Karen looked at Lynn in disbelief, her lips shivering. “How could you hit me?”
She and Lynn were high-school classmates. She came from a village to study in Hoover City. The Jarrett family had some influence in Hoover City at the time, and as the young master of the Jarrett family back then, Lynn had always been the center of attention in school.
Karen had a crush on him but was conscious of the gap between her and Lynn. It was only after Lynn’s wife passed away that she again met him.
While Lynn was still grieving over the death of his beloved wife, Karen stayed by his side, giving him company. Since she was beautiful and promising to take good care of his two children, Lynn married her.
Since then, Karen had been doing all she could to please him, loving him and his children. Their relationship had been loving and harmonious. There nearly had been no quarrel between them. Even if there were, Lynn would cajole her and never hit her like what he did this time.
“So what if I hit you? Look at you. What have you done all these years? You promised to take good care of my children. And this happens!”
Lynn had a deep affection for his deceased wife. He went to her grave every year and still had her photo on his desk. He loved and pampered his two children whom his deceased wife left behind. She married Lynn not only because of her infatuation with him but also because he was a man with deep affection.
“I’ve been giving all my life to this family. Can’t you see that?” Her eyes were filled with tears. Had she not been dedicated enough for the family? She thought she had given her best.
“You’ve given your all?” Lynn sneered. “Then go beg your daughter to let Vicky off! Vicky didn’t mean it. Isn’t Summer fine now?”
She had said the same thing before. It felt so harsh to hear it from Lynn’s mouth as if it should not be said this way. But she could not think of why it should not be said.
It had become a habit for her to pamper Vicky and think Summer should take a back seat. In her subconscious mind, Summer should not make a fuss no matter what Vicky did.
After getting slapped, Karen was downhearted. But Lynn was still giving her a tongue-lashing over Summer, and this upset her big time. So she staggered up to her feet and said, “I can’t help you with this. Find your own way.”
She had been devoted to the family for so many years, yet Lynn had never appreciated her sacrifices. She knew Vicky had been looking down on her, calling her lapdog. But because of Lynn, she told herself it was alright. Now with Lynn treating her with total disrespect, she suddenly found that enough was enough.
Lynn’s expression changed. “Karen, what do you mean?”
“Nothing.” She shook her head, half of her face swollen. “Just fed up.” She wore a self-deprecating smile, which made her look ghastly when coupled with her swollen face.
Lynn was no better. What he did not expect was that Karen was throwing her tantrum at this critical juncture.
“I have been giving you a good life here. You’re telling me you’re fed up? If so, just get the hell out of here!”
Karen’s expression hardened, her lips moving, but she could not utter a word. Slamming the door open, she ran downstairs and out of the house.
A maid came to Lynn. “Mrs. Jarrett has run out…”
Lynn was transfixed. It had never crossed his mind that Karen would leave. But he was adamant. Karen would not be able to survive alone outside, and she was going to come back, eventually. So he put up his hand and said, “Let her go!”
…
Karen ran out of the house with no money and nowhere to go. She used to have a few good friends when she was young, but they could barely make ends meet.
After marrying Lynn, she had been busy taking care of Lynn as well as his two children and basically stopped contacting her friends.
She had no social life. Even if she had, she was merely doing shopping with the wives of other wealthy families. She could not bring herself to seek help from them.
At last, she thought of Summer, who had listened to her and done what she said last time. So she made up her mind and got a cab to head to Leonardo’s mansion.
Summer had said she would not care what happened to Vicky, but Karen still believed that Summer would not be so heartless toward her.
She knew where it was; she had been to Leonardo’s mansion once. The cab stopped three meters from the mansion, and she got out, sorting herself out before walking to the entrance.
The bodyguards at the entrance stopped her.
“Who are you?”
The expressionless faces of the bodyguards scared her. But when thinking she was Summer’s mother, she plucked up her courage. “I’m Summer’s mother.” She suddenly recalled Summer had told her over the phone she was pregnant, she added. “Summer is pregnant, I’m coming to visit her.”
One bodyguard glanced at her in doubt and told her to wait. Still with a stony face, the bodyguard went aside, took out his mobile phone, and called Leonardo.
After Vicky tried to kill Summer, Leonardo had been on high alert. He had instructed his men to escort Summer whenever she went out and inform him if anyone came to look for her.
The phone was quickly picked up.
“Mr. Emerson, a woman identified herself as Mrs. Emerson’s mother comes to visit Mrs. Emerson.”
Leonardo was in a meeting with the top company executives. His eyes swept over at them and he told the bodyguards nonchalantly, “Drive her away.”
“Aye.”
Leonardo hung up and put away his mobile phone before continuing the meeting.
The Emerson family was the richest family in Hoover City. Their business empire, Emerson Corporation, was a conglomerate with diverse businesses controlling over half of the economy. Leonardo had only been in the company for less than half a month. It was not easy to learn everything in such a short time. But a series of initiatives he carried out had the top executives impressed.
Meanwhile, over at the mansion, the bodyguard hung up and shot his mate a look.
Karen came up and asked the bodyguard, thinking he must have called Summer. “See, haven’t I told you?”
But the bodyguard told her, “Mrs. Emerson isn’t in. Come another day.”
“She will at least come home in the evening, right? I can wait for her inside.” Karen had no intention of leaving just like that.
Not giving a hoot, the bodyguard brought her down the hill and threw her at the junction near the main drag. Before leaving, the bodyguard sneered at her, “Not every Tom, Dick, and Harry gets to meet Mrs. Emerson.”