Ch. 81..90

Chapter 81

After Ronnie parked the car, he stayed quiet for a few long seconds before he said to Kendall, "I will wait for you in the car, Young Mistress Kendall. Please go ahead and meet your friend."

Kendall was just about to open the door when she jolted to a stop upon hearing his words. She then tilted her head toward him and teasingly asked, "What's wrong? Scared that Amelia will snap a photo of your face from the front? Ronnie, it doesn't matter if you are a guy or a girl. Good-looking people like you will always catch others' attention anywhere you go."

He chose to remain silent and when she noticed this, she finally stopped making him come along with her to pick up her friend. "Alright, then. Wait for us here. I will come back after I get Amelia."

Even though Ronnie had driven her here, he was still one of Dylan's men. His loyalty was solely for Dylan.

With that, Kendall got out of the car and went to look for Amelia.

She quickly found her friend as she had followed the location Amelia had sent her.

As soon as Kendall saw Amelia, the former started trotting toward her with a bright smile on her face. "Amelia!"

Amelia, too, went toward her best friend with her suitcase in her hand while answering Kendall.

The pair of friends who hadn't seen each other in a while finally went in for a tight embrace when they reached each other.

After the hug loosened, Kendall examined her friend from head to toe and said with a smile, "How is your skin still so fair even after you have been traveling for so long? I am so jealous of you."

Kendall had always been envious of her best friend's snow-white skin.

Upon hearing that, Amelia touched her own cheeks and started bragging, "I am a naturally beautiful and fair maiden. There is no use envying me."

"Enough, you. I only gave you one compliment and your nose has grown a few inches taller."

Kendall was about to help Amelia with her luggage when her friend quickly stopped her. "I will do it myself."

"Why did a person as small and feeble as you bring along such a big luggage? It must have been tiring to tug this around. Let me carry it for you."

Seeing that Kendall insisted on it, Amelia had no choice but to let her friend do as she pleased.

As the taller one compared to petite Amelia, Kendall had always been the caretaker when they hung out together.

Kendall was envious of Amelia's fair skin, whereas Amelia was envious of Kendall's well-developed and tall figure.

"What did you put in your luggage? Even pulling it feels heavy."

"It is all the presents I got you."

"You are so nice to me!" Kendall chuckled.

"You are my bestie. Who else am I supposed to be nice to?"

"I am nice to you too! I even came all the way to the airport to pick you up."

Amelia went ahead and linked her arm around Kendall's, and they continued to chat as they walked.

"I know that you treat me the best, which is why I told my driver there is no need to come. I wanted you to pick me up." Amelia let out a giggle and before asking again, "Is that hottie really a Lyft driver?"

"Why? Do you fancy him now?"

"How could I so easily fancy someone when I haven't even seen him in person! I am someone who has been my fair share of hotties in my life. I won't so easily fall for someone."

Amelia loved collecting photos of beautiful people.

Of course, the majority of her collection was photos of handsome men. She had a fair amount of beautiful people too, but these photos were pasted all over another room instead of her boudoir. The room had, at some point, been occupied by her 'hobby' as well. There was nothing her family members could do about it.

Kendall also had her photo pasted in the other room.

"I can't tell you his identity now," Kendall said apologetically.

"Oh—how secretive of you."

Kendall only smiled without saying anything more.

Reading the mood well, Amelia didn't continue pressing Kendall to say something she wasn't comfortable with saying. She knew how annoying that would be.

They might claim to be each other's best friend, but it had only been a year since they became friends.

It was to be expected that Kendall had things she kept to herself.

"How have things been going between you and Jackson the whole time I was gone? Did you manage to get your parents' support? You might be better off giving up if they are still against it. You know what people say. You don't necessarily have to marry someone your parents want you to, but you really need to rethink your choice if your parents don't allow you to marry someone."

Jackson was a handsome man as well, but Amelia had somehow never had a good feeling about him. She didn't even have a photo of him in her collection of photos of handsome men.

Kendall only nonchalantly stated, "I have given up on him."

"What?! Why? Did you really?" Amelia immediately came to a stop, causing Kendall to laugh out loud.

"You were the one who told me to let go of him, and that we didn't go well together when I was obsessed with him. But look at how surprised you are now that I said I have given up on him. Oh—

Amy, what is it you want me to do?"

After hearing that, Amelia kept looking at her with scrutinizing eyes as she reached out to place her hand on Kendall's forehead. "You don't have a fever. You must still be thinking with a clear head then," she mumbled. "Kendall, have you really given up on Jackson?"

"Mhm. Completely."

A grin instantly broke out on Amelia's face. "There is still hope in saving you, then. That man is a cunning fox. He is too sneaky for someone as bold and straightforward as you to keep under control. Not only that, he has known your sister for years. Their relationship has always been good as well. I am not belittling you, but Kelly is better than the current you in every way. How can you be sure that there is nothing between her and Jackson? You were so loyal and obedient to him that you would even lose yourself for his sake. I was very worried about you, but I couldn't say anything because you would always barge off everytime I tried to tell you something."

Amelia's sincere words somehow brought back Kendall's memories of her past life.

Her friendship with Amelia had come to an end because Amelia had persistently advised her to leave the man then.

Amelia knew full well just how in love Kendall was with Jackson, and that she was willing to do anything for him. But somehow, Amelia kept insisting she let go of him. Kendall had thought that Amelia's advice wasn't for her own good and instead, was Amelia intentionally giving her grief.

Kendall even suspected Amelia of liking Jackson as well. That had gotten Amelia in a rage that ensued in a big fight between the best friends, which ended up with them severing their ties.

Now that she was given another chance at life, Kendall would not question her friend's kindness anymore.

"Thank you, Amy," she gratefully said to Amelia, for both her lifetimes.

This was something she owed her friend for both lives.

"What are you thanking me for? I didn't even do anything for you. I am just giving you my opinion as a friend. I don't need your gratitude as long as you don't think I am sticking my nose into where it doesn't belong."

"I would never."

Like how bitter medicine worked well, the best advice usually wasn't pleasant to listen to.

Amelia was only saying things Kendall didn't necessarily like hearing because she sincerely hoped for the best for her friend. Kelly, on the other hand, had always intended for Kendall's death, which was why she would always say to her sugar-coated words that got her obsessed with Jackson. Kendall had lost herself in her past life, and that eventually led to her death.

"Let's go. We wouldn't want the driver to wait for long."

Ronnie was Dylan's bodyguard, after all.

The moment Kendall remembered how Dylan had punished her by making her write a 10,000 word self-reflection essay, her mood immediately dropped.

He is too cruel! Kendall grumbled to herself. God! 10,000 words? I don't even know what I can write about to reach that word count.

Amelia's voice brought her out of her reverie again. "Stay for a meal at my place later, Kendall. And don't leave at night. We haven't seen each other in so long. We have some long-overdue catching up to do."

"We have all the time we need to chat. We don't have to do it today, Amelia."

"You got something urgent going on?"

Kendall nodded and truthfully told her, "That's right. I have to leave right after I send you home."

She had to produce the 10,000 word essay by tonight no matter what. She knew just how terrible a fate awaited her if she failed to do as he told her to.

Thankfully, Amelia was a considerate person. "That's alright. It is Yasmine's birthday in two days. Will you be going to the banquet with that sister of yours? She and Yasmine seem to be best friends."

Just like Jackson, Yasmine was not someone that Amelia had a good feeling about.

 

Chapter 82

Amelia would sometimes come across Kelly when the latter was still the only daughter of the Parker Family. Kelly would always be indifferent toward Amelia and she ignored her, mostly due to her thinking that Amelia did not at all behave like the daughter of a wealthy household should, and only spent her days going crazy over men.

"Mm."

"What are you getting Yasmine for her birthday?"

Not only would the presents be displayed at a conspicuous area of the Zorn Mansion, Yasmine was also a treasured daughter of the rich and powerful Zorn Family. They couldn't just give her something that wasn't up to her standard.

"I am going to give her some cosmetics that I haven't opened before."

Amelia was stunned after hearing that. "That's all?"

"What more do I need to give? It is fine as long as there is a present. If one is too little, I will give her two sets, then."

Amelia immediately gave her a thumbs-up and praised, "What a brave girl you are, Kendall! I bet even Alice wouldn't do something like this."

Alice was much more influential than Yasmine was in Orapolis. She wouldn't just randomly give a set of cosmetics to Yasmine as a birthday present.

People who were invited would usually brainstorm for an appropriate, expensive gift to give out.

Pleasing Yasmine was equivalent to leaving a good impression with the Zorns. It would be a connection beneficial to have in terms of business.

"She has never liked me because I am a village girl to her. I bet she would still give me the cold shoulder even if I were to present her with a star I took from the sky. If that is the case, why should I still put effort into preparing a gift for her? Also, my cosmetics aren't cheap. I got them from my mother."

