Jerome drove off, leaving those entertainment reporters in the dust until they disappeared in the rearview mirror.
Then Summer said, “Please drop me by the roadside, and thank you for today.”
Jerome pulled the car over slowly and stopped. Summer reached for the lock handle, pulling it twice, but it would not open. She turned to look at Jerome. “The door’s locked.”
Jerome looked over at her, his expression weird. “Summer, why don’t you choose me instead of Leonardo’s cousin?”
Did she hear him correctly? Summer did not cut him off, and that gave Jerome more self-confidence. “Since we love each other, we’ll be happy together. I won’t let anyone find out about us.”
“You and me… together?” Summer pointed at him, then back at herself.
Jerome nodded, smiling in a way that he thought was charming while reaching out to touch Summer’s face. “It must have been hard to stay with a cripple like Leonardo. I understand why you’re with his cousin, and I don’t blame you for that.”
Hard? He made it sound so polite. Did he not mean that she was too horny to stay with a limp d*ck, and that was why she was hooking up with Leonardo’s cousin?
Filthy is as filthy does. Summer moved her head away to avoid his hand, appearing disgusted. “You mean I should cheat on Leonardo?”
Jerome had read the headline news, and he was convinced that Summer must have only hooked up with Leonardo’s cousin because she could not stand the loneliness. Also, he knew that Summer used to like him, and thought if he made the move to see her, she would not hesitate to dump Leonardo’s cousin and be together with him.
Jerome did not mind Summer turning her head away. He was too enthused. “Leonardo doesn’t deserve you. Besides, we love each other.”
“We? No, you and Vicky love each other. I will call the police if you don’t open the door.” Summer leaned against the door, cautiously looking at Jerome. Why did she not realize in the past that he was so rabid?
Summer’s evasive reaction was making him a little anxious. He became emotional as he leaned over to Summer. “There’s no comparison between you and Vicky!”
Not wanting to continue the nonsense conversation with him, Summer took out her phone to call the police. Soon enough, Jerome backed off and let her go. He did not want to make a scene to embarrass himself.
She then got out of the car. Looking back at him, she said in a distant voice, “Jerome, I undoubtedly used to like you. Maybe you don’t even know why I liked you in the first place. But that’s alright because I don’t like you anymore. Never again. I will not cheat on Leonardo just because of you.”
Jerome’s went blank as Summer turned her back on him and left without a single look at him again.
When she was not far along, another vehicle pulled up beside her. Summer thought it was Jerome again, so she picked up her pace until a voice that she recognized called out to her.
“Mrs. Emerson…”
Summer looked back and was surprised. “Tim? You guys are back?”
As Leonardo’s special PA, Tim would follow him wherever he went most of the time. Since Leonardo had gone abroad-that was what Summer thought-and she had not seen Tim in the mansion, she reckoned that he probably followed Leonardo.
Tim got out of the vehicle and respectfully said, “Yes, the young master instructed me to give you a ride home.”
Somehow, she was looking forward to seeing Leonardo, but deep inside, she knew that Leonardo would likely meet her with his back facing her again. Nonetheless, she was still excited. She climbed into the vehicle, after a while, once her excitement subsided, something began to worry her.
Why did Leonardo suddenly come back now? Had he just arrived or had he been home for a while? Had he read the news about her and “Douglas”?
If… If he saw it, would he…
No, there was no “if”. Even if he did not read it, someone would have told him. She was dead sure that it was the Emerson family that put a lid on the news. Since the Emerson family already knew, Leonardo would too.
…
Summer was feeling very uneasy, but the vehicle had stopped in front of the mansion. She was home.
“Mrs. Emerson, please.” Tim went around the front to open the door for her.
As Summer got out of the car, she glanced up at the second floor of the mansion, asking, “Is Leonardo in his study?”
“No, Mrs. Emerson. The young master is resting.”
Summer nodded. The moment she stepped into the living room, she saw “Douglas” sitting on the couch, leisurely sipping a cup of coffee. She was still cheesed off with him, but because Tim was there, she did not want to jump down his throat just yet. She just glared at him and went upstairs.
As soon as Summer left, Tim approached Leonardo and said, “Young Master, Jerome met with your wife.”
Leonardo’s response was nonchalant. “Really? What for?”
Tim could sense something unusual in his voice even though he sounded the same most of the time.
He saw how close Jerome and Summer were to each other, and it looked intimate. He decided not to tell him that and chose another way to let him know, which he thought was safer.
“They stayed in the car for a while, then your wife got out.”
“How long is’a while’?” Leonardo placed the coffee cup on the low table and leaned back with his leg crossed, looking like a lazy rich kid.
Sh*t! Tim thought. “Just a while, about ten minutes…”
“Really? Just ten minutes? Yet you took more than an hour to come back.” Leonardo’s eyes were piercing.
As Tim dared not say another word, Leonardo decided not to pursue the matter any further. Squinting, Leonardo seemed to know that he would not get the answer he wanted from Tim.
…
When Summer came back down to the living room again, “Douglas” was nowhere to be seen. She asked the bodyguard standing at the door, “Where is Douglas?”
The bodyguard wore a serious expression. “He went out.”
“I see.”
Summer nodded and entered the kitchen to prepare dinner. Without “Douglas’s” presence, she found the air fresher than before. Leonardo had to be tired after a long flight; she wanted to make something light for him to eat.
Before she could finish her cooking, Tim came in and said, “Mrs. Emerson, I have to go out to run some errands. Could you please send dinner to the young master upstairs?”
Summer wondered what these people were up to at such late hours. Were they really that busy?
“No problem. I’ll send it to him upstairs.” She could not be happier, having the opportunity to do something for Leonardo.
It did not take long for dinner to be ready. She carried the food in a tray and went into Leonardo’s study room. Standing outside the door, she gave it two knocks. There was no answer, so she pushed the door open and entered. She just wanted to leave the food on the table and leave. Once she did that, she turned around and saw “Douglas”.