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
As Summer sat on the settee, Harry asked, “Would you like coffee or tea, Ms. Hart?” Summer had no mood for this. She just cared about one thing. “No thanks. When will the meeting be over?” “Please be patient, Ms. Hart. I am not sure about the time.” Harry still asked the secretary to make a cup of tea for her. “Okay, thank you.” Summer thanked Harry, and then she asked, “May I know what floor the conference room is on?” Harry had no clue of what her intention was. So he told her. “Forty-eighth floor.” As soon as Harry’s voice trailed off, Summer got to her feet and walked out of the president’s office to get to the 48th floor. Harry came to his senses and pursued. His gut feeling told him that something was not right. But Harry’s reaction was a little too late. By the time he caught up with Summer, she had pushed open the conference door. The senior executives and managerial staff were reporting on the progress of their respective projects when they heard the door swing
Mark’s eyes were as dark as ink that could not be washed away. He stared at Summer intently, as if his eyes would suck her in. Summer was not afraid of him. She did not flinch, but looked him in the eyes. “If you are not answering my question, then let me answer it for you. You were busy with your lover and had no time for your daughter, weren’t you? Or maybe you had even forgotten about the fact that you have a daughter.” “You should have completely forgotten her since you have forgotten. Why do you have to think about it four years later when you have forgotten so completely four years ago? Charlotte is a person, not an object that you may have at your beck and call and discard later.” Mark got up from his leather chair and walked slowly toward Summer. His dark, dangerous energy flowing inside him could send chills into people’s bones. But this chill did not bother Summer. She was standing her ground, staring at him, no less assertive than he was. What she said was not wro
’Heck, she is so thoughtful that she has even planned everything for me.’ Mark’s eyebrows were knitted together, the corners of his mouth twitching as his bitter voice flowed out of his mouth. “You mean that although I know I have a daughter, I have to pretend that I don’t know, as if she is a stranger?” “It will be just like the past four years, not care to know, not even aware of her existence. It won’t be such a difficult thing for you, will it?” Summer wanted to have an amiable conversation with him. But she ended up sounding cynic. He walked up to her. As he approached, he gripped her lower jaw with his well-proportioned hand with force and his hot breath sprayed all over her face. “How did you know I didn’t care about my daughter and not aware of her existence for the past four years, eh?” She was so naïve to think that she knew everything while he knew nothing. Summer wanted to avoid him because his breath blowing into her face was uncomfortably hot. But she froze an
Summer stood there just like that, looking at the photos quietly, her heart rate increasing a tad again. Without the angry flames, she was stripped of her thorns. Her eyes were soft, and her face was beautiful. She looked at the photos while he looked at her—her delicate, petal-like pink lips, flawlessly fair cheeks, and her heaving chest. She was the one and the only. He even wondered if she had cast a spell on him because he was so fascinated by her body. He stepped forward, bending his tall body slightly, and before she knew what happened, he used his sexy lips to seal her breath. Even then, this could not satisfy him. He lifted her by her buttocks and then pressed her body against the wall. Summer snapped back and fought with both her hands and legs. He was still kissing her brazenly, gripping her hands with both hands and propped them above her head. She wished she could rip his face off with both hands. But her hands and feet were tied, and her weak legs made he
“Charlotte’s custody is still in my hands. When you took Charlotte away without my permission and now prevent me from seeing her, it constitutes an illegal confinement.” “I haven’t seen her in four years. I just want to be alone with my daughter undisturbed. Is this also illegal confinement?” Mark said with a deep voice, his thin lips curling up. “Well, how long do you plan to be alone with her? Three days, five days, one week, or half a month? There has got to be a time limit. You tell me, and I will pick up Charlotte after that.” Summer took a deep breath and suppressed the billowing thoughts in her mind, telling herself to calm down. Mark’s eyes narrowed, his lips twitching. “Let her stay with me for four years, after which we may renegotiate the custodial rights.” He was playing her. He did not mean to return Charlotte at all. She could no longer suppress her anger but blew her top. “Mark, you are a jerk! A horrible jerk!” His eyebrows twitched as he finally knew that
Blood from all over her body rushed up to her head in an instant, and Summer felt hot on the palms of her hands and the soles of her feet. Her hands on her sides were clenched up slowly as she broke into a sarcastic smile. “How do you know other men aren’t interested in me? Maybe they are into a woman like me.” “Who would it be? Dean?” Mark forced his words through the teeth in a deep voice. “What do you want before you will return Charlotte to me?” She spelled out the words, not wanting to waste time with him on such a topic again. Was this her tacit admission? Mark looked gloomy, the deep gaze in his eyes turning icy in an instant, and his piercing eyebrows were knitted together. He grabbed her wrist over and looked her in the eyes. “When I get bored with your body, I will consider returning Charlotte to you.” “You have just taught me a life lesson. Have you forgotten it so soon?” She talked back, using what he had just said, and then pushed his hand away with the other h