Amelia briefly pondered upon her friend's words and laughed. "I won't put too much effort into preparing one as well, then. It is not like Yasmine will bother herself with me anyway. It should be sufficient for us to not go empty-handed."

Yasmine would probably not even take a look at the presents Amelia and Kendall got her and have them immediately thrown away.

Ronnie was in the car when he saw the two women approaching the car while happily chatting.

Kendall was even pulling along a big baggage. When he saw that, he quickly got out of the car and went to her.

Amelia happened to see the front view of his face then. She realized how he was quite familiar-looking, and yet she couldn't seem to recall where she had seen his face before.

"Hello, handsome," she greeted with a smile.

There wasn't a trace of emotion on his face as he ignored her words and dutifully took the luggage from Kendall.

Seeing this, Amelia leaned next to Kendall's ear and exclaimed in a hushed voice, "Hottie here turns out to be a cool guy, huh?"

Kendall only casually asked, "Are you going to take a photo?"

"But of course."

Amelia then proceeded to whip out her phone and after finding a nice angle, she snapped a photo of Ronnie looking cool and all.

He immediately glared at her, but seeing as she was Kendall's best friend, he held his temper and he stopped himself from crushing her phone.

"Hey, handsome. Can I know your name?" Amelia smilingly asked after she got in the car.

The man, however, didn't say anything in return, prompting her to turn toward Kendall.

Kendall could help but smile. "I won't help you with something like this."

Ronnie was a loyal bodyguard of Dylan's. Amelia might immediately guess his identity if Kendall were to tell her Ronnie's name.

Kendall still wasn't sure if she wanted to tell Amelia about her relationship with Dylan.

Amelia let out a smile as well, and she stopped asking too.

After all, she didn't know the names of most of the models of her photo collection.

Soon, the car engine started, and they were on their way to the Taylor Residence.

At the same time, Tom, his son and his secretary had been waiting for hours in the VIP room of the Coleman Empire Holdings. However, even if Dylan had returned to the company, Tom and the rest of them would still be denied from meeting Dylan as long as they hadn't gotten permission from the man himself.

"Father, Master Dylan probably won't meet up with us!" Jackson grunted.

He was starting to get impatient from all the seemingly pointless waiting. He was tempted to go home and ask his mother why she had impulsively done something that wrecked the grand scheme he and Kelly had painstakingly come up with.

"We have to keep waiting no matter what. Don't you know what will happen to Whittle Holdings if we don't properly explain ourselves to him?"

As much as Tom was anxious about this whole situation, there was nothing else he could do about it.

He had no choice but to unashamedly stick around here for the sake of Whittle Holdings. After a while, he went to the front desk to request for them to inform the higher ups about their presence, all in hopes of meeting Dylan.

Dylan had too many secretaries that information needed to go through before it finally reached the man's ear. After Toddy, the general secretary, received a report about the people who asked to meet Dylan, he had to filter them out before Emma was to make a call to the president's office via intercom.

Most of the time, those who wanted to see Dylan had only been given permission after they had been carefully selected by Toddy.

He was Dylan's trusted, capable assistant that held a high position in the company. He was always someone who people highly sought after in the business world. In a way, he was the fallback plan for people who failed to hitch a ride on Dylan's coattails.

Unfortunately, as tempting as his coattails were, he didn't allow just anyone to cling onto him.

Dylan was currently working in his office when he placed his signing pen back onto the table when fatigue hit. Leaning back into the swivel chair, he spun around a few times as he took his thoughts off from work.

I wonder if that shameless woman has gotten home, he thought.

He then reached out to pick up his phone from his work desk and give Kendall a call.

It got through soon, but not only did she not pick up, she immediately rejected the call.

Dylan's face swiftly turned black at that.

Kendall Parker, you are stupidly brave, aren't you? How dare you reject my call?!

Beep!

Dylan then received a new message from Kendall.

He clicked into the message that she sent. It was only a short one that read, 'We are still on our way home, Dylan. I am sorry, but it's a little inconvenient for me to pick up your call for now.'

Baffled, he thought to himself, Inconvenient for her to pick up?

Is it because Amelia is in the car with her?

Is she afraid to let her friend find out that she and I have a close relationship?

Am I so embarrassing that she can't talk about me?

I will settle the score with her at home tonight!

Kendall didn't know that her actions had, once again, angered her man.

Still oblivious to that fact, she went on and brought Amelia back to the Taylor Residence with Ronnie. Thereafter, Ronnie sent Kendall back to the Coleman Mansion.

Now that she was heading in the direction of her punisher, Kendall began to think of her 10,000 word self-reflection essay.

She couldn't seem to think of what to write, other than that she knew what she did wrong, and that she wouldn't repeat her offense again. Am I supposed to quote the self-reflection essays that others have

written?

However, she used to do fairly average in her language subjects. Doing that might be an impossible feat after all.

"He didn't have any requirements on what the content of the essay should have, right? He only gave me a minimum word count," she muttered to herself.

Just then, a brilliant idea came to her. Dylan indeed did not tell her what to write. It seemed like all she had to do was reach the word count even if it might take her some time. I will just write it this way, then.

And so, she started repeatedly writing 'Dylan, I know I am in the wrong. I promise never to go fast when I drive from now on' in a book.

Kendall was done with her 10,000 word self-reflection essay by the time Dylan came home in the evening.

She waited for his arrival in the yard and as soon as she saw him being pushed in, she smilingly went to him while calling out, "Dylan!" The bodyguard who was pushing the wheelchair habitually made space for her to push Dylan all the way into the house.

"Are you done with your 10,000 word self-reflection essay?"

She quickly flaunted, "Yup! And it is not only 10,000 words. I went over the word count by 10 words. I counted it."

He only turned his head and gazed at her without saying anything.

After they entered the building, she supported him as she moved him to the couch. She then quickly brought the essay she had written over and passed it to him with anticipation. "Look, Dylan. I am done writing it."

He took the book from her hand, and he noticed that she had used up a few pages to write up her essay.

"Did you come up with every word yourself?" His low voice rang out skeptically as he opened the used pages of the book that were folded. "I hope you didn't copy someone else's essay."

"I sincerely know that I was wrong. I regret my actions and I am a changed woman. I poured all my feelings and brain juices into writing this for hours and hours. I didn't copy anyone's essay."

 

 

Chapter 83

Dylan continued to glance at her suspiciously before he lowered his gaze to check her 'self-reflection essay'.

All he saw then was 'Dylan, I know I am in the wrong. I promise never to go fast when I drive from now on'.

He continued to flip through the next pages, only to see the same words being repeated over and over again.

Not only that, her legible handwriting from the first page had somehow ended up looking like wriggly worms by the end of her essay.

He didn't utter a word as his eyes stayed glued to the pieces of paper. He currently had a mysterious expression on his face that someone like Kendall couldn't read.

Finally, he waved the papers on his hand and coldly questioned her, "This is your 10,000 word self- reflection essay?"

She already anticipated his anger but still, she stubbornly explained, "It is. You didn't set any requirements in terms of the content, Dylan. You only wanted me to hit the word limit. What I wrote meets the only requirement you gave me."

He fell silent again when he realized that she had found a loophole in his words.

As he proceeded to keep the pieces of paper, she let out a relieved sigh while she looked at him. She had passed his trial.

However, this also meant that she wouldn't have a chance to take advantage of such a loophole anymore in the future.

"You must be hungry, Dylan. Let me take you to dinner."

He only threw a glance at her in silent approval.

Right as they got out of the room they were in, they were greeted by the sight of Amos and a few workers carrying pots of different flowers in the yard.

Kendall's steps somehow automatically came to a halt when she saw that.

"Dylan, can… can I go hang out for a bit?"

She was tempted to go over and see what flowers were being planted.

Some of the flowers had bloomed while the others hadn't, so Kendall guessed that flowering season was probably over.

There were a variety of floras within the Coleman Mansion's compound, and it took more than 10 gardeners to maintain. Whenever spring came, the entire mansion seemed to bloom along with the flowers, making every corner of the mansion a sight to behold.

On the other hand, Dylan's quarters didn't have many flowers and shrubs, but was mainly decorated by landscape trees that stay green throughout the year.

That was why Kendall couldn't help but get curious when she saw Amos instructing his workers to bring in lots and lots of potted flowers into the compound.

"Do as you please," Dylan said without much emotion, and he started to wheel himself.

Kednall seemed to hesitate for a while, but she couldn't fight the temptation and she went over to Amos.

Ronnie then quietly went behind Dylan and helped to bring the latter to the gazebo.

News of Dylan's actions had quickly spread across the mansion. Still, everyone kept their distance as they watched on. No one was reckless enough to gossip about it or join in on the fun.

