“Summer,” Leonardo called her by name as he frowned.
She interrupted him, seriously looking him in the eye. “Leonardo, I know you better than you think.”
“While you lack the feelings for me and Rosie, you’re still trying to accept us, and that’s an achievement. Don’t rush yourself. Take it easy.”
Leonardo was trying his best to accept her and Rosie, but obviously, it was not working out well.
It probably had something to do with his past.
Since his mother’s death when he was a teenager, his world had been gray. It was hard for him to open up, all the more so when he was a person who liked to have control over everything.
However, he was now suffering from a muddled memory. All he remembered was in his twenties, Summer and Rosie still did not exist in his world.
He may have been able to accept his identity as the president of Emerson Group and the truth of his mother’s abduction, but when it came to Summer and Rosie, they were outside his control.
The reason was, both of them—one his wife and the other his daughter—were the closest to him. Though, Summer was now his ex-wife.
Leonardo did not know how to get along with them, and Summer could feel it too.
She was not sure if Leonardo understood what she said.
He stared at her for a while. “It’s up to you.” His reply was distant, then he turned and left.
…
Once Rosie woke up, Summer brought her back to her place.
Rosie got much better back at home. Summer had cooked her a simple meal, and after the meal, she coaxed Rosie to sleep.
Rosie was unusually clingy at this time, probably because she was ill.
Summer cajoled her for a while, but when she was about to leave, Rosie held on to her. “Mommy, don’t go.”
“All right, I’m not going to leave. I’ll sleep here with you tonight.” She leaned on the headboard to comfort Rosie.
“Okay.” Rosie was delighted.
Summer’s mobile phone rang just as Rosie fell asleep.
She quickly switched it to silent mode and carefully pulled herself out of bed before she exited the room.
It was Eliza calling her. They had just met recently, and now she was calling. Was there something urgent?
The moment she answered the call, Eliza’s urgent voice came through. “Come with me to an event tomorrow night.”
“What event?”
She could not make head or tail of the situation, so she had to figure it out first.
“It’s an awards night; small-scale but mostly attended by people from the entertainment industry and investors. You need to show your face at such an event if you want to get a foothold in the field.”
Now Summer knew what was going on. Eliza was meeting those investors, and she wanted her to come long.
Why not? There was no harm in showing her face.
Just as Eliza said, if she wanted to get a foothold in the industry, she needed to make her connections and get to know more people.
“Okay, what time?” Summer agreed at once.
It was only after she hung up that Summer realized that she needed to look after Rosie. So how was she going to attend the event? What about Rosie?
She felt uneasy about letting someone else look after Rosie. Jessica might also be going to the same event tomorrow night.
Should she seek Leonardo for help?
She could not possibly miss the event because of Rosie.
The presence of reporters was certain at the award ceremony. She was not going to bring Rosie along to such an event. Besides, Leonardo would not allow it too.
Hence, her only option was to send Rosie to Leonardo.
…
The award ceremony would start by nine in the evening.
Summer sent Rosie to Leonardo in advance and went off to get her hair done before she headed to the event venue.
When she arrived, Eliza was already waiting for her at the entrance.
Her eyes lit up when she saw Summer. “This is what natural beauty looks like, I guess. You look gorgeous even without heavy makeup. Frankly, why don’t you join the entertainment industry?”
Summer was wearing a conservative and unrevealing white gown. It was a basic model. She had only styled her hair a little and put on light makeup.
“If I join the entertainment world, who’s going to write Season 2 of The Lost City?” Summer said half-jokingly.
Eliza patted Summer on the shoulder, saying nothing while bringing her into the venue.
Many people were present. Some were familiar faces on TV and some were novices who had just started out in the field.
Most of the guests were from the entertainment world while the others were investors.
Eliza had a wide personal network. The instant she stepped in, people continuously came up to her to say hi.
“Ms. Austin, it’s been a long time. You look even prettier now!”
“Thank you…”
Eliza handled the situation the way a duck took to water.
Someone then saw Summer standing beside her. “Ms. Austin has a recruit? Are you planning to train your own artists?”
With Summer’s exceptional appearance, it was not uncommon for people to take a double look at her.
Eliza acted like she was angry. “You’re dead wrong. I don’t have the money or energy to train my own artists. She’s Summer, the screenwriter of The Lost City.”
The person asking looked surprised. “The screenwriter of The Lost City?”
Summer nodded her head slightly. “Nice to meet you. I’m Summer, the screenwriter of The Lost City.”
“It’s my pleasure to meet you…” The person held out his hand. “I didn’t know the screenwriter of The Lost City was such a pretty lady.”
Eliza exchanged a few pleasantries with the person and then moved on.
Quickly, news that the screenwriter of The Lost City was present at the venue spread. People were coming to see Summer on the pretext of meeting Eliza.
Summer knew very well that people were curious about her not just because she was the screenwriter of The Lost City but also because she was Leonardo’s ex-wife.
Those who exchanged business cards with her included movie directors, investors, and artists.
It was easy to deal with them.
“Look who’s here? Isn’t it Summer, the famed screenwriter of The Lost City?”
Right then, an enigmatic voice came from behind her. She already knew whose voice it was without even looking—it was all too familiar.
Summer did not look back, but Vicky had gone around and stood in front of her. “How long have we not seen each other? You look as if you could not recognize me. How is that friend of yours by the name of Li? Has he recovered from his injury?”
Vicky was wearing a low-cut, black gown with heavy makeup on her face as usual. There was unmistakable hatred in her eyes as she looked at Summer.
She probably had no intention of concealing her feelings in the first place.