"Uh… not really." If Summer had known what the problem was, she wouldn't have given Caroline a chance to pick on her. It was precisely because she had no idea that she felt so on edge.Caroline shook her head, looking disappointed. "Honestly, I don't know why there are so many issues with you. Don't you even have basic manners? Look at how you eat—you don't seem like an educated woman at all!"Summer wanted to rebuke that. She'd graduated from university. How was she uneducated? If she had to say someone was uneducated, it would be Caroline. After all, no one with proper manners would point at someone while criticizing them.Still, she was Caroline's daughter-in-law. She couldn't be rude to her mother-in-law. She lowered her head and asked, "Mom, could you tell me where I've gone wrong?"Caroline scoffed and stopped berating Summer when she saw that the latter's attitude wasn't too bad. She said, "Remember to be elegant and refined when you're eating. You should learn from me."
Time was of the essence? What bullshit!Summer wanted nothing more than to refute Luca. If time really was of the essence, why had Caroline forced her to spend an hour on breakfast?Still, she had no choice but to grin and bear it. She struggled to her feet and followed Luca to her piano lesson.Just like that, a day passed. Summer probably wouldn't have felt so horrible if she'd only been subject to manual labor. But after spending the whole day being tortured physically and mentally, she could only flop onto the bed like a wilted plant.It was 7:00 pm. Summer lay on the bed, her eyes shut, enjoying her rare hour-long break. The break didn't go smoothly, though. She heard someone knocking on the door again.It probably meant that Luca was coming to her for something again. Summer was so exhausted that she didn't even want to speak, so she said sternly, "All I want to do now is rest. Leave me alone, okay? Whatever you have to say can wait until later."As soon as the words
Summer thought she could just get away with it. That way, she wouldn't have to see Caroline. She'd underestimated the situation, though.As she sat by the bed and played with her phone, feeling a little better, Luca called out to her from where he stood by the door. "Madam, please head downstairs for dinner.""Dinner? Didn't I already say I wasn't feeling—"Before she could finish, Luca cut her off. "Madam Caroline said that it's only right for a family to eat together. It won't do to have even a single person missing. If you're still alive, you'll have to head downstairs for the meal."James had probably already spoken to Caroline about how she was doing, right? Summer couldn't believe Caroline was still insisting on her heading downstairs despite that.Summer gave in. She should've known there was no way she could win against Caroline, especially since she was on Caroline's turf. She had no choice but to go along with whatever Caroline wanted while staying here.Summer cont
After eating dinner, Summer went to James' study to look for him. As usual, he was working, staring at his computer. It was as if he were isolated from the outside world whenever he did something with full concentration. Summer approached James carefully while observing his study. It was simply decorated, except for a shelf filled with old books that had been flipped through many times before. After scrutinizing the books, Summer realized that their titles were very interesting. They included books named, "Psychoanalysis", "The History of Eurania", and "Official Guide to Medicine".There were books about the humanities and science. It proved that, apart from being an impressive workaholic, James was also very knowledgeable. Then, Summer slowly turned her gaze to James. When she saw him, she realized that he had stopped working. "Were you looking for me, Summie?""What?" James' words scared Summer. After a moment, she replied, "Yes, I was looking for you. I've realized t
As Summer continued interacting with James, she grew afraid of his true motives. She feared that he was pretending to like her and only taking advantage of her to trick his parents. In fact, Summer was scared that James was using her to stop the rumors that accused him of being aloof. If that was his true reason for being with her, Summer wouldn't be able to accept it. After all, she had started to like and care for him. She felt very lost and conflicted.It seemed that she had to spend more time to discover James' true motives. Soon, it became nighttime. Summer dragged her tired body to bed. All was silent in the Quigley residence. The house was too big, so barely any noise was heard outside. The room was pitch-black, apart from the light from the stars.Summer thought that James would probably be working at that time. She felt that he was an unapproachable person who seemed to have no other interests except work. Soon, she fell asleep. She forgot about what Caroline had
After that, Caroline urged the couple to hurry up. Then, James and Summer hastily got onto the bed and switched off the lights. The room became dark. All was silent in the room. James and Summer were the only ones left there. Summer's breathing quickened, and her heartbeat became rapid. She was unable to fall asleep. Since she was young, she had never shared a bed with a man before. In fact, she hadn't even slept next to her ex-boyfriend, Hank, before. However, she was going to sleep next to James that day. Meanwhile, James seemed to notice her anxiety. He said coldly, "Are you feeling awkward now?""Of course. Aren't you awkward?""No."Summer didn't expect James to react that way. Yet she realized that he probably looked forward to sleeping beside her in the first place. So, she turned her back to him. "How can I sleep in peace? Anyway, I can't fall asleep like this.""Is it because of me?""Yes! How can I fall asleep in this awkward atmosphere?"Just then, she felt t
After shaking her head, Summer hurriedly returned to her bed and fell asleep. When she woke up the next day, she saw warm sunlight shining into the room. However, James was gone. Summer wondered where he had gone. Once she walked out of the room, Summer saw Lexi. She asked the latter where James had gone.Lexi told her that James had rushed out of the house early in the morning to work. As expected, he was working again. That man seemed to work every minute of the day. On the other hand, Summer couldn't slack off. She began studying again. She studied hard during the next nine days. While she lived in the Quigley residence, Summer endured Caroline's criticisms. Every day after classes, she dragged her weary body home. Gradually, she became used to it. On the tenth night after that, Norman returned to the Quigley residence.He had a sturdy figure, was dressed in a tuxedo, and had a square jaw. Though he seemed intimidating, he had an affectionate smile. Evidently, Norman b
Summer thought that Norman would be a stern middle-aged man since he managed to establish Quigley Group by himself. However, he was different from what she had expected. She felt that James and Norman weren't similar at all. Instead, Howe behaved more like Norman. After chatting briefly with Norman, Summer gradually realized something about him. He wasn't as critical as Caroline and was very friendly.Yet, she had become smarter after marrying James. As such, she knew that things weren't as simple as they appeared to be. For example, when Summer first met Caroline, the latter treated her very well. However, after marrying James, Caroline's attitude took a turn for the worse. Though Norman looked friendly, it wasn't certain if he was as good-natured as he seemed. The family entered the dining area. The atmosphere was lovely, and everyone looked as if they were on good terms with one another. Meanwhile, the housekeepers had already prepared the food according to Caroline's