Chapter 168: Chapter 168: Treating as Strangers
Yvonne Lancaster stayed in the pool for a long time. It wasn’t until her skin had turned pale and wrinkled that Kenneth Yates called her out and brought her to the hospital.
The corners of Kenneth Yates’s lips curled into a smirk. He leaned against the doorframe, scrutinizing Gregory Lancaster and Audrey Adler. He undid the top button of his shirt and began to speak slowly. "I’m not a particularly kind person. If I saw someone like Yvonne Lancaster on the street, I’m afraid I wouldn’t be able to stop myself from giving her a brutal beating!"
Gregory Lancaster froze. Audrey Adler carefully hugged Yvonne Lancaster, thinking, ’It must be Summer again, whispering poison in Kenneth’s ear.’
"Kenneth, you must be joking. If you hadn’t saved Yvonne, why would you be here with her?" Gregory Lancaster’s heart pounded. ’Something’s off about what Kenneth is saying. What exactly happened?’ The air was thick with a strange tension.
"Ask her yourself. Ask her what ’good deeds’ she’s been up to." Kenneth Yates walked over to Summer Lancaster and gave her a reassuring look, letting her know she was safe now.
"Yvonne, what exactly happened?" Gregory Lancaster turned to Yvonne Lancaster, his tone impatient.
Yvonne Lancaster kept her head down, not daring to speak as she cowered timidly.
"Darling, what could it be? Let’s not get involved in matters between the sisters. It can’t be anything serious. Besides, Yvonne is soaked to the bone. Let’s take her home to change first!" Audrey Adler said, hastily pulling Yvonne Lancaster toward the door.
"Did I say she could leave?" Kenneth Yates’s cold, silver eyes glinted, giving the others no chance to retort.
Yvonne Lancaster froze, grabbing Audrey Adler’s arm in fear and hiding behind her.
"Tell us what you did. I’m running out of patience!"
Summer Lancaster looked up at Kenneth Yates. ’It’s like I don’t even know him anymore. Even in the past, when he didn’t really care about me, he never wore such a disgusted expression.’
Trembling, Yvonne Lancaster walked forward. She looked at Summer Lancaster sitting on the bed, squeezed her eyes shut, and finally came to a decision. ’Otherwise, this devil would punish her to death.’
"Summer, I’m sorry!" Yvonne Lancaster bowed, her eyes squeezed shut, the tortured conflict on her face a silent scream. "I was wrong. I shouldn’t have used fake blood to frame you."
Summer Lancaster was shocked. ’So Yvonne was the one who put that terrifying red liquid in the cabin. But she wasn’t the one who came later. That part remained a mystery.’
Gregory Lancaster was completely confused, but he could at least tell that Yvonne Lancaster had done something wrong.
"Yvonne, what did you do?" Ignoring Audrey Adler, Gregory Lancaster yanked Yvonne Lancaster to his side and roared at her.
"I... I was angry that Summer was lecturing me, so... I got someone to scare her a little. But... I really don’t know who kidnapped her and put her in the locker in my club room! It wasn’t me." Yvonne Lancaster’s pleading eyes were fixed on Gregory Lancaster. ’He was the only one who could save her now.’ "Dad, you have to believe me!"
SLAP!
Gregory Lancaster slapped Yvonne Lancaster hard across the face. It pained him to do it, but judging by the situation, he knew Kenneth Yates wouldn’t let this go unless he made a show of punishing her.
Audrey Adler gasped and rushed to hug Yvonne Lancaster, anxiously asking if she was hurt.
"Gregory Lancaster, did you have to hit her so hard? She’s your own daughter!" Audrey Adler shrieked, lashing out and striking Gregory Lancaster. He didn’t dodge, taking the blow squarely.
"So, are you implying that Summer Lancaster isn’t Gregory Lancaster’s biological daughter?" Kenneth Yates retorted immediately. Summer’s eyes widened as she stared at him, and Gregory Lancaster looked at Summer in disbelief.
"N-no... that’s not what I meant..." Audrey Adler panicked. ’If they lost their connection to Summer, what would become of them? How would Kenneth torture them...?’
The consequences were too dreadful to imagine...
"Kenneth, Audrey was just a little worked up..." Gregory Lancaster explained frantically. ’Audrey is usually so sharp. How could she be so stupid now, saying the one thing she absolutely shouldn’t have?’
"Fine! From now on, we will only acknowledge Gregory Lancaster. As for you and your daughter," Kenneth Yates raised an eyebrow, his gaze sweeping over the trembling Yvonne Lancaster, "I don’t know you. And don’t even dream of getting anything from me."
Summer Lancaster tugged on Kenneth Yates’s sleeve. "Kenneth!"
"After everything they’ve done to you, how long are you going to keep protecting them?" Kenneth Yates detested Summer Lancaster’s weakness. ’For people like them, allowing them to keep their names was already an act of his mercy.’
"No, that’s not it. I was going to say I don’t acknowledge them either. I’ve backed down time and time again. Since some people refuse to do things the easy way, then we’ll treat them as outsiders and do it the hard way. I’m ready." Summer Lancaster’s gaze was firm as she stared coldly at Audrey Adler and Yvonne Lancaster.
"Summer, Yvonne is still young, she’s just being foolish. Don’t go along with her nonsense. I’ll be sure to teach her a good lesson." Gregory Lancaster was taken aback. He never expected Summer Lancaster to agree with Kenneth Yates; he had been hoping she would be the one to persuade him.
