The next moment, the sound of Jessica coughing was heard on the other end.
“I choked. Give me some…”
She had poured herself a glass of water and was drinking. Upon hearing Summer’s questions, she choked. She knew that Summer could not remember her past, but Summer’s deep-seated memories should have meant that she knew Leonardo the best because they had been a couple. That was why the unexpected question startled her.
She took a sip of water again and finally spoke to Summer.
“What did you just say, Summer?”
“I was asking… what kind of person Leonardo is.” Summer had probably guessed what was in Jessica’s mind as she realized her question sounded a bit weird.
“Hmm… let me think…” Jessica paused, then summarized her thoughts. “Rich, handsome, cold, and menacing.”
That was Jessica’s impression of Leonardo over the course of her interaction with him. Basically, anyone could see that Leonardo was rich and handsome. Cold? A bit. Menacing? A bit.
“That’s all? Anything else?” Summer was surprised.
“That’s all.” Jessica sighed. “Speaking of which, you should be the person who knows Big Boss the best.”
“Why are you calling him Big Boss?” Summer had not finished reading the files, so she did not know that Leonardo was the actual owner of Tip Top Entertainment.
“He’s the man behind Tip Top Entertainment.”
Summer was dumbstruck. It was late at night, so she did not want to drag things on.
“Why are you asking me this all of a sudden? Did something happen between you and Big Boss?” Jessica asked before hanging up.
Since Leonardo and Carl had little contact now, Carl knew little about what happened to Leonardo. Carl would usually tell Jessica about what he knew. Since he now knew little, so too Jessica. On the other hand, things had come unexpectedly today. Even if Summer could remember it, she did not have the opportunity to tell Jessica.
“I am…” Summer paused, trying to figure out the best way to put her words across. “… staying with Leonardo right now.”
“Have you recovered your memory? Or has Big Boss regained his?” Jessica’s voice was several decibels higher.
“No.” Summer could imagine how surprised Jessica was right then. She wished she had, but in reality, things had not progressed much.
She and Leonardo had suffered the same calamity at the same time; they were injured in the explosion on the island and lost their memories. This sounds as if she and Leonardo loved each other very much.
“We can meet up if you have time.” She had something that she wanted to ask Jessica in person, and Jessica agreed.
…
The next day, footsteps outside the door woke Summer up. The footsteps were light and quick. It was easy to work out who it was.
Sure enough, as soon as she propped herself up on the bed, Rosie’s energetic voice came from the outside.
“Mommy! Wake up!”
She even gave three rhythmic knocks on the door.
“Right away.” Summer could not help but chortle.
“Okay.” Rosie then scampered away.
Summer tilted her head, listening to the brisk footsteps faded into the distance. Only then she got out of bed.
Rosie had gone up to Leonardo’s room and knocked on the door. “Leonardo, it’s time to wake up.”
Two seconds later, Leonardo opened the door from within. At the same time, Summer was opening hers. Her eyes searched around and found Rosie was outside Leonardo’s room. With only a sleeping gown on her, Summer thought of getting back in and closing the door. Right then, she heard Leonardo’s speaking.
“Rosie, you have another chance to rephrase your sentence.”
Rosie would have called him Daddy by now on normal days. But today, she was a bit playful. She ran and plunged into Summer’s arms, then dragged her back inside.
“Mommy, come back in quickly. Leonardo is coming…”
Summer glanced at Leonardo, who was squinting at her. His face was impassive, but she could read his “don’t-you-harbor-her” look. She hesitated for a second before bringing Rosie back into her room. She then closed the door behind her.
The sound of the door closing sounded glaringly cocky to his ear. He stared at the door for a long time, sneering, then went downstairs.
…
Summer pressed her ear against the door, listening to movements outside. Monkey see, monkey do; Rosie also did the same.
Summer heard nothing. When she realized Rosie was imitating her action, she laughed out loud, squatting down in front of Rosie.
“Aren’t you afraid that Leonardo will fix you?”
Rosie looked at her for two seconds. As if she had worked out what that meant, her shoulders dropped, and her eyes were wide open.
“Yeah,” she whispered.
Summer cuddled her in her arms with a smile. “It’s okay. Once you sweet-talk and kiss him, he’ll be fine.”
Rosie nodded her head as if she knew what that meant.
Summer reached to stroke Rosie’s hair, which looked like that of a scarecrow. “I’ll fetch your toothbrush so we can brush our teeth together. What do you think?”
“I can get it on my own.” She then scurried away.
Summer glanced at the door of Leonardo’s room. She was surprised to find him not there. But from what she knew about him, she knew things had not ended yet.
Rosie had come back with her toothbrush, a towel, and hairpins, coming up to her all smiles, showing her stuff.
“Look at my strawberry hairpin, bunny hairpin, the red one…”
Summer patiently listened to her as she introduced her little hairpins. “We go clean up and brush our teeth now, then comb our hair and put on these beautiful hairpins. Shall we?”
“Okay!” Rosie nodded.
Summer patted her on the head and carried her into the bathroom. She squeezed some toothpaste on the toothbrush and handed it to Rosie. “Do you know how to brush your teeth?”
“Sure!” Rosie took the toothbrush in her hand and stirred the cup that was filled with water. She then opened her mouth with her teeth clenched together and started brushing. She looked like a dab hand at brushing her teeth now.