She peered into the living room like a thief and immediately put the kite aside.Mark stood behind her; he was tall, handsome, and elegant. The only thing that seemed out of place was the Shawn the Sheep bag he held in his hand.Pouting, Charlotte dashed into the kitchen. “Mommy, I’m thirsty, I want some water.”Summer frowned when she saw Charlotte’s soiled white shoes with traces of grass on them. She tugged at her collar and led her out of the kitchen. “Where did you go today?”Charlotte became droopy, her head sagging. Her legs began kicking, and she answered in a tiny voice like a fly, “I… was… flying my kite…”“Today is your first day after being absent from school for so long, and you skipped your classes?” Summer’s words became harsh.Charlotte was frightened and curled up against the wall. Mark looked at Summer, squinted his eyes, and said, “I’ve requested a day off from her teacher…”As he said, he placed the Shawn the Sheep bag on the sofa and walked over. Immediately
As she caught sight of it, Summer pressed her arms on her chest and observed his behavior. It felt a little awkward. He gulped and gracefully adjusted his black shirt with his left hand. Then, he turned toward Charlotte without changing his calm expression on his handsome face. “Ahh…”Summer twitched her brows at sight. As she turned around, she couldn’t help but curl her lips. She then quickly relaxed them.When she emerged from the kitchen again, she held a plate of freshly baked meat buns and, without hesitation, served it before him, and the plate rattled.‘Was it for him?’Mark raised his eyebrows. She had not been hospitable toward him recently. It was the first time she acted in this manner, and he was quite surprised.“Thanks, ex-wife…” he responded. His voice was a little hoarse as he stared at her gently.To call her ‘Ms. Hart’ would sound very rigid, and if he had called her ‘Mrs. Valentine’, she would definitely chase him out of the house.Staring coldly at him, Summ
She had planned to coax Charlotte to sleep then prepare her coursework. However, while she was doing so, she, too, fell asleep.Not until her cell rang suddenly did Summer wake up from her slumber. She sat up groggily. After adjusting Charlotte’s blanket, she walked out of the room muddleheaded and closed the door quietly behind her, careful not to wake Charlotte up.Still very sleepy, Summer answered the phone, her eyes narrowly opened, “Hi, mom.”“My dear, how are Dean’s legs? It has been quite a while, has there been any improvement?”The living room was pitch black, but she did not switch on the light because she felt it was unnecessary as she wanted to go into her room to sleep after the call.She staggered forward with her eyes closed, led by her instincts, and replied, “Not yet, he’s still recovering. I'm helping him with his daily leg strengthening exercise. I’ll let dad and you know if there’s any progress.” “Okay. So, how are you and Dean getting along?”Summer steadi
“Mark, don’t you think you’re being intrusive?” she maintained her low volume while grabbing his shirt with both hands.Raising his brow, Mark adjusted his grip around her waist. Then, he squinted his eyes and asked, “Do you love him?”Summer frowned and did not answer. She tugged silently at his grip with all her might, wanting to break free.He was not a cop, neither was she a criminal. Hence, she was not obliged to answer his question.“Listen, if you aren’t going to answer, we can keep doing this until morning…”Summer took a deep breath and froze for a moment. She could not help but prick her palms with her finger so that it hurt a little. “I love him.” She uttered so clearly that she could even hear her own voice.Hearing her answer, Mark turned blank but stared into her eyes, trying to grasp her deepest thoughts.“Four years ago, did you love—”Just as he was about to finish saying in a low and deep voice, he suddenly choked, and his speech was cut short.He went on to
Her response annoyed him very much, and her laughter seemed like an insult to his words.“You’re crazy!” She raged and immediately grabbed his shirt tightly and nipped at his chest firmly.‘Would he only be satisfied when he had woken up Charlotte and Dean?’ She didn’t nip too tightly with her finger, but moderately so that the pain would get very intense. He let out a few snorts and slapped her hips again. “Dear ex-wife, you better heed my words, I’m not joking…”Agitated by his words, Summer strengthened her force and replied similarly, “You better heed my words too…”They exchanged gazes, her eyes flaming bright while his being deep as the ocean.After a long while, he released her and gave her two deep stares. She got up and quickly returned to her room, whereas Mark squinted his eyes.Summer heaved a sigh of relief as she sat on the bed. She could still feel the heating sensation radiated from his body.She felt her jaws itch, but it soon became calm.…The next morning
On the other sideIn the barThere were many lakes on the seashore, so even the bar was built by the lake, literally beside the mountain and the water.Charlie took two shots of spirits and passed one to Mark, who was reclining on the sofa. “Mr. Valentine, please.”Mark’s eyes flitted over the spirits, his left hand resting on the side of his temple, kneading gently. “I’m not interested. What brought you here?”“It’s very difficult to hear from Mr. Valentine that he’s not interested in liquor. I came to bring you a wedding invitation card.” Charlie sat down with his legs crossed, looking debonair.“Yours?”“Yup…”“With Grace?” His tall body bent slightly, as he reached out for a glass of warm water and took a sip.“How do you know?”“The way you and Grace look into each other’s eyes is so hot that it almost burns each other to death. You’ve always said that marriage is the grave of love. What happened now?”Charlie’s lips curved upward and said, “I am now willing to die in t
“Not only those people, even my fiancée thought you were in love with your aunt. At that time she thought she was watching Romeo and Juliet every day! You’re the only one who knows your heart. We don’t know. Ms. Hart doesn’t know.After all, you loved your aunt so much four years ago. You just didn’t sneak into your aunt’s window like Romeo did…”“Never mind that. If you love Ms. Hart, at least let her know. Do you really think it’s okay for you to hang around Ms. Hart like a nuisance? You’re obviously making her think you’re just trying to have sex with her, you know?”Charlie reached out and clapped him heavily on the shoulder:“It’s actually easy to say those three words to the woman you love. If you love her and want her to know, then you must say it. You can never guess how someone feels inside.We don’t know what’s going on in someone else’s mind. Just like you don’t know what’s going on in Ms. Hart’s mind, Ms. Hart doesn’t know what’s going on in yours. For example, Grace a
Charlotte flew into Mark’s arms like a bird, her little face rubbing against his suit pants.He bent slightly, picked her up, raised his chin slightly, and pointed at Charlie. “That’s Uncle Charlie.”“Hello Uncle Charlie,” Charlotte said sweetly.“Little beauty. Like father, like daughter. She looks just like you. Let me give you a kiss. Here’s a little gift for you,” Charlie said while hugging the soft little girl.“Is it a dress?” Charlotte blinked.“Anything wrong?”“Uncle, can you give me a yellow one next time? Mommy always says I’m like a little piggy and will stain the white dress.”Charlie smiled and snapped his fingers. “Ok, the little beauty’s request is accepted. Mr. Valentine, I want her to be my flower girl.”“I’ll be Mommy’s flower girl. Mommy is going to marry Uncle Dean, and I will be the flower girl.” Charlotte’s smiling eyes were like a crescent moon. “Uncle, let’s go home.”“Are you hungry?”“No, Mommy went shopping for a ring with Uncle Dean today. I’m goi