Summer and Leonardo planned to leave after they had breakfast with Grandpa Emerson. Before they set off, Grandpa Emerson said to Summer, “May I have a few words with you?”
After yesterday, Summer had found that Grandpa Emerson was more approachable than she thought. His temperament may have been a little odd, but that was not a problem. So, when Grandpa Emerson said he wanted to talk to her alone, she did not hesitate to follow him upstairs.
After moving just two paces, Leonardo suddenly pulled her back. Seeing Grandpa Emerson’s expression change, she quickly shot Leonardo a look and mouthed, “Let go.”
Grandpa Emerson looked at Leonardo and sighed. How he wished that his grandson could be more perspicacious. “I am just having a few words with her. What do you think I’m going to do to her?”
Only then did Leonardo let go of Summer. The way Grandpa Emerson looked at him was almost as if he wanted to spank him on the butt.
Summer quickly held Grandpa Emerson into a room. Once they were inside, Grandpa Emerson calmed down. He was not as irritated as before.
“I know you didn’t marry Leonardo out of your own free will,” he suddenly said, catching Summer by surprise.
She said nothing and just waited for Grandpa Emerson to continue.
“You’re a smart girl, and you know Leonardo loves you. Since you have married him, just keep your nose clean and we, the Emerson family, will not be hard on you.”
Grandpa Emerson was stating his stance, and at the same time, intimidating Summer. If she was ever unfaithful to Leonardo, he would do the necessary even before Leonardo did anything.
Summer could see that Grandpa Emerson had a soft spot for Leonardo. It was no wonder that despite how resentful Leonardo was toward the Emerson family, he was still willing to come home when Grandpa Emerson called. Hence, she just shrugged off Grandpa Emerson’s intimidation and had no hard feelings toward him.
With a smile on her face, she said, “Grandpa, when two people are in a relationship, the feeling is mutual, just like Leonardo and me, as well as you and Leonardo.”
Grandpa Emerson loved Leonardo, and it would only be natural that Leonardo reciprocated that love. For the same reason, she loved Leonardo just as Leonardo loved her.
Grandpa Emerson was transfixed for a second after he heard what she said. Soon, a guffaw followed. “Attagirl! Now, go. Don’t let that stinky rascal wait. Otherwise, he’ll rush me again.”
“Then I’ll be off now. See you.”
Summer exited the room but did not find Leonardo around, so she went further outside. There, she saw Leonardo and Alisa talking. She began to admire the Emerson gene; Alisa had an exquisite appearance while Leonardo was the finest man on the planet. When they stood together, they looked just like a perfect picture.
Summer thought that she would wait for them to finish before she went up to him. However, Leonardo had seemingly grown a pair of eyes on the back of his head. He knew she was there and looked back in her direction, so Summer walked up to them.
Alisa followed Leonardo’s eyes, knitting her brows slightly with a surprised look on her face. “She is…”
Leonardo had no intention of introducing Summer to her. He wrapped his arm around Summer’s shoulder and left.
“Leonardo!” Alisa called out involuntarily.
In their generation, Adams was the eldest, followed by Leonardo’s elder sisters, while Leonardo was the third child in the family, and Alisa the youngest.
As Leonardo left without looking back, Summer glanced back at Alisa with a half-smile on her face.
Alisa blushed as she realized that she had made a blunder with what she said to Summer earlier.
She was close to Leonardo, and they were playmates when they were little. After their mom passed away, he left the family, and their relationship grew distant. When she heard that Leonardo was disfigured and having a health problem, she never contacted him since. Even when she became a TV host, she did not tell anyone that she came from the Emerson family, fearing that people would ask her about Leonardo and embarrass her.
After Leonardo blew his cover a few days ago, this brother of hers began to cross her mind. She wanted to see him again. After all, Leonardo was the recognized heir, the one who would inherit and take control of the family’s wealth. The other brothers and sisters would only be basking in his limelight.
Before she managed to see Leonardo, she had heard that he would bring his new wife back to the old residence. So, she was there to create a chance encounter with her third elder brother. Little did she know that Summer was Leonardo’s wife, and she thought that she was just one of the women who slept around with her cousins.
Alisa was worried that Summer would badmouth her in front of Leonardo. Therefore, she felt like she had to see Leonardo one more time to catch up on the times.
…
Inside the car, Summer leaned on the backseat, gazing on at the headliner, but her mind was in space.
Leonardo reached out to touch her head. “Are you feeling tired?”
“A little.” She truly was dog-tired.
Leonardo had asked her not to be so hard on herself and to just be herself. But how could she not feel the pressure? As resentful as Leonardo was toward the Emerson family, it was impossible for him to cut ties with them. While she stayed alone with him, she also wanted to make herself look better in front of the Emersons. She did not want to be a burden, so she had been very careful with what she said and did, trying to thread the needle as Grandpa Emerson asked questions. She feared that she would screw up.
Leonardo drew her into his arms and spoke with his gloomy voice above her. “We won’t be going back there.”
“Don’t you want to visit your grandpa? I can feel that he misses you a lot.” Summer leaned on his chest, hearing his voice hum in his lungs.
“Even if I don’t go back to see him, it’s still business as usual for him.” His voice suddenly sounded cold.
Summer sat up and noticed that his expression had changed.
“What’s wrong?” Didn’t everything go well earlier?
Leonardo said nothing and just leaned over to kiss her.
She stopped him and mouthed, “Tim is behind the wheel at the front, for God’s sake!”
Yet, Leonardo could not care less. He held her head with his hands and planted his lips on hers.
Up front, Tim kept his eyes dead ahead. No one could understand the pain of a divorced young man like him, especially in a time like this.
When their lips parted, both of them were panting. Still hugging her in his arms, Leonardo appeared to have spaced out.
He had gone to see his grandpa early in the morning, asking about the details of his mom’s case. His grandpa told him, “It’s over. You need to get over it. If your mom could hear this in heaven, she would definitely want you to get over it and live a normal life.”
Grandpa Emerson clearly did not want him to continue pursuing the case, but why? Did Grandpa Emerson fear that he would find out something terrible? He was determined to get to the bottom of it, no matter what.