Summer walked to a secluded corner before she took a deep breath and picked up the phone."What do you want this time, Simone?" she asked mockingly without holding back.Simone's coquettish voice came from the other end of the phone. "Don't say that, Summie. We were best friends after all. You can't possibly give up on our friendship because of a man, right? "Oh, I'm calling to tell you that Hank and I have decided to get engaged on the 18th of this month. I've already sent out your invitation. You must come, alright?"Summer didn't know whether to laugh or cry. She had seen her fair share of shameless people but she had never seen anyone as shameless as Simone. Not only did Simone steal her boyfriend, but she even had the audacity to invite her to their engagement party! Summer was not mentally challenged. Otherwise, she would have thought that Simone was indeed her best friend from how affectionately she spoke over the phone."Congratulations on your engagement. I'm busy, so
"Mom, I want to show them that I won't be so easily defeated and that I can get up where I fall! Don't worry, I'm not foolish enough to only attend the engagement without causing any trouble of my own," Summer said to Amelia confidently.Influenced by Summer's confidence, Amelia finally smiled.Summer took a taxi to Oceanic Hotel where Simone and Hank's engagement party was held. It was a five-star hotel. A massive poster of Hank and Simone's faces plastered in the main hall caught her attention once she entered the hotel.Hank's chiseled features and Simone's petite face that was full of smiles were squashed up. Their eyes showed happiness and affection. They seemed to be flaunting their happiness to the world.Summer looked away and expressionlessly read the sign next to the poster. The sign read: "The engagement party is on the 21st floor in the Luxury Ballroom!"Summer lifted the skirt of her dress lightly up as she flashed a bitter smile. The Youngs were desperate to flaunt
Was it really her? Who would've thought he would meet her again so soon …The man's lips curved into an alluring smile. Under the warm lights of the hotel, his handsome features were only enhanced even more.He watched as Summer's silhouette disappeared into the crowd before unhesitatingly following after her."Summer … There's no way I'm letting you run away from me again …" he thought to himself.…The little scuffle Summer had with the man in front of the elevator seemed to have soothed her nerves, and she walked confidently into the ballroom, unaware of the man tailing her.Summer took in the ballroom excitedly. The ballroom was intricately decorated, and under the warm lights, it looked much grander than usual. She had to admit that the ballroom looked much better than she expected it to be.Summer then turned her attention to the elegant, striped floors which were now covered with a layer of rose petals. The rose petals created an avant-garde atmosphere. The sheer amount
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