Summer moved the mouse cursor to scroll the page slowly. Nowadays, most of the news used clickbait headlines to attract attention, but their contents were more or less the same.
Most news about Leonardo was about commerce. Sometimes, there was the occasional gossip, but mostly, they were just rumors with no substance.
Leonardo was handsome and aggressive, and he had a powerful family background. It was no wonder he was attracting so much attention. Before he emerged in the limelight, people associated him with “ugly” and “impotent”. But by making a simple search online, his image had been completely turned around.
He was a billion-dollar rising star in the business world and the heir to the very assertive family of the Emersons. Whichever tag one looked, it was an existence that the ordinary people could only dream of. And Summer was one of these ordinary people.
This feeling was not that obvious when she and Leonardo were still together. But after they parted, this feeling was becoming stronger as the days went by. Sometimes, when she thought of the days she spent with Leonardo, it felt like a dream.
She suddenly felt the baby was giving her a good kicking inside her womb. She looked down and gently stroked on her belly. “Baby, this is your dad. He is handsome, but he is also ill-tempered…” She suddenly could not bring herself to talk about it anymore.
Pursing her lips and turning off her laptop, she went into the kitchen to make something to eat. Only when she opened the fridge did she realize that there were not many ingredients left. Since her belly was growing and she wanted to complete the script with Eliza, she spent less time going out. By the looks of things, she would have to dine out today.
Summer went into the bedroom and got changed before she carried her wallet and went out.
…
Weather of April was pleasant in Sydney.
When Summer got outside, she saw her neighbor’s door was opened, a few cars parked up in the driveway. She had been staying here for a few months and never met her neighbors.
As she walked past, she could not hold back her curiosity and took a peek inside. A few teenage boys were coming out of the house, some black and some white, arms around each other as they talked and laughed.
Summer stood there for a moment, then quickly turned around and left. The boys saw her. Asian faces were not rare around there, but one that was beautiful and alone was. Having a round belly was also rare. She heard them whistling at her and saying something that basically meant she was hot, pretty, and stuff like that.
Judging by their tone, they were not friendly. She ignored them and picked up her pace, walking toward the restaurant that she always frequented.
Her range of movement was just confined to the vicinity. She had her meals and grocery shopping nearby. Because of her beauty, the waitstaff in the restaurant recognized her. The moment she stepped in, a waitstaff greeted her in English. “Miss. Jarrett, welcome.”
She returned a smile. “I would like to have a six-inch pizza and a glass of juice.”
“A moment, please.” The waitstaff took her order and went over to the counter.
She was sitting within earshot from the counter and could hear the waitstaff murmuring, “The beautiful pregnant lady has come again…” It sounded strange to hear that, but she knew they did not mean to be offensive.
After the meal, Summer went to the hypermarket, bought some groceries, and headed home. As she walked past that neighbor’s house, she picked up her pace. But it seemed that those boys were not there. They must have gone out.
…
In Hoover City.
By the time Leonardo emerged from the Emerson Corporation building, it was midnight. Tim saw him and opened the car door as he greeted, “Young Master.”
Leonardo did not get in but looked at him. Tim got the hint, reaching out with a mobile phone in his hand. Leonardo took it from him.
Still standing by the car, he turned the mobile phone screen on. The photo of a woman appeared on the screen.
The photo showed the woman was draped in a thin, gray trench coat with a loose, white dress underneath. She was apparently pregnant as she sat in the restaurant having her meal. The photo was taken from the outside through the glass window, so her face looked unclear. When she lowered her head and ate, her hair came down blocking the side of her face.
Leonardo’s eyes were glued at the screen, and he zoned out. After a long while, he suddenly spoke.
“She’s been eating these things recently?”
His voice was a little hoarse, sounding lonely in the night wind.
“Mrs. Emerson usually cooks at home, but she has rarely ventured out recently. She was probably busy, and her house ran out of food. That’s why she dined out,” said Tim.
Leonardo acknowledged with an “okay,” then got into the car.
Seeing his reaction, Tim let out a sigh after closing the door for him. Earlier, when Leonardo said he did not want to spook Summer, Tim thought Leonardo did not really mean it. From his understanding, it was impossible that Leonardo did not want to bring Summer back when he found her. After the kidnapping in his teens, Leonardo had developed some personality disorder. He was paranoid and suspicious. He would not accept the view of others.
That was why when Tim heard what Leonardo said back then, he did not take it seriously. He thought Leonardo would change his mind after a few days and bring back Summer at once. But he was wrong.
Not only did Leonardo not send men to bring Summer home, but also he sent someone secretly following her and instructed photos of her to be sent to him every day. Even if she was not going out, Leonardo would still demand for a photo of the door of her place of stay.
It was not the first time Carl told Tim that Leonardo was mad. Tim also thought the same. Shaking his head and going around to the other side, Tim got into the car and drove Leonardo back to his place.
After Summer set his mansion on fire and burned it to the ground, Leonardo had moved to an apartment close to Emerson Corporation. He would also stay at the office sometimes.
Tim was keeping an eye on Leonardo while driving. Leonardo was still looking at the photos of Summer. There were a lot more photos than usual this time, and Leonardo looked at each of them for a long time.
Suddenly, his finger froze when he saw in the background of one of the photos a group of teenagers in different skin colors. He had been looking at her daily photos long enough to know that the background was near to where Summer lived.
“Who are those people?” Leonardo asked with a low voice.