After the doctor gave Leonardo an injection, his fever was under control.
When Summer came with a towel to wipe the sweat from the body of “Douglas”, everyone had left the room. She found it strange. That day in the kitchen when Tim saw “Douglas” carrying her in his arms, he said nothing. Now he was asking her to take care of “Douglas” as if propriety did not matter.
“Mom…”
Just after Summer finished wiping off the sweat from his body, “Douglas” began to sleep-talk, and he grabbed her hand. She tried to shake him off, but he held her hand so tightly that she could not get away.
Summer glared at him and said, “I’m not your mom. Let go of my hand!”
However, it was impossible for the semi-unconscious man to have heard what she said. He still held her hand tightly, but his brows had relaxed, and he was breathing regularly.
Just then, Jessica called.
“Jessica, you’re here?”
“I’m right in front of the mansion now. Where are you?”
Summer glanced down at “Douglas”; he was sleeping like a baby. Again, she tried to get his hand off hers but failed. She had no choice but to ask Tim to let Jessica in.
When Jessica came into the room, her wide-open eyes showed how surprised she was. “Didn’t they say Leonardo was ugly? This is ugly?”
Tim who was standing behind her quickly explained, “He’s Douglas, the young master’s cousin.”
“The young master’s cousin?” Jessica glanced back at Tim. “Then why is he holding on to Summer’s hand? Shouldn’t he behave more decently?”
Tim could not find the words to respond.
Summer looked at Tim; she also wanted to ask the same question.
After a long while of silence, Tim finally managed some words. “The wife of the elder brother is like a mother to his younger siblings.”
Summer looked at Tim with a plastic smile. “So that’s why he called me mom?”
Wake up, Young Master. He could not take it anymore. Making up an excuse, Tim scurried out of the room.
“Please, take a seat. We’ll go out for lunch later.” Summer patted the chair beside her.
Jessica sat down and leaned closer to look at “Douglas”. Despite the many handsome men she had met in the entertainment industry, she could not help but be in awe when she saw his face. “Damn! I can’t believe the Emerson family has such an awesome gene. He looks so handsome. Is he real?” While she spoke, she reached out, wanting to pinch his face. Just then, Leonardo opened his eyes. He looked bewildered, but that expression faded away after two seconds. In its place was an icy stare.
Jessica quivered involuntarily when she saw those piercing eyes. She retracted her hand at once, swallowing and stuttering. “Is-Is he awake now?”
Seeing the unfriendly expression on Leonardo’s face, Summer stretched out her hand in front of Jessica and said, “What are you doing? She is my friend!”
When Leonardo turned his eyes to Summer, the tense muscles on his face began to relax, and the icy stare disappeared. His voice was hoarse when he said, “Water.”
Summer raised her that he was holding on to, peevishly saying, “Then let go of my hand!”
Leonardo looked at their hands, then at her meaningfully. He then let go of her.
Just as Summer got to her feet, someone could be heard talking on the outside.
“Let me see if he’s dead.”
“The young master has fallen ill for real.”
Both voices sounded familiar, but Summer could only recognize the latter; it was Tim. The next moment when the door swung open, Carl Jones was standing at the doorway with Tim behind him.
Not expecting to see Summer there, Carl Jones was startled for a while.
When he regained his composure, he put on his pair of glasses and greeted her politely, “Mrs. Emerson, what a pleasure to see you again!”
“All the same,” Summer replied and was amazed at how quick he could change his expression.
“I heard that Douglas was sick. So I’m here to pay him a visit. He-” Before Carl Jones could finish his sentence, someone interrupted him.
“Carl Jones!”
Summer looked over her shoulder and saw Jessica rolling up her sleeves while walking up to Carl Jones. She then delivered a brutal punch to his stomach, and Carl Jones took two steps back. He was in pain but did not blink his eyes once.
Summer could not believe what she had just seen. What was happening? There was silence for a few seconds before Carl Jones chuckled and said in a low voice, “Jessica Hicks, that was a heavy blow! Will you take care of me if I become paralyzed because of it?”
Jessica glared at him. “I told you I would hit you each time I see you!” Summer had never seen Jessica behave in such a way. There was even hatred in her eyes.
Jessica turned and looked at her. “I’ll wait for you outside.”
Summer nodded.
The minute Jessica disappeared out of the doorway, Carl Jones straightened up and sat on the edge of the bed as if nothing had happened. He stared at Leonardo for a while, then said, “Are you sick for real?” Leonardo had mentioned that he would go to the office today, so when he suddenly fell ill, Carl Jones figured that was probably faking it.
“Get away from me.” Leonardo frowned. He had no qualms about giving Carl Jones a big cold shoulder. He looked at Summer, who instantly knew what he wanted without the need for him to say a word.
“Let Tim fetch you a glass of water,” she said. Worried about Jessica, she went out to check on her.
Leonardo shot Tim a glance and said, “Get out.”
Tim nodded. “I’ll get you a glass of water.”
“I’m not drinking any,” said Leonardo.
Tim was like Young Master is becoming all the weirder now.
…
Summer brought Jessica downstairs, asking, “Have you and Carl Jones known each other for a long time?”
“Yup.” Jessica paused, then continued, “That rascal owes me! He’s not going to resist even if I beat him to death.”
By the looks of things, there had to be some enmity between Jessica and Carl Jones in the past. But Summer did not ask it or tell Jessica about the invitation for a job interview. They went out for lunch, and right when the food was served, Summer received a call from “Douglas”. She did not know it was him, though, because she did not have his number.
“When are you coming back?” His voice may have sounded frail, but Summer could easily tell whose voice it was.
“Anything?”
There were a few seconds of silence on the other end before she heard him saying, “I haven’t had lunch yet.”
“If you have no appetite, ask the doctor to drip-feed you. I-”
Leonardo cut her off, “I want to eat your cooking.”
His feeble voice was a stark contrast to his arrogance on normal days. Summer felt bad when she heard that voice of his. Not knowing how to respond, she hung up.
Jessica had roughly overheard what they were talking about. Swirling the glass of juice in her hand, she smiled meaningfully at Summer. “Was it the handsome cousin?”