When Leonardo returned to the room, Summer was still asleep.
As his fingers stank of cigarettes, he put his jacket on the bed and glanced at Summer before he went into the bathroom to wash his hands. When he came back out, she was awake and leaning against the headboard, looking stuporous.
“You’re awake.”
He walked back to the bedside and sat down on the edge.
“You smoked?” She frowned.
“Yeah.” Leonardo was a little surprised that she could smell it. He had no choice but to admit to it.
“Just took a couple of puffs,” he added.
Her sense of smell was even better now than before she was pregnant.
“I thought you didn’t smoke.” She had never seen him smoking and thought he did not have this habit.
Leonardo just chuckled and said nothing. He seldom smoked and was not addicted. After all, he knew what damage the cancer stick could cause, and he valued his life.
There had been too many things happening. He could not help but light up a ciggy occasionally. However, he only did it when Summer was not around.
He stayed silent. After a while, he suddenly said, “If you see Adams next time, leave him alone.”
There would be bodyguards following Summer when he was not around. During their stay in the old residence, bumping into Adams was inevitable.
Summer saw from her peripheral vision a jacket on the edge of the bed. She remembered that before she went to sleep, Leonardo had placed it on the sofa. It seemed that Leonardo had gone out after she fell asleep.
“You saw him? What did you two talk about?”
“Nothing.” His expression appeared a little grim. “There’s nothing to say between him and me.”
Summer held his hand and said nothing.
…
With the exception of eating, there was nothing else to do in the old residence. Summer stayed in the room most of the time.
After dinner that evening, Grandpa Emerson asked her to accompany him. She thought that Grandpa Emerson had something to say to her, but it turned out that he just wanted her to watch TV with him for a while.
The old man enjoyed crosstalk, the traditional Chinese performing art, but Summer found it a little boring. Since Grandpa Emerson liked it, she watched it with him.
Grandpa Emerson was aware that Summer was pregnant. After an hour, Grandpa Emerson squinted at her for a few seconds and then said to her, “You should rest early. Please ask Leonardo to come and see me. I need to talk to him.”
Leonardo had wanted to accompany Summer when she went over, but she asked him to stay. She did not want to create the impression that Leonardo was too infatuated with her.
“Mmm.” She got up and walked toward the door.
“Summer.”
She heard Grandpa Emerson calling as she reached the doorway, and she turned her head.
“Anything, Grandpa?”
Grandpa Emerson was dissolute during his youth. He got married early because of the arranged marriage by his family. It was said that Leonardo’s grandma was two years older than Grandpa Emerson.
Their marriage life was harmonious, but Grandpa Emerson had many mistresses and a few children out of wedlock. However, these children were all washed up. Grandpa Emerson did not favor any of them and had never brought them back to the Emerson family.
Summer heard about all this through Jessica, though. Grandpa Emerson could be considered a legend; of all the women and illegitimate children he had, none of them had ever demanded to move in with the Emerson family. In a sense, it was out of respect for his wife.
Since he got married at a young age, his grandson-in-law was twenty-eight while Grandpa Emerson was only seventy. Most elders of his age would just retire and stay home. If they were blessed with no sickness, they could still be very healthy.
Grandpa Emerson had the best life could offer; everything he drank and ate was the best. He even had a personal dietician looking after his diet.
However, right then, when Grandpa Emerson sat alone on the sofa, he looked sorrowful and old. He looked less majestic than he usually did as the head of the family, seeming frail.
At that moment, Summer could sense that Grandpa Emerson’s life was not as happy as she would like to think.
“I shouldn’t have intervened in things between you and Leonardo. I’ll leave you two to it from now one. Be good to each other.” Grandpa Emerson’s voice was hoarse as if he was saying his last words before dying.
“Grandpa!” Summer’s expression changed, her voice a pitch higher than usual.
She knew Grandpa Emerson was talking about Eliza. She had fussed over it because there had been a hard feeling inside her. Nevertheless, she was not that worried because Leonardo was very faithful to her. As long as Leonardo loved her, she would not care what others think. Everything else was not important.
But now, Grandpa Emerson’s tone of voice was making her uneasy.
“Now, go. It’s almost ten. Get Leonardo to come over soon, I’m about to go to bed.” Grandpa Emerson waved Summer away as if he had no patience to listen to her.
She glanced back at Grandpa Emerson before leaving, still feeling worried.
Leonardo was dressed in pajamas, leaning against the headboard and playing games on his mobile phone. He still looked impassive as ever. The game had to be boring. He occasionally cast his eyes at the door, and that only meant he was not very into the game. When Summer returned, he put away his mobile phone, got out of bed, and walked up to her.
“Was Grandpa hard on you?” Leonardo scanned her while he spoke. Only after he was sure that she was okay, he pulled his eyes back.
Summer shook her head. “Grandpa’s asking for you. He wants to talk to you now. Go now because he’s about to go to bed soon.”
Leonardo thought for a moment, then he asked, “What else? What did he say to you?”
“Nothing. We were just watching TV.” She frowned. “Grandpa seems today. He sounded a little off…” She truly felt that Grandpa Emerson was saying his last words, but it was just her feeling. She did not want to tell Leonardo that. After all, Grandpa Emerson was close to him.
“You’ll find out when you get there.” She sighed. She could tell that something was amiss from Grandpa Emerson’s tone of voice. Being as smart as he was, Leonardo would surely sense it too. Perhaps he could find out what happened then.
Seeing Summer sighing with her brows furrowed, Leonardo’s expression only became graver.
“Then I’ll go and see Grandpa now. You go to bed.” After that, he left.