"Hudson, I promise I'll have Jackson give you and your family a proper explanation." Tom was just as furious, unsure if he should rebuke Jackson or Kelly.
Hudson snorted heavily and walked away, leaving Tom outside.
Inside, Jackson and Krystal had an argument of their own. But whatever it was for, Jackson held Krystal, who was bawling tightly in his arms, unwilling to let go by the time the fathers returned.
Krystal felt utterly humiliated. She had held a grand wedding to flaunt at Kendall, but who'd have thought…
Kendall couldn't care less about what would happen between the Whittles and Caddels, but the first step to her revenge was very successful.
"Honey, do you want to go to your parents' place?"
It was still early as the episode occurred very early into the wedding banquet.
"Of course I do." Kendall wrapped her arms around Dylan's affectionately. "You know me well, Dylan."
Kelly would surely be wailing to her parents right now, so Kendall could watch Kelly humiliate herself as soon as she arrived at her parents' place.
Dylan pinched his beloved wife's cheek in response and said, "I've already sorted the rest of the things for you. No one will know you're behind this."
Though Kendall had arranged everything well, she wasn't powerful enough. He had to step in to ensure those in the know would keep their mouths shut and also wipe all of Kendall's traces cleanly.
By the time Kelly and the others began suspecting and digging into it, they wouldn't be able to find anything.
Jackson had the best hope of succeeding the Whittles' family business, and Krystal's marriage was supposed to be a celebratory event. However, who'd have thought Jackson's infidelity was exposed during the wedding? Just like that, the entire high society very quickly learned that the man in question had an affair with Kelly when he was engaged to Krystal.
It arguably caused quite a gossip stir, so much so that Adam learned about the scandalous video from a friend's call before Kelly arrived home, rendering him stupefied for a moment.
Don't only the cops, Jackson's parents, and we know about this? How did it get out? Wait, we still haven't found out who in the world reported this to the cops back then. Did the person who reported this leak the video?
Adam had assumed the incident was history. After all, no hearsay had been spread after that. Who'd have thought it would be revealed to the public during Jackson's wedding?!
The Whittles took great importance of this wedding, and the guests they invited were all prominent figures in Orapolis. Imagine all of them seeing the scandalous video…
Adam was so stunned that the phone slipped from his hand and dropped to the floor.
Coincidentally, Charlotte returned home.
She had come up with an excuse to go to a paternity testing laboratory alone after Kelly went to attend Jackson's wedding, hoping to use her hair and Kendall's to do another DNA test.
However, it would take a few days before she could get the results.
Charlotte hid this decision from her husband, and she didn't dare let Kendall know either.
Nothing would change in their family if the results weren't any different from when they first did the test with Kendall. However, if this result proved that Kendall wasn't their daughter, then things would be very different.
"What's wrong, dear?" Charlotte hurriedly went over to Adam and picked the phone up when she saw it slipping from his hands. "What happened that got you looking so awful?" she asked with concern.
"This is bad, love. This is really bad." Adam put his weight on the armrest as he slumped onto the couch. "Kelly, she…"
"Kelly? What about her? Isn't she at Jackson's wedding?" Charlotte asked in bewilderment, then thought of a possibility. Her countenance turned for the worst ask she asked with worry, "She hasn't done something stupid at the wedding, has she?!"
"She… Someone caught her affair with Jackson on video and played it during the wedding banquet. All the guests saw it clearly."
Charlotte had to take a second to register what she had just heard. "What?!"
Just then, her phone rang, and she barely said a few words after answering the call before ending it in anger. "It's one of my poker friends. She asked me about Kelly and Jackson's scandal. That sc*mbag! Look at what he has done to my poor Kelly! I should've walloped him harder!"
After cursing Jackson out, she continued with pain and anger, "Kelly surely regrets not listening to us. So be it that she wouldn't listen to us, but she wouldn't even let us help her. She can handle it, she said. There's no need to bother ourselves with her business, she said. Now, look at what has happened! The whole Orapolis now knows who she is! Her whole life has been ruined thanks to Jackson, yet she's still unwilling to forget about the child."
Charlotte felt terrible but also angry for her foster daughter. She admitted that because she felt like she owed Kendall a lot, she would baby her a little more after bringing her home. However, it didn't mean that she neglected Kelly entirely, right? Kelly had been her precious daughter for the past twenty-plus years, after all.
As much as she wanted all the best for the girl, she kept disappointing them again and again.
With the reality of her birth laid bare before their eyes, the Parker couple dared not and could not treat Kelly like they used to ever again.
"It's impossible for the cops to leak this out. The guy who first reported this to the police must've taken a recording. Who was it, though?! He must have wanted to ruin Kelly and Jackson when he decided to show this to the public on this day."
As enraged as Adam was, he was still clear-headed enough to analyze the situation.
"That person must loathe Kelly and Jackson—" A thought hit Charlotte, and she stopped abruptly, leaving her words hanging.
"Dad! Dad!" Kelly returned with utter discomfiture.
Long gone were her elegance and grace.
Upon reaching home, she ignored their servants' odd gazes and dashed inside.
"Dad, you have to help me! Please help me!" Kelly ran in like a lunatic and kneeled before Adam with a thud, wailing as she hugged Adam's calf.
"Dad, send me to Albarife now. I'm willing to go to Albarife. I'm willing to go now. I've realized my mistakes, Dad. I really have. I should've listened to you and Mom. I'm sorry…"
After she and Jackson had been taken into custody for their affair, their fathers had gone to the police station to take them away. After that, Adam had arranged for her to live a quiet life in Albarife, but she turned him down in order to stay and fight Kendall for the succession to Parker Corporation.
For that, she blamed her foster parents for loving her less and less in her mind, thinking Adam's intention was to deliberately make room for Kendall to take the spot.
Alas, she now realized he was only doing it for her own good, and things weren't what she had thought.
Kendall was a true Parker, and if she was competent, Adam wouldn't even need an excuse to make Kendall the new CEO of Parker Corporation!
If she hadn't been so paranoid, she would've known Adam had her best interests at heart, wouldn't she?
Adam looked down at Kelly, who was clinging onto his calf, and found her beautiful face swollen with handprints from being slapped. As much as it pained him, disappointment surged within him. He had truly failed at parenting.
Comments
The readers' comments on the novel: Love Knows No Bounds novel (Kendall and Dylan)
Beautiful story....