Kendall was an anthophile. She used to dream of having her own garden where she could sit and connect with when she was free.

She had also planted a lot of flowers when she was still living in her old home.

Amos was instructing a few workers to carry in pots of different flowers, such as peonies, roses, camellias, geraniums, paeonias, begonias, and many others. There were also really beautiful succulents among the plants that were brought in.

"Where are these flowers from, Mr. Miller? They look healthy! And those succulents! They look better the longer I stare at them," Kendall exclaimed as she took out her phone for a photo of the plants.

"We bought them from a florist," he replied with a smile. "There are some that we took from a garden.

Do you like these potted flowers, Young Mistress Kendall? It is past the flowering season for some of the plants here, but wait till spring comes. The yard will look as surreal as a painting when the flowers all bloom at the same time."

"I like them! I really do!" She continued to snap photos while nodding. "These roses are gorgeous too. I didn't even like roses, but I think I do now."

"I am glad you like them, Young Mistress Kendall," Amos said meaningfully.

At the very least, Dylan's effort didn't go to waste.

This was the first time in Amos' years of serving Dylan that he had witnessed Dylan trying to make a woman happy by getting a large scale of potted flowers for the yard.

"Young Mistress Kendall, please go ahead and have your meal. I will tell the workers to have these pots nicely placed. It will look different here by the time you return from your dinner with Young Master Dylan. It still looks a little messy now."

It did look somewhat unkempt because of numerous pots of flowers laying around here and there.

"Alright. I will take a few more photos before I go."

Not only did Kendall frantically take photos of the succulents, she also snapped a few of the flowers that were still blooming. They all became the treasures she kept in her phone's photo gallery.

It took her a while to take the number of photos she did before she finally went to Dylan, feeling satisfied.

A wide spread of exquisite food had been placed on the stone table under the gazebo.

Dylan was sitting in front of the table by himself and instead of waiting for Kendall's arrival, he had started eating on his own. The look on his face made it seem as though he was not happy with the dinner prepared tonight.

It was only until he heard Kendall's light footsteps that he relaxed his face, and he started eating more appetizingly.

"Oh—Dylan! Food is not going to be great if you eat alone. I am here to eat with you."

Kendall had made her excuse sound grand even though she was a freeloader who ate his food. She even had an expression on her face that looked as though she was doing Dylan a favor.

He initially wanted her to stand on her own feet, but she seemed to rely on him in almost everything, meals included, ever since she moved into his mansion.

The chefs always put their all into preparing different food for all three meals of the day. Only food that Dylan especially enjoyed would make a repeated appearance on the table.

His meals were always so scrumptious and delightful that Kendall couldn't help but feel as though she was dining with a king every time she ate with him.

As she sat across from him, she picked up the fork that the bodyguard had readied for her and put food onto Dylan's plate before she got herself some.

"Why did you get Mr. Miller to bring home so many potted flowers for the yard, Dylan?"

He only indifferently asked in return, "All these good foods but they still can't stop you from talking instead of eating?"

It was common knowledge to not talk during mealtime.

"I was just curious!" Kendall playfully giggled.

The mansion had always felt simple and clean, but the flowers had instantly changed the vibe his residence emitted.

Doing something like this was too abrupt compared to the way he usually did things.

After she took a few sips of the soup of the day, she suddenly turned to him and asked, "Are you doing this for me, Dylan?"

Upon hearing that, the man lifted his gaze and looked her in a way that she couldn't comprehend,

He also took some time before he stated, "Stop blowing your own trumpet. You are the type to think that you are all fancy after sticking a few pieces of gold on you, aren't you?"

Kendall started giggling in a silly manner after hearing his words. "Oh—I do want to have a few pieces of gold on me. Will you let me have some?"

"Ronnie!" Dylan suddenly called out.

Ronnie immediately walked under the gazebo and respectfully bowed as he inquired, "What are your orders, Young Master Dylan?"

"Go to Blake and ask for some gold from him. The young mistress wants gold. I will have to fulfill her wishes."

"Understood."

Mouth agape, Kendall quietly exclaimed to herself, Did he take my joke seriously?!

Still, she was curious to see if Ronnie would really return with gold.

It took a few minutes before both Ronnie and Blake came to the gazebo.

Under Kendall's cautious gaze, two bodyguards opened the brocade box they brought in with them, giving her a clear view of the items that were inside. It was filled with accessories, necklaces, rings, bangles, bracelets… Anyhow, they were all made from gold, and they glowed as light reflected off their shiny, yellow surfaces.

"We brought the gold, Young Mistress Kendall," Ronnie respectfully informed her.

Kendall didn't say anything, but she had a feeling that Dylan's intention was to gift her with jewelry.

But as she thought about it, she felt like she was, indeed, blowing her own trumpet. How could a man with a personality like Dylan's ever voluntarily give her a present?

 

Chapter 84

"Well, are you going to stick these golds on now, or would you like my help with that after our meal?"

Dylan kept looking at her with the same deep, unreadable gaze, which was why it must have been Kendall's mistake when she thought she saw a bright glint in his eyes.

"How am I supposed to stick these on me? With adhesive tape?"

As soon as he heard that, a laugh unconsciously slipped through his lips before he quickly pressed his hand over his mouth. He even let out a cough to fake nonchalance. "Go ahead if that is how you like it," he suggested.

"Can I put them on instead of sticking them on me?"

He took the chance as he lowered his head to take a sip of his soup to hide the joy written all over his face. Despite that, he still managed to say in a calm voice, "Whatever floats your boats."

It took less than a second before Kendall already laid her hands on the jewelry and was busy putting them on herself.

After she was clad in the accessories, she took a look at her reflection using the front camera of her phone and started complaining, "Look at how gold and shiny I am, Dylan! Do I look like a nouveau riche?"

He only lifted his chin to glance at her briefly before he lowered his gaze again to resume with his eating.

"You do look like one," he said in between bites. "You are naturally elegant, but it seems you haven't had enough lessons in etiquette. You don't uphold yourself well enough to bear the weight of the gold you have on."

"I will enroll myself in an etiquette class, then."

In fact, Kendall was a classy woman due to Adam and Charlotte's adamant teachings. However, it was unavoidable that the habits she had picked up from the 25 years she lived were deemed disgraceful within high society.

She had too much she needed to learn after she had come back to life.

Dylan didn't object after hearing her say that.

Learning proper etiquette could be really helpful for her since she not only was the daughter of the Parker Family, but was also the young mistress of the Colemans.

"You don't have to hold back in front of me. I have seen you at your worst behavior anyway. There is no use for you to put on a sophisticated woman act."

He would never admit that he liked her for her impudence, and he even liked it more when she was her usual shameless and thick-skinned self.

"Alright, then. I will never act that way in front of you," Kendall said.

After all, they were a married couple who was going to spend a lifetime together. Instead of putting on a front, which she didn't trust herself to do for the rest of her life, she would rather stay this way—she could speak as she pleased or do things as she wanted to. He didn't restrain her, and neither did she want to be put a leash on.

After they were done with the meal, the duo routinely went on a stroll, where Kendall pushed Dylan's wheelchair.

"Dylan, I am going to work tomorrow," she suddenly brought up.

"Mm."

"I will work hard."

"Mm."

"Don't you have anything you would like to say to me, Dylan?"

Thinking that there was no one else who knew better about the current trends in the business world than him, Kendall was looking forward to him telling her about it.

Dylan lightly tapped the armrest of his wheelchair after hearing her question, which prompted her to stop walking.

He then tilted his head to look up at her, seemingly in deep thought after he hesitantly brought his hand up. His thin lips finally parted as he uttered only two words, "Good luck!"

Kendall, who noticed every single emotion that was written across his face, couldn't help but burst out in laughter when he only managed to squeeze out two simple words. She had thought that he was going to give her a proper lecture of sorts.

He's pretty fun, she mused.

She was starting to like him more and more.

Lowering her head, she pressed a hard kiss on his cheek as she smilingly cheered, "I will do my best, Dylan. Thank you for your support and encouragement."

She didn't mind it at all despite the lack of expression on Dylan's face even after he was kissed.

Kendall was always the one who initiated all the kisses they had had.

Even if he would sometimes reciprocate, his responses were never overly passionate.

It is probably because of his inability to be sexually intimate.

That night, the couple shared a rare moment of peace together.

The next day, Kendall woke up early in the morning.

As she made herself look presentable in front of the mirror, she tied her silky locks into a high bun that made her look even more young and energetic.

Today was the day she would officially join the Parker Corporation. After she chose an outfit to wear,

she finally settled with a white, short-sleeved T-shirt and a pair of black tights. This set of clothes was the most suitable for her to wear for reporting to the company among all the other clothes she had brought to the mansion.

The Parker Corporation had their designated uniforms for their employees. She would be getting one for herself after she had become an official employee for the company.

