For a minute, Jessica did not know what to say. Summer patted her on the arm. “Carl has only you in his heart. I don’t know what has happened between you two, but if he still likes you, why don’t you two sit down and talk it over?”
“I know.” Jessica had a rare sorrowful expression on her face. “But we are done forever.”
Summer was startled; she had never seen Jessica having such an expression.
They came to the outside and were instantly hit by the chilly night wind, both shivering. Carl, who had come out earlier, was standing by the car as if waiting for someone. As they came, he eagerly opened the door for her, all smiles. “Jessica, it’s cold out here. Get into the car.”
Summer looked at Jessica, noticing her expression getting stranger. Worried, she pulled at her hand, urging her in a loud whisper. “Jessica!”
Jessica just looked at Carl, who then walked toward her, hastening her to get into the car.
“You’re still a slowpoke just like when you were small. Hurry up, get into the car. Otherwise, you’re—”
Jessica suddenly cut him off. “Carl! Enough is enough! I’m telling you now, we are done forever. There will be no starting all over again. No matter what you do, the result is going to be the same!”
Carl was rooted to the spot as if someone had hit the pause button. His hand was frozen as he reached to hold Jessica’s, his hand just less than three centimeters from hers.
“Jessica, can you talk sense? Even if you are handing down a death sentence, at least let me know why!” Carl was calm at first, then almost hollering toward the end. “Don’t tell me the ‘you like someone else’ kind of bullsh*t. I have f*cking known you for twenty-four years! I know if you’re telling a lie!”
Then came the final blow in three words, sending Carl into total despair.
“I hate you.”
Jessica said it very softly, but it sounded like thunder in his ear, sending a tremor down his heart. Being childhood sweethearts meant there was a total understanding between them. Carl was trying to find a sign on her face that would tell him she was lying. Yet, no matter how hard he tried, he could not find one.
Before he could ask why, Jessica had turned around, striding to the roadside and leaving in a taxi. He lifted his leg and stepped out, but the next second, he slowly stepped back.
Summer kicked herself for not being able to follow Jessica; her injury had prevented her from doing so.
“I’ll ask Tim to follow her.”
A voice she recognized came from behind her. Summer looked back. There, Leonardo had come out of nowhere, standing not far behind her. With him was captain Gibson, the officer who handled Douglas’s case. She had met him before. Out of courtesy, she nodded at him.
Summer’s first impression on captain Gibson was that he was a little fierce and a very serious man. But this time, captain Gibson was smiling at her.
Summer almost wanted to roll her eyes. She was just accompanying Douglas to the police station last time. What did he mean ‘again?” She looked at Leonardo, still angry at him. But Leonardo was looking at her with a faint smile on his face. She looked away from his eyes.
Noticing their silent exchanges, captain Gibson said to Leonardo, “You’ve got a pretty wife there. Be kind to her. Don’t always put on a stony face.”
Leonardo was not a person who could take advice from others, but this time, he took it dutifully like a child to a parent. “Okay.”
Captain Gibson looked at this cold, surly young man, sighing as he shook his head. “Go home now. It’s freezing at night. Your mom’s case might have been closed, but not here. I will get to the bottom of it until my last breath.”
There was a slight change in Leonardo’s expression at the mention of his mom. But it returned to normal in just a split second.
…
On the way home, Summer sent Jessica a message. She breathed a sigh of relief after she got her reply. Gazing out the window, her mind started to wander away.
When you are confused about your feelings, you are just kidding yourself. You should be the only person who knows best about your feelings. When you are unsure and doubtful about a relationship, don’t get torn by what you feel. It is either the person doesn’t love you, or you don’t love that person. A loving couple will never have so many doubts. As you are unsure if the other person is just as steadfast and serious as you, you start doubting, becoming uneasy and sad…
Just like her now. Since she cared, she wanted to get to the bottom of things, that she wanted to gauge how important she was to him.
Jessica and Carl had been growing up together. With such a strong foundation, they still came to this end. But she and Leonardo did not enjoy a solid foundation in their relationship as Carl and Jessica had. She was just a woman who happened to look like Rachel to him.
She had always been the one who got ignored. But she had her own pride, too. Pressing her hand over her heart softly, she pursed her lips. She would not be sad and embarrassed only if she did not care.
“You knew captain Gibson?”
Summer suddenly turned to look at him. Only then she realized the car was going at a very slow speed. Leonardo was concentrating on driving. But as he occasionally took a glimpse of her, he was slowing down the car.
Leonardo was a little surprised by her question. He quickly replied, “Mm.”
Summer was just asking. Not that she was interested in knowing how they got to know each other. For people like Leonardo to know a detective was entirely normal. Just that they looked like two very close acquaintances.
Leonardo had never expected she would make the first move talking to him after last night’s unpleasant encounter. He thought she was stubborn. By the looks of her expressions last night, he knew she felt hurt and sad. But with the same expression and tone of voice as of last night, his gut feeling told him that Summer was a little different now. Just that he could not tell what.
Back at home, it was still early, and Summer had not had her dinner. As the bodyguard served food on the table, Summer and Leonardo sat across each other.
After getting over it, Summer found back her appetite. Looking in a good mood, she started to dig in. Leonardo pulled his brows together, putting down his chopsticks as he demanded, “What’s going on now?” What had made her undergo such a massive change in such a short time?