Love Doesn’t Live Past Summer

I rolled down the window and casually tossed the drink bag into the trash can beside the road.Carter Freeman slammed on the brakes. Without a care for the traffic around us, he pulled over and rushed toward the trash can.Before he got out, I caught the vicious look he shot me and the curse he mouthed under his breath.Carter was a germaphobe. Watching him dig through a filthy trash can with his bare hands made my stomach turn.I slid into the driver’s seat. Behind me, I could still hear him shouting, “Do you have any idea how wasteful that is?”A man whose blood sugar had been through the roof for years from endless business dinners was suddenly concerned about me throwing away his sugary iced coffee.I stepped on the gas pedal, and his voice vanished behind the car.When Carter reached home, he was not nearly as furious as I had expected. Instead, he tried to smooth things over. “Come on, honey. Stop being mad. You ditched me on the side of the road today, so let us call it e

It was a share transfer agreement.I did not even bother opening it. “Give it up, Carter. I’m not signing anything.”Carter smiled. “It’s fine. I’ll just tell you what it says.”The smugness in his voice was impossible to miss.“In two days, it will be our tenth wedding anniversary. Before we got married, your father made me a promise. If we stayed married for ten years, he would transfer all of his shares to me. In two days, I’ll be the largest shareholder of Freeman Group.”I lunged forward and snatched the agreement from his hands. Then, I sank to the floor in despair.So, that was it. That was why he had suddenly changed after treating me so well for years. Not only had he taken a lover, but he had also let me make a fool of myself at the company. The cruelest part was that I had played right into his hands by making a mistake that helped him solidify his authority.Ben had been right. I really was useless.Carter finally bared the fangs he had hidden for ten years. “You sh

The familiar voice made me turn around at once. The moment I saw who it was, tears instantly welled up in my eyes.After ten long years, my father had finally woken up. “Dad!” I cried out and ran straight to him. This whole situation felt unreal. I truly felt as though I were dreaming.I held my father’s hand, feeling its warmth. “Dad, you’re not dead. That’s wonderful.”My father patted my head. “It’s okay, Nancy. Let me deal with that jerk for you!”My father stepped forward. Carter’s legs had already turned to jelly.He put on a fawning voice. “Mark, how wonderful. You’ve finally woken up. You have no idea how much Nancy and I have prayed for your recovery all these years.”“Did you pray for my recovery, or did you pray for my death?”Carter’s expression grew strained. “For your recovery, of course.”Wyatt stepped forward and struck Carter across the face.Carter flew into a rage. “Who do you think you are? How dare you hit me?!”When he looked at the contempt in our

As I had expected, the very next day, Carter came to the front gate of our family estate.It was just like ten years ago.When he saw me come out, Carter shuffled forward until he reached me. “Nancy, we’ve been married for ten years. We had a good life together. We shared so many wonderful memories. Do those years really mean nothing to you?”“Carter, I had no idea you suffered so much all these years. How difficult it must have been to put up with an old, unattractive wife like me, to run every aspect of Freeman Group, and to enjoy everything my family gave you. Carter, you married into my family. What exactly gives you the right to stand here asking for forgiveness?”Perhaps the phrase “married into my family” struck a nerve.He lunged over.“Nancy, your vicious nature has not changed at all. Who cares if I came from a poor family? That doesn’t give you and your father the right to look down on me. For all these years, you called me your husband, but what was I really? A servan

Back at the family estate, I turned to my father.“Dad, what is that about?” One look at his ashen face told me how furious he was.“Ever since I began to suspect that that jerk wanted to swallow our family’s enterprise, I started investigating. Now, I have finally uncovered the truth.”We had that receptionist, Nikki, to thank for it.She was still young. It did not take much pressure before she started talking.“While Mr. Carter and I were on vacation, he told me that rich people make the dumbest decisions. Instead of trusting their own daughters with their fortunes, they’d rather give them to outsiders. So, he decided to help things along. He paid off Mr. Mark’s nutritionist, and after that... Mr. Mark... Mr. Carter said that we were the same kind of people—that we came from the bottom and have spent our lives struggling.”For more than ten years, he had enjoyed every luxury imaginable. What exactly had he been struggling through?Wyatt walked into the room with a grim expres