The guests who were all seated around Summer were all quite esteemed, and one of them was even an old business partner of Charter Corporation. As such, she caught his attention by staring at Simone intensely.Right now, Charter Corporation was nothing, so the business partner didn't need to bother keeping up appearances with the Charters anymore. The man was just about to make a snide comment to Summer when he was silenced by the frosty glare that the man seated beside her shot him.That glare made him extremely uncomfortable. And so, he decided not to say anything in the end and simply looked away, holding his breath.Now that both Hank and Simone had entered the ballroom, the host sang a few more praises for the new couple before finally handing the microphone over to both of them. The host then signaled for them to greet the guests.This was the moment Summer had been waiting for. Right as the hall went silent as everyone looked toward the stage in anticipation of what the new coupl
"Summie, don't be so unreasonable. I already let you throw coffee at my face yesterday. Is that not enough for you to vent your anger?" Simone sounded aggrieved. Tears were brimming in her eyes.Everyone around them could see her distress. Hank looked away from Summer. He held Simone tighter as he lowered his head to whisper comfortingly in her ear.They looked like the perfect couple. To bystanders, it was obvious why he would rather marry the heiress of the Young family over Summer, who acted like a madwoman."Oh, thank you for reminding me of your existence," Summer retorted. "Maybe that's why Hank is able to be so confident while he did all that sketchy stuff. Someone must have been helping him …"She trailed off there, but the implication was clear—Hank and the Young family might have conspired together to cause the recent upheaval in the Charter Corporation.As the gossip intensified, Summer continued, "Simone, I heard that you offered to buy my father's car off the second
The world seemed frozen the moment Summer laid eyes on the man. Just from his profile, she could tell that he was the most handsome man she'd ever seen.Through the haziness of her tears, his distinct eyebrows and chiseled features made him look otherworldly. His eyes were deep and unreadable, yet bright enough to make it feel like he could illuminate her world. At first glance, the man looked just her type. However, she could also feel that the man was rather uptight.The man's gaze was fixed on Summer. Lips pursed, he rubbed her shoulders comfortingly.It took Summer a few moments to get her wits back and realize that something wasn't right. Just as she was about to say something, Richard spoke first."Mr. Quigley! I'm so sorry, I didn't know that you were attending my daughter's engagement party," he said, sounding surprised and excited. "Simone, you should've told me you invited him! Mr. Quigley—"A cold glare stopped him in the middle of his sentence. His expression froze i
Summer's eyes glittered with anger.Even in the face of her anger, James remained calm and said, in a seemingly random change of subject, "Are you single or are you married, Ms. Summer Charter?"His deep baritone made Summer's heart skip a bit. That was a familiar sentence. A memory from the elevator flashed in her mind. It was him!But why did he ask if she was single or married?What kind of question was that?She stared at him, confounded, while he looked back at her calmly. His gaze was cool, yet held a deep affection that confused her further. For some reason, she answered, "I'm … I'm still single."At that, James lifted his chin and said slowly, "Good. In that case, I'd like to propose."It was the same angelic baritone, but this time, it was like he'd thrown a bombshell at her."Propose?" she echoed, shocked. Either she was hallucinating, or he was trying to humiliate her.At that thought, anger rushed through her. She tried to free herself from his grip, but she was to
Town hall? Summer wondered if she was having another hallucination.He'd just proposed not two minutes ago, and now he was bringing her to the town hall. What in the world was going on?Before she could say anything, James leaned in closer to her. His dark eyes stared deep into hers as his warm breath ghosted across her face. He smiled lightly.Shit, this was too close. Was he trying to take advantage of her?Instinctively, she tried to turn away and gaze out of the window, her ears burning. Then, she felt something tighten across her body before a click sounded—it turned out that James was just putting on her seatbelt for her."Next time, put on your seatbelt yourself!""Uh, thanks." Despite thanking him, Summer pursed her lips to stop herself from blurting out her real thoughts. She'd never asked him for help with her seatbelt in the first place. Why was he being such a smartass?James saw her embarrassed expression. He opened his mouth to say something but changed his mind at
Unbeknownst to Summer, as she bent her head forward, James could see down the front of her dress from his higher vantage point. Everything that he wasn't meant to see was exposed, from her delicate collarbones to her white bra.James' throat went dry. He pursed his lips and averted his gaze, looking out his side of the window instead.Noticing his silence, Summer thought that he had really been hurt by her actions earlier. After a moment's hesitation, she reached out her hand and brushed her fingers against the wounds.She felt him stiffen under her touch. Thinking that it soothed the pain, she continued massaging his hand. "Is this better?" she asked. "I didn't do it on purpose, I swear, I wasn't taking revenge on you. It really was a mistake …"She trailed off when she realized how inappropriate that was. Why did she have to mention revenge, of all things?Falling silent, she continued rubbing his hand for a few minutes. Eventually, her fingers became sore from her actions
Summer trailed off, unable to finish her sentence. She glanced up at James.He caught her gaze. Tilting his head, he waited for her to continue. Summer couldn't help but recall her first impression of him. He was truly uptight and inflexible, and it annoyed her.Summer took a few moments to gather her wits and reassess the situation. Once she was less flustered, she said slowly, "I have a few questions, Mr. Quigley."That came out a little awkward. She paused and thought for a moment. "You don't have to say anything, you can just nod or shake your head. Is that okay?""It's alright, I don't mind answering your questions," James said. He nodded solemnly to emphasize his point.Summer was amazed by his naivete. She couldn't quite believe that he was as daft as that, but she couldn't deny that the innocence looked cute on him. He was cute, handsome, and very much her cup of tea …She quickly shook her head to get rid of her stray thoughts.What was wrong with her? She shouldn
James was silent as he thought about how he should answer Summer's question. As he was thinking, the car rolled to a stop."We've arrived, Mr. Quigley," the driver said, breaking the uncomfortable silence between them. Summer took off her seatbelt and opened the door. Just as she was about to get out of the car, James appeared beside her and offered her his arm chivalrously. He even helped her lift the hem of her dress off the ground as she got out of the car.Summer gave him a quick glance as he did all this before looking around. To her shock, she found that they were really at the entrance of the town hall."We're at the town hall? I thought you were joking!""Where else could we go?" James raised his eyebrows. "We can't exactly register our marriage at the hospital.""You …" Summer was speechless with anger, but James had on that innocent look again, so she couldn't decide if he was playing her for a fool or just really that stupid.Recalling their interaction in the car, s