"Yes. That's because you've never told me why you like me. You told me that you had your grievances, but you can't hide the reason from me for so long, right? "We've been together for a month, but you haven't told me the truth yet.""I'm sorry," James replied mildly. He couldn't tell her the truth yet. He was really upset. Sometimes, telling the truth wouldn't change anything. Moreover, even if he told her his grievances, Summer might not like him either way. Since that was the case, he didn't want to speak up. As he thought about it, his gaze turned gloomy. Summer didn't know what was going on. She wondered why James couldn't tell her the truth. But since he was unwilling to speak, she couldn't force him. Anyway, it didn't really matter. She thought there was a chance he was lying about his grievances. Who knew the truth? She continued to be wary of James because she didn't want to be tricked by men again. Soon, it was 9:00 pm. The Quigleys had a strict curfew, and Summ
It was 10:00 pm. The stars outside shone brightly, making Summer recall a nursery song, "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star." When she had been young, Amelia had often hummed that song to her before bedtime. Summer realized that she hadn't gone home in a long time. "I wonder how Dad and Mom are coping now," Summer mumbled to herself. It was the first time that she had been away from her house for so long. When she had been in university, she had gone home once a week. Ever since she had started living in the Quigley residence, she hadn't gone back home for half a month. She hadn't even called Amelia and Fred. Since she felt guilty about it, Summer decided to visit them soon. Just then, James opened the door to the room. He was wearing a white bathrobe. His hair was wet from the shower, and his muscles were visible beneath his outfit.Summer met eyes with him when he entered the room. Then, she paused, feeling awkward, so she hurriedly lowered her head. She had to be more cautio
Just as Summer was about to fall asleep, she heard someone knock on the door. She figured it must be Luca since he always gave them supplements at 11:00 pm to improve our health.Since James was working, Summer didn't want to disturb him. So, she got out of bed and opened the door. However, instead of Luca, she saw Susanne, who was wearing a nightgown.Susanne greeted Summer after entering the room. Then, she immediately looked for James. "You're here, James." Susanne hugged James' neck like a koala and latched herself to his body like a magnet. Meanwhile, Summer was stunned. Were they really just cousins? But they seemed too close to each other.Unlike Susanne, Summer wouldn't be so intimate with her cousins. The most she did was place her arm around them or hold their arms. She wouldn't throw herself at them like Susanne. Though she was James' wife, Summer couldn't speak up at that point. After all, she didn't like James. What would he think if she jealously told him her opi
Actually, Summer was bothered by Susanne's actions. Even though she and James weren't a real couple, she felt very jealous when she saw Susanne kiss his cheek.Yet she remained stubborn and refused to admit the truth. "I don't care. Besides, aren't you two cousins? It's normal that you're close to him…" Summer trailed off weakly. She suspected the nature of their relationship. Meanwhile, Susanna smiled and replied, "Oh. So, you won't mind it, right? If that's so, I won't hold myself back."She smiled mysteriously and held James' face. It seemed as if she wanted to kiss him!That was outrageous. Summer was overwhelmed with disbelief. Something was definitely wrong here.Susanne and James were related by blood, but they behaved like lovers. This would be forbidden in the Quigley family, which had very traditional views. As such, this was probably a trap!It was highly likely that James and Susanne had intentionally done that to make Summer upset. They probably wanted her to stop
After Susanne left, Summer asked, "Shouldn't you tell me what's going on between the two of you? Weren't you acting? But it seemed so real…" "Acting?" James was confused. His expressions looked very real. Just then, Summer panicked. Was that real? Did Susanne like James? Wasn't that wrong? "James, tell me what's going on. Weren't you two acting in front of me just now? You wanted to get a reaction from me, right?""No.""Then, was what I saw just now real? Does your cousin have an ulterior motive toward you?" The more she thought about it, the more terrified she felt.Susanne and James behaved like those relatives in soap operas who grew up together and developed feelings for each other. What if James and Susanne had an incestuous relationship like that?Summer covered her mouth in shock. She felt like she had gotten entangled in a big problem. If what she thought was true, the Quigleys would get into a scandal!Meanwhile, James seemed unwilling to explain himself. Howeve
Summer almost laughed in disbelief. This was normal? How could this possibly be normal?Caroline, Norman, and Herbert had probably never seen Susanne try to kiss James' lips. If they saw that, they would've been infuriated. "Why don't I help you, James? I think we ought to correct Susanne's behavior.""Will you help me?" James looked surprised. That was rare because he usually showed no expression on his face and didn't talk much. However, he seemed really happy that Summer could help him this time. It appeared that Susanne really bothered him.Summer nodded in agreement and said, "I'll definitely help you." Yet, James had his worries. "I think we should let this go.""What? Don't you want to solve this problem?""Yes, but I don't want you to get hurt." Summer was perturbed by James' reply. Why would she be harmed? She noticed worry in his eyes, as if he thought that talking to Susanne would lead to disastrous consequences for her. She didn't know whether to laugh or cry
Her question stumped Summer. The meaning of love was a philosophical question. No one had ever managed to solve that problem before. Since Summer couldn't explain it to Susanne, she simply answered it in her own words. "Love is when you and someone else are happy and like each other. It's when both of you are willing to put in effort for each other."Summer's answer was very conventional and was what the general public thought about romantic love. Then, Susanne said, "Isn't that right? James and I are happy when we are together. I like him, and I'm willing to do things for him. As such, I believe that I love him romantically."She was spouting nonsense with a smile. It was quite terrifying because Summer was unable to detect any other emotions from her smile. That meant that Susanne genuinely believed that she loved James romantically. There was no way she would listen to what Summer had to say. Besides, if someone hid their emotions underneath a smile, it meant that their
"Susanne, if you aren't quick enough, I'm going to leave you alone. We have to escape this place. Otherwise, when Mom catches us, we'll be captured by her."James and Susanne had been curious about the outside world. Since they had been born, they had been stuck at the Quigley residence. After making use of the opportunity to escape, they had decided to explore the world outside. James had known that there was a strawberry field nearby. Since it had been harvest season for strawberries, they would be able to eat many strawberries if they snuck inside the place. As he had thought about it, his adorable face had grown cheerful. After that, Susanne asked, "How should we leave, James?""There's a small hole in the courtyard. I discovered it with Howe a few days ago. We can sneak out using that!"James cheerfully ran to the courtyard and escaped the house by entering the small hole that was only big enough to fit children. The Quigley residence had been a little remote. Cars had