Adam had viewed Jackson as an eligible bachelor in the past, but he was against marrying his daughter to the latter. Therefore, he was outraged when his own daughter became infatuated with the young man. Still, he never expected his adopted daughter—whom he had brought up with painstaking care—to get involved with Jackson when the former finally gave up on him. Is it true according to Charlotte and Kendall that Kelly and Jackson have been in love for a long time? If it is, then why would Kelly help Kendall court him? Not only that, but she even persuaded Charlotte and me to agree to marry Kendall to him.
Adam wasn't stupid. On the contrary, he was very cunning. He was able to figure out Kelly's purpose in doing so; it was just that he had a hard time accepting it.
"What's going on? Kelly, what happened? The police called your dad in the middle of the night, asking him to go pick you up," Charlotte asked while coming downstairs.
Kelly turned crimson without knowing how to answer.
Charlotte turned to her husband. "Adam?"
Adam walked to the couch and sat down. He rebuked furiously, "Ask your dear daughter about it! Look at her—I'm so ashamed! Kelly, you're not our own daughter, but we've always treated you as such both in the past and the present. We did everything we could to nurture you. I thought you'd always be my pride, that you'd have a good eye for men… Master Brian of the Zorn Family likes you so much. Can't you see how great he is? What else is it about Jackson apart from his looks that makes you think he's better than Master Brian? You said you and Jackson had loved each other for a long time, but why did you never tell us about it? Why did you support him and Kendall being together instead?"
The more he asked, the more incandescent he became. "Even Kendall is able to give up on him. You, on the other hand, do something like that with him just when he is about to marry the Caddel Family's daughter… Are you two flat broke or something? Can't you get a hotel room? Even if you rent a room for that, it's at least better than doing it outside and being regarded as… Kelly, what do you want me to say about you?"
As his carefully groomed successor, Kelly had always behaved frostily at work, deterring those elite bachelors in the office from making advances on her without careful thought. Okay, those elites in the office didn't catch her fancy, but what about Master Brian? Even if he doesn't have the Zorn Family backing him, he's still a cut above Jackson with his capabilities.
Charlotte was confused upon listening to his words. "W-What does this have to do with Jackson?" She looked at a seemingly aggrieved Kelly, who was red in the face with tears welling up in her reddened eyes.
On the other hand, Adam was beside himself with rage. Kelly had been the apple of his and Charlotte's eye before they learned about the swapping of their daughter. After they learned that Kelly wasn't their biological daughter, Charlotte admitted that she favored Kendall, who was, after all, her own flesh and blood. However, he thought very highly of Kelly, whom he was especially fond of and had put his heart into nurturing with the intention of making her his successor. He had never spoken to her in such a manner before.
"Kelly, tell me what happened," urged Charlotte.
Glaring at Kelly, Adam said indignantly, "She was found making love with Jackson in the suburbs. Someone called the police, thinking that she was being sexually assaulted."
When Charlotte heard this, her countenance instantly changed. After staring at Kelly in disbelief for a long time, she questioned in a stern voice, "Kelly, is it true?"
"Mommy, I-I was tricked by Jackson," Kelly replied tearfully. "He invited me to dinner at his villa the other day, then he spiked my drink without me noticing. After that… everything happened as it was supposed to."
Adam jumped to his feet and raised his hand in an attempt to slap Kelly, but Charlotte stopped him. He reprimanded, "You said you were tricked by Jackson, but why didn't you tell us about it? Why didn't you call the police? Not only did you do nothing about it, but you even did such a thing with him tonight, which means that you did it willingly! Now don't make excuses by saying that you were tricked. You even defended him at the police station, telling President Whittle that you two were truly in love in the first place; it was just that you two were forced to break up without an opportunity to make your relationship public because too many people had come between you two."
Pointing his finger at Kelly, he chided, "Kelly, I'm so disappointed with you. If you and Jackson really love each other, why didn't you make it public? You two had plenty of opportunities to go public with it before Kendall came back, so don't shift the blame onto someone else. You said nothing when Kendall fell head over heels in love with Jackson, so I could assume that you'd given him up for her sake. Since you'd done so, you shouldn't get involved with him again! Now you've given yourself to him, but there's no way he's going to marry you! Don't you think you're getting the short end of the stick here? This is so exasperating!"
He sat back down on the couch while rubbing his chest continuously as he was really fuming. "Kelly, if word gets around about what happened tonight, you and Jackson will be finished. Jackson is a man, so people will only call him dissolute at most. On the other hand, you'll be called a homewrecker who wrecked his marriage to Krystal! How are you gonna establish yourself in the upper class after this? Do you think you'll still be able to marry into a decent family?"
Kelly turned deathly pale at his words. Falling to her knees before him with a thud, she hugged his feet and pleaded tearfully, "I was wrong, Daddy! I really know I was wrong. You have to help me! I can't fall into disgrace, nor do I want to! Please help me, Daddy!"
"Now you're scared, huh? Why weren't you scared when you did that kind of thing?" Adam was upset that Kelly betrayed his expectations. "You're ruining your own future! The Caddels are beneath our family, but they're related to the Zorns! If Krystal wants to bail Jackson out, she'll put all the blame on you, saying that it was you who cheapened yourself by seducing him! Do you think you can fight against the Zorns, the Whittles, and the Caddels alone? Don't expect Yasmine to help you because you two are besties. However favored she is by her family, she has no say in the family business. Moreover, you've hurt Master Brian and made him look bad by demeaning yourself. Yasmine will only hate you for that, so why would she help you instead?"
Indeed, Kelly had never thought deeply about it. All she could think about was that she'd be regarded as a homewrecker—a reputation that she didn't want to carry. Those married women in the upper class hated homewreckers the most. Even if she and Jackson had gotten to know each other and started dating prior to his engagement to Krystal, they'd never made their relationship public. They had only presented themselves as partners, which would put her at a disadvantage.
She regretted her decision tonight. After their wild lovemaking in the car the other day, she and Jackson found it especially thrilling, which resulted in her decision tonight. Jackson said that nobody would go there in the middle of the night… Who called the police, then? Did they take pictures or videos of us after seeing us making love? The more she thought about it, the paler her face became.
Comments
The readers' comments on the novel: Love Knows No Bounds novel (Kendall and Dylan)
Beautiful story....