Dean was not cheerless. He listened to the jokes and laughed, though not as much as his mates. After all, he had just come out of a coma and his body was still weak.Just when everyone was about to leave, Dean said to Brandon Tyson, his second officer, “Can I have a moment with you, Brandon?"Brandon nodded and sat down on the edge of the bed. “What is it, Captain?”“I have a backlog of several cases to follow. Go back and tell the chief to assign the cases to someone else.”Brandon furrowed his brows, looking not too happy. “Why assign them away now? You have spent a great deal of time and effort on those cases. I am not going to do it.”“Don’t be emotional. How can I work on those cases with my current condition?”“You are only hospitalized temporarily. After you recover, you can continue to work on them.”“Brandon! Don’t you dare to say something like this to me again. Those are murder cases. How can you take them lightly?” Dean became dead serious.Brandon did not dare to s
Summer pulled back her thoughts and dashed towards the ward. She was now sure that Dean was hiding something from her, as far as his legs were concerned. The attending doctor had left. Dean was leaning against the headboard, drinking water. He broke into a smile when Summer returned. “I can almost smell the sandwich,” he said. Summer looked at him, and said calmly, “It’s tuna sandwich.” “Thank you. Just leave the things here. I can take care of myself. Go see Charlotte. She must have been frightened when this happened.” “There are nurses over there. You may first take your breakfast.” Her expression was calm as she handed him the sandwich. Dean said nothing more, but took the sandwich and tucked in while Summer was sitting beside him. He finished the sandwich after a while, but Summer still had no intention of leaving. So Dean urged her. “There might be nurses there, but Charlotte could feel scared when she wakes up without you. Besides, I am perfectly fine. Go now.” Summ
Summer’s face sank, her expression serious. “Sit down,” she said in an icy voice.Charlotte was startled. She was trembling as she shrank her shoulders and sat there, motionless.“Extend your hand.” Summer's voice was still cold.Charlotte stretched out her hand, and then she was smacked on her palm. Her cry reverberated in the ward.Summer raised her hand and then smacked Charlotte in her tender palm again. She hit her so hard that Charlotte’s palm reddened.Just then, Mark came in and the things that happened in front of his eyes.“Does it hurt?” Summer looked at Charlotte.Charlotte cried, tears flowing down her cheeks. “It hurts…”Summer looked indifferent. She smacked Charlotte’s hand again, and Charlotte cried even louder this time and pulled her hands back. Tears continued to stream down her face.But Summer caught her hand and asked again, “Does it hurt?”“It hurts… it hurts… Mommy, it hurts…” Charlotte cried, her eyes and nose red, looking pitiful.Summer raised her
“Understood…” “Speak louder. Do you understand?” “Understood!” “Now go to sleep.” Charlotte did not dare to make a sound. She sniffled as she lay on the bed, pulled the quilt over, and closed her eyes. Her palm still hurt, but she did not dare to say a word. Summer loved Charlotte very much. She had hardly lost her temper with Charlotte. But when she did, Charlotte would quake in her boots. After a while, Charlotte fell asleep. Perhaps because of the crying, her chest was still heaving in her sleep. Summer brought a basin of warm water, moistened a towel and wrung it out, then gingerly wiped the tears away from Charlotte’s face. Sitting on the sofa with his long legs crossed in an elegant fashion, Mark looked on and took everything that happened in front of him in. His gaze was so deep that it was as if a bottomless whirlpool that sucked people in. His pupils were fixated on Summer from behind, his gaze dark as ink. The ward was so quiet that Summer could hear a pin
Summer ignored him and wanted to leave, but Mark’s sturdy body forced her to back up against the door. He stared her in the eyes, his fiery breath spraying on her face as he clutched her jaw with his shapely hand. “No, we have to talk now. Or else, I am afraid I will regret it later.” He spelled out his words in a deep voice. “Mark, I have promised to talk, but you can’t go overboard.” She tried to smack away his hand that was clutching her jaw. She was finally angered. “Now keep quiet and listen to me.” His hands now moved to hold her shoulders with just the right amount of force. “Perhaps, what I am going to say will be what you have always wanted.” He knew what she wanted? But he would not say this for no reason, would he? She suppressed her anger, took a deep breath, and looked at him. “All right. I am all ears.” Mark looked at her, his gaze sinking into her eyes when he spoke in a deep and magnetic voice, knocking every word into her heart. “I will not fight for Charlott
“I will not challenge you for Charlotte’s custody again. She will always be yours,” he said again. Seeing his actions and his ocean-deep eyes, she was moved, and she believed him. “I believe you,” she said in a soft but serious tone of voice. “And thank you.” It had been a long time since he last saw her so docile. His brows moved with the corners of his lips turning up. But he was not happy about her reaction. “Just a thank you?” “Then what do you want? As best as I can, I will—” Before Summer could finish her sentence, Mark leaned forward and came down with his fiery kisses. She was slightly startled. She frowned and glared at him as soon as she knew what happened. Mark pulled away from her and looked at her. “But I keep the right to visit Charlotte anytime I want.” “You are her dad. I can’t deny your right to see her. Yeah, I agree,” Summer said. “Now, where are we going now?” “Buy Charlotte a kite.” There was a kite shop selling a dazzling array of kites not far
His lips, however, curled up as he leaned his tall and proud body against the counter ever so lazily. He watched her every move without saying anything, but he did not loosen his grip. Instead, he held her more tightly. They were not alone in the store. At that moment, the people around them were all shifting their gazes toward their direction. It was really inappropriate for them to act like that in public. Summer clenched her jaw as she stopped moving and reluctantly stood still.After half an hour, the staff finally brought their kite over to them. Compared with the blue kite, it was evident that the orange one was more appealing.After paying for the kites, they walked out of the shop and returned to the hospital.Charlotte had already woken up. She was sitting on her sickbed as she played with her building blocks uninterestedly. Her round eyes lit up as soon as she laid eyes on the kites. “Which one do you like?” Mark asked her while he stood in front of her bed, holdin
Soloman was not one to interfere in his daughter’s business, but he also chimed in this time. “I fully agree with everything your mom said. I won’t say anything else, but I have to say this—we should always have a conscience!”“One more thing, and it’s going to be hard to swallow. If Dean really becomes paralyzed, it will be hard for him to find a partner. Regardless of how just, kind, honest, and charming he is, it won’t be easy. In this generation, who isn’t realistic? If they saw Dean’s legs, do you think they’d still want to be his partner?” Daisy looked at Summer as she spoke from the bottom of her heart. “Oh Summer, we should really have a good conscience.”“I know all that, Mom.” Summer’s expression was deep and dark.At the same time, Summer understood in her heart that those were very real issues. Even if her parents did not bring them up, she was already making plans for what she had to do.“Good. We are not forcing you either, but you should really take some time and car