“No, I can go by myself.” She gently but determinedly pushed Jazz’s hand away. “Now you don’t even want to associate with your student, do you? This is a remote place; you can’t get a taxi here. Are you going to walk in the rain all night back into the city? What about Charlotte—who will take care of her?” Her heart skipped a beat when she heard him mention Charlotte. She remained silent but let Jazz lead her into the car. Mark was standing still, watching the two slowly disappear from his sight. His hair was all wet, and the rainwater trickled down his face, along the bridge of his tall nose, and then onto his lips. He walked back to the tombstone and slumped down on the ground, closing his eyes as he let the rain beat down on him. Back at home, water dripping from Summer’s body wet the floor. Charlotte had cried for a few days, wanting to see her grandpa. Daisy grabbed something from her side and hurled it over to Summer when she saw Summer was back. “Get out of here! G
“Never mind. Don’t say anything. Come back to my apartment.” Grace held Charlotte with one hand and then took over the suitcase with the other. Summer followed her from behind. There were streetlights on both sides of the dark street, but none of their lights could shine into her heart. Suddenly thinking of something, she grabbed Grace: “Your apartment? I am not going.” She thought of something and stopped Grace. “Where are you going if not my apartment?” “There are many hotels.” She could go to any of them and settle Charlotte and herself. “My apartment is vacant. Don’t feel that you will disturb Charlie and me. If you still insist on going to a hotel, we will no longer be friends.” Since Grace said her presence would not disturb her and Charlie, she gave in. She said nothing much, and was basically silent along the way. The environment of the apartment was very good. The only downside was that it was dirty inside. It was extremely dirty. The dust on the settee cover
She did not make a sound or said anything. There was just the sound of her breathing. At last, Summer collapsed on the floor from exhaustion. It took her a great deal of strength to get Summer onto the bed. It was not until she pulled the quilt over Summer’s body that she heaved a sigh of relief. At least Summer had fallen asleep. Grace was worried about Summer and did not want to leave her alone. So she called Charlie, telling him she would stay with Summer for a few days. Watching Summer abusing herself like a madwoman, Grace could no longer bear to see anymore. She stepped on Summer’s rag and blurted, “That’s enough.” Summer said nothing and continued to wash the sheets. Grace took a glass of water and splashed it on Summer’s face. “Wake up. It is okay to grieve and feel sad, but you should know when to stop. Don’t give up on yourself, as you still have reasons to live. Grieving too much and for too long would be a pretence.” Trickles of water flowed down her face, and s
Ronald’s incident had become a talking point for folks in Santabaca. Because of the public pressure and demand, the higher-ups had to send people from the prosecutor’s office and police department to the hospital. Ronald had just undergone a surgery. He was now sitting in a wheelchair while Yvette was feeding him. Yvette’s willow brows were knitted together when she saw a group of men come in. The police took Ronald away without giving her the chance to say anything. Ronald said not a word. It was Yvette who yelled in dissatisfaction, pulling at the police officer’s uniform with a stern face. “Do you know who he is?” “Someone filed a report against him for being involved in a suspected abduction case. We are just doing our job. Besides, we have got an arrest warrant. If you have anything to say, please tell that to the higher-ups.” The police then took Ronald away. Suspected of abduction? Who else was there except Summer? Yvette gritted her teeth and called Gordon. Maybe he
She could see clearly that it was Yvette who pushed Samantha, and then Samantha fell to the floor, but she slipped when she stood up. Just as Samantha was about to fall off the building, her father caught her in the nick of time, but he, too, tripped on the steel pipe under his feet, and they both fell off the building. When Summer saw her dad’s body go over the edge of the building, she had her heart in her mouth and felt as if someone was strangling her. If it were not for Yvette’s deliberate action of pushing Samantha, Samantha would not have fallen, and her dad would not have tried to save her, and he would not have died. She knew her dad was a good-hearted person. Even though he took Samantha hostage, he would not watch her die in front of her and do nothing. Yvette might not be the direct culprit in this incident, but she indirectly caused their death; she was a murderer. Without Yvette, none of this would have happened. She wanted to sue Yvette, and so she went to a lawy
The next morning Summer woke up very early and sent Charlotte to school, then hurried over to the court. She and her lawyer had agreed to meet at the court entrance at 7:30 am. They still had time before the trial began. So she first had breakfast with her lawyer. When she arrived at the court building entrance, she met Yvette, and of course, Mark, behind Yvette. This was the first time they met since five or six days ago. But she did not expect that it would be in such a circumstance. Summer glanced at them with no emotion in her eyes, as if they were strangers to her. She did not say hello or anything, just walked past the two of them with her head held high. But no one noticed her fingernails had sunk into the tender flesh of her palms. Deep and dark eyes were following her. Mark quietly sighed, his chest heaving as he looked at her callous indifference from behind. “What have I done in my previous life that a vicious woman like her comes to haunt me in this life?” Y
“Let me handle it here…”“I’ll stay here with you. Let me get Harry to bring mom—”However, before he could finish his sentence, Mark responded in a deep voice, “Go, I can handle this matter alone!”In the event of total disaster, the fewer people involved the better, so it was best to keep Jazz out of this mess.Gritting his teeth, Jazz carried Yvette and dashed through the crowd; they left once they got into the car.Standing at a distance, Summer looked around. The moment her eyes incidentally met with Mark’s, she trembled slightly; however, he fixed his gaze on her adamantly.It was as though there had been no one there but the two of them, separated by distance, and his gaze devoured her.‘Does he hate me because I’m the reason his father ends up in prison?’‘Well, he can hate me as much as he wants. After all, things between us will never be the same; we will have nothing to do with each other in the future. Thus, he can do whatever he likes.’His hatred hurt her a littl
Charlotte wanted to watch cartoons, yet she could not find any after searching the channels using the remote control. Suddenly, her eyes brightened. “Mommy, it’s daddy. Daddy is on TV!” she called out.Summer was preparing her medicine. She was down with a mild cold due to the recently chilling weather.“Mommy, look quickly, daddy is a hero, daddy is on TV!” She hopped around excitedly.Summer took a glance. It was the scene outside the courthouse crowded by reporters. Mark stood in the middle, looking distinguished and full of swagger. “Come, take your medicine. Then, off you go to bed.” She sat on the sofa and looked away.Charlotte was flapping her little hands excitedly. “I must tell all my friends at kindergarten tomorrow!”‘She’s still a child. She won’t understand even if I try to explain so why bother.’Summer had suffered insomnia since her father’s death. She was afraid of falling asleep. Whenever she closed her eyes, she would see her father and his horrendous death,