Back in the mansion, Summer sat by the window, typing away on her laptop while keeping an eye out to see if there was any car pulling into the garage. It was not after last light that she saw a black car coming in.
The chauffeur got out and opened the rear passenger door. Then, “Douglas” got out. With her keen eyes, Summer immediately made out the driver; it was Tim.
Tim was Leonardo’s assistant, yet he was chauffeuring “Douglas” around. She saw Leonardo speak to Tim, seemingly instructing him about something as Tim kept nodding his head.
Taking the opportunity, Summer picked up her phone and sent a text message to Leonardo. She then observed “Douglas”. He was looking in the direction of her room. Fortunately, she had closed the curtains, leaving only a tiny gap.
He just took a glance and looked away, talking to Tim again. He then took out his phone from his pocket. From that distance, Summer could not make out what they were looking at, but her heart started to race.
She thought of what Douglas Jr. had told her and the various signs that indicated “Douglas” was likely Leonardo, but she still could not believe that it was true. Yet, she dared not confront “Douglas” about it. Things were just ridiculous.
A person as cautious as “Douglas” would surely glance at her room if he received her text message. It would be natural for him to do so if he really was Leonardo.
To reduce his suspicion, Summer changed into her house clothes, messed up her hair a bit, and lay on the bed, pretending to be asleep.
Not long after, someone knocked on the door.
“Summer.”
What she learned today stressed her mentally and emotionally. When she finally lay in bed, she quickly dozed off. But in her daze, she heard a voice calling her.
“Who is it?” Her mind was still a muddle as she went to open the door.
She opened the door and saw “Douglas” standing outside, squinting at her up and down. “What happened? You sick?”
Her mind was awake instantly, but her voice was still a little hoarse. “No, I was sleeping.”
Wearing kitty-patterned home wear, he noticed her slightly messy hair and a hint of rosiness on her fair face. She looked sweet and tender. She had even called him today, wanting to deliver lunch to him. With all that in mind, he relaxed, and his voice became gentle.
“You can sleep a little longer. I’ll ask the men to cook and call you once it’s ready.”
“Mm…” Summer looked at him, frozen. She was seeing such a gentle “Douglas” for the first time.
Leonardo looked at her. He could not help reaching out to pat her on the head. “Now, go back to bed.”
Summer dragged herself back into bed as if she was still in a daze. She suddenly jumped and sat up in bed. She was grabbing her hair and feeling fidgety. Why did she go back to bed just because “Douglas” gently said so? She gave herself a mental slap; she must have gone crazy.
Reprogramming herself with a confrontational mindset and telling herself not to fall for his tricks, Summer got out of bed again and headed out the door. As she walked past the study room, she halted, giving the door two knocks.
“Leonardo, are you in there?” she called out. The next second, her phone vibrated. Leonardo had sent her a message.
“Anything?”
Summer replied, “Are you in the study room?” All she got was a one-word reply.
“Mm.”
Summer looked at his reply, clenching her phone tightly. With her lips pursed, she sneered quietly.
Following that, she spent the entire afternoon camping by the window. Besides the car that brought “Douglas” home, no other car had returned to the mansion.
In that case, how did Leonardo come home? By teleportation? She could not wait to barge into the study room and tear the “Douglas” mask into pieces.
It was no wonder why the mysterious Leonardo appeared so close to his “cousin”. Not only did he allow his “cousin” to stay in his house, but he also tolerated his advances on his wife under his nose.
Now, there was finally a plausible explanation for why “Douglas” would want to tease and flirt with an ugly Summer. Any man who was married to a wife he had never met before would want to check out how she looked.
When it turned out that his new wife did not recognize him, he just played along, keeping things as they were. So, he could use the “cousin” as a disguise to tease her and enjoy seeing how mad she got. He must have been having a whale of a time.
Summer gritted her teeth. She was determined to see who would have the last laugh.
…
At dinner time, Summer sat across “Douglas”, glancing at him occasionally as she ate. Whenever he sensed her stare, she would quickly look away and pass him some food.
“You must have had a long day. You should eat more.”
But “Douglas: took his dinner without saying a word.
Summer knew her eyes were the prettiest part of her. Jessica had told her before that when she looked at someone, her eyes were irresistibly alluring. However, why was he not teasing her in his cousin’s disguise and making fun out of it?
She wondered if Leonardo knew that his wife was taking a liking to his “cousin”, making him a cuckold. Would he still find it fun?
Despite that, “Douglas” seemed to have excellent self-control. He was used to teasing and kissing her, but now that she was making the first move, he was being steady and collected, not even glancing at her. He was a buzzkill, she thought.
As “Douglas” finished his dinner and wiped his hands with a hand towel, he said, “Mrs. Emerson, why did you keep staring at me? Let me guess, you must have thought it through and decided to be my woman, yes?”
“Yes.” That was what Summer had been waiting for. She played along. “You are a handsome man, and you’ve been treating me so nicely. You’re so much better than your cousin. Any person in their right mind would know who to choose. I was too stupid before, but I’ve thought it through now.”
After she said that, she went up behind “Douglas”, lowering her head and kissing him on his cheek. She could feel him freeze for a brief second. With her lips curled up, she put her mouth close to him, her breath blowing in his ear. “I’ll take a shower first…”
She said it very softly with an inviting undertone. Seduction was not Summer’s specialty. She could not bring herself to say “I’ll wait for you tonight” and stuff like that.
As soon as her voice trailed off, though, she felt an extremely grim air in her surroundings, almost suffocating. Was he angry? Should she not be the one to get angry first?
Summer quickly walked away. As she reached the door, she leered back at him. His face immediately turned ghastly.