Chapter 1312
When There Is Nothing Left But Love
âThank you,â Summer replied politely, then went on to say, âAre you Daddyâs secretary too? Whereâs
Ms. Collins?â
Thoraâs face fell, her expression souring significantly.
It must have been humiliating for the president of a highly-regarded listed company to be mistaken for a
lowly employee such as Stella by a kid, even if it had been merely an innocent mistake.
Who would have thought that my baby would learn to defend her mother at such a young age? Way to
go, Summer!
Internally snickering, I cleared my throat and pulled Summer even closer to me. âIâm sorry, kids these
days donât know what theyâre talking about,â I explained sarcastically. âYou wonât take her words to
heart, right, Ms. Ziegler?â
Thora quickly regained her composure and steeled her expression once more, haughtily throwing her
hair over her shoulder as if nothing had happened. âOf course not,â she sniffed. âIt was just a joke, after
all. These things happen with kids all the time.â
Iâd expected nothing less from a woman who built her career up from the ground all by herself. Sheâd
mastered the method of getting close to people by first exchanging niceties with them before making
her advances aggressively. After failing to appeal to Ashtonâs daughter, she had likely decided to steal
him away through brute force instead.
Clearly, her interest in Ashton was born out of calculation rather than a pure crush if she didnât even
have the patience to deal with a child.
Ding!
Iâd planned on picking apart even more of her puzzling confidence, but the elevator had arrived at our
floor. I couldnât act too much like a bully in front of Summer either, so I took a deep breath and led her
out of the elevator.
Ashton and Thora followed closely behind us.
Iâd barely taken a few steps before pausing, turning around, and walking up to Ashton. Leaning in close
to him just like how Iâd done a thousand times before, I reached my arms around his neck and fiddled
with his collar, making sure that Thora was watching every single move. After that, I grabbed his tie in
an elegant motion, straightening it before stepping back to admire my handiwork. âThatâs more like it,â I
smiled to myself in satisfaction.
Glancing up at Ashton innocently, I told him, âRemember to take some time out of your schedule to
accompany the kids for dinner, okay? Our arms are always open for you.â
With that, I turned on my heel and pulled Summer out of the hospital.
There was a skip in my step all the way to the car, feeling especially proud of my amazing acting skills.
Who wouldnât feel envious after having witnessed such an intimate, tender moment between a
handsome husband and a loving wife?
The memory of Thoraâs unpleasant face turning several shades of red while she tried her best to
suppress her rage literally made me want to laugh out loud.
Who cared if she was the woman with Ashton right now? The familiarity of ten yearsâ worth of emotions
and the natural instinct to press close to one another was something that she, a woman who had solely
been focused on her career for all of her life, would never be able to achieve with him.
She and Ashton were like the polar ends of a magnet. Even if they seemed perfect for each other on
paper, the truth may turn out to be the exact opposite.
âMommy,â Summer suddenly wrapped her arms around me, resting her chin on my chest as she stared
up with questioning eyes. âDoes Daddy not like us anymore?â
âHuh?â I reached down to fix her hair. âWhy would you think of that?â
âDaddy doesnât want to eat dinner with me anymoreâ¦â She pouted, unable to conceal the
disappointment she felt. âMr. Cress said that if you like someone, you always eat with them. That must
mean that Daddy doesnât like me anymore.â
Not Mr. Cress again.
Jared had infected Summer with his teachings, causing such a young child to constantly question
herself and ruining her chances at having a happy, innocent childhood.
Swallowing back my temper, I patiently comforted her by saying, âDaddy and Mommy are the two
people who love you the most in the world, silly. But Daddy is busy fighting bad guys now, so if we
meet too much, he might get distracted and then get hurt by the bad guys. So, Daddy is actually
working very hard to protect us. Knowing this, are you still mad at Daddy?â
âThen, is Daddy Superman?â Summer asked, completely serious.
I laughed wryly, not knowing what else to do other than to nod my head.
Iâd meant to agree only as a joke, but Summer was much more earnest than Iâd initially thought. âThen,
that means Iâm mini Superman!â she exclaimed, her mouth open in a wide âOâ shape.