Still angry with Leonardo, Summer pulled no punches as she whacked him.
However, Leonardo looked as if he felt nothing, taking every punch from her without batting an eyelid.
Every strike felt like she was punching cotton. It made her feel defeated.
At last, she stopped, turning her head away and not talking to him.
Leonardo looked down at her coolly, quietly studying her.
For the first time since sh*t hit the fan yesterday, he was looking at her so closely and so earnestly.
He now found that her stress-resistance and ability to recover were far better than he had expected, which hurt his ego.
The tougher and more independent Summer was, the less reliant she was on him.
Maybe he had been wrong from the very beginning. Adams had always been close to his heart because they grew up together.
The second time Adams appeared on the trending topic, he had traced it back him. Yet, he chose to trust Adams again despite knowing very well that a person like Adams never acted on impulse. That was just the start.
What happened afterward was all within his expectations. He let Adams be and did not have a heart-to-heart talk with him to sort out the problem earlier because he wanted to know how far Adams would go.
He used to run the scenario in his head that Adams could possibly take Summer as a point of attack, but he never expected Adams to be so ruthless.
He thought he could handle it even if Adams used Summer to attack him, but now, he found out that he could handle everything except Summer. It just felt as if whatever he did was not good enough.
Sensing the stare from the man beside her, Summer pursed her lips and turned to face him.
He held her hand with very little expression on his face, but his slightly clenched jaw gave his emotions away.
He seemed nervous and anxious, but upon closer look, there seemed to be nothing.
“Here we are, Mr. and Mrs. Emerson,” Tim was heard saying.
Summer snapped out of her thoughts and pulled her hand away from Leonardo’s.
“We’ve arrived.” She glanced at him before she got out of the car and walked into the mansion.
Tim had also sensed the tension in their relationship after the exposure incident. He got out of the car, but Leonardo was still sitting inside.
“Young Master?” he called.
Leonardo put up his hand, motioning him not to talk, so Tim turned and left.
It had just been one night, but it felt like a lifetime to Summer when she stepped into the mansion.
She went back to her bedroom and got changed before she took out her mobile phone to surf the net.
Things were too explosive this time, especially since they involved Leonardo and Adams.
With the issue consistently topping the trending list, it could backfire if they suppressed all the news and trending topics now.
When she saw the topmost trending topic, though, she was struck dumb.
“#Carl comes out of the closet#”
Carl came out? Coming out of her shock after a while, she took her mobile phone and looked for Leonardo downstairs.
However, Leonardo turned out to be in his study according to a bodyguard.
The moment she pushed the door open and walked in, her nostrils were attacked by strong cigarette smoke, and she coughed continuously.
Standing at the window with his back facing her, Leonardo heard her coughing and turned around.
He was transfixed for a second before he put out the cigarette in his hand.
She just witnessed Leonardo smoking for the first time.
“What is it?” he asked.
“Carl has come out of the closet?” She then realized that Leonardo was straight and might not know what “coming out” meant.
So, she quickly explained, “Come out of the closet means—”
“I know.” Leonardo cut her off in a matter-of-fact manner. “I did that.”
“You mean the trending topic about Carl’s coming out?”
“Yeah.”
Summer was struck dumb again.
He turned around and walked up behind the desk before he explained, “Just to divert the netizens’ eyeballs for a bit. It’ll clear the air in two days.” His tone was flat.
She was silent. After a while, she asked, “Is Carl okay with this?”
That question stunned him for a second. “What can he do even if he’s not okay with it?”
She knew that Leonardo did this because of her, but she could not help but sympathize with Carl. Carl must have owed Leonardo a lot in his past life that he needed to atone for it in this life.
It had to be hard being the friend of a ruthless guy like Leonardo.
Summer’s mobile phone rang all of a sudden. She took a glance and her mouth twitched. “It’s Carl.”
Leonardo acknowledged with a grunt before he took the phone from her and hung up. There was no hint of hesitation and guilt for what he had done.
It was something she could not understand. Taking a deep breath, she asked, “Leonardo, you never hesitate to make use of everyone, be it your friends or family members as long as it serves your purpose.”
The air instantly became still in the room. His expression darkened, and the atmosphere was heavy.
After a long time, Leonardo finally spoke, “Is that what you think of me?”
“If not?” Her lips curled up in a smirk. She was not sad, but she just could not get over this hurdle.
Leonardo pursed his lips as if a dangerous storm was brewing inside him. She thought that he would get angry or fling her hand away, but he did not. He just looked down and said, “This will never happen again.” His voice was low, just like it was on any normal day, but his determination was moving.
It would not happen again? Did he mean not making use of her, or not letting her appear as a trending topic again?
Her suspicion was written on her face, and it agitated him. Walking up to her, he swept her into his arms and kissed her.
He could not shut his eyes the whole night before, not because he was busy, but because Summer was not there, and he could not sleep.
He had extremely underestimated the importance of Summer in his heart.
…
When news about Carl’s coming exploded, all major media outlets were on it, setting the entire world on fire.
Browsing through the Moments sections, Summer stumbled upon Jessica’s post, “So much for a man!”
She texted Jessica, “The trending topic and news are fake. Carl will clear the air soon.”
Jessica replied, “Lesbian love is true love. Maybe we should think about it!”
“Are you out of your mind?”