Now that she was done putting on her clothes, she put on a pair of stilettos and walked as carefully as she could.

Her personality and past occupation were the main reasons she didn't like being in heeled shoes that were too high. However, Kendall had had to attend various banquets with Charlotte after she returned to the Parker household. The former didn't have a choice but to wear them for specific occasions.

A year had passed since the first time she had to wear heels but still, Kendall couldn't seem to like them.

Dylan, who had woken up earlier than she did, was already sitting in the living room as he read the newspaper.

Seeing her literally walking on eggshells, he looked at her stilettos and frowned before he called out, "Mr. Miller."

After Amos hurried over, he continued, "Have someone take a pair of kitten heels from Alice. I want a new pair Alice hasn't worn before."

Kendall's shoe size was the same as Alice's.

This was something that Dylan was sure about because he had had her investigated before.

Upon hearing that, Amos respectfully answered him before walking away with a wide smile on his face, personally going to Alice for the new shoes.

Alice was still asleep by the time the stewardess from the main house came knocking on her door, forcibly pulling her out of dreamland.

"Why are you trying to break down my door at daybreak, Tia? You better have a darn good reason for this, or else I will cut your bonus in half."

The young lady was extremely grumpy right after she woke up.

"Miss Alice," Tia apologetically started. "One of Young Master Dylan's men, Mr. Miller, is here. He said that the young master wanted him to get something from you right this instant. I had no choice but to wake you up because it is an urgent request by Young Master Dylan."

Even though Alice was the apple of the Coleman household's eye and everyone pampered her, Tia would rather she made Alice angry than getting on the turbulent Dylan's bad side.

After hearing that the employee had only come under her brother's instruction, Alice didn't see a point in blaming Tia anymore. Instead, she asked, "What did Dylan tell Mr. Miller to take from me?" She let out a graceful yawn before asking again, her tone full of curiosity, "What does Dylan need from me that he doesn't have?"

What could he possibly need that he has to come to me so early in the morning? Alice wondered.

Tia proceeded to jerk her neck, motioning Amos to come over.

He, too, said in an apologetic voice as he approached them, "I apologize for disturbing you, Miss Alice. Young Master Dylan wanted me to get a pair of brand new kitten heels that you haven't worn before from you."

Alice had so many pairs of shoes that there was a room in the mansion used to specifically store all her shoes.

Even with that additional space she had, the shoe racks in the room were all full. The overflowing shoes could well be put in another room.

"Dylan wants shoes from me? For who? Kendall Parker?"

It took someone as smart as her only a quick second to guess that Kendall was the one who needed the shoes.

After all, Kendall was the only woman Dylan had by his side.

"Indeed," Amos dutifully informed Alice, astonishing the lady.

Didn't Dylan bring her home to make her his unpaid nanny? Wasn't he supposed to be taking his revenge on her? Why is he letting her wear my shoes?!

"Does Kendall not have shoes to wear?" Alice asked after the numerous thoughts ran through her head.

"She does."

"Why does she need my shoes, then?"

Amos apologized again, "I am only doing as Master Dylan instructed, Miss Alice. I do not know the reason."

Aware of the rules within her brother's residence, Alice decided to stop making things hard for Amos. She had Tia get the keys to the room which housed her shoes, and after grabbing a pair of kitten heels she had never worn before, she passed it to Amos for him to bring to her brother.

 

Chapter 85

Alice found it hard to fall asleep again after she went back to her bed.

She was intrigued by her elder brother's attitude toward Kendall.

After Kendall had moved into Dylan's residence, Alice never wanted a part of the bullying her mother and grandmother had promised to do to Kendall.

Who are we kidding?! Alice thought. Dylan wouldn't need our help if he really wants to take his revenge on Kendall.

He could make Kendall's life a living hell with just the lift of a finger.

With all that had happened earlier, Alice could feel herself gaining an interest in Kendall.

At the same time, Amos had returned to Dylan with the pair of shoes as requested by Dylan.

Dylan only flatly told him to give it to Kendall before he turned to her. "Take off your stilettos. Someone like you will only twist your ankles in them."

She obediently did as he said without putting up a fight.

She had only brought with her normal high-heels and sports shoes when she came over to stay.

"Your younger sister wears the same size as I do, huh?" Kendall exclaimed, only to be met by silence.

She knew that the conversations she brought up were too boring for a man like Dylan to be in the mood

to idly chat with her.

After changing into the pair of kitten heels, she finally let out a relieved sigh as she said to him, "I will be heading out now, Dylan. Oh—and this is your present today."

She proceeded to take a small box out of her bag and passed it to him.

"What is this?" he indifferently asked, his hand reaching over.

"Don't worry; it is a present I bought for you. This one was quite pricey."

Dylan opened the box right after he took it from her, which had a luxury watch sitting in it.

"I will be heading to work now if there is nothing else. I'll see you tonight."

With that, Kendall leaned in and threw her arms around his neck as she quickly pecked him on his cheek. In fear that he would catch her and maybe break her legs, she let go of him and scurried away like a rat before he could push her away from him.

Amos couldn't help but feel relieved as he watched the couple's interaction.

Safe to say, he was starting to favor their brave young mistress more and more with each passing day.

Of course, she only acted this way because of Dylan's pampering.

It was still fresh in his head how timid she was when she had just moved to the Coleman Mansion.

After she was out of the living room, Dylan grabbed two pieces of tissue paper and wiped the spot that Kendall had smacked her wet lips on. He then grumbled in a slightly louder voice that Amos could hear, "How dirty! My face is wet with her saliva!"

Amos let out a smile as soon as he heard that.

He knew that Dylan didn't mean what he said.

Not to mention kissing, someone as skilled as Dylan was would not even let Kendall get near him if he really was repulsed by her kiss.

It was obvious that he liked it when she was intimate with him. He was only pretending to reject her out of pride.

Even though Dylan was complaining about her saliva, he noticed that receiving the present didn't do much to his mood as he stared at the watch.

It seemed like he prefered things that she made for him herself. They might not be worth a lot of money but still, they were handmade by her.

So what if Jackson was the man she used to be head over heels with? He had never received a handmade present from Kendall.

Oh, Kendall hasn't gotten the present back from Jackson! Dylan's eyes seemed to dim then. I will have to remind her about it again.

…

The Parker Corporation mainly produced circuit boards. They might have expanded their business into other industries over the years, but they still mainly had their hands in circuit board production.

Kelly had once suggested to Adam to extend the Parker Corporation into the real estate business.

However, he hadn't adopted her idea then. Adam's opinion was that real estate was a flourishing industry that a lot of people had already taken a bite at, leaving not much but crumbs behind. Not only might he not even have a lick of the opportunities that remained if he were to get into the business, he might also be putting the company at risk.

After the driver for the Parker Family came to a stop at the company entrance, Kendall got out of the car and sent the driver back home before she went into the company.

"Good morning, Miss Kendall."

"Miss Kendall."

Every employee who saw her along the way respectfully greeted her.

Cameron, who happened to see her too, called out to her in surprise, "Miss Kendall? What are you doing here so early? You should talk to the president and Mrs. Parker at home if there is anything you would like to talk to them about. There is no need for you to come all the way to the company. This is a workplace. President Parker will only talk about work here."

Cameron did nothing to hide the contempt in her eyes as she looked at Kendall.

After Kendall greeted everyone else back, she coldly said to Cameron, "I am here to report for duty. I will be working here and become a part of this big family from today onward."

"You are here to report for duty? Which department will you be reporting to?"

This seemed like an important matter that Cameron would have to report to Kelly after this.

It had been a few days since Kelly last went to the company after her birth mother got into a car accident. The filial daughter had taken a leave in order to stay with her mother at the hospital.

"Definitely not the department you are in," Kendall replied swiftly, making Cameron click her teeth.

They then walked into the elevator together.

Cameron then noticed Kendall pressing the button to go to the top floor.

Despite knowing that Cameron would report to Kelly about her joining the company, Kendall decided not to bother herself too much with Cameron. There was no way Kelly wouldn't find out when Kendall was going to work at their own company. Still, Kendall thought she would have a few days where she could let down her guard since Kelly was on leave.

The elevator went up, making occasional stops at every floor. It didn't take long before Kendall was the only one left in the elevator.

Unlike the others, her destination was straight up.

Adam's secretary was already in her office by the time Kendall reached the top floor. As soon as her eyes fell on Kendall, she smilingly greeted her and brought her to the couch of the office. She also poured Kendall a glass of warm water.

"Have you had your breakfast, Kendall?"

"Mhm."

Kendall had packed breakfast with her that she ate during her ride to the company.

It might be her family-owned company that she was going to work at, but it was inevitable to feel nervous on the first day of work at such a big company.

In her past life, she didn't even have her own freedom to be allowed to work after she married into the Whittle Family.

