Kendall lost track of time, and she only snapped out of her reverie when she heard the sound of a car coming.
Dylan was back.
She wiped her tears away and sat still for another two minutes. Once she was certain that her eyes looked normal, she got up from the pavilion and went over to Dylan.
However, Vivian beat her to it.
Vivian went over to Dylan and said something to him, and Kendall saw Dylan turning to look at her. A moment later, his bodyguards pushed him toward the main house.
Kendall stopped walking.
She realized from Dylan's fleeting gaze that it probably had something to do with her.
Emily was probably going to complain about her to Dylan.
Kendall sighed and headed back to Dylan's house instead.
She did not buy any groceries, so she could not prepare dinner for herself. It seemed like she would have to rely on Dylan for dinner again.
Even so, she wanted to check the kitchen to see if she could find a packet of instant noodles. However, she was startled to find that the kitchen was fully stocked with all manner of ingredients. Who was the one who bought all of it?
"Young Mistress Kendall."
Amos appeared at the kitchen doorway.
"Mr. Miller, I thought the kitchen was empty. Did you buy all these things?"
Amos nodded and said, "I asked the staff to bring some over from the main kitchen. Are you going to cook, Young Mistress Kendall?"
"Am I allowed to use these ingredients?"
Amos chuckled. "Naturally, Young Mistress Kendall. You can have full use of anything here, and if you need anything else, just let me know and I'll send someone to get it for you. You can also make a list for me, and I'll get someone to pass it over to the main kitchen staff. They will bring it back for you when they go out for groceries tomorrow."
"That won't be necessary. I've taken a look and the kitchen is very well-stocked. I don't need anything else."
If she was cooking for herself, she would only be making a simple meal and would not need that many ingredients.
"In that case, I will leave you to it, Young Mistress Kendall."
Amos walked away, leaving Kendall behind to make her dinner.
At the same time, Dylan's bodyguards pushed him into the living room in the main house.
"Dylan, you're back."
Emily came forward with a loving smile on her face.
Dylan gestured for the bodyguards to stop before looking up at his mother. "Mom, you were looking for me?"
"I just wanted to see you."
Dylan's eyes darkened as he said solemnly, "Mom, tell me the truth."
His brooding expression startled Emily, and she readily spilled, "Dylan, I wanted to talk to you about Kendall. You don't know how arrogant she is! She had the gall to talk back to me, and she even raised her voice at me."
"Didn't you bring her back in order for her to make up for her mistakes? Since she's here as a housekeeper, what's wrong with me asking her to wash some of my clothes? Yet she rebuked me! What an ill-bred woman, which is unsurprising since she's from a village… I think that it's impossible for her to learn how to behave properly. She can't compare with Kelly."
Dylan frowned and retorted icily, "Mom, if Alice had been taken away from birth and was raised in a village, and only came back to you in her twenties, do you think you'll be able to get her to change her lifestyle immediately?"
Emily opened her mouth to speak but could not say anything.
"Mom, Kendall was switched at birth, and someone stole her life for the past 25 years. This is not her fault. She can't compare with Kelly because Kelly was the one who received the privileged upbringing that was Kendall's in the first place. Kelly could stay by Mrs. Parker's side and enjoy a privileged lifestyle, while Kendall had to grow up in a village and fight to survive. How can you compare them?"
"Kendall's a diamond in the rough, and I believe that given enough time, her brilliance will be known to all."
Dylan was protective of his wife, and he did not like the way his mother spoke about her.
"Dylan, are you… standing up for her? Don't you hate her for the way she treated you?"
Dylan looked down at his legs, and his voice darkened. "Why should I hate her? She only did what everyone else didn't have the guts to do. It's completely normal for her to not want to marry a guy in my condition. Mom, you have a daughter too. Think about her. If your daughter was in Kendall's position, what would you do?"
Emily did not know what to say. She definitely would not let her daughter marry a man who was stuck in a wheelchair and could not perform as a man.
Huh?
It… was not that she was scorning her own son.
Her heart was aching over her son's predicament too.
"I did bring Kendall home with me, but she is not here to be a housekeeper. There are so many staff at your beck and call, so why do you need to ask Kendall to do their jobs?"
Dylan's tone was serious. "I hope that when I'm not around, you won't try to throw your weight around as an elder and make trouble for Kendall. I also don't want to hear you complaining about Kendall every time I come home. She's with me now, so I will protect her."
Emily's expression faltered when she heard Dylan's choice of words.
"Dylan, did you bring her back for…?"
"Mom, don't get involved in my relationship with Kendall. I will tell you about it when the time comes."
Emily picked up the implications in Dylan's words and hurriedly asked, "Dylan, did something else happen between you and Kendall? What are you hiding from me?"
However, Dylan did not answer her. He got his bodyguards to take him back to his house.
"Dylan! Dylan Parker!"
Emily kept calling after him, but Dylan did not stop at all. She was vexed, but she could not do anything.
Dylan was raised by Tilly, and while he was respectful toward Emily as his mother, she found it difficult to act like his mother in front of him and to involve herself in his matters.
After exiting the main house, Dylan felt about in his pants pocket.
He had stuck the hair clip Kendall gave him this afternoon in there.
Then, he reached into a hidden pocket in his jacket. There was another hair clip in there, but this was a new one that he had sent someone to get this afternoon. It was a beautiful hair clip that was worth a lot more money than Kendall's.
"Would you be having dinner now, Young Master Dylan?"
Dylan paused for a moment before saying, "Go back into the house first."
He wanted to see how Kendall was.
His mother grew up in a distinguished family and married into one as well, so she was a proud woman. It must have been a fierce battle that afternoon when Kendall stood up for herself and questioned his mother's authority.
Dylan was not worried about things getting physical. He knew his mother well enough, and no matter how angry she got, she would still stick to her words without resorting to a physical fight.
Kendall probably would not let anyone hit her either.
She may seem a little weak, but she was braver than she seemed.
Before he even entered the house, he could smell the fragrance of creamy egg risotto.
It had to be Kendall's doing.
From the time he headed over to the main house till now, it was probably about half an hour. That was enough time for her to prepare a plate of risotto.
He could smell the creaminess in the air.
"Young Master Dylan."
Amos stepped forward and replaced the bodyguard before pushing Dylan into the house.
Kendall had just finished preparing her creamy egg risotto. She filled a heaping bowl for herself and began digging in as she carried it out of the kitchen.
It tasted pretty good, even if she said so herself.
She still knew her way around the kitchen despite it being a long time since she last cooked.
However, as soon as she raised her head, she saw Dylan staring at her and the bowl of risotto in her hands.
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