"Never gonna give you up, never gonna let you down. Never gonna run around and desert you…"
Dylan heard the old song and asked, "When did you change your ringtone to this song?"
"Only recently. I like it. What do you think?"
Dylan pursed his lips.
Kendall eyed the caller ID and saw that it was Jackson who was calling. She quickly glanced up at Dylan, and true enough, even though he was drying her hair, he had already glanced at her phone and knew who was calling her.
Dylan spat out icily, "You said you don't love him and you don't want to marry him, but you still have his number saved."
"...I'll block him after I take this call," Kendall replied.
"That's not necessary. If you block him, you'd have to waste your time trying to find out what you want to know."
He had a point. Kendall would not be marrying Jackson in this lifetime, but she still needed to find proof of Jackson and Kelly plotting against her. This meant that she had to maintain contact with them.
"Pick it up."
"Okay," Kendall said as she answered Jackson's call. She made a mental note to change his name to 'Scoundrel' later.
"Kendall."
The moment the call connected, Jackson's voice came through her phone's speakers. Dylan turned off the hairdryer so that he could hear what Jackson said.
"Why did you take so long to pick up the phone? Were you asleep?"
Jackson was annoyed that Kendall took so long to answer his call. In the past, she would answer his call the moment it went through. She never made him wait.
"Just say what you want."
Kendall's tone was icy, and Jackson felt a little peeved by it, but he still maintained a gentle persona. "Kendall, are you still at Coleman Mansion? Why don't you come and meet a client with me? I'll come and pick you up."
"I've arranged to meet my client at nine, and it's still early now. There's enough time for me to come and pick you up."
Accompany Jackson to a meeting with his client?
Immediately, Kendall's mind jumped back to her previous life.
She had followed Jackson to a client meeting just once, and it was that very meeting where she had gotten drunk. When she woke up, she saw Jackson coming out of the bathroom, and she assumed that they had slept together.
At the time, when she found out that she lost her virginity to him, she was very happy about it. She thought that Jackson would take responsibility for it and would certainly marry her.
She never thought that this would happen again now that she had been reborn.
Kendall did not reply yet, but Dylan turned the hairdryer on and yanked on her hair. While he did not rip her hair out, it was still painful enough that Kendall let out a soft yelp.
"Kendall, what's the matter? Where are you? Why did it get so noisy all of a sudden?"
Jackson heard the ruckus and asked out of curiosity.
"I'm not interested in joining you for any client meeting, and I won't be going either."
Kendall rejected him outright.
She knew all too well that tonight's meeting was a trap, so why would she jump in willingly?
Even though this meant that she would not know who she ended up sleeping with in her previous lifetime, it was not important anymore. She had chosen a different path in this new life of hers.
"Come with me, Kendall. I even brought you a gift. Are you still at Coleman Mansion? I'll go and pick you up."
Jackson kept his voice gentle in the hopes that he could trick Kendall into going with him.
"Jackson, aren't you tired of always having to pretend to like me? Aren't you worried that Kelly might get jealous? Do you really think I'm clueless just because I grew up in the countryside?"
Kendall's voice was full of disdain. "Don't bother coming to pick me up, or else you'll have to bear the consequences."
"Kendall, don't misunderstand me. The one I like is you! It's really you. Kelly and I are just friends. Kendall—"
Kendall ended the call.
Once she hung up, Dylan turned off the hairdryer once more.
"Jackson wants you to go meet a client with him?"
"I said no," Kendall hurriedly defended herself. "Dylan, I know my place in life right now, so don't worry. I'm willing to spend the rest of my life with you even if it's a purely platonic relationship, and I won't ever cheat on you."
Dylan stared at her.
"Dylan, your family has quite a few dogs, right? Could I borrow a few of them?"
"What for?"
There was a flash of hatred in Kendall's eyes. "Although I rejected Jackson's request, he's so self-centered and full of himself that he'll do whatever he wants anyway. If he comes to pick me up, I want to let the dogs have at him."
Jackson was someone who would grovel at Dylan's feet. If Jackson was bitten by the dogs at Coleman Mansion, he definitely would not dare to seek compensation from the Colemans, so he would have to chalk it down to bad luck.
"My family's dogs are particularly fierce. Are you sure you want to use them against Jackson? What if your heart begins to ache for him afterward? Are you going to secretly kill my dogs then?"
"Dylan, do I seem like that type of person?"
"What type of person are you then?" Dylan retorted.
Kendall pouted. "Didn't you already run a background check to find out what kind of person I am? Wasn't it clear enough? What else do you want to find out about me?"
She purposely drew nearer to him. Her recently-washed hair cascaded in front of Dylan, and when the scent of her hair wafted over to him, his eyes darkened.
"Dylan, tell me. How deep of an understanding would you like to have about me?"
Kendall stroked Dylan's neck with her fair fingers before sliding them down to his collar. She leaned in close to whisper in his ear, but Dylan shoved her off.
Caught unaware, Kendall crashed onto the ground with a cry.
Dylan was startled and wanted to help her up, but he stopped himself in time. He remained seated in the wheelchair as he glared at her.
She was a cunning temptress!
Kendall climbed to her feet and massaged her hips as she glared at the man in front of her.
Thus, the couple glared at one another as if they were competing to see whose eyes were bigger.
Suddenly, Kendall flew straight into his embrace and grabbed his face with both hands before biting him on the lips.
Ouch!
Dylan's mind was fixated on the pain that was coming from his lips.
She really bit me!
Was she a dog? Why did she like to bite him so much?
Dylan was in pain, but he did not push her away, so Kendall grew even bolder. Her hands moved down from his face and began to caress his chest. Dylan was embarrassed and a little vexed, but also a little excited…
What was wrong with him?
Why was he excited about her presumptuous behavior?
"Kendall Parker!"
She had nudged him in the chest, and Dylan could not take it any longer, so he scrambled to push her off again.
However, Kendall was prepared this time, and she did not stumble.
She did take a few steps back before regaining her balance.
When she settled down and took a look at him, she saw that his chiseled face was completely red. Even his ears were red, causing her to feel thoroughly amused.
How innocent.
He was still a child despite being in his thirties!
Dylan caught the teasing look in Kendall's eyes, and he was tempted to pull her back and… did he want to teach her a lesson, or did he want to pay her back in kind?
He was torn between those two options.
Temptress!
She was a cunning temptress who was trying to steal his heart away!
Comments
The readers' comments on the novel: Kendall's Sacrifice