"Dad, please stop being so blind to the truth. The things Yvonne does are far worse than you can imagine. A woman who’s good at putting on an act is often more vicious than she appears. Even if I don’t acknowledge them, you will always be my father!" Summer Lancaster was exhausted. She hated having her family’s dirty laundry aired in public. If Kenneth hadn’t forced the issue today, she might never have found the courage to say what she truly felt.
"Alright, is everything clear now? You can all go home. We don’t welcome strangers here, especially strangers with ill intentions!" Kenneth Yates turned his back on them, a clear dismissal. Gregory Lancaster frowned, but he was helpless. He took Audrey Adler and Yvonne Lancaster and left resentfully.
"Son, that was amazing!" Lianne Vance gave him a thumbs-up, smiling at him proudly.
"But of course. Summer, from now on, I won’t allow anyone to hurt you again." Kenneth Yates looked at Summer Lancaster with deep emotion, a determined light shining in his eyes.
"Thank you, Kenneth!" Summer Lancaster smiled, squeezing Kenneth Yates’s hand.
"Am I being a third wheel here?" Lianne Vance glanced out the window and said deliberately, "Since Summer is all right, I’ll head home. Wouldn’t want to disturb you two lovebirds!"
Summer Lancaster awkwardly let go of Kenneth Yates’s hand. "Mom, what are you saying? How about we kick him out so the two of us can chat?"
"It’s all the same to me, but you’d better ask if he agrees." Lianne Vance shot Kenneth Yates a teasingly jealous look. The man’s face was clearly displeased. ’Kick him out? Summer was getting bold.’
Only then did Summer Lancaster glance at Kenneth Yates. He was scowling at her, his expression dark.
Lianne Vance picked up her bag. "All right, I’ll stop teasing you two. I really have to go now. Come home often when you have time. Your dad and I miss you both very much!"
After Lianne Vance left, Kenneth Yates immediately pushed Summer Lancaster onto the bed and loomed over her. "What was that about ’kicking me out’? Do you really not want to be alone with me?" His captivating gaze seemed to steal her very soul, and his thin, sexy lips brushed against her neck, making her whole body go numb with sensation.
Summer Lancaster raised a hand to stop him, her face flushed with shyness as she turned away from his kiss. "Someone might come in!"
"Answer my question first!" Kenneth Yates persisted, his hands continuing to explore her sensitive spots.
"Oh, stop it! Someone really could walk in! I want to be alone with you, all right?" Summer Lancaster pouted in resignation. ’She had only said that for Lianne Vance’s sake; she can’t believe he actually took it to heart.’
"Your mouth says no, but your body is very honest." Kenneth Yates’s lips curled in satisfaction as his large hand slipped under her clothes to her waist, then slowly slid lower.
Summer Lancaster could feel his fingers gently caressing her skin. She wanted to push his hand away and tell him to stop messing around, but her body had already gone limp in his embrace, leaving her unable to move.
But this was a hospital, after all. A doctor or nurse could walk in at any moment. Forcing herself to ignore the tingling sensations, Summer Lancaster raised her right leg to try and get up, but she was startled by the hard object she pressed against. It was his...
"Kenneth Yates, can you stop being in heat all the time?" Summer Lancaster’s face was as red as an apple. She didn’t dare to meet his eyes, and she lowered her raised leg, not daring to touch his searing heat. ’She didn’t know much about men in that regard, but she knew that forcing himself to hold back might be unhealthy. She couldn’t add any more fuel to the fire; she just had to let it die down on its own.’
"Don’t you like it? You enjoy it so much every night. Don’t you always moan so loudly in bed?" Kenneth Yates unbuttoned Summer Lancaster’s top and took her rosy nipple into his mouth.
"Ah...!" Summer Lancaster couldn’t resist his teasing and let out a moan. "Don’t do this... someone will come in!"
Summer Lancaster’s body was gradually slipping beyond her control. She wanted to embrace him, to feel his warmth, to have him completely. Summer Lancaster felt ashamed of these feelings. ’Where had all her womanly modesty gone?’
"You want this too, don’t you? We both want it, and the mood is perfect," Kenneth Yates’s hoarse voice whispered in her ear. His deeply magnetic tone made it even harder for Summer Lancaster to resist.
Summer Lancaster wrapped her arms around Kenneth Yates’s body, desperately showing her own desire. Her cherry-red lips trailed across his collarbone, her small, flushed face pressing against his chest.
A handsome smile curved Kenneth Yates’s lips, pleased with Summer Lancaster’s response.
Flower petals drifted in through the open window, and the curtains billowed in the breeze. Everything was so beautiful and perfect.
Suddenly, the doorknob turned. The sound shocked Summer Lancaster sober in an instant. Her eyes flew wide as she stared at Kenneth Yates, who was still kissing her with his eyes closed.
"Mmph... Mmmph..." Noticing she had gone stiff, Kenneth Yates pulled away from her lips. He glared, frustrated, then followed her gaze. Dominic Thorne’s deceptively innocent face appeared in the doorway. "Hey, Boss." Only after opening the door did he take in the amorous scene before him. "Uh, so, am I interrupting something?" he asked, then gave an awkward laugh and backed out of the room.
"Kenneth Yates, get up! Call him back in here so he doesn’t get the wrong idea!" Summer Lancaster was fuming. How could she ever salvage her reputation now? Of all people, it had to be the biggest gossip, Dominic Thorne, who caught them in the act!
