Before Howe could say anything more, Summer had already left. The door slammed shut with a bang, leaving him alone in the room. The place was silent, and the moonlight was dim. Just then, Howe's smile faded. His expression turned to one of hatred. "Summer, you're rather clever. You didn't fall for my tricks, but that's fine." Howe sat down and crossed his arms. He continued muttering to himself, "Anyway, you'll leave this place one day. I won't let you be happy with him."…At the same time, Summer returned to the master bedroom on the third floor.Lexi was waiting outside the room for her. When she saw Summer, she hurriedly walked over. "Are you alright, Mrs. Quigley? I heard that you went to the forest and were attacked by snakes. Were you bitten?"Lexi was extremely anxious because she was Summer's personal bodyguard. She had failed to fulfill her duties, so she felt guilty. Yet, Summer didn't blame Lexi at all. After all, she had intentionally avoided the bodyguards whe
"I got it." Summer sighed. It seemed that she'd made the right decision by not exposing Howe. Otherwise, Howe and James would end up fighting. Unexpectedly, James suddenly stood up, approached Summer, and crouched down to hug her. Summer was stunned by his actions. James had reached her before she'd had any time to react. She didn't struggle, and she hugged James back. She was really tired and didn't want to move. In fact, she was so tired that she wanted to fall asleep immediately. At that moment, James felt like a huge tree that she could lean on for support."James, I don't know if you'll believe me, but I'm not behind this.""Howe did this, didn't he?"James had guessed the culprit instantly. Summer's mouth was wide open from shock. She wanted to ask how he knew that. Just then, James continued, "I know everything. I know that you were framed for this. You wouldn't do something like this.""Do you believe in me?""Yes, I do.""Why are you so sure that Howe is the cul
"I think so too. But I have no choice." Herbert and Caroline had more power than her. So, Summer had no choice but to submit to them.Lexi couldn't bear to see Summer like this. She suggested, "Why don't you call Mr. Quigley? He'll definitely help you.""That's true."Just then, Summer remembered their conversation the day before. James had said that he would protect her, no matter what. Although she knew that he was at work, she still called him.After all, she had no idea how badly Caroline would punish her later on. Calling James would be a safer option. James picked up the call quickly. "Summie?""It's me. I'm going to the hospital to visit Susan. Your mother instructed me to do so. I wanted to—"Before Summer could continue talking, James interrupted her. "I'm at the hospital now. Come here. Everything will be fine."He was at the hospital? Why would he be at the hospital? Did he visit Susanne because he didn't have any work?She was about to ask James about it, but he
Summer uneasily approached Susanne. Susanne was awake and staring at Summer. "Summer, didn't you come here to visit me? Why are you staring at James?"Summer blushed and shook her head. "I'm not doing that. I came here to visit you. But…" She realized that Susanne's condition had improved tremendously. The latter looked healthy and could breathe and speak normally.After studying Susanne, Summer said, "You look fine now.""I'm fine. But I can't walk properly. The doctor says that the snake venom numbed my nerves. If I want to recover completely, I'll have to stay in the hospital for a few more days." She complained, "These doctors are so annoying. Don't they know that I'm an active person? Why are they restricting my freedom?"Herbert reminded her, "Susanne, you have to rest well.""I know, Dad." Then, Susanne suddenly smiled mysteriously at Summer. That familiar smile looked as if she were plotting something. Summer wondered if Susanne was trying to harm her again.Befor
Summer realized that Herbert and Caroline hadn't scolded her because of Susanne. This made everything more interesting. At first, Herbert and Caroline had treated Summer like a criminal, yet now, Summer had become Susanne's savior. She had no idea why Susanne had helped her. "I was the one who invited you to the forest. I also told you to open up the tent. Why did you help me?""I don't know. I must be too kind." Susanne masked her true feelings with a joke, but Summer could tell that she had only done that because she felt uncomfortable. Either way, Susanne had helped her. So, Summer said, "Thank you. If it wasn't for you, I would've—"Susanne suddenly interrupted her. "I don't need you to thank me. I should thank you instead."Summer didn't know what to say, so she simply looked at Susanne without speaking. Susanne was very embarrassed and turned away arrogantly. "Alright, I should've thanked you. I helped you because you helped me escape from the snakes. Without you, I
Susanne continued, "Summer, you have been swept up in the Quigleys' conflict. Howe views you as his enemy now.""Why?" Summer was confused. She hadn't done anything to Howe. "Because he wants to be the heir! It seems that you don't know this Quigley family rule. "Right now, James is the heir; he's not the head of the family. To become the head of the family, you must have a child first."Summer finally came to a realization. Was there a fight to become the heir of the Quigley family?Howe wanted James' position for himself. Therefore, he had come up with a plan to prevent James from becoming the head of the family by chasing Summer out of the family. One had to have a family first before they could become the head of the family. Since Summer was James' wife, she would have a child soon. As such, Howe came up with a plan to stop that from happening. Susanne saw that Summer had finally realized what was going on. "Howe looks idle, but he's very ambitious. He's always been
"You want to work with me?" Summer was dumbfounded. Why would Susanne want to work with her all of a sudden?Susanne explained, "Howe and Aunt Caroline are obviously your enemies. So, I've decided to help you. I'll help you become James' wife and Mrs. Quigley—officially."It was like she had changed into an entirely different person. She had hated Summer so much that she had wanted to kill her. But now she wanted to help Summer? What was going on?Was Susanne plotting something against her again? Summer thought that must be it. Susanne wouldn't be so kind.Susanne wasn't dumb; she saw the doubt on Summer's face. She knew what Summer was thinking and said, "Summer, I truly want to help you. If I wanted to hurt you, I wouldn't have told my dad and Aunt Caroline that I was the one who asked you to go to the forest."Well, that made sense. Susanne had had a great opportunity to get Summer in trouble, but she hadn't done it.Summer wanted to know why Susanne hadn't exposed her a
"Don't worry. I'm sure we can celebrate next time." Susanne was friendly and warm as she smiled sweetly. She was now genuinely gentle toward Summer compared to the past.She also joked and said, "Summer, you better not cry in a corner once I'm gone. I'll be back in a couple of months. We can have fun then.""Okay. I'll be waiting. Take care of yourself once you get there.""Of course I will. Otherwise, I won't be well enough to come back and meet you."Caroline and Herbert were surprised at Susanne and Summer's conversation. They had never expected the two to get along so well with each other, but they were glad that their relationship had improved.After all, Summer and Susanne represented the Quigley and Yancey families. The stronger their relationship became, the stronger the ties between the two families would be.But not everyone was happy to see them like this. Hiding behind the door, Howe gritted his teeth in spite when he saw how close Susanne and Summer were.He wanted