Summer picked up her phone and called Jessica.
“You bought off the hot searches?”
“Didn’t you say no? You changed your mind?” Jessica sounded excited.
“No, but Vicky’s scandal has made its way into the hot searches again,” Summer quickly explained.
“Really?” Jessica could be heard fiddling with something. She had to be checking things on social media, Summer figured. Then she heard Jessica speak again, “I’ve checked. This is karma!”
However, Summer thought otherwise. Things were weird. Something had to be going on. Who did that? Did Vicky offend anyone else? It was entirely possible. She was proud and arrogant, on top of being hot-tempered. It was only natural that she had offended many people.
Summer did not bother herself with it. She checked the time and figured that Leonardo should have finished his lunch by now. She got to her feet to see him, thinking that she should talk to him about what was happening online.
…
Summer approached the study room and knocked on the door. A hoarse voice said, “Come in.” She opened the door and saw him sitting behind the desk with his back facing her. It puzzled her that Leonardo did not let her see his face, yet he was going out. From what she understood, Leonardo was a recluse. He disliked going out, was not bothered with anything, and rarely talked with anyone.
“Can I help you?” Leonardo asked before she could say anything.
Summer tilted her head, looking at him. “Do you know what happened online recently?”
He remained silent, then said in a stern voice, “Stop talking about things of the past. As a daughter-in-law in the Emerson family, you shouldn’t stick your nose where it doesn’t belong.”
Somehow, Summer found his tone of voice very similar to that of “Douglas”‘s. Perhaps it was because they were cousins, she thought. She left him and breathed a sigh of relief. Leonardo was strange, but not as perverted as some individuals who suffered from emotional traumas. It was hard to imagine how she could stand it for the rest of her life if he was such a person.
She found herself going into the kitchen, but “Douglas” was no longer there. Someone had cleaned up the kitchen too.
…
The next day, Summer changed into formal attire, ready to go for her job interviews. Vicky had taken up too much of her time for the past two days.
Coming from a famous university with a fantastic academic track record and a beautifully written resume, Summer had gone for two job interviews so far and both of them offered her a job.
She was a little emotional now. Due to her mother, Karen, she did not get the chance to do what she had studied for after her graduation. There was nothing to hold her back again. Since she had options now, she wanted to choose wisely.
She found a restaurant where she could order her lunch, then she studied the backgrounds of the companies she was going for her interviews later in the afternoon. Not long after she sat down, a woman wearing a BB cap and a mask walked up to her. She tipped the entire glass of water onto her head and yelled through her teeth, “Summer!”
Summer closed her eyes, wiped the water off her face, and looked up. After a careful look, she made out the woman’s identity. It was Vicky. She was now “famous” for the wrong reasons. No wonder she had to cover up.
“What’s wrong with you?” Summer looked at her, appearing calm.
With anger in her eyes, Vicky shouted in a low voice, “Summer! You’re the one who leaked the videos online! I won’t let you get away with it!”
Summer was a little surprised by how good Vicky’s instincts were, but she was not going to admit it. Instead, she said, “What video?”
“You’ve been pretending to be stupid all these years in the Jarrett family, haven’t you? You’re not dumb at all!” Vicky looked even more hideous.
“You really know me more than my dad and mom do.” Perhaps Lynn and Karen still thought she was a dumbo. They had given up on her since she was a child. They would rather believe that she was a moron than admit that the chicken had come home to roost.
“Bitch!” Vicky raised her hand. As she was about to hit her, Summer got ready to dodge, but right then, someone approached Vicky from behind. Summer noticed and took the slap from Vicky.
Jerome rushed up to them and grabbed Vicky’s hand. Realizing that it was Vicky, he frowned. “Vicky?”
“Jerome!” A hint of joy appeared in Vicky’s eyes, and her voice was soft. “You’re finally willing to see me! Let me explain. This bitch is the one responsible for the videos and photos leaked online! She framed me because she was jealous of you and me!”
Summer covered her face with her hand and lowered her head like a defenseless little girl. It impressed her how Vicky’s brain worked; in Vicky’s mind, she thought that every other woman was jealous of her. Summer bit her lip, face pale and voice determined, “… I didn’t.” It was true that she had never been jealous of Vicky.
Vicky yelled, “You’re a liar!”
“That’s enough!” Jerome glared at Vicky. Their raised voices began to attract curious eyeballs, but Jerome was more self-conscious. He told Vicky coldly, “Let’s talk it over inside the private room.” He then looked at Summer, his voice a lot gentler. “Summer, could you please come with us as well?”
Interested to see how Vicky would react when she got abandoned, she decided to follow him.
As soon as they entered the private dining room, Vicky shouted while she pointed her finger at Summer, “Jerome, trust me! Everything has to do with this woman. I’m innocent! The video’s a deepfake, and the photos were photoshopped!”
Vicky still had the nerve to tell such a lousy lie. She was not the Vicky he used to know. Jerome studied her carefully and felt disappointed. “Things have come to this, yet you’re still lying!”
Desperate, Vicky dragged Summer before him and shrieked. “Tell Jerome that you were the one who set me up. It was a trap!” She thought that Summer was faking her dumbness, but then, taking her slap was really dumb. That gave her the false impression that Summer was still an easy target and that Summer would do anything she asked her to.
Summer glanced at Jerome. She looked away and straightened herself. “I won’t admit to anything I’ve never done before!” Her voice was soft but determined.
Jerome always had a good impression of Summer. Seeing how wrongful Vicky was to accuse her, he pulled Summer behind him and snapped, “Vicky, clean up your mess first and stop stalking me!” Vicky had been calling him for the past two days, but he did not want to see her. Little did he expect Vicky to go so far and stalk him.