The president’s office on the top floor. Tall and well-built body, broad shoulders and long legs, muscular chest covered beneath a purple short-sleeve shirt outlined his nearly perfect figure. Purple contrasted nicely with the man’s sharp facial features, making him look tough, distinctive, and sharp. It turns out that men in purple could also look so mature, charming, and elegant. Harry gave the door a gentle knock. After getting a response, he pushed in and handed over the test report. “Here is the report, Mr. Valentine.” Mark reached across and took the sealed brown envelope, then opened it, and flipped through the pages. After he turned to the result page and his eyes scanned over the text, he put the report down to one side. His face was calm without a hint of emotional fluctuation. But his slightly raised lips still gave him away. But he was not surprised because the result was expected. He knew long before this that this would be the case. Even without this pater
Harry smiled. He did not know that the company president was such a daughter person. “I will first excuse myself, Mr. Valentine.” Mark nodded. Something came to mind, and he called out to Harry again, “Find out where Summer is.” “Yes, Mr. Valentine.” Harry pushed open the door and walked out. As expected, Harry was highly efficient. It did not take him too long before he came back in. ”Mr. Valentine, Ms. Hart is no longer in Santatabaca. She took the six o’clock train from Santatabaca to Nokocola Bay yesterday. Now she is in Nokocola Bay.” Mark squinted, a layer of gloom appearing on his bitter face. His deep eyes gradually darkened, and anger flickered and billowed inside them. Harry followed him for many years and could spot Mark’s mood changes. “Mr. Valentine, I will book the first flight to Nokocola Bay.” Mark’s eyes were moving, and after a while, he said, “No, get tomorrow’s flight.” “Yes, Mr. Valentine.” On the other side of the country. The next morning. Sum
Someone had picked her up?Instinct told Summer who did it. She did not panic, but looked at Charlotte’s teacher. “Ms. Bailey, what did the person tell you?” She could not think of anyone else other than Mark. Speaking of Mark, Ms. Bailey thought of the perfect, charming man, who seemed to possess all the gracefulness and dignity, whose gestures were indescribably elegant. She did not expect that Summer’s husband would be such a good-looking man. But then again, Summer was a beautiful and nice person, too. So they were a match made in heaven. “He is… he is your husband. He came to pick up Charlotte,” Nora said. “He showed me the marriage certificate. I only passed Charlotte to him after confirming his identity.” She could not believe that he even used the marriage certificate to bluff Nora. The fire of anger and cynicism consumed Summer. She frowned when she thought of Charlotte, who disliked Mark judging by her reaction that day. So why did she still agree to go with him?
Jazz’s brows were knitted together, his voice deepening involuntarily. “Are you looking for Mark?” “He took Charlotte away. I can’t find Charlotte now, and his phone is turned off. Could you please help me see if he is there? If he is not there, I would need you to help me go to his apartment.” Jazz eased up his brows. “Mark took away Charlotte? Didn’t he inform you about it?” “Do you think I would have let him take Charlotte away if he called me?” Summer asked back flatly. This was a simple question. Mark knew that if he made the call, she would be suspicious, and might not even let Charlotte see him. So he wisely chose not to inform her, but to pick up Charlotte directly. “Okay, I see. I will help you now. Don’t worry. Wait for my call.” Jazz hung up and went to Mark’s room. Summer put her cell phone back into her handbag, and then went to the supermarket across the street and bought a bottle of mineral water. She then sat on a bench, sipping a mouthful of water as she
But Charlotte still did not quite understand one thing: how could her mom’s belly fit a child the size of hers. But her teacher would not lie. She was definitely not fished out of the lake, but born out of her mom’s belly. She could never hide what was on her mind, and all her thoughts showed on her face. Mark’s heart softened, his deep but gentle eyes staring at her. His lips twitched as he spoke in a deep, awkward tone of voice. “I am indeed your dad.” He had never interacted with such a small human before. So much so that his expression was rigid. He just did not know how to interact with her. “Really?” Charlotte tilted her head, not believing what he said because her mom had never told her he was her dad. “Of course. What would you like to drink—juice or coke?” Charlotte shifted her body. “I don’t want any drink. Didn’t you say that Mommy will come? When will she come? I only want Mommy. I don’t want juice or coke.” She did not believe what Mark said. She wanted to
“You talked to him on the phone?” “Yeah. It is late now. You go home and rest.” Jazz was relieved. “Okay, call me again, if anything. And Charlotte is Mark’s child, so don’t worry.” After hanging up, the first thing she would do upon returning home was to book a plane ticket. Buying a plane ticket for today’s flight was impossible. So she could only take the first flight tomorrow. Summer was tossing and turning the entire night, thinking of Charlotte. She got little sleep. She was not worried about what Mark would do to Charlotte, but about whether Charlotte would cry or sleep without seeing her. Charlotte had been sleeping with her every night since she was small. Now that the little human was no longer in her arms, she lost sleep as she felt an emptiness crawling in her body and mind. Lying on her side, her eyes occasionally glanced at the cell phone next to the pillow. Maybe Charlotte would call over, so she kept the phone close by. But the phone did not ring the e
Maria picked them up and coaxed her again. “Little Miss Valentine, let’s put on the shoes first, okay?” Charlotte pursed her lips and said not a word. She kicked her legs again and flung the shoes even farther away this time. She refused to listen to Maria, and she kicked the shoes away again and again. The poor Maria had to pick it up and put them on Charlotte’s feet, again and again. Mark squinted at Charlotte, who was in the midst of throwing her tantrum. The gentle look in his eyes faded, his expression darkening. “I dare you to kick the shoes away again.” His voice was deep and stern. His stern expression on his stony face made him look even colder and fiercesome. Charlotte was still young. When reprimanded by Mark, she shrank back in the settee and bawled. Her shoulder heaving as she cried, her nose turning red, and she looked so deserving of pity. Maria could not bear to see this. She drew Charlotte into her arms, gently patting her on the back to comfort her. Ma
“You are bad! You are bad! You are the big bad guy! The biggest bad guy in the world! Stinker! Stinker! Stinker!” Charlotte saw it naturally. As she looked at Mark, she had burning flames in her tiny eyes. Badass. “Who taught you to swear?” Mark’s narrow eyes squinted. What the hell had that woman taught his daughter? Charlotte was still fearful of Mark. She turned aside and put her arms around Maria’s waist, not looking at him. Mark got up without a word, walked back to the closet, and got changed. As he headed out of the apartment, Maria called out to him softly. “Mr. Valentine, don’t you want to take your breakfast?” “Get her to eat her breakfast, and then Harry will send you two to another place. Don’t let Charlotte touch the phone. Otherwise, don’t say I didn’t warn you.” A deep voice was heard as Mark disappeared from her sight. It was ten in the morning when Summer arrived at Santabaca. She did not have breakfast, but just a cup of coffee to keep her going. She went