Chapter 169: Chapter 169: The Will
Kenneth Yates’s face darkened. Scowling, he stormed outside, grabbed Dominic Thorne who had been eavesdropping at the door, and dragged him inside.
"Spill it. What did you just see?!"
Dominic Thorne gave Kenneth Yates a fawning look and a devilish grin. "Reporting, sir! I... saw absolutely nothing!" Dominic’s eyes darted about, carefully observing Kenneth, who looked extremely displeased.
Blushing, Summer Lancaster buried her face in the blankets. Kenneth Yates dragged Dominic Thorne outside and shoved him to the floor. "You’d better have a damn good reason for being here, or else..." Kenneth cracked his knuckles, the joints popping audibly.
Dominic Thorne looked at the furious Kenneth Yates and gulped. "I... I came to see Summer Lancaster. How was I supposed to know you’d be here too, and that you’d be..."
BAM!
Kenneth Yates balled his fist and smacked Dominic Thorne on the head. He then paced around in frustration. ’How can I have such a dense friend? It’s an insult to my intelligence.’
"Boss, what’d you hit me for? That hurt, you know!" Dominic Thorne clutched his head, his mouth twitching as his face contorted in pain.
"Alright, if there’s nothing important, then scram! Don’t bother me!" Kenneth Yates waved his hand dismissively and walked back into the hospital room as if Dominic wasn’t even there. Dominic Thorne got to his feet, feeling wronged, and muttered indignantly, "What’s with that guy? He gets a wife and forgets his brother. He’d better not screw himself to death!"
"What did you say?" The door was suddenly flung open. Kenneth Yates eyed Dominic Thorne suspiciously. ’How could I not see through his little ploy? He must have known I’d be here with Summer right now and picked this exact moment to show up. That scheming bastard!’
Dominic Thorne jumped, hastily leaning against the wall to hide his nervousness. "Ah, what a nice wall! Really nice!" He watched from the corner of his eye as Kenneth returned to the room, only then lowering his hand. "What’s so nice about this wall? Pfft! He just loves messing with me. The two of them, ganging up on me!" He then stalked off in a huff.
Only after Dominic Thorne had left did Summer Lancaster shyly peek her head out from the covers. "Is he gone?"
"Don’t worry, he won’t blab." As Kenneth spoke, he climbed back onto Summer’s bed and slipped off her robe. "Let’s continue. We can’t let him ruin the mood. I’ve been holding back for a long time."
Summer Lancaster said helplessly, "Kenneth Yates, you’re an animal!"
"That’s right, I am," he replied, a roguish smile playing on his lips.
That evening, Summer Lancaster was fast asleep. The doctor had confirmed her injuries weren’t serious, so Kenneth Yates took her back to their home in the Veridian Community.
Summer was sleeping soundly when Kenneth Yates’s phone kept buzzing. Afraid of disturbing her, he quickly grabbed it and stepped out onto the balcony. It was a text message from an unknown number. Attached was an image of what looked like a contract, seemingly taken as a candid photo, as it wasn’t very clear. Kenneth was baffled. ’Who would send me something like this?’ But, driven by curiosity, he tapped it open.
The phone slipped from his hand and clattered to the floor. For a long moment, Kenneth couldn’t collect his thoughts. His mind raced, replaying the events of the recent past. ’All these apparent coincidences... maybe they aren’t so simple after all.’
If he connected the dots, they might form a picture of something that deeply concerned him. Kenneth tried calling the number that sent the image, but the call failed—the number wasn’t in service. He called his mobile carrier to investigate, but they told him there were no domestic phone numbers that started with the digit five.
’Who on earth could have sent this? And for what purpose?’
Kenneth Yates dragged himself back to the bedroom. Seeing Summer Lancaster’s gentle, sleeping face only stirred a deep turmoil within him. In the end, he put on a jacket and walked out the door.
「Inside Vexx」
Kenneth Yates tried to empty his mind, downing hard liquor as if it were water. His sense of taste had gone numb, gradually forgetting the feeling of pain. ’Is it time for me to taste it all over again?’
A woman with an enchanting figure and long, flowing hair sat down beside him. Her figure was superb, but she wasn’t wearing anything overly revealing. Her makeup-free face was as pure and innocent as a student’s.
Kenneth Yates slowly turned to look at the woman, his expression dazed. "Thea, is that you?" Her eyes and brow were indeed strikingly similar to Thea Shaw’s; it was no wonder Kenneth had mistaken her for someone else.
The woman didn’t speak. She simply turned her head and smiled at him. Her every move and gesture was indistinguishable from Thea Shaw’s during her high school years.
Seeing her smile, Kenneth’s heart skipped a beat. He wrapped an arm around her neck and pressed his lips to hers. The woman was surprised at first, but she soon wrapped her arms around Kenneth Yates and began to enjoy it wholeheartedly.
He was an excellent kisser, always leaving his partners wanting more. The woman quickly melted, collapsing into his arms to be ravaged. She was just a karaoke hostess at the bar. Earlier today, someone had suddenly approached her, given her a sum of money, and told her to dress this way. ’How could I refuse such a great offer?’ she had thought. She never imagined something even better was in store for her.
She had actually managed to snag Kenneth Yates of Ayers Group, a man coveted by all. ’Legend has it he’s sworn off other women since getting married, but that doesn’t seem to be the case. And the name he just called out wasn’t his wife’s.’