Jackson and Kelly would never have allowed her to, as their sole purpose was to take over the Parker Corporation.

Kendall was a complete newbie in business. She couldn't help but wonder if she could ever get used to the tricky world of business when she had only started getting herself involved.

She could only quietly give herself encouragement, Nothing is impossible in life. I am sure I can do anything as long as I am willing to learn.

In order to reverse the tragic ending of her previous life and become strong enough to take revenge on Kelly, Kendall knew she must adapt to the ups and downs in the business world by studying hard about

the ways she could manage a business.

"I am sure you haven't taken breakfast, Ms. Secretary. Please, go ahead and eat. I will be sitting right here waiting for my dad—President Parker to come back. I will go to him when he does."

Kendall had automatically changed the way she addressed her father now that they were at the company.

That immediately brought a smile to the secretary's face. "I'll be off, then."

She was Adam's secretary. It was her daily routine to reach the office early, and she would always get herself breakfast to have at the office when she was on the way to the company.

Kendall only smiled in acknowledgement.

Adam finally arrived at the company a little past 8 AM.

As soon as he saw his biological daughter waiting by the door to his office, he immediately revealed a startled expression.

"Kendall? What are you doing here?"

"Daddy, I am supposed to report for work today. Weren't you the one who said you would personally guide me? I am here waiting for you."

As he listened to her, he hesitantly told her with a bashful laugh, "I almost forgot about it." He then opened his office door and brought her in.

After she closed the door behind her, he habitually asked, "How did Master Dylan react when he learned that you are to start working here today?"

She raised her hand into the air and pumped it. "He wished me luck."

Adam quickly let out the breath he was holding at that.

 

Chapter 86

"What do I have to do now, Daddy?"

"Stay by my side and watch what I do," Adam said while walking to his desk. "I will pass you some of our company's information for you to look through. Our company mainly produces circuit boards. You need to be familiar with what we do."

"Got it," Kendall said before turning around to pour her father a glass of warm water.

"I usually take a cup of coffee before the afternoon. I have a mini pantry in my office. Why don't you make me a cup of coffee using the coffee beans in the pantry?"

"Alright." She then brought the glass of warm water to him. "Have some warm water, Daddy. I will go make you your cup of coffee right now."

With that, he took the glass and had two sips of the drink.

Under Adam's instruction, Kendall walked into the pantry and brewed the coffee.

As she got busy with her task, Adam took out some company information and sample layout of their products. After she brought out the freshly brewed coffee, he handed the documents to her and said gently, "You haven't got the faintest idea about the operation and products of our company now, have you? Carefully look through everything that I am giving you now. You can ask me or anyone else if there is something you don't understand. There are too many types of circuit boards, but you will have to memorize every single one of them. That is the only way you bring the company profit—talk business with people and secure orders. Our workshop is right behind the office building. You can drop by and walk around the major departments of the workshop. The more you expose yourself to them,

the more you can learn. You should also be polite to the employees of the company. They have all been here longer than you have while carrying different responsibilities. The employees of each department are very familiar with each step necessary to go through to produce the company's products. Get acquainted with them and ask them for advice, and then refer to the sample layouts. It should make it easier for you to get familiar with the job."

He was teaching his daughter to not put herself on a pedestal because of her status and look down on the employees of the company.

A giant company like them could only have its success today because of both the higher ups and the tens of thousands of normal employees.

"Understood, Daddy."

Kendall was raised in an ordinary household before she returned to the Parker Family. She was never an arrogant person who would look down on others.

"Kelly also started out as a normal employee," Adam added. "She was able to mingle with the other employees and climbed up the career ladder step by step with her ability. She had truly won hearts to become the Vice President of the Parker Corporation."

Kendall's expression froze when she heard this.

She could tell that her father was hinting at her that she had to perform better than Kelly did if she wanted to beat Kelly and be the successor of the company. Kendall had to make everyone in the company acknowledge her with her results.

Even though the Parker Corporation was her family's company, there were many old-timers who served the company. She might be Adam's biological daughter, but the seniors of the company would not hesitate to drag her down if she couldn't prove that she was capable of being their leader.

"I will try my best, Daddy," she reassured him.

"I believe in you. Go to the Human Resource Department and look for Manager Godwin. He will help you with the employee on-boarding procedure and pass you your employee uniform. You have to wear that when you come to work next Monday onward. The position you hold now is my secretary, so you won't have your own office. I will let Miss Holmes prepare a desk for you, and you will be sharing an office space with her. Miss Holmes is also an old employee of our company. You can learn a lot from her."

After seeing Kendall solemnly listening to his lecture without uttering a word, Adam finally let her off. “Alright, off you go for your on-boarding procedure," he said.

"Okay."

With that, she turned around and left the president's office.

…

After Cameron stepped out of the elevator and was out of Kendall's field of vision, she immediately called Kelly, who was currently at Orapolis General Hospital.

That was how Kelly came to find out that her younger sister had become an official employee of the

Parker Corporation.

Despite everything, she had still failed at preventing Kendall from joining the company.

It was all because of her own mother who was holding her back.

Thinking of Charlotte's attitude, Kelly had a feeling that her adoptive mother had purposely asked her to take time off from work to take care of her biological mother, when in fact, Charlotte was taking the opportunity to let Kendall join the company.

Even if she didn't ask for a leave, Kendall would still enter the company eventually if she wanted to. Still, Kelly could secretly plot something and make Kendall voluntarily quit.

Kelly couldn't help but resent Charlotte, who had loved her for the past 20 years, because of how she had instantly turned hostile as soon as she found out that Kelly wasn't her birth daughter.

Sally was lying on the hospital bed when she watched Kelly push open the door to the ward while entering the ward with her mobile phone still in her hand. Sally immediately felt bad and apologetically blurted out, "Kelly, I am feeling much better today. I know how busy you are. You don't have to keep me company here. Your older brother can take care of me. You should go back to work."

Because of the good environment Kelly grew up in, Kelly had received the best education and was excellent in many things. She was already the Vice President of Parker Corporation at such a young age. Sally was sure that Kelly could have become the next head of the Parker Family if only Charlotte hadn't found out the truth about Kelly and Kendall being swapped when they were babies.

As much as Sally was glad that her biological daughter was such a brilliant person, she also blamed

herself for her inability to raise Kendall to be more outstanding. She couldn't help but feel apologetic toward Kendall and the rest of the Parker Family.

"I already took leave for a few days. I will only return to the company after my break is over."

Truth was, Kelly found it difficult to get closer to her birth mother.

She would even always talk to Sally in a cold voice. However, Sally didn't mind it. She was happy about the fact that her daughter would come and see her.

"Would you like some water? I will get you a glass," Kelly offered.

"I am not thirsty. Come take a seat, Kelly. Let me take a good look at you."

"What's there to see? It is not like you haven't seen me before. Go ahead and sleep if you aren't thirsty. I will be keeping an eye on your IV drip."

After brushing her mother off, Kelly pulled a chair over to sit on and began scrolling through the news on her phone.

Nelson had just gone out to buy something he needed.

He would definitely scold Kelly again if he had seen the way she was behaving.

He hated the way his sister treated their mother.

She could not come if she didn't want to, because everytime she did, she would make it seem as

though she was forced to be here with that sour expression on her face.

Her visits would always leave Sally heartbroken.

Only Nelson and Sally knew how the latter would wet her pillow with tears in the dead of the night.

After hearing Kelly's response, Sally felt somewhat embarrassed to continue talking to her. She only lay there quietly while she stared at Kelly.

"Are you sleeping or not? I am going out for a walk if you are. It will take a while before your IV drip session is complete."

Not liking the way her mother kept her eyes on her, Kelly swiftly stood up and left with her phone in her hand.

She then gave Jackson a call as soon as she was out.

She caringly asked after he picked up the call, "Has the crisis your company is in been resolved, Jackson? Did Master Dylan meet you yesterday?"

"No." Jackson sighed, exhaustion dripping from his voice. "Kelly, I am really annoyed. And I am busy, so I can't talk right now. I am hanging up."

Hearing that, she suggested, "You have to make sure you rest, Jackson. You can beg Kendall to help you if you can't handle this anymore. Regardless of how Master Dylan may treat her, she has a lot more chances to get in touch with Dylan than us because she lives at the Coleman Mansion now. I am

sure she will help you beg Master Dylan for leniency, and maybe say a nice thing or two. It just might work."

 

Chapter 87

After hearing Kelly's words, Jackson hesitantly said, "Kendall treats me like an enemy now. She won't help me even if I were to approach her first."

That woman has cold-heartedly un-loved me just like that, he bitterly thought to himself, a wave of disappointment hitting him again.

Still, he decided to go to Kendall for help. "Let me give it a go," he agreed.

The Whittle Holdings' future was far more important than his dignity.

