Consequences of Dumping the Obsessive Boss: Stuck with Him Forever-Chapter 171: Summer Lowell’s Heart Begins to Waver

Summer Lowell looked at him, both embarrassed and annoyed: "That was before. I don’t like flowers now. Just deal with them however you want. Anyway, there are so many people visiting this island, and plenty of girls willing to accept your flowers."

Maxim Sinclair was baffled by her words. After a moment of thought, he finally understood the meaning behind Summer’s words.

He quickly took a couple of steps, grabbed Summer’s arm, and pulled her into a small, separate path nearby. Under the dim, romantic light, he whispered flirtatiously, "Are you jealous because you saw a lot of young girls striking up conversations with me?"

Hearing this, Summer promptly shook off his hand, stepped back two paces, and denied it vehemently: "You’re way too self-centered. Do you think you’re the only one in the eyes of all the women in the world? Let me tell you, I’m not like them."

"I know, and I’ve never thought that way. But if I had any place in your heart, you wouldn’t have chosen the documents over me back then." Maxim noticed an empty spot on the nearby grass and bent down to stick all the flowers he was holding into the ground. As he stood up, he forcibly placed the remaining flower into Summer’s hand. "You told me yourself that you love these Ylang-ylang flowers the most. I bought them for you, so you must keep it."

Summer held the Ylang-ylang flower in her hand, at a loss whether to throw it away or keep it.

Raising her head again, she saw Maxim looking at her with a threatening gaze, though his voice was filled with affection: "If I see you carelessly discard it, do you believe I’ll let you sleep until evening tomorrow?" 𝓯𝓻𝒆𝙚𝒘𝓮𝙗𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝒍.𝙘𝓸𝙢

Summer’s face flushed with shyness as she removed the hairpin from her head, took off the excess flower branches, inserted what remained back into the hairpin, and placed it back on her head. Finally, she looked at Maxim helplessly, "With the flowers on my head, even if I lost myself, I wouldn’t lose them. Are you satisfied now?"

Maxim shook his head disapprovingly: "Don’t say that. You’re more important than the flowers; they’re just to complement you."

Summer, worried he might see her feelings for him, turned to walk away: "It’s already dark; let’s hurry over there. The sooner we eat, the sooner we can go back to the hotel to rest."

Maxim shook his head with a smile and quickly caught up with Summer in a couple of strides: "If you want to rest now, I can take you back, but we need to eat something first. Otherwise, I’m afraid you’ll run out of energy later tonight."

As they spoke, they emerged from the coconut grove. Taking advantage of the presence of bystanders, making sure Maxim wouldn’t dare do anything, Summer mustered her courage and kicked his calf.

Maxim knew well why she kicked him, chuckled, and didn’t hold it against her. Instead, he gently took her hand and continued walking.

The barbecue here was a self-service style. Guests could freely choose ingredients and grills, but had to cook the food themselves.

Watching Maxim bring over a large basket of ingredients, Summer candidly admitted, "I don’t know how to grill these."

"I know you don’t." Maxim showed no surprise, skillfully picking up the tools and starting a fire. "With me here, you won’t go hungry tonight."

Summer watched his actions, snapping back to reality after a long while, muttering to herself, "I recall you didn’t know how to do any of this before.?"

Maxim chuckled, "Are you talking about back when we traveled in Solara and I couldn’t grill, leaving you hungry?"

Recollecting the past, a hint of a smile appeared in Summer’s eyes: "It’s barely been a year, but your skills have become as proficient as a professional griller’s."

Since moving into Varden Villa, or rather since their reunion, they’d never conversed so amicably before this moment.

"I’ve picked up some skills while occasionally barbecuing with friends this past year," Maxim remarked, looking at the ignited fire, and arranging the skewered ingredients over the coals, "just in case I encountered a similar situation again, I’d be able to impress you."

Though his words were suggestive, Summer didn’t continue the conversation. Instead, she bent down, grabbed some seasoning, and started to assist Maxim.

Maxim glanced up at Summer and asked, half-serious, half-jesting, "Sometimes your reactions leave me uncertain if you’re just shy or if you truly dislike me."

Summer felt a sudden pang of surprise. She’d always known how disturbingly perceptive Maxim could be.

She just didn’t expect him to be so acutely perceptive; even she hadn’t figured out what was going on in her heart.

She knew that, in facing Maxim, her tendency to be an ostrich played a larger part.

But the complicated grievances between them intertwined and entangled in such a way that if she truly delved into it, she couldn’t say who was more at fault.

After pondering for a long time, Summer found it annoying, deciding to play dumb and get through the year vaguely. When their contract ended, they could split ways cleanly.

"Drifting off again!" Maxim flicked her forehead lightly. "You’re not paying attention to what you’re doing—watch out or you’ll get burned by the coals!"

Looking down, Summer realized her hand was nearly on the hot coals. She quickly pulled back, awkwardly rubbing her forehead: "I wasn’t paying attention."

"I’m not blaming you. Go sit in the back and wait for me. I’ll bring the food over once it’s ready for us to eat together." Maxim gestured at a small chair behind him with a smile.

Listening to his gentle words, Summer walked in a state of mild bewilderment to the chair, sitting down and staring at him in a daze.

Suddenly, she recalled the files she’d shattered in the office that day.

From what she knew about Maxim, he didn’t seem to fake his furious expression then, and if everything was genuine...

Then Justin Huxley...

Summer shook her head vigorously, forcing the suspicions about Justin out of her mind.

She really didn’t want to doubt Justin; after all, he was her guiding light in her youth.

If she couldn’t even trust Justin, there seemed few people left in the world worth trusting.

Summer smacked her forehead twice hard, silently admonishing herself: "Calm down, stop suspecting your senior."

When Maxim brought the grilled food over, he saw Summer gently tapping her forehead a few times, "What are you doing? Are there mosquitoes? Light the candle beside you; it’s for repelling them."

Summer murmured "hmm" softly, took the lighter from him, and lit the special candle on the small table behind her. The faint scent of the candles soon filled the space between them.

Maxim pulled out two bottles of alcohol from somewhere and gave one to Summer: "The alcohol content isn’t high. I’ve tried it; tastes quite similar to the rice wine you used to like."