’Could it be he has a problem... down there... and his wife is just a cover? No, that can’t be it.’ The woman quickly dismissed the thought, because as the man held her, his arousal was impressively evident...
’Then it must be that his wife’s family is powerful and influential. But Kenneth Yates is already the most powerful man in Ayers Group. Would he really bow to someone else’s will?’
"Ah~" He actually nibbled on her earlobe. The woman stopped overthinking and focused on enjoying his kiss. The crowd in the bar was growing, and their public display began to attract onlookers. Kenneth Yates frowned, pulled the woman to her feet, and led her out of the bar.
Kenneth Yates drove at breakneck speed, arriving at the Valoria Hotel in no time. He had a private suite permanently reserved there, so he didn’t need to check in. Still, the receptionist did a double take. It was the first time Kenneth Yates had ever brought a woman here.
Dominic Thorne had been in a foul mood lately, spending all his time in nightclubs and karaoke bars. Today, a sexy woman made a move on him, and he gladly accepted. ’It’s not like I have to save myself for anyone,’ he thought. ’And it’s not like that person is saving themself for me, either. As long as everyone’s having fun, that’s all that matters.’
As he reached the second-floor corridor, he saw a couple passionately kissing in the hallway, acting quite boldly. Dominic Thorne clicked his tongue. He was tempted to stick around and see what happened next. ’A little live, R-rated action wouldn’t be so bad.’
The man’s back was to him, so he couldn’t see his face, but the closer he got, the more familiar the person looked. Dominic Thorne racked his brain. ’That’s right, this afternoon... Kenneth’s earring. It was a blue diamond. There are only ten pairs like it in the entire world, and just a handful in the country.’ Dominic stared intently at the man. A blue light glinted from his ear. It was Kenneth Yates!
Without a second thought, he strode forward and tore the passionate couple apart. "Boss, what are you doing?" ’I really don’t want to believe this is Kenneth,’ Dominic thought, ’but I saw it with my own eyes. It’s been confirmed. How can I lie to myself? And how could Kenneth do this to Summer Lancaster?’
Kenneth Yates looked at the newcomer with hazy eyes and instinctively swung to slap him, but Dominic deftly dodged the blow.
"Boss, it’s me!" Dominic Thorne thrust his face in front of Kenneth’s, his gaze sincere.
Only then did Kenneth’s vision clear. He shook his dizzy head, annoyed. "Dominic, what are you doing here?"
"I should be asking you what you’re doing! Boss, how can you do this to Summer Lancaster?" Dominic grabbed his shoulders, his eyes filled with disbelief and disappointment.
’Summer?’ ’Right, Summer is my wife.’
"I..." His head spun even more violently. Kenneth Yates looked at the woman beside him as if he’d never seen her before. ’What on earth was I just doing?’
"Shit! I think I’m drunk!" ’To think I mistook a complete stranger for her, just because they looked a little like Thea Shaw.’
The woman fawningly hooked her arm through Kenneth Yates’s, deliberately rubbing her soft chest against him. "Young Master Yates, let’s go back to the room. I can’t wait any longer!"
Kenneth Yates felt a wave of disgust. ’What the hell was I doing? How did my mind become so unguarded?’
With a sweep of his arm, he shoved the woman to the ground. "Get lost. And don’t ever let me see you again!" Kenneth’s gaze was murderous, without a flicker of emotion. His handsome features were cold and hard as stone.
The woman’s eyes widened in shock. ’Just a moment ago, we were all over each other. Why is he so cold now?’ Terrified, she cowered on the floor, too scared to move. When she looked at Kenneth Yates, the chill emanating from him was terrifying, as if he might devour her whole in the next second. Utterly panicked, the woman scrambled to her feet and fled the hotel.
"Don’t tell Summer Lancaster about what happened today!" Kenneth Yates rarely used such a cold tone with Dominic Thorne. But now, Dominic could sense that something was wrong between Kenneth and Summer. He had also noticed that the woman bore a slight resemblance to Thea Shaw. He’d thought Kenneth had long since gotten over Thea, but it seemed he was wrong.
’So, what does that make his relationship with Summer?’
"Boss, did something happen? Otherwise, you would’ve never been so out of it that you didn’t even notice me approach."
"Nothing happened!" Kenneth Yates shook off Dominic’s hand and stalked toward his hotel suite alone. "Just remember not to tell Summer. Don’t ask about anything else!"
Dominic Thorne watched his lonely, desolate figure disappear down the hall and fell into deep thought. Normally, whenever something was bothering Kenneth, he would call him out for a drink. That was what happened even when Thea Shaw left. But now, he wasn’t saying a word.
Summer Lancaster woke up in the middle of the night, hungry. When she rolled over, she realized Kenneth Yates wasn’t in bed. She put on her pajamas and searched the apartment, but he was nowhere to be found. His phone was off. Summer’s heart suddenly clenched, as if pricked by a needle.
She shook her head and went into the kitchen. ’I must be overthinking things. He probably had an emergency to deal with and didn’t tell me because he was afraid of waking me up. That’s all it is!’
Summer Lancaster made herself some simple noodle soup. As she ate, a smile spread across her face. The sweet memory of the last time she and Kenneth ate together felt as if it were happening right now. The food hadn’t been particularly good—in fact, it was rather bland—but Kenneth had still eaten it with such joy!