If there ever came a day when the Whittle Holdings was ruined, Jackson knew his own future would be destroyed if he had to leave high society. This was definitely not the result he envisioned to achieve.

"Alright, then. Go on. I will tell Yasmine to persuade her brother to have a collaboration with your company. You wouldn't have to worry about the Coleman Empire Holdings if you have Zorn Holdings' support."

"Thank you, Kelly." Assured that Kelly was very much still in love with him, Jackson thanked her in a gentle voice.

"We are too close to be saying thanks to each other. Helping you means helping myself too."

How could Kelly possibly allow the Whittle Holdings to fall to ruins if she was going to marry Jackson?

The Whittle Holdings was only wrapped up in rumor because of the one business dealing Coleman Empire Holdings robbed them of. The Colemans hadn't actually done anything that directly harmed

them. That was how businesses went. It was normal for there to be a sudden change of mind as long as a contract wasn't formed.

There were even people who would regret their decision after signing a contract.

What Tom and Jackson were concerned about was the consequences the rumors might bring.

The other partners of Whittle Holdings would definitely feel more confident about their collaborations as soon as the Zorn Holdings lent Whittle Holdings a helping hand. That would subsequently pull Whittle Holdings out of the dangerous place they were currently in.

Kelly quickly called Yasmine after her talk on the phone with Jackson.

Kendall, however, was clueless about how Kelly had contacted Yasmine in order to help the Whittle Holdings. After Kendall was done with the on-boarding procedure, she went to Jessie's office and sat down in front of her own desk while she put her full attention into looking through the sample layouts of the company products.

The landline phone on Jessie's desk started ringing, and Jessie smoothly picked it up despite not knowing who was calling. She only turned to Kendall as she spoke on the phone.

After she put the handset back down, she informed Kendall, "Miss Parker, Mr. Whittle is here to see you."

"Jackson Whittle?"

"That's right," Jessie said with a smile on her face as she nodded.

"Where is he?"

"He is already coming upstairs using the elevator. Would you like to see him in front of the elevator or here?"

His surprise visit is probably because of Whittle Holdings, Kendall thought.

Not wanting to disrupt Jessie's work, she said that she would wait for Jackson in front of the elevator.

Kendall had just left the office and walked to the elevator when Jackson came out.

"Kendall." He strode toward her.

It only took him a second to reach her.

"What are you looking for me for?" She stepped back to keep some distance between them and warned, "Don't get too close to me."

She was worried that she might cripple him if she wasn't able to hold back her hatred for him.

"Kendall," Jackson gently called out to her. His eyes were deep and full of emotion as he gazed at her. "Can you please stop sulking? You've been on it for days now. Only God knows how heartbreaking it is for me when you intentionally ignore me like this."

What a shameless man! How is he still pretending to be in love with me and making it sound like I am

being difficult?

Instead of saying that to his face, Kendall only let out a scoff before she sassed, "Who is sulking, Jackson? Heartbreaking? You? For what? You must be heartbroken about not being able to marry Kelly after our family rejected your proposal, huh? Jackson Whittle, your mother has brought over the dowry in broad daylight, and she even outright said that she wanted Kelly as her daughter-in-law. How dare you pretend to love me? Don't you see how disgusting you are being?"

"That wasn't my idea, Kendall. I didn't even know that my mother would do something like that!" he hurriedly explained himself.

Jackson had gotten into a fight so huge with Rosemi after he went home yesterday that she was still mad when he left for work this morning.

Nothing seemed to be going his way lately.

It all seemed to have started from the moment Kendall started treating him coldly.

Could Kendall be my lady luck?

"I am sorry, Kendall. I owe you an apology no matter what. Let's make up, Kendall. I can't take it when you treat me this way. You know I love you."

She immediately made a gagging sound when she heard him profess his 'love'. "Don't make me throw up, Jackson. Spit it out. Tell me why you are here. You can screw off after you are done talking. I don't have time to waste here listening to your mouth diarrhea."

Looking at him now, Kendall couldn't help but think that she must have been blind to fall for a man like him. Not only that, she had lost both herself and her freedom in the middle of it. She literally loved him to death.

Kelly and Jackson must have been happy after I died in my past life. This d*mned cheating couple!

Kendall about how everything she had and was rightfully hers had fallen into Kelly's hands after her death immediately rekindled the grudge she held toward Kelly.

She detested how cruelly Jackson had betrayed her. She also hated herself for being overly trusting to the point of stupidity in her last life.

"Something happened to the Whittle Holdings, Kendall. There are rumors going around about how we have gotten on Master Dylan's bad side. Those rumors aren't true at all. You have seen my attitude toward Master Dylan. How could our company ever do anything to offend him? Can you please say something about this to him? Or you can arrange for me to give him an explanation in person."

Jackson knew that Kendall was the reason he had the chance to meet Dylan last time.

She might really be his lady luck, after all!

As Jackson continued to beg Kendall to help him, his head was gradually getting filled with a thought— he must never let her leave his side.

He would even forcibly keep her if that was what it took to make her stay by his side.

It suddenly didn't seem like a bad idea to make her his wife.

Kendall patted herself on the face, "How big does my head look to you, Jackson? You think I am in a place where I can arrange for you to meet with Dylan?"

"Kendall—"

"Forgive me," she cut him off. "I can't help. Now leave."

Unwilling to waste her energy entertaining her enemy, Kendall then turned around to leave.

"Kendall? Kendall!" Jackson hurried after her and spread his arms sideways to stop her from leaving, a pitiful look on his face as he pleaded, "Kendall, please help me. We used to be so in love. How could you just watch the Whittle Holdings' downfall? The Whittle is the name you will have in the future. I will marry you. I swear I will marry you."

His words were so disgusting that she itched to give him a big slap on his face that would send him all the way to the Pacific Ocean.

Kendall couldn't even be bothered to answer him, and was about to go around him when he pulled the indifferent woman into his arms. He then lowered his head to force a kiss on her.

That, of course, properly pissed Kendall off!

That pig of a man was actually trying to take advantage of her!

With all the strength she could muster, she broke free from his arms while she evaded his kiss. He was about to go in for another embrace again when she angrily grabbed one of his arms before throwing

him over her shoulder in one powerful move.

The elevator door opened right at the moment Jackson was hopelessly flung on the ground.

Wham!

A loud sound could be heard reverberating throughout the space when he heavily fell.

Jackson hadn't even noticed that he was being thrown like a ragdoll until it was over.

All he knew was how dizzy he felt. He wasn't even sure where he had been thrown to.

The row of people who came out of the elevator only quietly looked on as the incident unfolded.

 

Chapter 88

One of them started to get chills as Kendall had once flipped him over her shoulder too.

Kendall, on the other hand, hadn't noticed anything. She was so enraged by Jackson's actions that she continued to kick him aggressively while scolding him "Pervert! You have no right to even touch me! I'm going to kick you to death! What a b*stard!"

"Stop it, Kendall. Stop kicking me!" Jackson yelled, his arms wrapped around his face to protect his face from Kendall's kicks.

He was also experiencing back pain as a result of her flipping.

Despite knowing Kendall for many years, this was the first time he realized her strength was so great that she could even flip him around.

"What are you doing? Kendall!"

Adam was on his way somewhere else when he came close to them and witnessed the entire scene of her kicking Jackson. That stunned him for a brief moment before he yelled at her to stop.

When she heard her father's yell, Kendall immediately stopped kicking. Jackson took advantage of the opportunity to get up and flee from her. He then hid in a corner, terrified.

"Dad, h-he took advantage of me," she explained.

Adam's face turned solemn when he heard that and he looked toward Jackson. The latter then said, "Mr. Parker, I-I just couldn't control myself."

"You couldn't control yourself? Jackson Whittle, your mother personally delivered the betrothal gift to us and specifically stated that you wanted to marry Kelly, but now you're here laying your hands on Kendall and justifying it by saying you can't control yourself? What do you mean exactly? Is my daughter someone you can do whatever you want with?"

Choking back sobs, Jackson quickly explained, "That is my mother's wish, not mine, Mr. Parker. Today I came here to—"

"You want me to seek Dylan out and beg him to help you? Do you believe I have that much power to make him listen to me?"

Kendall interrupted Jackson and finished his sentence for him, at the same time explaining the situation to Adam.

Adam was, of course, aware of the Whittle Holdings' situation. If Dylan wasn't his son-in-law, he would definitely assist the Whittles after knowing they were in trouble. But he couldn't do anything now because he couldn't possibly be at odds with his son-in-law.

Truth was, Adam suspected Dylan's treatment of the Whittle Holdings was all because of Kendall.

"Go back first, Kendall."

Looking around at the group of people who remained silent, Adam told Kendall to return to her office first.

