As soon as Summer got into the car, the driver pressed the pedal to the metal and sped off. He drove at high speed, but the car was stable. She did not feel uncomfortable at all.
Looking over at the driver and found that she did not know him at all. Summer asked, “Who told you to get me?”
“My young master.” The driver was focusing on the road ahead, but when he answered her questions, he was very polite.
“Who is your young master?” She frowned.
The driver did not tell her the answer straight away. “He said that Ms. Jarrett would know who he is.”
She would know? She indeed found the license plate familiar. But she still could not recall whose car it was. Rummaging through her memory for all the people she knew, she got a light-bulb moment when she finally recalled the person. But she got a mixed feeling about the person.
“I am going to stop the car at the junction ahead. Miss. Jarrett, after getting out of the car, you can go into that white car over there,” the driver suddenly said.
Summer squinted, looking ahead. There was a white car stopping at the roadside. She was in a predicament; the person who helped her was someone she did not want to have anything to do with. But then, Leonardo was pursuing her. If she got caught this time, she would not be able to run away again.
Choosing between getting away from Leonardo and owing a big favor to a person she least wanted to associate with, the former was apparently more tempting. So when the driver stopped the car, she got out and went into that white vehicle without any hesitation.
The white car was facing the opposite direction from where she came. When she looked back, she saw Leonardo and his men zoomed past in pursuit of the first vehicle she had been in. She was transfixed, and only after a moment, she asked the driver, “Have we shaken them off?”
“Sort of.” The driver who answered her was still a stranger.
Summer had learned from the driver who the young master was. Surprised by how smart and sophisticated the young master was, she could not help but ask the driver again, “Where is your young master?”
“He’s waiting for you at the airport.”
Airport? Summer did not ask further. After that, she changed a few cars. Each time she swapped a new car, it would travel in the opposite direction. So even if Leonardo discovered that Summer was not in the car he was pursuing, it would be too late for him to turn around to continue his pursuit. With so many vehicle changes and traveling in the opposite direction each time, Leonardo could never find her.
Summer was at a loss, feeling surreal. Could she really shake off Leonardo this way? Not until she arrived at the airport did she come back to reality.
Just when she was about to open the door, someone opened for her from the outside. Summer looked up and saw a smiling face.
“Summer,” he called her affectionately.
She had figured out who was the owner of the license plate earlier, but when the person appeared before her eyes, she still could not help but be surprised.
“Jerome, it is really you.”
Summer got out of the car, staring at Jerome as if she was knowing him for the first time.
Jerome saw her reaction and had a bigger smile on his face. “I knew you would remember my car’s license plate.”
She knew Jerome in the early days, and at the time, she really liked him. In her teens, she noted everything, including his car’s license plate, which she had ingrained in her mind. After she left him, she slowly forgot everything about him.
However, Jerome in front of her and the one she used to know were different.
She narrowed her eyes and cautiously asked, “How did you know I and Leonardo stayed at that hotel? Why help me?” She did not forget what he and Vicky had done.
The smile faded from his face as he spoke in a serious tone of voice. “Leonardo’s mansion was burned down, and all the media outlets said you had died in the fire. I didn’t believe that. So I sent men to follow Leonardo.” Leonardo would lead him straight to Summer.
Summer found his expression scary. “What has my life and death to do with you?” Her face was frosty when she said this.
Jerome stepped forward, the corners of his lips lifting into a mysterious smile. “It has everything to do with me.” He paused, then added, “My heart will ache.”
He seemed to say it half-jokingly; it was hard to tell if he was serious. Summer had a hard time associating this sophisticated man with the wimpy man of the past. She took a step back.
“It’s not funny.”
“I know you don’t believe me, but time will tell.” Jerome took out two flight tickets. “Time to board the plane.”
“Where are we going?” The driver who sent her had told her that Jerome was waiting for her at the airport.
“We’re going abroad,” Jerome said.
Summer was startled.
“Why? Can’t let go?” Jerome looked at her with a smile. “Have you forgotten how Leonardo controlled you in the past, and how the Emerson family framed you?”
Summer creased her brow. It seemed that Jerome was really concerned about her.
Jerome sensed her hesitation and reluctance. “The Emerson family is a different world. It’s like a black hole; once you fall in, they tear you apart and reduce you to nothing. If you leave now and go abroad for one or two years, Leonardo will forget you, then you will be able to live your life—”
Summer interrupted him. “You know something, don’t you?”
Jerome raised an eyebrow, his expression mysterious. “Everyone has secrets.”
She did not want to harp on the subject. “Are you going with me?” she asked.
“Of course.” Jerome smiled again.
Jerome’s temperament was totally different from that of the past, and it was natural that Summer got suspicious of him. Judging by his words, she could feel that he seemed to like her. If what he did in the past was just his acting, then he would be no less cunning than Leonardo was.
She would absolutely not go abroad with him.
Seeing that Summer was silent, he reached to wrap his arm around her shoulder. “It is time now. Let’s go.”
She spun around and dodged his hand. There was a subtle change in his expression, but he said nothing.
…
Jerome had bought the tickets for the economy class to avoid unwanted attention. They had passed the security check and now headed toward the waiting lounge, and the boarding had begun.
Summer bit her lip and suddenly squatted down. “I have a stomachache… I need to go to the ladies’ room…”