Jazz was completely awake upon seeing Summer. He quickly brushed down his wrinkled clothes.But when he knew it, looked down at her feet.Summer was holding the doorjamb with both hands and standing on one foot with the injured one resting on the uninjured one to hold herself steady.His expression changed, and he quickly carried her up in his arms. “What are you doing here with your injured foot?”“Jazz, your brother has not returned until now. I couldn’t get through his phone. Do you know what happened to him?” She sounded worried.Jazz was startled for a second, and then said with a playful smile. “You are overthinking. Mark will be fine.”“But this place is no Santabaca. The earthquake has just been over, and chaos is still everywhere. The most important thing is I can’t get through his phone.”“Maybe we should wait and see first.”Jazz carried her back to her room. She sat on the bed while Jazz on the edge of the bed. They waited.Another two hours had passed. Summer had
Jazz toned his anger down and felt a sense of guilt. Had he not brought Raine outside today, she would not have caught a cold.“Since you are here, please call Summer and tell her I won’t go back tonight. No need to call me because my phone’s battery is dead.”He kneaded his brow with his left hand and shifted to a more comfortable sitting posture as he spoke to Jazz. Jazz’s expression was stiff. He hemmed. “Your phone’s battery is dead?” “Uh-huh? Is there a problem?”Shaking his head, Jazz took out his phone and made the call. The call was picked up in just a while. He briefly told Summer about the situation here and asked her not to worry and told her to get rest.Jazz was embarrassed of himself after knowing the truth. But at least he did not follow his impulse to whack Mark. Otherwise, he would get himself into even more embarrassment.“Go back and get a rest,” Mark said to Jazz faintly. “You may come tomorrow morning.”“I will take your place tomorrow early morning.” J
Raine bit her lips and closed her eyes when she recalled the phone call she made yesterday afternoon.Why did she not control herself at that time?She should not have made that phone call. At that time, she was out of control and just following her instinct.Whenever she was in danger, the first person she thought of was him, and she wanted him to be by her side forever.She felt relaxed, contented, at ease, and without the slightest sense of emptiness the moment she opened her eyes and saw him.She was happy.She had not had this feeling for a long time.She gazed at him, looking at his handsome face, carefully ingraining his face in her mind for a thousand times.It had been three years since she last looked at him at such a close distance. He was now steadier and more mature compared to three years ago. Like red wine that had gone through the process of fermentation, he was mellow and attractive.Raine shifted her body to get closer to him. Her heart thumping violently as
Mark had to return to the accommodation area to work on some documents, and Jazz followed him.That left Summer and Raine in the room.Summer was sitting by the window and sipping water from a glass, a storm raging in her mind.She saw it; there was something between Raine and Mark, and Raine apparently admired and like him.Raine glanced at Summer occasionally, her lips moving but saying nothing. Not that she did not want to say it. It was just that she did not know where to begin.At last, Raine spoke after a long while. “Let’s talk, Summer.”Summer nodded with a calm expression and put the glass aside. “Okay, let’s talk.”Raine clenched the quilt with her hands. She looked gracious and tactful. “I suppose you have seen it.”“I saw everything. I think you owe me an explanation,” Summer said, looking at Raine with a hint of bitterness in her eyes.“There are some things that you need to know, Summer. Long story short, Mark and I used to be couples three years ago. As you migh
There was silence again. Summer figured that the atmosphere would be even more awkward if she stayed a second longer.So she found an excuse and left.Once out of the ward, she took two deep breaths. She could not believe that Mark and Raine had dated three years ago.She could not stop her curiosity; was Mark the one making the first move, or was it Raine, three years ago?What were his feelings toward Raine when he dated her? And what about now? Did he still have feelings for Raine?The thoughts were killing her. She gave herself a knock on the head and tried to shake them from her head. She felt she was going crazy.But then, who had never had a relationship when one was young? It could be puppy love, or simply a crush.Even during her college years, she had a crush on a senior. She was crazy about him at the time that her mind was filled with him, and she would miss him dearly when she did not see him for just a moment.But now, she had forgotten all that. She could not eve
“He oversees the operation in Grudin North. He can’t leave since such a tragic disaster has happened here.”Summer continued to ask, “What about Aunt?”The pen nib in his hand paused. “It is up to her. No one can force it on her.”It was as good as saying nothing. Summer turned around and went about packing her luggage.They had been staying in Grudin North for over a week now. But it felt like they had just arrived yesterday.Perhaps time flew when she was happy.Had she not seen what happened this morning, she could have been even happier, she thought.There were few things to pack, and almost all the luggage was hers. So she thought she might as well shove everything into the suitcase.After that, she went to bed. Mark was still working. She glanced at him a few times before slipping under the cold quilt.The backlog of work over the past few days piled up like a small mountain.Now and then, he would change into a different sitting posture, wrinkling his brow slightly wit
Ronald followed her eyes and saw the lipstick mark on his shirt. He could not find a word to respond. “What are you thinking, Ronald? You are the person in charge of the operation in Grudin North. Every action of yours is under the scrutiny of the media. You will screw up your life if you are not careful. Besides, you know what will happen if your wife finds out, don’t you? She will run riot and you will never know peace again.” He sat down on the edge of the bed with a serious look in his eyes. “I have taken that into consideration, actually.”“Then what is the matter between you and that woman? Are you just having fun, or did she seduce you?”“Neither of them, Raine. I love her.” Ronald let out a sigh.“You what? Are you crazy?” Raine shook her head in shock.“I am not crazy. On the contrary, I know more than ever what I am doing.”“I completely don’t get it.” She never knew that her brother was such a person.He used to be a man of honor, a responsible family and a perfect
The next day.The car stopped in front of the house. Mark was behind the wheel while Summer was in the front passenger seat.Jazz was picking up Raine, and then they would set off together.When they woke up this morning, Jazz called to tell them that Raine would follow them back to Santabaca, and that he would meet up with Raine in the hospital.After waiting for about ten minutes, Jazz and Raine came out. They got in the car and sat in the back seat.As the black car drove forward, no one said a word. There was silence in the air.No one wanted to break the silence, as if each of them had something on their minds.It was 4:00 pm when they arrived in Santabaca. Mark first dropped them off at the Valentine mansion, and then he went straight to the office.In the living room, Yvette was sitting on the settee and drinking coffee. When she heard footsteps, she looked back and was shocked. “What happened to you all?”“Nothing major. They will recover in a day or two.” Jazz explain