Initially, I planned to spend the weekend with Summer. However, ever since she realized she was gifted in mathematics, she would shut herself in the study all day, and I felt bad to disturb.
Jackson and Lydia came in the afternoon. They planned to immigrate to M Country and wanted to meet Summer for the last time before their departure.
I led Jackson to the study and opened the door slowly. We tiptoed into the room to avoid disturbing Summer. Then, he halted in his tracks and stood a metre away from Summer and looked at the child.
After some time, she finally our presence in the room and turned around.
When she saw Jackson, her face lit up with a wide grin. Putting away her pen, she walked toward us slowly to greet him politely. “Mr. Jackson, you’re here.”
He smiled and ruffled her hair gently. “I’m here. Did I disturb you when you’re studying?”
Summer glanced at her homework before turning to us with a smile plastered on her face. “No worries. I’ve done the questions thrice and I’m just doing some revisions today. Mr. Cress said he will arrange a new study plan for me tomorrow, so I can rest tonight.”
I smiled faintly at her words. She was intelligent and hardworking at such a young age, which was a relief to me. “Summer, Mr. Jackson and Ms. Alder are going to M Country, so they can’t visit you that often from now on. Spend some time with Mr. Jackson tonight and leave your studies aside temporarily.”
Upon hearing my words, Summer furrowed her brows and looked at me. The child seemed to be lost in thoughts, but soon after, she relaxed and smiled.
I missed the change in her expression, but Jackson saw everything.
Realizing that the child was hesitant, Jackson knew what to do. “It’s okay. Summer, do whatever you want. Alright?”
Her smile grew wider. “Yeah! Thank you, Mr. Jackson.”
What was supposed to be a long conservation ended in less than five minutes.
After exiting the room, Jackson and I strolled along the corridors. When we stepped out of the room, the man couldn’t help but whisper, “Don’t you think that Summer’s changed a lot?”
“Yeah. After getting in touch with Jared, she is more reserved now. Maybe Jared’s changed for the good too?”
Jackson shook his head. “I’m not talking about this. Didn’t you notice how fast her maturity rate is? She wanted to voice her objection to your plans just now, but she kept her dissatisfaction to herself. I’m worried that she’ll inherit Jared’s personality with her tendency to hide her emotions.”
His wild guess made me anxious. I immediately stopped walking and turned to him. “You’re saying that Summer’s becoming more and more like Jared?”
I knew what Jackson meant. Summer was Jared’s biological daughter, so it was normal for them to share some resemblance. However, if she became someone scheming like her father, she wouldn’t be able to enjoy her life.
In fact, she would see Jared as her salvation and distant herself from others. That might not seem to be the case on the surface, but it could be possible that she had built walls surrounding her heart and shutting others away while harboring hatred toward the entire community.
If Macy was a warm light, Jared would be the darkness from hell, while Summer was the fruit of their love. Deep down, I wished the child would inherit Macy’s traits.
Jackson assured, “Don’t worry. Perhaps it is as what Jared said, Summer is talented and progresses rather quickly learning new stuffs. It’s normal for her to be matured at such a young age.”
After saying his words, he glanced in the study’s direction and seemed to be lost in thought.
Then, he started explaining his plan to me in detail. “We mustn’t trust Jared fully and don’t entrust Summer to him. One year is enough for him to change her completely. After going to M Country, I’ll video call her every week. Make sure she answers the calls so I can observe her condition.”