Kendall responded with a light hum and walked away. As she turned around, she noticed that the group's leader was none other than Frank, the man who had robbed her of her virginity in her previous life.

Why is Frank here?

Her heart was full of doubts.

How long has he been watching us?

"President Mendelson." She did not let her doubts show and politely greeted him.

It was only now that Frank approached them, his bodyguard trailing behind him.

That took Jackson by surprise. It was completely unexpected for Frank to appear in the Parker Corporation.

Hence, Jackson immediately stood up straight and tidied his clothes in order to leave a good impression on Frank.

Suddenly, two arms extended toward him and tidied his clothes.

He raised his head and realized that it was Frank. Flattered by such actions of Frank, he smiled fawningly and greeted, "President Mendelson."

Frank was the only one in Orapolis who could stand against Dylan.

If Dylan continued to deal with the Whittles, the Whittle Holdings could only turn to the Zorn Holdings or the Mendelson Group for assistance. The Whittles would be saved if either of these two companies was willing to lend a helping hand.

Just as Frank finished tidying up Jackson's clothes, he suddenly grabbed his arm.

And the next second, everyone heard Jackson's miserable scream.

Frank actually twisted Jackson's arm so hard that it dislocated!

Then, Frank released his grip and his bodyguard immediately handed him some wet tissues. He threw them to Jackson's face, completely covering his face after using them to wipe his hand.

"I despise men who take advantage of women!" Frank exclaimed coldly before striding toward the president's office, his bodyguard following close behind.

Both Adam and Kendall were stupefied by what happened.

"Dad, is President Mendelson here for you?"

"He said he has some business to discuss with me. I came out after Jessie told me that he was on his way, but… Kendall, I'll leave the situation to you. I need to attend to President Mendelson now."

Adam had no idea what had brought the illustrious President Mendelson to their Parker Corporation.

Unlike Jackson, Adam was not impressed by Frank's presence. He was skeptical, if not terrified, of it.

Frank was Dylan's arch-enemy!

Though the fact that Adam was Dylan's father-in-law had not yet been made public, he could not have any contact with Frank. Otherwise, it would be a hindrance to Dylan. Since Frank was already present, however, Adam couldn't just ignore him.

He was really in a fix this time!

After he left, Jackson and Kendall were the only ones remaining.

"Do you want to get out yourself, Jackson Whittle, or do you want me to send someone to carry you out?"

Jackson, on the other hand, was in so much pain from his dislocated arm courtesy of Frank that he was breaking out in cold sweat.

He looked at Kendall pitifully, his eyes filled with mixed emotions.

"I will not stop here, Kendall! I will marry you!"

With that, Jackson left as he cradled his dislocated arm.

"No way! I'd rather marry any Tom, Dick, or Harry than you! Simply marry your Kelly!"

Her biological mother would never agree to any kind of marriage with the Whittles. Kelly would have to cut all ties with the Parkers if she insisted on marrying Jackson. Could she bear to do that?

After Jackson left, Kendall lightly smoothed her clothes and rushed back to her office.

However, she wasn't in the mood to work. All her mind, and her heart, was in the president's office.

Meanwhile, in the president's office, Adam was personally serving Frank tea.

"Please just leave this chore to your assistant, President Parker."

Frank had a deep voice, and his attractive eyes were constantly shining. No one could read his mind.

"My assistant has just started her job today. She's clumsy, and I'm afraid she won't be able to do it well."

"Well, since she is your assistant, she should act like one. She still has to do it no matter how bad at it she is. You can't pay her if she doesn't do anything, can you? She is not yet familiar with the chores, but she will be if she does them on a regular basis. President Parker, you must give her the opportunity to train herself."

Adam had no idea how to respond to that. Just candidly tell me that you want to see my daughter rather than skirting the corners!

He then poured a half-cup of tea for Frank and changed the subject of their conversation. "President Mendelson, please have some tea."

Frank accepted the cup but did not drink it. As he looked at Adam, Frank placed the cup on the table while sitting down and said, "President Parker, you don't have to overthink things. Just as I have said, I am here for business."

"It's an honor for both me and the Parker Corporation. I'm curious what kind of collaboration you have in mind, President Mendelson."

"We have several electronics factories under the Mendelson Group. The circuit board suppliers that we have previously worked with had some quality issues, forcing us to return the products to them for redo. That affected our production a lot and due to that, I have already stopped working with them. As the Parker Corporation is the best circuit boards manufacturer in Orapolis, I intend to hand over our orders to the Parker Corporation. Are you interested in working with the Mendelson Group, President Parker?"

 

Chapter 89

Adam was taken aback. Somehow, he had a feeling that Frank didn't come for such a simple reason today. The Parker Corporation had nothing worth a personal visit from Frank, after all. Maybe he knows that Kendall is Dylan's wife, and this is the reason why he is here?

The Mendelson Group did have a few electronics factories, but any collaborations should be discussed with the factory manager or, at the very least, someone from the headquarters. It was unnecessary for Frank, the president, to come personally.

"President Mendelson, thank you for your regard toward the Parker Corporation. However, we have too many orders pending and I am hesitant to accept yours at this time." Adam didn't say anything else, as he was expecting Frank to be tactful enough to understand his rejection.

"That doesn't matter. Our orders are not urgent as well. Our ready stocks in our stores are sufficient for a short period of time, and you do not need to halt all other orders just for us."

"If that's the case..." Adam commented with a smile, "We may discuss this further. Perhaps a visit to our manufacturing factory will be good, President Mendelson?"

Frank did not turn down the offer.

After a few minutes, Adam and Jessie led Frank and his men down the elevator to the Parker Corporation's manufacturing factory.

Kendall wanted to tag along, but she did not want to get near Frank and her father did not invite her along either. Hence, she stayed obediently in her office to examine the circuit board sketches.

However, the longer she looked at the sketches, the more dazzled she became because all the sketches looked similar to her.

She remembered that Jessie's office had some physical samples of the circuit boards, so Kendall took some for her own reference. Despite having them, she couldn't tell the difference between the different types and electronic circuits were really not her forte.

Then, she placed the circuit boards down and texted Dylan. 'I know nothing about electric circuits, Dylan, but this is unfortunately Parker Corporation's main business.'

She wanted to take over the Parker Corporation and to manage it well. How could she do that if she didn't understand the field?

After the message was sent, she waited for Dylan's reply, but nothing came.

She knew he was busy. Hence, she didn't expect to hear back from him right away and dropped another message.

'I understand you're busy and you can ignore me for the time being. I'm just nervous about things and can't seem to calm down enough to learn. Simply respond when you have time to read my messages.'

'Oh and by the way, your arch-enemy came! According to my father, Frank intends to work with the Parker Corporation. Do you think he has discovered our relationship? Since he can't do anything to you, is he now laying hands on my family?'

'And just what did you do to the Whittles? Jackson approached me today and asked for my assistance.

Until today, he thought I was just throwing tantrums and wanted to kiss me, thinking that by doing so, my heart would soften and I would be loyal to him again!'

Her rants were all sent to Dylan's phone, one after the other.

Meanwhile, Dylan was in the conference room, having an important meeting with all of his company's executives. He had requested that everyone's phone be turned silent during the meeting, except for himself.

As a result, the notification of a new message kept ringing.

He finally took his phone to check the messages after receiving yet another new message.

Though his expression remained unchanged, all of the executives who knew him could sense a coldness emanating from him after he read all of Kendall's messages with his fingers knocking on the table.

His knocks came in quick succession and none of the executives dared to breathe loudly.

After a moment, Dylan finally replied to Kendall's messages. 'How could you think of losing when you've only just begun? You don't have to fight Kelly if that's the case. Come home and be my wife only. I can guarantee that the Parker Family will not fall into Kelly's hands as long as I am here.'

If Kendall lacked the ability to manage the Parker Corporation but Kelly was not allowed to take over the company, they could only hire professional managers to do the job.

'Frank was there because of you, not because of our relationship. What have you done for him to act

exceptionally this time? Give me a satisfactory explanation when you get home, and submit a self- reflection essay of 10,000 words with no repeated content.'

'Yes, I did deal with the Whittles. Can't I do that? Since you hate Jackson, why do you still see him then? And you even give him a chance to do that to you? Kendall, just be honest with me if you can't let him go. I am not someone who will tie you to me."

Dylan responded to Kendall's messages one by one.

When Kendall received his replies, she fell into silence for a long while. She read his messages several times. Like the man himself, his messages were impolite, slapping her across the face.

Didn't she rebirth with absolute confidence to change the tragedy of her previous lifetime?

Didn't she want to destroy Kelly and Jackson's reputations, leaving them with nothing and dying pathetically?

Things had only just begun, but Kendall couldn't hang on any longer. Where had her confidence gone? Where was the vengeance she desired?

But it was the truth that Kelly was now much stronger than Kendall.

