A strange feeling rose within him. Was he taking pity on her?
Leonardo found the thought ridiculous. There was nothing special about the woman. Why did he feel that way just because she was soaked from the rain? He did not know why he did what he did; he just could not help but get out of the car and run after Summer with an umbrella in his hand.
“Ms. Jarrett,” he called out. His lips curled up self-deprecatingly, but he was not smiling, though.
While she ran into the neighborhood with her handbag over her head, Summer heard footsteps behind her. It surprised her when she saw that it was Leonardo.
“What happened, Mr. Emerson?”
As soon as her voice trailed off, she heard the voice of another man she recognized.
“Summer.”
She glanced at Leonardo before she turned her head and looked in the other direction. There Stanley was.
“Stanley? Why are you out here?”
Stanley was wearing soft casual wear and holding an exquisite umbrella with a checkered pattern, walking unhurriedly toward her.
“Your friend?” Leonardo was heard asking behind her.
“He’s my… fiancé.”
She did not know why she hesitated when she answered, and the atmosphere seemingly plunged into dead silence. Baffled, she turned to look at Leonardo, who appeared expressionless. She could not make out his emotions inside. Perhaps the feeling was all in her head.
By now, Stanley was in front of them, scanning Summer and then Leonardo with an unfathomable expression. He then held out his hand.
“Summer, come here.”
Hearing that, Summer walked toward him, but the next second, she felt a hand grip her wrist. She turned to have a look and noticed that a man had gotten hold of her hand. The man’s hand was big and powerful, but the strength of his grip was just nice. The only thing that stood out was the warmth of his hand—it was so warm that it seemed to penetrate her skin and bone.
“Mr. Emerson, what’s the matter?” Summer pulled her hand back but failed; his hand was still holding on to hers. He did not seem to be using much strength, but she just could not free her hand. One minute he was very unapproachable and the next he was holding on to her.
Leonardo looked down at her. In his eyes, the woman looked pale and ill, but her cat eyes were inexplicably alluring.
Leonardo thought he must have gone insane. When he heard the woman say that she had a fiancé, he felt angry. What was even more ridiculous was that when Summer wanted to leave, he could not control himself and reached out to stop her. He absolutely had no idea why he did that.
Stanley’s eyes landed on Leonardo’s hand; he was still holding Summer’s hand. However, Stanley quickly looked away and stared at Leonardo. “Please let go of her, Mister.”
Leonardo frowned and released Summer, who quickly went under Stanley’s umbrella. Stanley moved the umbrella over so that she was shielded entirely. Summer smiled at Leonardo.
“Mr. Emerson, this is my fiancé, Stanley.”
She then looked at Stanley. “While I was shopping with Jessica today, I found Mr. Emerson’s daughter…” She briefly told Stanley what had happened during the day.
Stanley gave her a comforting smile, then turned to look at Leonardo. “Thank you for sending my fiancée back, Mr. Emerson.”
Leonardo said nothing, his face as impassive as ever. He glanced at Summer before he left. Holding a black umbrella in his hand, he disappeared into the rain, looking prideful yet lonely.
“Odd man with an odd temperament,” Summer mumbled to herself. She was soaked to the skin, and when a gust of wind blew in her direction, she shivered uncontrollably.
Stanley noticed it and wrapped his arm around her shoulder. “Let’s get back in.”
“Mhm.” Summer glanced at the hand that was wrapped around her shoulder and shifted her body quietly. She was not used to having physical contact with Stanley. As though Stanley had sensed her resentment, he retracted his hand the next second.
…
By the time Leonardo returned to his car, Rosie had woken up. She held the empty milk carton in her arms, gazing at the roof above her. When Leonardo got back in the car, she looked back down at him and said, “Daddy.”
Leonardo closed the door and looked back at her as she gazed at him with eyes that were akin to black grapes. The father and daughter stared at each other for a while, and Leonardo suddenly frowned. There was something about the woman that he had not figured out yet. He had a strange feeling about her earlier, and now, he even started to think that Rosie and the woman looked alike in certain aspects.
While Leonardo drove home with a grave expression on his face, Rosie spoke indistinctly on the way home.
When they finally arrived at the Emerson residence, a maid came out with an umbrella to open the car door for them. Leonardo carried Rosie and went into the house.
The moment he stepped in, Kate was spotted sitting on the sofa in the living room with a sour face, ready to question him. She raised her voice and sounded cold. “I thought you weren’t coming home!”
Rosie clung on to Leonardo’s neck, feeling scared. She leaned on his shoulder and did not look at Kate. She may have been a little willful sometimes, but when the adults were angry, she would still be frightened.
Noticing her subtle reaction, Leonardo reached out to pat her on the back before he put her down on the floor. “You can eat half a box of ice cream. Go get it.”
Rosie’s eyes lit up when she heard “ice cream”.
The maid standing behind Leonardo came up and brought Rosie into the kitchen. “Rosie, let’s get you some ice cream.”
Only then did Kate come to her senses, realizing that her behavior had frightened Rosie. She felt a little bad, but that did not prevent her from hardening her neck.
“You can’t be that capricious. You knew how important the meeting was today. How could you postpone it with no reason?”
Leonardo sneered, looking at Kate with a piercing gaze. “We nearly lost Rosie today, did you know that?”
Kate was startled. “What happened? The maids said that Amber—”
Leonardo’s expression was grim as he questioned her, “Amber brought Rosie out and nearly lost her. Should I make you or Amber accountable?”