Karen couldn’t care less how she looked now. Pulling herself up to her feet, she yelled, “I’m her mother! I’m Summer’s mother!”
She was wearing expensive clothes, but her face was swollen. After being pushed to the ground, she was in a fluster.
“If you’re Mrs. Emerson’s mother, why didn’t you call her?” The bodyguard sneered.
“I…”
Karen could not find the word to respond. She did not know why her relationship with Summer had come to this. Summer used to make her the center of her universe, always looking at her in anticipation. But now, Summer did not even answer her call or want to see her.
“Go away!” The bodyguard told her off impatiently before turning back up to the mansion.
She did not follow, as the bodyguard had said that Summer was not home. She believed it and sat by the roadside, waiting for Summer to return. Summer would have to pass this spot when she went home. She would wait for Summer here, and Summer would give her a shelter when she saw her. She was her mum, after all. With this thinking in mind, Karen regained her self-confidence.
When it was 5 o’clock in the evening and her body was nearly frozen over, Karen saw a vehicle coming up the hill. She was elated and lunged out to stop the car.
Tim was behind the wheel and Leonardo was sitting in the back, mobile phone in hand looking at Summer’s Moments.
“Mrs. Emerson, someone is blocking us in front.”
“Check it out.” Leonardo said without looking at him. So Tim stopped the car.
Seeing the vehicle had stopped, Karen called out as she ran, “Summer! Is Summer in the car?”
Hearing the voice, Leonardo looked up. When he saw Karen’s face, he narrowed his eyes and sneered before opening the door and getting out of the car.
Karen saw the driver and thought that Summer was sitting in the back. As she came outside the rear window, the car door opened and a tall body got out of the car. She froze before speaking with a stammering voice.
“Summer, isn’t she in the car?”
After getting out, Leonardo closed the door and rested a leg against the car, then said with a toneless voice. “You looking for her?”
“Yeah… I’m looking for her.” Karen did not even dare to look at Leonardo, despite him being her son-in-law. The sky was dimming, and she could not make out his expression. But somehow, she felt intimidated and that he must be looking at her with his glacier-cold eyes.
“Why are you looking for her?”
Karen could not make out any emotion in his voice but still felt a chill run up her spine. “I just want to see her…”
“Don’t you think it is too late?” His voice softened, sounding creepy.
Karen could sense something in his words but not know what exactly he meant. “What do you mean too late?”
“Never come looking for Summer again.” From the spot they stood, they could see the brightly lit mansion. Leonardo glanced in the mansion’s direction. When he spoke again, his voice became extremely cold and intimidating. “There is more than one way to make someone disappear from this world.”
He was apparently threatening her. Karen was frightened, and staggering two steps back.
“I just want to see her. That’s all…” Her voice quivered.
“You don’t deserve her.” As Leonardo took a step forward, Karen tumbled to the ground. She was too frightened.
There was a hint of disdain in his eyes as he turned around and got back into the car. As the car drove up toward the mansion, through the rearview mirror he could see Karen walking down the hill. She looked pitiful. But there was also something abhorrent about her.
The car stopped in front of the mansion and Leonardo walked in. A maid ran up to him, all smiles as she greeted him. He ignored the maid and handed his overcoat to Ava, who came up from behind the maid.
Ava took the overcoat from him. Without waiting for Leonardo to speak, she said, “Mrs. Emerson has eaten and gone to bed in the afternoon. She is still sleeping now. I will go wake her up now.”
“It’s okay, let me do it.” Leonardo nodded at her.
After Leonardo was out of sight, Ava turned to the young maid, her avuncular smile evaporating as she sternly warned the young maid, “You’ve got to know your place working here. Don’t compare the young master with other rich kids.”
The young maid blushed, feeling indignant but still nodding her head. “Yes, madam.”
His wife was pregnant while he was full of vigor and vitality. She did not believe that he could go celibate for that long. He was handsome and rich. If she could catch his eyes, she would not have to work as a maid anymore.
When Grandpa Emerson looked for maids, he told his men that he needed maids who were hardworking, quick on the uptake, and pleasant in their appearance. So, they got this: a bunch of young girls.
Ava had been through it all and she could see that some of the maids had questionable characters. But she could not dismiss these maids because it would be disrespectful of Grandpa Emerson because he was the one hiring them. Ava could only sigh as she shook her head helplessly.
Leonardo pushed the door open and walked into the bedroom quietly. Summer was just waking up. Perhaps she had slept for too long. She felt sluggish. Still lying in bed, she reached her hand to the bedside table for her mobile phone. She fumbled for a while but could not reach it.
All of a sudden, a big hand came out of nowhere, taking the mobile phone and handing it to her. She followed the hand, looked up, and saw Leonardo and his gentle smile. He had a softer temperament for the past few days.
Holding the mobile phone still in her hand, she asked, “You just came home?”
Leonardo nodded as he reached to help her up. “Go clean yourself, and we will have dinner together.”
When the two of them were having dinner downstairs, two maids standing behind Leonardo gawped at him. Summer glanced at the two maids with a half-smile and said casually, “I miss the fried shrimp with egg white dish in the Golden Cauldron.”
Leonardo put down his chopsticks. “I’ll call them to send over.”
“No. You go to buy it.” Summer pouted like a child demanding her dad to buy her that doll she liked.
Flabbergasted, Leonardo lifted an eyebrow. Nevertheless, he still said, “Okay.”
“Then be quick. I’m not going to eat if it gets cold on the way.” The corner of her mouth curled up in a mischievous smile.
Leonardo glanced back behind him. The two maids blushed and took their eyes off him.
“You two, pack your belongings and leave now,” he told them with a stony expression.
“Young Master!” The two maids looked up in shock.
“You two are too ugly. Too painful to look at.” Without looking at them again, he turned to Summer. “Do you still want to eat the Golden Cauldron’s fried shrimp?”
“Not anymore,” she replied, looking hapless.