Chapter 6
Ever since Summer had been locked up, she’d lost all hope when it came to Alan.
She’d stared at the mansion’s high walls and armed guards, running through escape plans in her head a thousand times. The closest she ever got to freedom was the day she dressed as a maid and tried to sneak out in one of the staff cars. But just as she was about to make it, Alan’s black SUV cut her off at the gates.
He stepped out, tall and imposing, and walked right up to her window. “Summer, you’re not going anywhere.“>
With nowhere left to run, she made her choice–she doused the old house in gasoline and set it on fire.
While smoke poured out of the mansion, Alan was across town, stuck in his apartment, trying to calm Lena’s latest meltdown. It wasn’t until he bought her an eighty–million dollar necklace that she finally stopped sulking, grinned, and kissed him all over. They curled up together on the couch, scrolling through pictures of baby clothes, pretending the world outside didn’t exist.
Then Alan’s phone rang. He shoved Lena aside and walked out to the balcony. Lena started to follow, but he shot her a cold look that froze her in her tracks. She could only glare, fuming, as she watched his expression turn pale. He snatched up his coat and headed for the door.
“Where are you going?” Lena whined, throwing her arms around his waist. “The baby’s going to miss Daddy. Don’t leave…”
Alan was already irritated, but he forced himself to sound gentle for the sake of her pregnancy. “It’s an emergency. Remember those earrings you wanted from the auction? I’ll have my assistant bring them over.”
At the mention of more jewelry, Lena finally let him go.
With the mansion reduced to ashes, Summer was moved to a villa out in the suburbs.
The next time Alan saw her, she was covered in bruises and scratches. The anger he’d been holding onto dissolved into a sigh. He picked her up carefully and carried her to bed, cleaning her wounds and smoothing ointment over them with his own hands.
He was as gentle as he could be, but Summer still flinched, sucking in a breath through her teeth.
He bent down, softly blowing on her injuries, and for a moment there was real concern in his eyes. “Does it still hurt?”
Summer just looked at him, her tone flat. “Of course it hurts. But I don’t regret it. I set that fire myself–and I’d do it again.”
Alan’s face twisted with pain. “Is leaving me really what you want?”
“Yes. Even if it kills me, I want out.“?
“Summer!” His voice cracked, all his pain bubbling to the surface. “Don’t say that. Hurting you hurts me even more.”
“I don’t love her, I swear I don’t. Just give me a little more time. Please. Things can go back to how they were.”
Without waiting for a reply, he stormed out, slamming the door behind him. On his way out, he told the staff to double the security around the villa.
And then, for three months, Alan didn’t come back.
He didn’t send a single message–like he wanted to punish her with silence.
Instead, he took Lena all over the world, letting her ficod social media with photos of their “perfect” romance. There were shots of them feeding each other cookies, lying together on the beach–her in a barely–there swimsuit, her hand splayed across his abs, showing off for the camera. In the glow of some club’s dim lights, their legs tangled together, eyes only for each other.
The internet went wild, shipping them in Lena’s comments.
Summer saw every post.
Before, she would have locked herself in her room and cried all night. But now? She didn’t care. She had nothing left for Alan–no hope, no love, just the desperate wish to get out. None of it mattered anymore.
Alan, on the other hand, was losing his mind waiting for her to break. Every time a photo of him and another woman had popped up in the past–even innocent ones–Summer had always been jealous, always demanded an explanation. He was sure it was only a matter of time before she’d show up in tears, asking him why. But months passed. Not a word. Not even a text.
He couldn’t take it anymore. He snuck back, again and again.
All he saw on the security cameras was Summer, calm as ever, playing with the dog, acting like she’d never even heard of the rumors about him and Lena.S Her indifference shook him to his core. He left every time, aching and angry, with nowhere to put the pain.§
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