Chapter 88: The Aftermath

Before Nora could even react, two large bodyguards grabbed her and dragged her out. Nora was both speechless and humiliated. When she saw Peyton also being dragged out by the bodyguards, she angrily demanded, “Peyton, what happened? Why was I dragged out with you? What did you do?”

Peyton, still seething with humiliation, his eyes red, snapped, “Shut up!”

Nora was furious. She swore she would never deal with someone like Peyton again. She picked up her bag from the ground and stormed off.

Peyton, shaking with rage, immediately sent out a photo she had secretly taken before being dragged out by the bodyguards. “Trevor, Summer is betraying you!”

Meanwhile, at a private hospital, Trevor was half-lying on his hospital bed, leafing through a book titled “100 Ways to Win Back Your Wife.” The book contained too many bizarre behaviors that completely contradicted his beliefs. Reading it made his temples pound. Halfway through, Trevor couldn’t stand it anymore and threw the book on the bed. The man in the book resorted to kneeling, crying, and even hurting himself to win back the woman he loved. Wasn’t that just crazy? Just the thought of doing such things made Trevor feel extremely uncomfortable.

Just then, his phone buzzed with a message from Peyton. He unlocked his phone and opened the message. What greeted him was a photo of Summer holding hands with a man. The photo was blurry and shaky, showing only the side profile of the tall man and Summer with her head down, her expression unclear. But Trevor recognized Summer right away. Under the photo, Peyton had written something: “Trevor, Summer is betraying you!”

Trevor’s eyebrows furrowed, and his face darkened with anger. His eyes were fixed on the man’s hand in the photo. So the reason she had been talking about breaking up all this time was because she had found someone else? And she had the audacity to blame me for everything? A raging fire burned in Trevor’s chest. He couldn’t tell if it was anger, heartbreak, or fear. All he knew was that these complex emotions were like wild beasts raging inside him. Unconsciously, his grip on the phone tightened until his knuckles turned white and his hand shook slightly.

After Peyton was dragged out by the bodyguards, the restaurant manager quickly restored order, and the Cloud View Restaurant returned to its usual calm.

Fraser didn’t sit across from Summer as business etiquette would dictate. Instead, he sat right next to her. Waiters brought out plates of exquisitely prepared, expensive Western dishes. Fraser lounged lazily in his seat, one arm casually draped over the back of Summer’s chair, his deep eyes fixed on her. This was the first time Summer had experienced such open and blatant support from a “boyfriend.” The feeling was both surprising and overwhelming. Summer’s ears turned red under Fraser’s gaze. She asked, “Why didn’t you believe Peyton’s words earlier?”

Fraser raised his eyebrow slightly, his voice lazy and tinged with amusement, as if her question was absurd. “Why should I believe her?”

Summer didn’t know how to explain. In the past, whenever something happened, Trevor would always believe Peyton first. So I had thought… I had thought that Fraser would be the same. Fraser’s long fingers, resting on the back of Summer’s chair, reached over to take her hand on the table. He absentmindedly played with her fingers. After a moment, he casually said, “Summer, I’m biased. Only I can tease my wife.”

Hearing the word “biased,” Summer’s heart trembled slightly. I understood the underlying meaning of Fraser’s words. I was his girlfriend, and he would always stand by me.

Every woman longed for someone who would unconditionally stand by her, protect her, and support her, regardless of right or wrong, regardless of reason. If she said she disliked someone, he would agree without question, instead of taking the moral high ground and analyzing the matter, telling her that she wasn’t wrong and that she should be magnanimous and not petty.

Summer had once put so much hope in her family and Trevor, but she had never gotten the answer she wanted. Gradually, she had grown thorns like a porcupine. But today, those thorns seemed to have softened. Fraser held her hand and asked, “Since you’re thanking me, is there anything you haven’t told me?” In the distance, the soft sound of a cello filled the air, creating the perfect atmosphere in the restaurant. Summer thought for a moment, a flicker of emotion in her eyes. “The person I was angry with on the phone this afternoon was Trevor. He said… if I went back to him, he would help me secure the Marloux’s entry.”