“Fine. I’ll allow Jared to continue using his identity as a teacher to help Summer with her emotional struggles, but only for this. You must warn him not to expose his identity or even think about gaining custody of her. Also, I’m only giving him two years. Two years, that’s it. If Summer still hasn’t returned to normal by then, he has to leave immediately.”
“Understood. If you want to, I can get him to put it down in black and white,” Ashton suggested.
“There’s no need for that.” Although I had acquiesced, I wasn’t going to go easy on him. In a tone oozing with sarcasm, I spat, “Knowing Jared’s character, we can forget about having it in black and white. Even if he makes a blood oath, he won’t deserve my trust. You’re his guarantor, so if anything happens, I’ll hold you accountable.”
“Then, you probably won’t get the chance,” Ashton countered in a lighter tone, probably relieved that I had conceded.
“Let’s hope you’re right.” Women weren’t as forgiving as men and worry still gnawed at my chest. “I’m gonna be frank with you. I still don’t fully believe that Jared has turned over a new leaf.”
“Trust me. You won’t be disappointed.” I could hear the smile in Ashton’s voice.
“We’ll see.”
Not in the mood to joke around, I hung up the call immediately.
The moment I turned around to head back into the house, I saw John leaning against the glass door with his hands stuffed into his trouser pockets, looking me with a long face.
“Lemme guess. You heard everything.” I raised my brows.
“Yeah.” John inhaled deeply and straightened up before walking over to give me a solemn look. “Summer likes me and I like her too. You might as well transfer all rights to me and let me take her in as my own daughter.”
“Huh? What the hell are you talking about?” My eyes went wide with shock.
“Is there anything wrong with my suggestion? Look at what Ashton said about giving Jared a chance. Does someone like him even deserve a chance? Summer can’t handle anymore trauma. Let me adopt her and I’ll see who’d dare to harm a hair on her!”
It was very rare to see John disagreeing with Ashton. Seeing how dead serious he was, I couldn’t hold back my laughter. John seemed to really regard Summer as his biological daughter.
I shook my head helplessly and stepped forward to smack him on the shoulder. “When you show the same amount of concern for Kiki, then we’ll talk about handing my daughter over to you, hmm?”
Without waiting for his response, I walked past him and went upstairs.
It was approximately eight o’clock when Emery called me. Her appointment for her treatment overseas had been brought forward. We chatted for a while and she had to hang up the call to board the plane. She was an easy-going person, but I hoped that she would come back with good news this time.
The next day, John insisted on sending Summer to school with me.
I parked the car at the same spot as the previous time. Jared’s tall figure was particularly eye-catching among the group of children, but he had deliberately dressed in a simple outfit. His jaw was covered with stubble, making him look like he had aged a decade.
Having not seen him for a few days, Summer broke into a run toward him the moment she got down from the car.
Jared instinctively crouched down to hold Summer. Both of them were all smiles, garnering a lot of envious gazes. Of course, those who felt that way were merely outsiders. John, on the other hand, was dripping with jealousy.
He watched Summer and Jared laughing heartily with a murderous look on his face, looking like he was only a step away from tearing down this scene. I noticed his lips moving subtly as he mumbled something under his breath. From his expression, I could tell that it wasn’t anything sweet.
Jared nodded at us in greeting, seemingly much more courteous than the previous day.
His behavior reminded me of Ashton back then. I had seen it too many times. Thinking about the scheming mind behind the kind facade, fear gripped my heart.
Afraid that I might regret my decision, I stopped looking at him and simply said, “I’ll have to trouble you to take care of Summer in school, Mr. Cress.”
“It’s no trouble at all. It’s my job. Besides, Summer is a very good girl.” Jared stroked Summer’s head and they smiled at each other, getting along very well.
Finding this scene absolutely unbearable, John’s brows scrunched together as a grim expression took residence on his face. He and Summer were still not on talking terms because of the matter about the school transfer. Unable to let go of his inflated ego to initiate a conversation with her, he felt all the more depressed.
