At one in the morning, Sumr Lancaster was dozing lightly, waiting for Kenneth Yates. When the door opened, she opened her eyes and got out of bed.
"You drank so much," Sumr said, slling the strong scent of alcohol on him. Kenneth wasn’t drunk, though his face was slightly flushed.
"I’m fine. Why are you still awake? Were you waiting for ?"
"The sound of the door woke ," Sumr explained. "Go lie down in the bedroom. I’ll make you so soup to help you sober up." Kenneth obediently went back to the bedroom; he was truly exhausted.
When Sumr finished making the soup and brought it to the bedroom, she found Kenneth already asleep, leaning against the headboard. She placed the soup on the table and went to wake him.
"Kenneth, Kenneth, go take a shower first, you can sleep after." She touched him, but she didn’t know if he did it on purpose or not—he took the opportunity to pull her into his arms, and then his breathing evened out again. Sumr gave a wry smile. ’He must be exhausted to be sleeping this soundly.’ Gently slipping away from him, she walked around to the other side of the bed and took off his shoes, followed by his shirt. Sumr stared at his belt, unsure of what to do. ’What now? Should I take this off too?’ Finally, with her eyes half-closed, she freed him from all his clothes, wiped him down with a damp towel, and helped him into his pajamas...
When Sumr was done, she lay down beside him. In his sleep, Kenneth must have felt the mattress dip. He reached out, pulled Sumr close, and murmured sothing softly in her ear. Sumr turned to face him, wrapping her arms around his waist...
When Kenneth woke up the next day, the woman nestled in his arms was grinning in her sleep, clearly having a wonderful dream. Kenneth glanced down at his pajamas. ’Looks like she changed .’ He rose quietly, careful not to wake her, changed into his workout clothes, and went out for a morning run.
When Sumr woke up and found Kenneth wasn’t beside her, she felt a surge of panic. She didn’t know when she had beco so insecure, but she always felt like Kenneth might suddenly leave her, that everything they had would turn to dust.
Sumr was surprised when Kenneth appeared before her dressed in workout clothes. He had bought breakfast—soup dumplings and congee. The two of them sat down at the dining table to eat.
"Why didn’t you wake ?" Sumr asked.
"I saw how soundly you were sleeping and couldn’t bear to. It must have been tough taking care of last night." He deliberately emphasized the words "taking care of." Sumr lowered her head, picking up a soup dumpling and eating it distractedly.
Sumr rode to the office with Kenneth again that day, but she got out of the car a block away and walked the rest of the way.
The morning’s work was busy and thodical. Sumr was occupied with preparations for the jewelry exhibition when Serena Monroe burst into her office and slamd a newspaper down on her desk.
"What’s got you so worked up?" Sumr asked, picking up the rumpled newspaper.
"I have every reason to be! Look at this yourself." Serena snatched the paper from her hand and jabbed a finger at the front page. The headline was emblazoned across it: "Yates Group CEO Kenneth Yates in Marriage Alliance with West Group? An Overnight eting with the Parents." Beside it was a photo of Reina West arm-in-arm with him.
"Don’t tell you didn’t know about this," Serena demanded, perching on the edge of her desk.
Sumr’s mind was reeling. ’So when he said he had a business dinner yesterday, he went to Reina West’s house? And all that alcohol he drank... was it with her?’ Sumr snatched the newspaper and rushed out of her office. ’Kenneth,’ she thought, ’I need an explanation. As long as you’re willing to explain, I promise I’ll believe you.’
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