Kelly avoided his gaze as she said, "I'm alright, Brian. But I have to go—"
Before she could excuse herself to the restroom, a commotion could be heard from outside and Brian frowned. Who on earth has the audacity to cause a ruckus at his place on such an occasion? As the host, he had the obligation to make sure everything was under control. All the other guests, including Kelly, also went outside to satisfy their curiosity.
As soon as they stepped outside, they saw people swarming toward the backyard where Jackson currently was. Kelly pondered, Are they heading there for Jackson, perhaps?
"Let's have a look, Brian. I wonder what happened." Despite her anxiety, she feigned curiosity and yanked Brian to the direction of the crowd.
Nobody in the room could resist themselves from gossip and that included Kendall, who decided to join the throng with Alice after having her fill.
"Kendall." The two ladies stopped in their tracks when they heard Dylan's frosty voice.
"Dylan." Kendall came over to him instantly with a smile. "Is there anything I can do for you?"
"Where are you going with Alice?"
Alice walked toward him as well and tried to explain in Kendall's stead. "I just wanted to know what's going on, so I brought her along. It wasn't her idea."
"Stay where you are now!" He insisted. Kendall and Alice exchanged glances and were afraid to leave the scene. Still, he asked Blake to find out what was happening.
Aside from them, the ones who were staying in the house were the leading figures in Orapolis. Even if their curiosity was piqued, they would rather wait for others to tell them the news instead of finding it out by themselves. Meanwhile, Frank was swirling his wine glass and releasing the aroma into the air. The smile on his face was inconspicuous, yet no one could see through him.
Soon enough, Blake returned and bent down to whisper into Dylan's ear. Kendall zeroed in on Dylan to observe the nuance on his face, but she was disappointed by his calm expression. This man had his guard up so high that she could barely read his mind even after two lifetimes. She had still paled in comparison to him.
"Blake, what happened?" inquired Alice since Dylan had no plans to spill the beans anyway.
Blake glanced at his boss, who did not seem like stopping him, before clearing her doubts. "Miss, it was Mr. Whittle. He has harassed Miss Caddel."
Kendall was stunned. Jackson harassed Miss Caddel in the backyard? Was he here all along?
She did not see him anywhere and thought he would have kept his head low for a time being after Frank had fragmented his arm.
Alice was surprised as well and she questioned further, "Is Miss Caddel alright?"
"She screamed for help and someone rescued her in time. She was fine but she was trembling in shock in her ripped gown. Ms. Caddel almost killed Mr. Whittle on the spot."
Kendall looked at Dylan, who happened to be gazing at her too. The married couple locked eyes and she cottoned on the situation within seconds. Even so, she held her tongue as it was a bad time to ask questions right now. Akin to her, Alice realized that there might be a scheme, which would be inappropriate for them to discuss here.
Anyway, Yasmine's birthday party had become a total fiasco due to the sudden turn of events. In light of her character, she definitely started to bear resentment toward Jackson.
Kelly loves Jackson. So, what will she do when Yasmine is going to get back at him? Just the sheer thought of the outcome lifted Kendall's mood.
Kendall did not return home with Kelly since her vacation was over; she informed her mother about it earlier that she would return to Dylan's place instead.
"Dylan." Kendall approached her husband, who was shutting his eyes.
"Speak."
"Dylan, were you the one causing Jackson trouble?"
Jackson was not that big of a daft to harass Krystal at Zorn Mansion like this. It was obviously a plot and Dylan was the only one capable of doing so at such a place. To the best of her recollection, he did leave for a while.
"Why? Do you feel bad for him?" retorted Dylan as he turned to look at her indifferently. A ominous glint flashed across his eyes. He would strangle her to death if she had admitted anything along the line.
"Marvelous job, Dylan!" praised Kendall. Why would she be concerned about Jackson when she resented him so much? For this lifetime, her heart would ache for anyone but him.
Dylan snorted. "What a cruel woman."
"I'm not cruel. I just don't wanna make the same mistake again."
His brows knitted tightly as he sensed something was wrong with her statement. Yet, he did not pry any further. To be fair, Dylan was a little upset that she had not revealed her secret to him when he sincerely wished for her transparency.
"Did Yasmine give you a hard time?" He averted the topic.
"She's Kelly's best friend, so it's normal for her to dislike me," claimed Kendall calmly. "But I’m fine, so don’t worry."
His eyes dimmed. "You saved her."
Words failed her as she stared at Dylan. Then, she threw herself into his arms and hugged his waist tightly. She remained unwared no matter how many times he tried to remove her arms. Conceding his defeat, he relented her shameless act.
"Thank you, Dylan!" a grateful Kendall said softly. "You're so nice to me."
In their previous lives, he let her off the hook even after she had offended him and even lent a hand when she was in a bind.
"I am not. I just don't want any of my people to be stepped on. They gotta always keep in mind who your boss is."
Nestling in his embrace, she raised her head and he lowered his gaze on her before averting his attention. His voice remained icy as he said, "You're not cruel but a self-indulgent woman."
Dylan's face stiffened immediately when he heard that. "I told you not to call me that."
"I don't care. You're my husband, so I can call you whatever I like. We even have our marriage certificate to attest to that."
"And where's that marriage certificate?"
Kendall had a long pause before answering, "I lost it. No, I think you have it."
They left the Bureau of Civil Affairs together before he knocked her out. By the time she regained her consciousness, it was nowhere to be seen.
"I have one myself. Why do I need yours? I don’t get anything by collecting more."
She responded instinctively, "Wait, how many more do you wanna have? I can sue you for bigamy."
Her answer almost had him choked on his saliva.
Comments
The readers' comments on the novel: Love Knows No Bounds novel (Kendall and Dylan)
Beautiful story....