Why wasn’t she handling this privately?
Why provoke Peyton in front of Trevor?
Fool. Didn’t she know that this was exactly how men developed their protective instincts?
By now, several guests had wandered over, drawn in by the tension.
The fiancée versus the first love.
Who would win?
Trevor’s expression darkened further, his voice filled with warning. “Summer, if you’re angry about the wedding, take it out on me. There’s no need to do this.”
Summer looked at him calmly, then smiled mockingly.
“Trevor, you’re already this distressed? Then why bother saying all those sweet words to me earlier? Did you want me to think you still cared?”
Peyton stole a glance at the massive rectangular pool – easily over a thousand square feet.
She calculated her options.
Her health wasn’t the greatest, but her heart had been doing well lately.
Besides, it was summer.
The water wouldn’t be too cold.
And she knew how to swim.
Most importantly, Summer was an idiot.
Did she really think making her jump in would do anything except push Trevor further away?
Peyton decided to take a risk.
“I’ll do it.” She nodded, her voice full of determination. “Summer, if this is what it takes for you to forgive me, then I’ll do it.”
With that, she took a deep breath and leapt forward.
With a loud splash, she hit the water, sending waves rippling across the surface.
The crowd gasped.
This was getting good.
Then someone muttered, “Wait… is Peyton sinking? I heard her health isn’t great. What if she drowns?”
Almost immediately, another loud splash.
The pool’s surface was once again shattered.
Before Summer could react, Trevor had already jumped in without hesitation.
In the water, he moved swiftly, reaching Peyton within seconds and pulling her into his arms before swimming toward the edge.
Peyton lay on the ground, coughing violently, choking out the water from her lungs.
She opened her eyes, saw Trevor, and immediately burst into tears.
“Trevor… I thought… I thought I’d never see you again…”
Trevor ignored the fact that he was drenched, wrapping a towel around her shoulders before picking her up in his arms.
As he passed Summer, his voice was ice-cold.
“Summer, I never thought you could be this cruel and irrational. You want to play games? Fine. But there’s a limit. Peyton’s health is fragile – this could’ve killed her!”
Without another word, he carried Peyton toward the front entrance.
Summer’s expression remained calm, her voice indifferent.
“Trevor, don’t say I never gave you a final chance. We’re even now.”
Trevor’s steps halted for a moment.
A sharp, unfamiliar pain stabbed through his chest.
Peyton felt his body tense.
Panic flickered in her eyes as she clutched her chest.
“Trevor… my heart… it hurts… I can’t breathe…”
Trevor looked down at her pained expression.
After a brief pause, he resumed walking.
The crowd erupted into murmurs.
Tonight’s Stewart family anniversary banquet had been one dramatic spectacle after another.
“Peyton wins again. Summer should know by now that she’ll never come out on top. She should stop embarrassing herself before Trevor completely leaves her.”
“You think she’ll let go? No way. She’s been obsessed with Trevor for five years – completely crazy for him. Even if the whole world breaks up, she never will.”
…
After the guests left, the Stewart family gathered in the villa’s living room.
Jasper paced back and forth, his expression dark and stormy.
Julia sat on the couch, drinking tea to calm herself down.
Tonight had been one humiliation after another.
She slammed her teacup down and snapped,
“Summer, do you have any sense at all? I was about to bring up the wedding date, and you pulled Trevor away.”
And she continued, “I was trying to throw Peyton out, and you told her to jump into the pool! What kind of childish, ridiculous move was that? You should’ve told her to float up to the sky and disappear while you were at it! Instead, she takes Trevor with her. Brilliant, just brilliant.”
Jasper pointed a finger at Summer, his voice sharp and commanding.
“Tomorrow, you will go and apologize to Trevor.”
Summer picked up a glass of whiskey, swirling the liquid inside before downing it in one go.
Her voice was calm and steady.
“I won’t apologize.”
Trevor had gone to save Peyton, just like every other time he had chosen her over Summer.
But this time, she was tired of it.
Am I stupid? Why am I still playing this game with those two? Did I actually think Trevor had changed just because he helped me tonight? Even if I tried a hundred more times, the result would be the same. Face it, Summer. He doesn’t love you.
Yes, she had told Peyton to jump.
Part of it was out of spite, but another part of her still held onto the last remnants of her feelings from the past five years.
But once again, she had lost.
It didn’t matter.
She wouldn’t be foolish again.
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.