The boy was too strong, and Summer could not get away from him.
“Let go!” She looked up and demanded angrily.
Her beautiful cat eyes were enchanting when she smiled. But when she was angry, her eyes could be piercing cold. When the young boy saw her expression, he could not help but lessen his grip on her. Taking this opportunity, Summer pulled herself hand back and took two steps back, looking cautiously at the boy.
The boy felt humiliated and got angry. “B*tch!” he blurted, trying to grab Summer again.
Just when Summer was panicking, a burly man suddenly came out of nowhere and stood between her and the boy. He punched the boy in the abdomen and forced the boy to the ground. The boy held his abdomen and groaned in pain.
Summer’s eyes were on stalks, seeing what transpired before her eyes. The man turned around and asked with concern, “Lady, are you all right?”
Speaking in Chinese and from Z Country, the man looked ordinary but with a burly build. He apparently was a dab hand at martial arts judging from how he dealt with the boy just now.
Summer looked at him in gratitude. “I am fine. Thank you very much. I’m Summer, you?”
The man hesitated, then said, “I am passing by and just giving a helping hand. Think nothing of it.” He then turned around and left.
Summer looked on as the man walked away, feeling it weird. But thinking of what had happened just now, it was not a good idea to stay on the spot. So she hurried left. Perhaps there were still people preferring to stay anonymous, even though they had done something good.
…
Summer went into the city and checked in a five-star hotel. She first booked the room for three days while she figured out what to do next. She would probably not stay in the house anymore. But she needed to retrieve her belongings.
Her due date was near and she figured she should choose to stay in the remote area anymore. If the same thing happened to her again, she might not get as lucky as today.
She soon found online an apartment unit near the hospital. Coincidentally, the landlord of the apartment unit was also from Z Country. Because of work, the owner was not staying in the unit. So the landlord rented it out to people from Z Country. The location was excellent with public transport. The unit was fully furnished, and she could choose to rent the unit for a short or long term.
Summer called the landlord. When the phone was picked up, she tried to speak in Chinese with the landlord.
“Hi, I saw your house-for-rent ads online—”
Probably the landlord was impatient. Before she finished her sentence, the owner cut her off. “Right, house for rent. I’m flying out-of-town tonight. If you are interested, come over to view the unit now.”
Except for communicating with Eliza and Jessica through teleconferencing and over the phone, Summer had not spoken in Chinese for a long time.
“OK. I am coming right away.”
After hanging up and double-checking the address, she then took a taxi and headed over. The apartment was located in a bustling district. They had agreed to meet at the entrance in public, so Summer was not worried.
The landlord was a middle-aged woman and sounded a lot gentler than when talking over the phone.
The woman went straight to business. “Let’s view the unit first. It is a studio unit. Everything you need is there. You can choose to stay short- or long-term.”
The landlord led the way while Summer followed from behind.
“I may not stay for very long.”
“It’s okay. After all, I just want to rent it to people from Z Country. Just doing my countrymen a favor.”
“That’s so nice of you.”
The landlord smiled and did not say a word again.
They arrived at the unit. Inside, the layout and furnishings looked exactly the same as in the photos. It looked even large in real life, and the rental was not expensive, too.
Summer took a brief tour of the unit, then the landlord asked, “How do you feel?”
“It’s great.” Summer smiled.
“So you’ve decided to rent it? I can hand over—”
Without waiting for the landlord to finish, Summer shook her head apologetically. “Thank you for your kindness. The unit is fantastic, but it doesn’t suit me.” She then hurried and left.
The landlord was surprised and called out, “Hello, why…”
Once out of the apartment building, Summer’s face turned grave. When she talked with the landlord over the phone earlier, she had never told the landlord she was pregnant. When they met, the landlord asked nothing about her pregnancy. Not even a hint of surprise on the landlord’s face.
What did that show? It showed that the landlord could foretell her prospective tenant was pregnant? Obviously not. It showed that the landlord had known long before that a pregnant woman was coming to rent her unit. Someone had instructed the landlord to let this unit to Summer. And that someone knew exactly that Summer was looking for a place to stay.
However, she had told no one she knew about what happened today. Also, she was looking for a place close to the hotel where she stayed and the hospital. Many people knew that she was pregnant, but who knew she was staying at that hotel right now? Unless someone had been following her all this while.
Her analysis of the situation scared the wits out of her. Who could it be other than Leonardo?
It was not a coincidence that the middle-aged woman wanted to rent the apartment unit to her. Then who was the man who helped her earlier? Was that a coincidence? Summer’s mind was disorganized.
She had been blocking off Leonardo from her mind for the past few months, except for the occasional search online for his news. He was out of her life and had nothing to do with her. But now, she realized that she had been too naïve.
What did Leonardo want from her?
He had been sending men to follow her, eyeing her every move, or did he only start to make a move because she was about to give birth and he wanted the child?
Summer thought that the possibility for the latter was greater. A pushy and domineering person like Leonardo would not tolerate her staying out there for so long if he wanted her back. He had only made his move at this time. So, if not the child, what else could he want? Someone as smart as Leonardo would not do something for nothing.
Summer pursed her lips. She was determined to not let Leonardo take the child back to the Emerson family.