Chapter 398: Silent Cracks
Yvette watched Summer with deep concern, afraid she might do something rash. But Summer didn’t move. She just sat quietly, eyes downcast, staring at the piano keys. Her stillness was almost too calm.
Yvette hesitated before speaking. "Cr, maybe Fraser has his reasons. When he gets back, we’ll talk to him properly. You’re almost at full term – you can’t let your thoughts spiral, okay?" She wanted to say more, but seeing Summer’s visibly pregnant belly, she held back, afraid of saying the wrong thing.
Summer pulled her hands away from the piano, her tone slow and steady. “Okay. I understand.”
Just then, a maid walked over from the kitchen, carrying a bowl of bird’s nest soup. “Ma’am, you haven’t had your soup today.”
Summer said, “Just leave it. I’m not really hungry.”
The maid placed the bowl on the table, then remembered something. “Mr. Fraser said he had to leave on an emergency business trip for a couple of days. He told you not to wait up and to get some rest.”
Yvette’s freshly calmed nerves flared back to life in an instant. “What? What’s that supposed to mean? A business trip? At a time like this?”
Summer lowered her eyes. “You can go,” she said to the maid.
The maid glanced at the fuming Yvette, then back at the unnervingly composed Summer before quietly retreating.
Yvette felt like she was about to explode, but couldn’t – she was too worried it would affect the baby. It was somehow even worse than finding out her own boyfriend had cheated. Her eyes were red with fury.
Summer said gently, “Yvette, I know you’re worried. Don’t worry. I’m not overthinking things.”
Hearing that, Yvette looked at her closely. After all these years of friendship, she could read Summer’s moods better than anyone. And for the first time, she realized this wasn’t fake composure. Summer was genuinely calm.
Summer gently touched her belly, her gaze steady. “Yeah. I believe him.”
In the days that followed, Fraser’s work became increasingly demanding. He left early, came home late, and his visits to the Starlight Compound grew shorter and more sporadic. Summer, deep into her pregnancy, was constantly sleepy. She often went to bed early and sometimes didn’t even know if Fraser had come home. The next morning, she would ask the maids and find out that yes, he had – just very late.
But a growing unease took root in her heart, a vague sense that something was looming just beyond the horizon. And her baby’s movements grew more frequent in the middle of the night. Every time the baby stirred around midnight, Summer, half-asleep, would feel a familiar hand gently caressing her belly – soothing, comforting, familiar. And each time, the baby would slowly settle. She knew it was Fraser’s hand. His touch. His presence. She always wanted to wake up and speak to him, but she was just too tired.
At Graham Group, Fraser stood in front of the floor-to-ceiling window, tall and straight, expression unreadable. His dark gaze stared out at the city. Mike stood behind him, delivering a report.
“Mr. Fraser, after the consortium meeting, August teamed up with some minor shareholders and sold their Graham Group shares to Brandon. Brandon doesn’t hold a large share yet, but he’s been moving aggressively behind the scenes. The recent incident with the Ningde North project? Turns out his people were behind it. And from what we’ve heard, he’s also been interfering with the upcoming overseas expansion – trying to profit from the chaos.”
Fraser’s expression didn’t change, like he had already expected this. “What’s the status of Brandon’s chemical plant in Oblistan?”
“We’ve submitted evidence of his illegal operations in Oblistan. It’s just a matter of days before his entire enterprise gets shut down.”
Mike hesitated. “We’re just worried Brandon might go rogue once he finds out. He could become reckless and dangerous.”
Mike looked at Fraser.
Recently, Brandon had been making a big show of entering Havenbrook, loudly and publicly acquiring Graham Group shares. On the surface, he acted friendly and civil, but in the shadows, he was setting traps. Graham Group was quickly becoming a battlefield.
To Mike, Mr. Fraser had always handled every crisis with ease – decisive, calculating, and ruthless when needed. But when it came to Summer, everything changed. Fraser lost his cool. His logic, his sharp edge – it all wavered.
Meanwhile, Yvette had been doing everything she could to cheer Summer up, worried she’d sink deeper into sadness while stuck at home. Today, she happened to have a ribbon-cutting event to attend at a newly built hotel in Havenbrook.