Chapter 67 - 67: Disgusted by Tenderness
They came to an artificial lake in the garden.
The Summers Family’s artificial lake had a long trestle bridge, leading to the center of the lake.
When Cleo went in the water, Alexander Summers brought Purple Summers to the center of the lake to rest.
The cool evening breeze and the bright starry sky made the scene pleasant.
If one disregarded the snake in the water and the man beside her, this place would be perfect for a date.
The lake’s surface was very calm, occasionally making rippling sounds. Although Cleo was huge, the waves created by her swimming were gentle. The ripples pushed slowly outwards before dissolving into the water, utterly silent.
“How much longer?” Purple Summers asked Alexander Summers quietly, but her tightly clenched fingers betrayed her anxiety.
She hated this activity. Anyone being dragged out for a nighttime snake-walking excursion would probably feel the same.
“Not much longer,” Alexander Summers replied.
How much longer was not much longer? Five minutes? Or ten minutes?
Purple Summers felt restless and annoyed, standing by the railing of the trestle bridge and gazing into the distance.
Under the starlight, her skin was as white as jade, her figure slender and delicate. The night breeze brushed over her, and her inky hair seemed to dance like the ripples on the lake, mesmerizing and free of worldly dust.
Alexander Summers silently stared at her profile, his heart pounding.
A vague illusion came over him — the soul of Suzanne Saunders was perfectly melded with Purple Summers’ body.
—After learning of Suzanne Saunders’ death, he examined countless women’s profiles in just a few days.
It wasn’t easy.
Mr. Ghost Hayes’ requirements were tricky – the horoscopes had to match and there couldn’t be any ties to close relatives. After selecting suitable candidates, he had to eliminate young, old, or frail women.
In the end, Alexander Summers had to choose the most attractive women.
It wasn’t because he was partial to beauty, but because he didn’t want to wrong Suzanne Saunders.
His woman, even if she had to start life anew, should be beautiful, confident, and proud.
He had chosen May Francis, but fate intervened, and his sister committed suicide at the location of the ritual. Instead of becoming May Francis, Suzanne Saunders became Purple Summers.
And Mr. Ghost Hayes, probably knowing his ritual had failed, took the gold and fled.
Alexander Summers had his concerns.
The preciousness of a soul artifact lay in its ability to nourish a soul. With enough time, a ghost in a soul artifact could truly become human.
But his sister wasn’t a soul artifact. This body would constantly reject Suzanne Saunders’ soul, so Alexander Summers could only use external forces to nourish her soul.
This method was not only laborious and thankless, but its effects were also greatly diminished.
And…it greatly offended others.
For example, the girl who was forced to walk the snake.
Alexander Summers saw the annoyance in Purple Summers’ eyes, and he smiled faintly.
“Don’t worry, she won’t swim too long,” Alexander Summers walked over and embraced her, kissing her glossy black hair softly, “Cleo is pretty lazy; she’ll come ashore soon.”
Purple Summers pursed her lips, not wanting to pay him any attention.
Alexander Summers reached out and lifted her chin.
Her eyes were bright like ink gemstones, reflecting anger, grievance, unease, and forbearance… Regardless of her emotions, she always dazzled, just like her – captivating him no matter what she looked like.
“Purple…” he whispered her name, his voice as tender as bone marrow.
Purple Summers thought he was calling her “Purple.”
However, his voice was too soft, too sweet… to the point that it made her skin crawl.
What an awfully cheesy scene.
Because she disliked him, she couldn’t be moved by his tenderness, nor could she accept or reciprocate it.
Just as Alexander Summers was about to kiss her, Purple Summers suddenly bowed her head — his kiss landed on her forehead, slightly cool and damp.
Purple Summers breathed a small sigh of relief, her heart filled with a sense of escaping a catastrophe.
But then her waist tightened, and her jaw was grasped with an irresistible force.
“Brother!” Purple Summers frantically pushed her hands against his chest, her eyes wide and flickering, “Look… Look! Cleo is gone!”