"You want to kick Lord Ethan out of Century Group, for what? So you can show us what you can do? A don't talk about the proposals Aiden wrote. Think about it—if he and his father were capable of accomplishing anything, then the Group wouldn't have needed to ask Ethan back in such a hurry. You want him to take the blame for you, but he managed to sign on a big case. Now, the Group is back on track again.

"And now you want to take the credit! Wait and see who will actually be kicked out of the Century Group!"

No one could mess with Kylie Finch. She had taught Taylor Parker a lesson.

She had known all this from the very beginning. She had never talked about it until now, because she didn't want to embarrass anyone, and she didn't want to get involved in Ethan's family affairs.

But when she had discovered how shameless Taylor Parker was, she definitely had to say something. She was just as cruel and manipulative as Khloe, if not more so. Both of them were bitches.

Ethan Parker looked down at her, and his eyes grew tender as he watched Kylie defending him.

Seeing Kylie angry like this, Aiden felt like a net bound his heart. He had such a hard time breathing.

His mother was furious. She looked pale, and her lip was twitching. She held the bag in her hands so tightly. Some of her long fingernails even broke off.

After a long time, she stammered: "You…you little bitch. How dare you!" Then she raised her right hand and wanted to slap Kylie.

Kylie Finch didn't need a man to take care of Taylor Parker, but Ethan acted quickly, holding back Taylor's hand.

Taylor Parker was shocked and looked at Ethan Parker. "You…"

"Why didn't you listen to me…" His eyes became cold when he looked into Taylor Parker's eyes. With great strength, they all heard the sound of a bone-breaking.

"Ah!" Taylor Parker's wrist was mangled. She screamed, and cold sweat dripped down her face.

"Apologize to her!" Ethan yelled at Taylor Parker.

He was frightened of his uncle. After a long time, he realized what happened, and he held his mother's shaking body. "Ma…ma…"

Taylor Parker could barely stand up straight. She grabbed at her son with her other hand, and tried to speak: "My…hand…call 911…"

Aiden fumbled in his pockets, looking for his phone.

Ethan Parker sneered at her. "If you don't apologize to her before the ambulance arrives, I will break your other hand."

Her scream had already attracted so many people. They didn't know what had happened, so they could only whisper theories to each other.

Taylor Parker gritted her teeth; she didn't want to apologize. But when Ethan Parker looked at her with his cold eyes, she felt a greater stab of pain in her broken wrist.

She looked at Kylie Parker and said, reluctantly: "I am sorry."

"Louder!"

Her sweat dripped into her eyes. She raised her hands and unconsciously messed up her makeup. She looked like a panda.

The strangers around her were sympathetic, but, when they saw her eyes, they started to laugh.

She began to panic. People like her were terrified of other, common people making fun of them. She tried to endure the pain, and said to Kylie, a bit louder: "I am sorry."

"I still can't hear you." He was in absolute control of the situation.

Aiden couldn't tolerate it anymore. He said to Kylie: "Kylie, my Mom made a huge mistake. She didn't mean to hurt you. Please forgive her."

Then he bowed before Kylie.

Kylie tugged at Ethan Parker's shirt.

He looked at her, then decided to forget about tormenting Taylor Parker. He took out a handkerchief from his front pocket and used it to wipe his hand. Then he dropped it on the floor.

All the people around them stepped back to make way for him, as he turned to leave.

Ethan Parker held Kylie's hand as they left the shopping mall together.

They stood in the sightseeing elevator, and Kylie looked at Ethan Parker with great sympathy.

"Ethan, she was talking shit. Don't take it so seriously. You told me that you want real love. I promise you that I will take all the blame for you since I already don't have a good reputation. If anyone has the balls to mess with you, I will kick their asses. I will always be your shield."

A strong warmth overcame him.

"I never cared about what they say," he replied.

Even though he said that Kylie still felt bad for him, thinking over what Taylor Parker had said back then, she realized that his familial history must be similar to hers.

They had both been placed in difficult situations, and they had both left home as a result.

He wasn't as strong he seemed. If he didn't do so many things for his family, they would probably treat him much worse.

Then she thought about something that Star had said to her.

If someone's character is flawed, it must have something to do with the environment in which he or she grew up.

Kylie gently took hold of his arm. "Ethan, when did you move out and lived by yourself?"

"When I was very young," he responded, in a very calm way.

He didn't say the exact age, but Kylie could imagine that it must have happened when he was just a kid.

She stroked his arm in an attempt to comfort him. "Rest assured, and you can count on me from now on."

He remained silent and smiled a little. There was no actual change in his features, but Taylor could feel his arm shaking.

Kylie knew that he was struggling inside. She didn't want to be too dramatic, but she had to find out how he was doing. "Why are you looking at me like that? Your hands are shaking…"

Without finishing her sentence, Kylie was pushed up against the glass wall. He bent over and kissed her on the lips.

As soon as she'd said that she would be his shield, he had wanted to do this.

The sightseeing elevator was transparent. It went up slowly, and the sunshine hit the glass. There was a beautiful shadow along the floor.

Kylie felt dizzy, and she dropped the shopping bag.