Chapter 2

My voice was quiet, but it made everyone freeze.

Shane still seemed confused by what I’d said. He frowned on instinct.

“What are you plotting now? Summer, I’m warning you. You could drop dead right here, and we still wouldn’t give in to you again!”

“I’m not plotting anything.”

I straightened and looked at him calmly. “I asked where the pen was. Wasn’t I supposed to sign?”

My behavior made Mason frown too.

He scoffed, pulled a pen from his pocket, and tossed it at my feet. “Stop putting on an act.

“If you sign without making a fuss, I’ll have someone put $200,000 in your account. At least then you won’t starve on the street and embarrass us.”

I bent down and picked up the pen.

Without a moment’s hesitation, I flipped to the last page and signed my name without reading a single clause.

Then I handed the agreement to Mason.

He didn’t take it.

He stared at me, a flicker of surprise in his eyes.

“You don’t want it? Fine. I’ll leave it here.”

I placed the agreement on the table, then turned to Wesley.

“Dr. Leigh.” I used his title instead of calling him by his first name.

Wesley paused and looked up at me.

“I’m not sick, but thank you for your medical advice,” I said calmly.

“Tell them to go easy on the salt in the food at the Leigh house. You prefer lighter meals, and too much salt upsets your stomach.”

Then I looked at Shane.

“That slap just settled things between us. You won’t have to be embarrassed by me showing up at the airport or visiting you on set anymore.”

Finally, I looked past them at Harrison and Jocelyn.

I no longer cared whether the transmigrator had pushed Jocelyn into the pool.

“Mr. Kane,” I said, looking at his cold, handsome face.

“I’m sorry I spent the past three years pestering you and making your life difficult.

“I won’t show up in your lives again. I wish you both a lifetime of happiness.”

Those few words seemed to drain what little strength I had left.

I turned and walked toward the ballroom doors.

No one behind me said a word.

Perhaps my uncharacteristic calm had stunned them.

When I reached the doors, the night wind swept inside.

It was cold, and a light rain had started to fall.

I was wearing the red, low-cut dress the transmigrator loved. It was tacky and thin.

The wind made me shiver.

Then Shane’s furious voice rang out behind me.

“Summer! Once you walk out that door, don’t ever think you can come back!”

“You think acting like this will make us feel sorry for you? Dream on!”

I didn’t turn around.

I pushed open the heavy door and stepped into the rainy night.

The wind whipped outside, and the rain soaked my hair in an instant.

Before I could make it down the steps, more than a dozen glaring flashlight beams suddenly lit up the darkness ahead.

“She’s out! That shameless Summer Leigh is out!”

“Surround her! Don’t let her get away!”

A short-haired girl rushed to the front and splashed a cup of ice water all over me.