Well, Kendall wasn't reborn with great abilities either…

Hence, she could only take it one step at a time. There was no shortcut for her to get to the top in a hurry.

Suddenly, her phone rang. The screen displayed Dylan's name and Kendall answered it right away.

"I am sorry to disappoint you, Dylan."

"That is none of my concern. The Parker Corporation isn't mine in the first place. I don't care if you're not strong enough to stand up to them."

His words left her speechless. They were as cruel as they had always been.

"What time are you having a break for lunch?"

"11.30AM."

"Let's have lunch together. I'll send Blake to pick you up."

However, Kendall was a little hesitant on this. "Dylan, what if the others saw us? It will be—"

"You said I look handsome."

That almost choked her as she replied with a smile, "That's the truth. You are really good looking. My love for you is endless, like the flow of water in a stream—"

"Shut up!" he coldly warned her.

And Kendall stuck out her tongue to that.

Even though they were on the phone and couldn't see each other, Dylan could tell she was sticking out

her tongue. "Since you said I'm handsome, why can't you show me to the public?" he continued.

"You were the one who asked me not to refer to you as my husband! In that case, who would be aware of our relationship?" Kendall expressed her dissatisfaction.

After a brief pause, he responded, "Since when are you so obedient to me?"

Hearing that, Kendall was stumped for words.

Was he reminding her that she could now make public their relationship?

He was the one who told her not to refer to him as her husband but now, he was blaming her for not disclosing his identity. He did not make her public as well, did he?

Such a pretentious guy!

"We'll have lunch at the Dynasty Hotel."

"Sure! I'll come, Dylan!"

"Foodie!" This time, Dylan managed to say this word out.

"Well, we are born with our mouths to eat," she replied with laughter.

Kendall was a true foodie. Even if he didn't like it, she wasn't going to change for him!

Dylan, on the other hand, cracked a smile since he was well aware that she adored delectable food.

When they finished talking, he had already moved from the conference room to the president's office and was smiling happily at Toddy, who stood opposite him.

 

Chapter 90

"You appeared solemn in the conference room earlier, as if you were in a bad mood, and even I was terrified by that. But now, you've changed because of a phone call. Come on, give me a smile again."

The second Toddy finished his sentence, Dylan threw a huge stack of documents to him.

But he managed to catch all of them.

"President Coleman, all the documents sent to you are important. How could you just toss them around like this? What if you damaged them?"

Toddy then tried to tidy up all the documents before placing them in front of Dylan again. While doing so, he said with a smile, "It appears that you and your wife get along well! I noticed you mentioned the Parker Corporation. Is your wife the Parkers' young lady?"

Toddy's expression darkened slightly and he leaned against the table, cautiously seeking confirmation. "Don't tell me that your wife is Kendall Parker, President Coleman?"

Since Toddy had overheard the conversation, Dylan did not see the need to hide it any further and expressly admitted. "Yes, it's her. Can't she be my wife?"

"She did such drastic things and you still dare to marry her? What are you trying to prove?"

"You're wrong. She was the one who forced me to marry her."

That stumped Toddy.

He remained silent for a while before raising his hand to touch Dylan's forehead. Dylan's temperature seemed to be normal.

"You are not having a fever that would blur your mind, so how could you marry her just because she asked you to?"

"I need a wife whereas she needs a husband. It's that simple."

"Your conversation earlier seemed happy. I can even tell you're spoiling her."

Toddy's words made Dylan blink.

Spoiling her?

How can I be spoiling that shameless woman?

Did I really do that?

Remembering their times together recently, Dylan had no choice but to admit that he indeed had been spoiling Kendall. Otherwise, she would not be becoming more and more shameless.

"Given her previous extreme behavior, why did she force you to marry her after that?"

Toddy was really curious about this.

"Because I am handsome," Dylan replied confidently and narcissistically.

That almost made Toddy burst out laughing.

He never imagined that Dylan, with his cold and emotionless face, would say something like this.

"Laugh all you want. Don't hold back in case you get sick. The company is extremely busy; I will not let you take any medical leave."

With that, Toddy decided to let it all out and started laughing profusely.

After he had finished laughing, Dylan merely said indifferently, "Go all out against the Whittles."

"Didn't you say you just wanted to teach them a lesson? You really want to be so harsh on them now?"

"It is a lesson."

However, it was a lesson that could spell the end of the Whittle Holdings.

How dare Jackson try to kiss Kendall? He must be tired of living!

I am the only one who can taste her sweet lips, Dylan thought.

Toddy seemed to pick up on the situation quickly. "Well, Jackson is just really unlucky," he said, his tone revealing a slight sense of compassion.

Kendall was the one who fell in love with Jackson after only meeting him once. He only agreed to be with her because he couldn't stand her passionate wooing of him.

Previously, Kendall was madly in love with Jackson. Why caused her to change her mind and marry Dylan instead?

Women's hearts were simply too difficult to comprehend!

"I won't do anything to Whittle Holdings if not for the fact that he went overboard."

Dylan was ruthless, but he was not someone who would randomly attack others.

Jackson was the one who rubbed him in the wrong way.

"Spread the news out that Wally's orders are increasing and it is in need of a large quantity of circuit boards."

Toddy, as astute as he always was, recognised Dylan's plan right away. However, the former couldn't understand why Dylan chose to spread such rumors for the Parker Corporation to bid on instead of approaching them directly for collaboration.

Seeing that Dylan had no intention to explain, Toddy did not ask further.

Well, he would just wait and see. The answer would come one day.

Meanwhile, Kendall was finally able to do her work after talking with Dylan and calming her anxious heart.

Time spent concentrating on work flew by, and lunchtime arrived quickly.

Kendall then stuffed the sketches into her bag, intending to look at them while eating later.

"Kendall."

She heard her father calling out to her as she walked out of her office.

That made her halt her steps. Turning around, she greeted Adam as well.

"Your mom just called and asked the both of us to go back for lunch. She has prepared a lot of food to celebrate your first day of work!"

He then warmly continued, "She did not even put her heart to celebrate for me when I took over the Parker Corporation!"

Kendall slyly replied, "I guess my mom gave you some special celebration then!"

Adam lightly tapped her head after she finished her words. "You're such a naughty girl!"

In response, she stuck out her tongue cutely.

"Daddy, Dylan had asked me to have lunch with him. Since Mommy has prepared lunch personally, I'll reject him then."

While saying, Kendall took her phone out, preparing to call Dylan.

However, Adam stopped her.

"Just go with Dylan since he has already said so, Kendall. I'll inform your mom on your behalf. Thank you for allowing me to have all of the delicious food to myself!"

"Will she be disappointed?"

"She won't. Both your mother and I are content as long as you get along well with Dylan and he treats you well."

"Okay. I will go back to have dinner with her then."

Kendall, too, did not want to disappoint Dylan by not meeting him for lunch. Being such a petty man, Dylan would almost certainly make her write more self-reflection essays!

Remembering that, she sighed to herself. Self-reflection essays again, and this time even with unrepeated content!

He was getting addicted to punishing her, wasn't he?

If he ever fell in love with her in the future, it would be her turn to force him to write her love letters with unique content!

Oh how Kendall wished to receive Dylan's love letter one day.

"Dad, have you agreed to the business deal with the Mendelson Group?"

She followed Adam into the president's exclusive elevator.

"Not yet."

Adam went on, "Coleman Empire Holdings and the Mendelson Group are bitter rivals. You're now one of the Colemans, and I can't easily agree to collaborate with the Mendelsons."

Even though Adam, in fact, really wanted to take on the business.

"Frank is a weird guy. In the past, I had previously gone to the Mendelson Group to discuss business deals, but he refused to even see me. Now, however, he has personally arrived to discuss collaboration. I had the impression that there was more to it, though. He may have discovered your relationship with Dylan, which is why Frank came to us under the guise of a business to find ways to beat us down. If that happens, Dylan will be forced to lend us a hand, which is exactly what Frank wants."

Kendall nodded to that. "I believe so too."

However, Dylan had said that Frank was here because of her.

Previously, Frank had made it clear that they would have no connection whatsoever for the rest of their lives.

It had only been a short time, and he was already contradicting himself.

It appeared that a big shot like him was untrustworthy as well.

The elevator brought Adam and Kendall to the ground floor.

Their conversation ended. Both of them exited the building, and they went their own ways after that.

Blake was already waiting outside the building when Kendall walked out. When he saw her approaching, he got out of his car to greet her.

She was polite to him as well.

"Young Mistress Kendall, Young Master Dylan is waiting for you in the company."

"Hasn't he left the office yet?" she inquired as she fastened her seatbelt.

"His time off work varies."

"I see."

"Are you hungry, Young Mistress Kendall?" Blake asked after starting the engine, thereafter handing her a box of pastries from the front of the car.