Herbert kept his high and mighty act up as he said, "Are you apologizing? Forget it. You're James' wife, after all. You don't have to beg for mercy with me. I didn't say I wouldn't forgive you.""So, you've forgiven me? That's great," Summer said in glee.But Herbert demanded, "Well, I can forgive you. But it won't be enough if I'm the only one who forgives you. You need to get Susanne to forgive you too."Herbert wanted Summer to apologize to Susanne. In what way was this reasonable? Susanne had tried to kill her and made threats, but she was the one who had to apologize.Summer really wanted to frown at him and leave on the spot. But if she did that, she would probably be kicked out of the Quigley family.Caroline already thought that Summer was bullying Susanne. If she didn't comply with Herbert's demands, he would take action against her before the Quigleys could punish her.Summer bit the bullet and went to apologize to Susanne. At this point, she seemed like a lowly worke
James cut to the chase. He stared at her as he questioned, "I know what happened tonight. Why did you do it?""James, what are you talking about?"Susanne played dumb. If she was exposed for messing with Summer, she might give James a bad impression. What she didn't realize was that James already had a foul impression of her.James inched closer to Susanne as he spoke sternly, "Are you still going to lie? I warned you not to mess with Summer, but you threatened to kill her tonight. I'm very disappointed in you.""James—""Why did you do it? Summer has never treated you badly, nor did she ever hurt you." James was furious as rage burned in his dark eyes. This was the first time Susanne had seen him like this.She stepped back and explained, "You've misunderstood. I didn't do anything—""Are you still making excuses?"James was giving her immense pressure, and the air around him felt heavy, as though it were weighing her down. Susanne was frightened. James no longer seemed li
James asked, "What is it? Tell me.""If I tell you, will you promise me?" She had asked that as if she had been scared that James wouldn't agree. Her little eyes had gleamed in anticipation.James hadn't known what she wanted to say, but he had nodded and agreed anyway. "Tell me. I'll promise you anything.""Great! Well, I'm going to say it." Susanne had taken a deep breath and held his hand. She said solemnly, "You must marry me when we become adults. You can't break your promise.""Okay, I'll marry you. I won't break my promise."Since they had been kids, they had thought of marrying each other as they were good playmates. It was an innocent, pure promise. But because of that promise, Susanne had thought of James as her dream husband all these years.But all good things came to an end. After the promise on the balcony, James had accompanied Susanne to the door downstairs. Herbert had already been waiting there.Susanne had kept looking back at James reluctantly, with affec
Susanne closed her eyes and grew calm after her realization. "James, I understand now. I'm a family member to you, and so are you to me. I won't have any other thoughts from now on.""That's good, Susanne."James was glad. At least Susanne was no longer obsessed with him or thought that her feelings were romantic love. But his positive feelings didn't continue for long.The next second, Susanne said, "James, since we're cousins, I think I have the responsibility to help you find an excellent wife. Summer doesn't fit that standard."James' eyes darted toward her, feeling speechless. Susanne's feelings toward him had changed, but she hadn't accepted Summer.He wanted to say something, but Susanne stood up excitedly. She declared, "Summer's not qualified to join the Quigley family."I know Dad and Aunt Caroline have certain opinions of her, and I have to say that I agree with them. Summer's status and credentials—nothing about her is a match for you, James. If you are to marry, it s
Summer was startled when she heard it, but she quickly hid the look on her face. She asked calmly, "I don't understand what you're saying.""Summer, it's so obvious that you're lying. If you don't tell me the truth, I can't help you, even if I want to."Summer hesitated when she heard that. She didn't know what Howe was thinking, but she really needed his help at this time. Caroline kept making things hard for her, while Susanne could go crazy and kill her at any time. Summer couldn't cope with the two of them coming at her like this.Howe was now a beacon of hope for her to fight against Caroline and Susanne. But she was also wary of him. James had warned her that Howe wasn't the person he appeared to be. Although James hadn't said much about Howe, it was enough for Summer to be cautious.Everyone had their secrets in the Quigley family. Each of them was formidable.Howe looked at Summer as she stayed silent for a long time. He knew she had her concerns. He said, "Summer, y
Howe's offer was quite attractive. He would solve one of Summer's greatest problems if he could drive Susanne away.Summer asked, "Can you do that?""Of course I can, but I need you to work with me. Three days later, you must lure her to a campsite in the suburbs of Rosseera City. If you can do that, my plan will succeed."He sounded confident about his plan, yet Summer wanted to know what exactly he would do. She asked, but he only said, "It's a secret. You can't know what it is yet. If you know about it, the plan might fail."Summer grew doubtful. Why must she lure Susanne to the campsite? How would that make Susanne return to the Yanceys' home earlier? She couldn't understand.Howe stepped forward and patted her shoulder. "Rest assured, Summer. If you do as I say, we can definitely make her leave. After all, it's not good for any of us if she stays here."Summer seemed to sense something. Howe said that it wasn't good for "any of them" if Susanne stayed.Summer could understa
Caroline had been keeping a close eye on things recently. Apart from occasionally sending some supplements, she also bought many prenatal education and baby products for Summer. She had even hired some experienced mothers to give Summer lessons on pregnancy and even sex education, much to the latter's embarrassment.After all, giving birth was a serious matter. But no matter how closely Caroline supervised, she couldn't oversee Summer and James' intimate lives. So, whether or not they wanted to have a child still depended on Summer's willingness.Susanne heard Summer mention that she had piano lessons later and said, "Why don't you skip it? Dad and I are going golfing later. You should join us, Summer."The invitation came out of nowhere, which made Summer wary. Suspecting that it probably wasn't anything good, she came up with an excuse. "I can't. This lesson can't be postponed.""Why not? Can't it just be canceled?" As she asked, Susanne looked in Caroline's direction. She kn
The atmosphere became strange. While Howe and Susanne were talking, Summer noticed something—Howe's gaze seemed to carry some fear, as if he were scared of Susanne. This confirmed Summer's suspicion that something had happened between the two. As for what it was, she didn't know. yetBut there was one thing that Summer was sure about—she was going golfing with Susanne in the afternoon.…At noon, James was taking care of some documents at Quigley Group. His handsome face showed how focused he was as the sunlight cast shadows on his profile, highlighting his contours. In front of him was a young woman dressed in a white T-shirt.The woman suddenly spoke. "Are you planning to start our game yet?"James' expression remained indifferent, as if he hadn't heard what she had said.The woman appeared unwilling to let it go and asked, "What's wrong? We both agreed on this game. Do you not want to do it?"This woman was Eleanor Myers. She had previously made a bet with James to test w