinclair’s voice seemed distant as everything that had happened with Asher Keating replayed in her mind. Liam Peyton watched her, knowing she must be thinking of him now.

“If you two are so happy together, why did you go abroad back then?”

Leah Sinclair snapped out of her daze and smiled faintly. “So much happened back then… It’s more than I can explain in a few words. But thankfully, after more than three years, we didn’t lose each other.”

Liam Peyton’s fingers curled. He lowered his head with a self-mocking smile. “Yeah… That’s great.”

The two of them continued to drink and chat slowly. Eventually, Leah Sinclair lost track of how much she’d had or what time it was. All she knew was that her head was spinning.

Liam Peyton had also had a fair amount to drink. He lifted his wrist to check his watch—it was half past eleven. He stood up and said to Leah Sinclair, “Leah, it’s getting late. We should head back.”

Leah Sinclair swayed as she stood up, then staggered. Liam Peyton quickly caught her. Leaning on his hand for support, she gave her heavy head a little shake.

She saw double as she looked at Liam Peyton. “Wynn… why do I feel like this alcohol is fake?”

Liam Peyton chuckled. “Maybe it’s just because you haven’t had a drink in so long. We brought all this alcohol ourselves, how could it be fake?”

Leah Sinclair took a deep breath as waves of dizziness washed over her, making her unsteady on her feet. Liam Peyton held her up. She was muttering something, and when he leaned in to listen, he heard her say she was dizzy.

Liam Peyton steadied himself. Worried about her foot, he decided to just carry her back. His own head was spinning a little, so he could only walk slowly, doing his best to keep his steps steady.

He brought Leah Sinclair back to her room and laid her on the bed. As Liam Peyton went to stand up, she suddenly clutched his shirt.

“Asher.”

Leah Sinclair’s eyes fluttered open. She was too dizzy to see the person in front of her clearly, but she thought she could smell Asher Keating’s scent, and her eyes started to well up. “Asher…”

Liam Peyton braced one hand on the bed beside her head, his thin lips pressed into a tight line. Leah was still clutching his shirt, murmuring Asher Keating’s name over and over, her gaze hazy and unfocused.

He had never seen this side of Leah before—so fragile and broken. His voice was low. “Leah, I’m not Asher Keating.”

Leah didn’t hear him. She buried her face in the crook of his neck and nuzzled against him. “Asher, I miss you so much.”

Her movement made his breath catch in his throat. Staring at Leah, who was so close, his gaze slowly drifted down to her lightly colored lips. His Adam’s apple bobbed.

“Leah.”

He lowered his head, feeling her breath, tinged with the faint scent of alcohol, ghosting over his own.

When Leah Sinclair woke up, her head was splitting. She let out a soft hiss. The curtains were drawn, leaving the room dark. She lay there in a daze for a moment before her body suddenly went rigid.

She felt a hand pinned beneath her neck, and the shock sent her bolting upright. The sudden movement woke the person beside her.

“You’re awake?”

A slightly hoarse voice spoke. It was Asher Keating. Leah Sinclair was stunned, her mind blank. She quickly switched on the bedside lamp.

An orange-yellow light filled the room. The man in the bed raised a hand to shield his eyes for a moment before looking at her.

It really was Asher Keating.

“Asher? Aren’t you on a business trip? Wha… why are you here?”

Leah Sinclair’s voice was a little hoarse. Asher Keating sat up and looked at her dumbfounded expression, so angry that he reached out and pinched her cheek. “Shouldn’t I be here? Or did I interrupt something between you and your precious Wynn?”

“What…? Interrupt something with Wynn?”

Leah Sinclair was completely lost. Her head was throbbing, and she couldn’t remember what had happened last night. She only recalled that she thought Liam Peyton had brought her back to her room, but everything after that was a blank.

Asher Keating was supposed to fly back today. But when he’d called Leah Sinclair last night, it was Liam Peyton’s voice that answered.

Asher Keating had Sean Yates get a car, and the two of them took turns driving for over nine hours straight through the night to get back to Riverfall. He had been asleep for less than two hours.

After he finished explaining, Leah Sinclair looked at the exhaustion under his eyes and the fresh stubble on his chin, her heart aching for him. “I’m sorry, Asher. I… I don’t feel like I drank that much yesterday. I don’t know how I got so drunk.”

“Is that the point?”

“…Then what is?”

“Why were you drinking? Don’t you know you’re not supposed to be drinking right now?”

Asher Keating’s voice was laced with ice, making Leah feel a pang of guilt. Her eyes darted away. He leaned in, gently gripping her chin to make her look at him. “Why were you drinking?”

“I…”

“Leah Grant, are you awake?”

The sound of Phoebe Peyton knocking on the door interrupted them. Asher Keating gave her chin another squeeze. “We’ll settle this when we get back.”

When he got up and opened the door, Phoebe Peyton stared at Asher Keating as if she’d seen a ghost. “Ash-Asher? What are you doing here?”