Chapter 155: Birds of a Feather
She picked up her phone and glanced at the screen—sure enough, it was Elsie. The message read: “Taylor, Paul’s always had a fiancée; he can’t marry two women at once, right?”
Taylor’s brows furrowed. “Paul has a fiancée?”
Linda flinched at her reaction. Damn it, why’d she have to blurt that out? Paul and Elsie were still dating; with someone like Taylor, this kind of thing would never sit well.
Linda scrambled to cover it up. “That’s all in the past. Paul already broke off the engagement with Ms. Saunders a long time ago.”
Taylor shot to her feet. “Ms. Saunders? You mean the one who just left?”
Linda gave a stiff smile, awkwardly replying, “Yeah… her.”
Taylor let out a cold laugh. “The Powell family really knows how to keep things lively—breaking off an engagement with the nephew, only for the woman to marry the uncle!”
What bothered Taylor wasn’t that the woman had been engaged twice; it wasn’t even Paul’s romantic history. It was that the Powell family had deliberately kept it from her. She’d spent all this time around Paul and hadn’t known a thing about his past engagement. Clearly, the family had gone out of their way to keep her in the dark.
If they’re this calculating before the marriage, what happens afterward! Will I be manipulated at every turn?
Her opinion of the Powell family dropped even lower. Linda, of course, could read her like a book. She spoke gently, “Ms. Taylor, we’re all from powerful families. We’re not fragile little girls who cry over love and heartbreak. Who hasn’t had a few people pass through their lives? You’re someone who’s destined for bigger things.”
That struck a nerve with Taylor. She was the only child of the Kendall family. Her father doted on her, yes—but deep down, he believed a man should inherit the business. Taylor wanted to prove herself, but there was never any real opportunity. Now that her father was aging and growing weaker, he had no choice but to seek out a power alliance—one that could support the family, and her. It wasn’t just a lifeline for the Kendall family; it was her lifeline too.
Taylor sat back down, still frowning. “Even if the engagement was off, I should’ve been told. It’s not like I’m the jealous type.”
Linda smirked ever so slightly. She knew Taylor had been caught; if she could compromise today, she’d keep compromising in the future.
Meanwhile, Yunice was taking Moss back to the pet room to lock him up. Moss had a bad habit—he liked plucking feathers. Any kind of feathers.
“Don’t mess with Ms. Taylor again next time, or you’re the one getting your feathers plucked and tossed in a stew pot!” Yunice scolded, tapping Moss on the head.
Moss whimpered miserably, eyes squeezed shut. Wyatt looked on with amusement. Hilarious. Those slender arms of hers were holding up a hefty bird like it was nothing.
But Moss flared his feathers and went straight for Wyatt’s finger with his beak.
Startled, Yunice snapped, “Moss!”
“Cawk!” Moss’s head jerked sideways as Wyatt smacked him with a flat palm. The squawk was so sudden, it made Yunice jump. Two seconds later, Moss seemed to realize he’d just been hit. He buried his head in the crook of Yunice’s arm and whimpered, “Whimper whimper… whimper whimper!” He’d never cried this miserably before.
Yunice instinctively shielded him. Glaring at Wyatt, she said angrily, “Why’d you hit him?”
“He bit me—didn’t you see?”
“He bit you because you flicked him first!”
“I was smacking Paul’s bird. Why are you so upset?”
“How old are you? How old is he? You proud of bullying something that small?”
“You think I’m bullying Paul now?” Wyatt’s eyes narrowed.
Yunice looked genuinely confused. “What’s this got to do with Paul? I was talking about Moss!”
She didn’t want to keep arguing. Turning her back to him, she comforted Moss, then gently locked him up in the pet room. “Play by yourself for now, I’ll come visit when I have time.”
Moss spread his wings, clinging to the pet room’s floor-to-ceiling glass, crying out in that pitiful little voice—like he wanted to break through the barrier, just to be held by Yunice again. But Moss belonged to Paul; he had nothing to do with her. Parting was inevitable. If not for this unexpected encounter, Yunice wouldn’t have come to see Moss at all. Because once you look… you’re afraid he’ll remember you forever and never let go.
She turned her back on Moss’s silent plea and started walking—only to suddenly spot Paul. No one knew when he’d shown up. He stood quietly in a shadowed corner, his expression unreadable. His brows were drawn together; his gaze shifted from Yunice to Wyatt, eyes burning with hostility. Once he realized they’d seen him, Paul shoved his hands into his pockets and walked forward, his tone confrontational. “Who told you two to come into my yard?”
At the Powell mansion, Paul carried a natural sense of entitlement. He could say this was his home, no questions asked. Wyatt couldn’t. Not a single courtyard in the mansion truly belonged to him.