Summer retreated into the kitchen, then peeked at the father-daughter interaction from behind the door.
Seeing that Leonardo was not moving, Rosie began pointing in the kitchen’s direction. “Daddy, go.”
Leonardo got to his feet and walked into the kitchen, his face expressionless.
Summer quickly turned around and pretended to be busy at the countertop.
When Leonardo came in, she acted as if she was clueless. “What is it?”
“Where are the bowls?” His face darkened.
She pointed at the cabinet behind her.
The kitchen was not large. She bumped into him as she turned around when he went up to open the cabinet behind her.
She waited for Leonardo to take his bowl and go back out first before she followed.
Rosie saw Leonardo return with a bowl in his hands. She put up her thumb, the same way Summer would when she complimented her. “Good job, Daddy!”
Rosie had given Leonardo a compliment for the first in his life, but he felt nothing special.
“Let’s eat,” he said after he pursed his lips.
Luckily, Rosie was used to his indifferent looks, so she did not spot anything out of the ordinary even though he was acting differently.
Children ate less than adults, hence Rosie was always the first to finish her meal.
She went off to play on her own, leaving Summer and Leonardo to face each other at the dining table.
The atmosphere was rarely that harmonious. “Is there any news on the hypnotist?” she asked.
“Not yet.” Leonardo did not look at her.
Her expression faded somewhat as she was in deep thought for a moment. “When even you can’t find him, that can only mean he’s actively hiding from us.”
Leonardo finally looked up at her. He said nothing, but Summer could see it in his eyes that he wanted her to continue.
“Kate must have paid a lot of money to the world’s top hypnotist, but since the hypnotist is evading us, he’s most likely not after the money. You could have paid him more than Kate could’ve.”
She looked at Leonardo after that.
Leonardo put down his chopsticks and leaned back. “Carry on.” His voice lacked emotions.
“That means the hypnotist has another motive for hypnotizing you—”
Leonardo interrupted her before she could finish this time. “Motive? Such as?”
Summer thought for a moment. “That hypnotist probably holds grudges against you—just my wild guess.”
There was a hint of ridicule in his eyes as if he had heard something funny. “Do you know how I deal with those who go against me?”
Summer held her fingers together. “Are you trying to say that the hypnotist didn’t go all out in his revenge?”
Making one forget his past, his lover, child, and friends was not cruel enough?
“My life hasn’t changed because of it.” Leonardo’s eyes looked distant.
The one who forgets feels nothing. The forgotten ones are the ones who suffer the most.
“Let’s eat.” Summer did not want to continue the subject with him.
It was too depressing to keep talking about it.
Summer looked down, remaining silent the entire time she was eating.
Leonardo could clearly sense that she was depressed.
While Summer was in his line of sight, he could only see her long eyelashes because she was looking down. There was no smile on her face, and he said nothing as well. The two of them finished their meals in silence.
As Leonardo was leaving after dinner, Rosie, who was playing with her toys by the side, ran toward him.
“Daddy, where are you going?” Rosie pointed at the sky outside. “It’s dark outside.”
“I’m going home.” Leonardo looked down at her.
Finding it difficult to look down because Rosie was too tiny, he took half a step back. Rosie gripped the corner of his clothes and looked back at Summer. “Mommy!”
Summer’s voice was as faint as her expression. “Daddy wants to go home. Stop bothering him.”
“No!” Rosie frowned and began to throw a tantrum. “I don’t want him to leave! No!”
Rosie seldom threw a fit.
Sometimes, it did not mean that a child was misbehaving when he or she whined. Perhaps the child just wanted his or her voice to be heard.
Rosie was still a child, but she had a mind of her own. She seldom spent time apart from Leonardo, and she wanted to stay with him now because she had been seeing less of him recently.
It was not an excessive demand to want to stay with her dad.
Summer pressed her lips together as she gazed at Leonardo. “If you don’t mind, bring her home with you for the night. If you have no time to look after her tomorrow, just ask Tim to send her back, or I can collect her myself.”
She squatted down in front of Rosie. “If you find it difficult to see your dad go, follow him home. Come back when you miss Mommy.”
“Will you go with us?” Rosie frowned.
“I’m not going, but I’ll see you when you miss me.” Summer patted her on the head. “Is that okay?”
Rosie pouted, apparently not too happy. She looked at Leonardo, then at Summer before she hung her head low without a word.
Summer stood up and opened the door. “Go on now. Rosie’s clothes and toiletries are in your mansion. Your maids will take care of Rosie.”
That was the only reason why Summer was not too worried when Leonardo brought Rosie along with him.
Leonardo furrowed his brows as he held Rosie’s hand and walked out. Something seemed to be on his mind.
Summer stood at the doorway and looked on as they both entered the elevator. After they disappeared into the elevator, she finally closed the door.
As Leonardo pressed the button in the elevator, he heard the sound of sobbing.
He looked over and noticed that Rosie was wiping away tears on her cheek.
Leonardo’s brows were tightly knitted together. “Why are you crying?”
Rosie glanced at him and proceeded to cry out.
Tears burst forth like water from a dam, spilling down her face. Her nose and eyes turned red, and she continued to wipe her tears away.
Her cries resonated in the elevator.
A fleeting moment of impatience flashed across Leonardo’s face, and he reached down to lift her up in his arms.
He was shocked by how adept he was at carrying her. It was probably because he had done it a hundred times before.
He tried hard to make himself sound gentler. “Don’t cry.”
Rosie was wailing at this point. “Why isn’t Mommy coming… You’re not letting…”