Single?
Gideon frowned as he checked her information again, flipping the pages.
It was right. Summer was single, raising her child, and taking care of her family on her own. A hint of hope flickered in his eyes.
’So, she has no one in her life,’ he thought, his heart racing with anticipation.
"Kate talked very highly about her," Matthew said. "To her, Miss Summer is a loyal, hardworking, and reliable staff member in her team."
Loyal?
That single word stirred bitter memories from the past. It reminded him of her infidelity, the cruel truth that the daughter he had loved and cherished like an invaluable treasure, a gift from the Almighty, wasn’t his.
Gideon sneered, feeling the stabbing pain in his heart. "If she had been loyal to, nothing all this would have happened."
He closed the folder with a thud and slammed his hand on it. "I want her in my office. Where is she? Why is she not here yet?"
"Maybe she is still busy with her old team," Matthew speculated. "Give her some time. She should be here in any minute." With that, he left.
Once the door was closed behind Matthew, Gideon took out his wallet from his pocket and looked at Summer’s photo tucked in it.
"Summer," he murmured, running his thumb over it. "We meet again. Don’t even think of running away again – you can’t. This time, I won’t let you escape."
Outside the office...
Summer’s heart slammed inside her chest. Every part of her wanted to turn and flee, but her conscious knew she couldn’t run away. She couldn’t move forward, nor could she step back. Her legs seemed to be glued to the spot.
"Come on, Summer. You have to face him."
Gathering herself, she rapped on the door.
"Come in."
That deep, familiar voice created ripples inside her tummy. Her hand felt as she held the knob and twisted it, pushing the door open. The moment her gaze landed on the intimidating figure behind the desk, she froze. This chapter was taken from novelping(.)com without permission.
Gideon’s heart gave a sharp jolt. He wanted to run toward her, take her into his arms, and kiss her until the years apart vanished. His insides itched to tell her how much loneliness and pain he had endured. He wanted to let her know the endless nights he had spent missing her. But he didn’t move.
His gaze turned cold as he watched her. The longing turned into rage as he remembered her cruelty. To him, she was heartless, who had faked her death and vanished, leaving him to deal with guilt and sorrow alone.
"Do you need me to carry you in?" he scoffed bitterly.
"No." Summer almost tripped at the doorstep. She somehow managed to hold her balance and stepped forward.
Straightening her back, she said in a professional tone, "Good afternoon, Mr. Woods. I’m your secretary, Summer Wright." She put the file she had brought along on the table. "Here are the reports of the projects for this quarter. Please let me know if you need anything."
Gideon slammed his hand on the table.
Summer flinched, her heart jumping to her mouth. Her instinct told her to leave immediately, but she stood her ground, refusing to show her weakness.
"Summer Wright, huh?" Gideon muttered. "You really thought faking death and disappearing into another city would keep you from me?"
He rose from his chair and strode over to her, one step at a time.
Summer stiffened, clasping the sides of her skirt. She didn’t dare look at him. His eyes would be full of anger and hatred. Summer was afraid she would succumb to his intimidating aura the moment she met his gaze.
"Now you are pretending you don’t know me?" He sneered. "Don’t you think you are forgetting something?" He clasped her arm and turned her toward him, forcing her to look at him.
Summer stiffened under his grip. Her stomach knotted, terrified. When she spoke, her tone was surprisingly cold. "What am I forgetting?"
The muscles of his jaw twitched with restrained emotions. He had expected he would see some warmth or even a hint of nostalgia in her eyes when they would meet again. But all he saw was coldness in her eyes.
’Heartless woman,’ he cursed silently. ’You didn’t even ask me how I had been all those years. Do you even know how I spent every day without you?’
He wanted to scream and demand an answer to why she had stopped loving him. Instead, he gripped her arm even more tightly.
"If you don’t remember, I’ll remind you. You still owe an apology to my family, especially to Danica and Adrian."
Danica’s name irked Summer. Painful memories flooded her mind. That woman was the one who had caused all the misunderstandings and ripped her world apart. But all this could have been stopped if Gideon had trusted her. Instead, he had followed Danica blindly, had even ordered to kill her.
Summer would never forget what she had gone through and would never forgive him for that. She shoved his hands away.
"I told you before. And I’ll say it again – I didn’t push her. She fell on her own. But you never believed me. You were too blind to see the truth."
"You expect me to trust you?" he scoffed. "Just listen to what you are saying ...You said she fell on her own and caused the miscarriage. How absurd? No one would believe that nonsense. How could a mother hurt her own child?" Enjoying the story? Read on at g.com.
Summer’s eyes burned with rage and pain. It was the same as before. He wouldn’t trust her.
"If I say she did that because she was jealous of me, would you believe me? She framed me to ruin our marriage, to destroy everything we had."
Gideon felt a sharp pain in his head all of a sudden, the echo of jumbled voices clashing inside his skull. Shadowy faces crossed his mind one after another. He had a feeling that his brain was about to split in two.
He squeezed his eyes tight and turned aside, clasping the edge of the table for support. The veins on the back of his hands stood out as he fought to steady himself.
Then the vision came again – the same one that had tormented him night after night. He saw Summer’s lifeless form being pulled from the water. This haunting scene had robbed him of sleep for years, and now, it started surfacing while he was awake.
He couldn’t understand why he kept seeing it. What did it mean?
Summer stood there, dumbfounded, her pulse quickening. What was happening to him? She hesitated whether to help him sit down or ask him if he was okay.
She was still confused when she saw him reaching into his pocket and pulling out a small vial. Shaking out a few pills, he swallowed them.
’What is he taking?’ she wondered. ’Is he alright?’
Gideon remained bent over the table, supporting himself with both hands, breathing unevenly.
Summer took a cautious step toward him and asked, "You okay? Do you need something?"
"I don’t need your fake concern," he hissed.
Fake?
She was genuinely worried and wanted to help him. But to him, it was all fake. What was she expecting from him?
"Fine. If you don’t need me here, I am leaving."
He panicked instantly. "Wait," he exclaimed, stopping Summer in mid-stride.