The pain in her leg was unbearable as Summer limped away.
She could sense a pair of piercing eyes staring at her from behind, and she bit her lip. Without stopping, she hobbled into the elevator. When she hit the “Close” button, she did not see Leonardo coming for her.
Her heart sank, and her face was pale as the elevator made its way down.
…
The moment she stepped out of the elevator, Summer saw Douglas. Her eyes were red, probably from the crying, and she was barefooted. Douglas lunged forward to hold her, startled to see her condition.
“Why are you here?” The excruciating pain in her leg would strike as she walked. She needed Douglas to hold her up so she could walk.
Douglas secretly glanced over at her, then said intermittently, “My elder brother… he… he didn’t mean it…”
Summer just replied with an “Mm” as if she did not care. Whether Adams did that on purpose was no longer important to her. She was more bothered by Leonardo’s attitude.
Leonardo was the one who wanted her to attend the party, and he was also the one who suddenly came over and unleashed his anger on her. So what if Adams held her hand? Whether he did it on purpose or not, how could Leonardo make that an excuse to throw a tantrum without caring for her feelings?
Douglas’s keen eye had noticed Summer’s dark mood from her face. Saying nothing, he held her as they walked toward the exit. He was the first person who saw Leonardo going into the party hall and hauling Summer away. They seemed to be arguing about something before Summer walked into the elevator alone while Leonardo stood still, doing nothing. Witnessing all of that, Douglas got worried. Nevertheless, he also knew that it was not the best time to approach Leonardo. So, he turned back to the other side, took the elevator downstairs, and waited for Summer.
While he was in thought, Summer suddenly spoke, “Who is Rachel?”
“What?” Douglas was jolted out of his thoughts, and he turned to face her, visibly stunned.
She let go of his hand and looked him in the eye. “Rachel.” She had heard Adams mention the name in the party hall earlier.
A hint of sorrow flashed across his face. “Where did you hear that name?”
Douglas’s voice sounded cracky since he was hitting puberty, but Summer could still make out a different husky tone. That showed there was more to the name than met the eye. Both Adams and Douglas knew Rachel, and they probably had close relationships. It was also possible that Leonardo knew Rachel. Summer suddenly recalled the time she met Adams at his house to discuss the brand ambassador deal. The way he looked at her was as if he was looking at someone else through her.
“Do I look like her?” She suddenly realized she had just said what was in her mind.
Douglas nodded as if by instinct, then turned around to shake his head from side to side. “No…”
“Be honest.” Summer’s voice grew stern.
“Yes,” Douglas said, keeping his head low.
“Okay, I understand.” She let go of his hand. “I’m going home now.”
Judging by Adams and Douglas’s reaction, she knew that Rachel was someone important to them. With that said, she got the feeling that she had stolen Adams’s kindness and Douglas’s closeness from someone else. She had taken them from somebody.
Come to think of it, Adams was the youngest ever actor who received an Academy Award. Even if he was not, he was still someone from the wealthiest family, living in the upper echelons of society. Yet, he displayed an affinity for her. The teenage Douglas was good-hearted and smart. He was also good-natured and one of the favored young masters in the Emerson family. Why did he want to be close to her? It was just because she looked like Rachel.
What about Leonardo?
Summer had an unexplained presage; Leonardo knew the woman, Rachel. Was it because she looked like Rachel that Leonardo only started to have an interest in her?
She smiled at herself in self-deprecation as she looked back at Douglas, who was following her from a nice distance. “Stop following me,” she warned.
Douglas saw her standing at the hotel entrance, her face icy cold and pale, looking steely. Summer was not her usual self, where she would always smile at him, and it saddened him. He wanted to say something but could not find the right words, fearing that he would say something wrong. In the end, he tried to speak to her.
“Will you go back to Leonardo’s mansion?” After spending time with Summer, he knew a thing or two about her temperament.
Summer saw Douglas’s expressions and took all of it in. He was so disheartened that even his curly hair looked bent out of shape.
“I don’t know,” she replied.
Just then, a thoughtful waitstaff ran out and handed Summer a pair of shoes. Thanking the waitstaff, she put them on. She had done no wrong, and there was no need to punish herself. She even regretted not throwing her shoes hard enough at Leonardo earlier. He probably felt nothing at all, and she regretted it big-time.
Summer was shivering, standing outside in the middle of the winter. One bad thing about the seven-star hotel was that she could not find a cab there. Having no choice, she limped forward. When she finally found a cab, her mobile phone rang.
Her heart skipped a beat. Biting her lip nervously, she glanced at the mobile screen only to find that it was Jessica, not Leonardo. She did not know what to make of her feelings right then. It felt as if she was relieved and disappointed at the same time.
“Jessica,” she answered.
“You’re attending the Emerson family’s party? I saw your photos in a Wechat group! You’re absolutely stunning!” Jessica’s voice was still as energetic as ever.
Summer forced a smile, her voice lacking enthusiasm. “There are many more gorgeous women at the party.”
“They’re nowhere near your level!” Jessica suddenly sensed something wrong in Summer’s voice. “What happened? You sound so blue. What happened at the party?”
Instead of answering her questions, Summer asked, “Are you home?”
“Yeah.”
“I’m coming over.” The line went dead, and Summer told the cab driver the destination.
Upon hearing the address, the cab driver asked, “Is your friend a celebrity?”
Jessica lived in a high-end neighborhood where most celebrities stayed, something that was not a secret in Hoover City.
“Yeah.” Summer nodded.
As she got out of the vehicle, the cab driver handed her his sweater, seeing what she was wearing. “You may want to put this on. The cold could freeze you to death.”