Summer told of her conjecture. “I think he wants the child back.”
However, Jessica dismissed that possibility. “Impossible. If all Leonardo wants is a child, does he have to go through all that trouble? Do you know how many women dream of having a child with him? I think he hasn’t given up on you.”
Summer was silent. After a long while, she said, “Jessica, the child is the most important thing to me now. What he’s doing is unnerving.” She had not thought of whether Leonardo had given up on her. She did not have time to think.
“What about running away again, just like last time?” But then Jessica realized something and retorted herself. “But you’re due soon, where could you go?”
Summer was listening, but her thought had drifted elsewhere. Everything seemed to be going back to square one.
At first, when she successfully got away, she thought Leonardo would not come for her. When she thought she could finally live a peaceful life and give birth to the child, she found that Leonardo’s men were following her. She did not know what he was thinking. Less so what he wanted.
After hanging up, Summer’s mind became restless, and she felt uneasy. So she thought she might as well go see Douglas.
“Summer?”
Douglas opened the door, finding that Summer was standing outside the door, so he ushered her inside. She got in and sat down on the sofa.
“Do you want some water?” Douglas asked as he closed the door.
She looked up at him and spoke with a solemn voice. “Give Leonardo a call now.”
Douglas was stunned. It was true that Leonardo had let him come to Sydney, but Leonardo had instructed him not to let Summer know that he was the one who sent Douglas there. Yet, it seemed that he had screwed up the first day he was there, so Douglas played dumb.
“What are you talking about? He doesn’t know I’m here. He—”
Douglas may have been quick-witted, but in Summer’s eyes, he was just a kid. So, she interrupted him and spoke in a tone that demanded obedience.
“Call him now. I have things to discuss with him.”
She sounded more like Leonardo now. Douglas had no choice but to take out his mobile phone and make the call. He then put it on speaker and placed the mobile phone in front of Summer.
She looked at the screen that told her it was dialing. She recognized the number. She involuntarily clenched her hands beside her, her heart pounding.
The call got through and a familiar voice answered, “What’s up?” Leonardo’s voice was low. It sounded even more frosty over the phone.
Summer’s mouth opened slightly, but words choked in her throat. Since leaving Hoover City half a year ago, this was the first time she heard Leonardo’s voice.
As Summer was silent and seemingly spacing out, Douglas nudged her without making a sound. Only then did she come out of her daze. Just as she pressed her lips together and was about to speak, Leonardo’s voice came again.
“Summer.”
His voice was calm and confident. Before Summer responded, Douglas intervened.
“Leonardo, do you have the gift of clairvoyance? How do you know it is Summer here?”
Leonardo became silent.
Douglas rubbed his nose and said consciously, “You guys need to talk. I will go back to my room.”
Summer had booked him a suite that was more spacious with a bedroom, a living room, and a kitchen. While walking toward the bedroom, Douglas kept his ears open, but he still heard nothing.
After Douglas was gone, the living room plunged in dead silence. Summer said nothing, so did Leonardo, as if he was waiting for her to speak. After a long while, Summer found her words.
“What do you want?”
Leonardo did not directly answer her question but said, “You should know what I want.”
“I don’t know!” She raised her voice. “I never know.” She never knew what was in Leonardo’s mind. She could not figure out what he was thinking.
“Then take good care of yourself and the baby,” said Leonardo, his voice calm.
“What’s next? You’re going to take the child away?” Summer scoffed.
“It’s our child.” Finally, there was a hint of anger in Leonardo’s voice.
“Let me tell you, Leonardo, don’t dream of taking the child back to the Emerson family!”
She knew deep inside that if Leonardo wanted to take the child away, she could do nothing about it. But she also could not just sit by and watch as Leonardo took the child away. In Jerome’s words, the Emerson family were the meanest people in the world. They could not excuse themselves from what happened to Grandpa Emerson and Leonardo’s mom.
“Summer, will you trust me?” Leonardo suddenly asked.
His question stunned her. Would she trust him?
But it seemed that Leonardo was not expecting an answer from her.
“Take care of yourself. I’ll take care of everything else, then come and bring you two home,” he said. It sounded no different than a command, but it also sounded as if they had never been apart.
Leonardo hung up while she was still in a daze. Looking at the dimming screen, she got even more confused. Did Leonardo just say he would take care of everything and then bring them home? Did he mean she and the baby?
…
After hanging up, Leonardo stared blankly at the mobile phone, his mind drifting away.
When an assistant sent in a cup of coffee and saw his expression, the assistant said softly, “President, your coffee.”
As expected, Leonardo did not respond. As the assistant sighed and turned around to leave, Leonardo suddenly spoke.
“Book me a flight to Sydney.”
“Sydney?”
The assistant became confused. He handled Leonardo’s schedule and remembered that Sydney was not on the itinerary. Just as the assistant wondered why, Leonardo spoke again.
“Never mind.”
The assistant got out, closed the door, and heard vague laughter inside. He thought he was hallucinating; he had never seen the president laugh even once the entire time he worked for him.
Leonardo opened the photo app, and it was full of Summer’s photographs. His eyes were gentle as he browsed through the photographs with his finger gingerly running across Summer’s face in the photographs.
I can finally see you soon.