It was 6:00 pm at Sunshine Coffee Shop.Summer Charter sat by the window at a corner of the coffee shop as she watched the people walking outside. She was anxious.Hank Lovell, her boyfriend, had told her over the phone that he would be there soon. However, she had already been waiting for half an hour, and he still wasn't there. She sighed as she fidgeted with the leather wallet in her hands. The wallet belonged to Hank, and he had accidentally left it after they had lunch together earlier. Thus, she was waiting for him to come back to return it.Her long, elegant fingers opened the simple-looking wallet. There was a picture displayed in the card slot.The woman in the picture had sparkling eyes and a brilliant smile on her face while the man in the picture had her in his arms with a loving expression on his face.Summer smiled. She had taken this picture with Hank when they'd graduated from university. Back then, they had also made a pact that they would get married once they
Simone choked out through tears, "Summie, I understand how you feel right now." It was bullshit! Summer knew Simone well. They were best friends after all. So, she knew, better than anyone else, that Simone was only putting up an act.However, what boggled Summer's mind was that Hank also knew Simone well! So, Summer had no idea how he would fall for someone like her!"I'm sorry, Summie …" Hank said apologetically with a shrug of his shoulders yet his hand remained steadfast on Simone's waist.His handsome face, which she had loved so much, was like a stranger's face to Summer right now. She composed herself. She refused to lose control right now."You don't have to apologize. If anything, it's my fault for being so stupid and loving someone like you …"Summer then grabbed her bag to leave. She was in a mess right now, and she couldn't stand dealing with either of them.Hank froze at Summer's words. There was a flash of anger in his eyes. However, before he could do anythi
At 1:00 am, the rain had finally stopped, and the sky was clear again. James Quisley, a tall, well-groomed man with short hair, stood silently in front of the massive floor-to-ceiling windows at Carlat International Airport. "It's rare to see you finally take a break. Have a safe trip, almighty president of Ascentia Group!" Lance Darwin, James' friend, exclaimed jokingly.James' dark eyes were calm as he responded, "Thanks."James was an exceedingly handsome man and yet he had an air of aloofness, making it hard for others to get too close to him.After joking around with James, Lance had gotten into his supercar. Still, before he sped off, he said again, "Mr. Quigley, I'll be here waiting for you to bring the future Mrs. Quigley home, alright?"James ignored Lance's incessant teasing and simply waved to send him off. Under the bright lights of the airport, James' sharp features paired with his all-black outfit made him look regal and refined.The future Mrs. Quigley? That w
Debbie's grin fell. "Breakup? My God! That bastard! So, not only did he steal the company's project bid and give it to a rival company, but he also broke up with you?" she screeched in disbelief.That was too much information in a single sentence. Summer's mind spun.Steal? Project bid? Did Hank …"You're saying that Hank did that?" Summer asked in shock."No way! Don't tell me you don't know about this!" Debbie said as she slammed a hand on the table. "There's no use acting coy now. Go ahead and take a look!" Debbie continued as she searched for the news on her computer. The Internet was buzzing with the news. Summer shoved Debbie lightly to the side to get a closer look.The headlines made Summer freeze."Family Company Facing Potential Bankruptcy!""Charter Corporation Faces a Hostile Takeover!""Charter Corporation in Hot Water!" "Risky Project Bid Gamble Lands Charter Corporation in Trouble!" Each headline was more outrageous than the last. Charter Corporation
To be honest, Summer knew the upper management staff very well. Besides Hank, who was still quite new, most of the upper management staff were employees from her father's generation. Almost all of them started from the grassroots and worked their way up step by step.When she had just started dating Hank, she had introduced him to Fred. Hence the two men had interacted with each other quite a number of times.Hank was two years older than her and not only was he gifted academically, but his work ethic was also compatible with Fred's. This made Fred take a liking to him.Despite that, if it weren't for Summer constantly putting in good words for him to Fred, Hank would never have managed to be part of the upper management of Charter Corporation.The headlines flashed in her mind, and she thought back to Fred's warm and kind expression this morning. She wasn't sure if it was due to regret or fear over how Fred would react to the news but her knees turned to jelly. She remained sl
At night, Summer had just taken a shower. With her hair still damp, she drew apart the curtains and slid the doors open to admire the view of Charter Estate.She recalled the emergency shareholder meeting she had attended just now as she held three percent of the Charter Corporation shares. Throughout the meeting, she clenched her pen tightly as she struggled to contain her emotions.Nearly half of the shares had been forcefully sold off. After the meeting had concluded, the finance report that was produced only served to support Fred's theories.Charter Corporation had been set up. Summer wondered if the horrors were only just beginning to start …When Summer came home, the thought of facing her mother made her nervous. Her mother, Amelia Lovelace, would've undoubtedly heard the news from Fred already. Amelia did not share Fred's optimism and resilience. She was unsurprisingly devastated by the news. However, she had managed to pull herself together enough to heed Fred's advice
Hank had been typing up his resignation letter and hadn't even raised his head to look at her as he spoke.He knew how stubborn Summer could be. So, he begrudgingly added, "Yes, we dated each other, but that's all in the past. The woman I love now is Simone, so please stop using our past relationship as an excuse to pester me."Summer stood next to his work table, her eyes laser-focused on his fingers which were flying across his keyboard. She had to fight the urge to bash the ashtray on his table right over his head.She never could've expected the man she had loved for so many years to be someone like this. She must've been blind to ever love him in the first place!"You're right. I'm nothing compared to the amazing woman that Simone is. Now that I've fallen from grace, it's easy for you to lose feelings for me, right?" she snapped sarcastically.Summer forced back the rising emotions in her and squeezed a light smile on her face. Then, she turned to leave. However, Hank's c
Under the same starry night sky, Hank drove his brand new, black Cayenne to Charter Estate. He parked it in a secluded area that was just about 15 feet away.He had just gotten off the phone with Simone's dad. For some reason, he drove here on instinct.This secluded area was where he would park his car after he sent Summer home from their dates. The parking space had a perfect view of the balcony on the second floor. It would always light up before Summer would stick half her body out to wave goodbye at him.However, those days were in the past. Right now, Hank placed one hand on the steering wheel as he strummed his fingers idly.He glanced at the clock on the dashboard. It was now 11:15 pm, and the lights in Summer's room were still on like how they used to be. The only difference now was that he could no longer see her silhouette waving goodbye to him.Hank thought back to what had happened in his office in the afternoon and forced a bitter smile onto his face. She was rig