Chapter 323: In The End, She Still Hurt The Children
"Whether I leave or stay has nothing to do with you. I can leave today and come back tomorrow, as long as it pleases me!" Wendy tilted her head slightly, not budging in the slightest, as she said, "Also, please keep your man in check and don’t chase people around like a mad dog."
Even if it was time to leave, Wendy wasn’t going to as a loser.
She had to make a stand that she was leaving of her own free will and not under anyone’s coercion.
"Wendy, you called me a mad dog?" Michael said with increasing incredulity. "How have you become so horrible?!"
"Really?" Wendy chuckled and said, "Then please exercise a little more self-restraint and don’t let yourself go too far."
"You... " Michael reached out and pointed at Wendy for a moment in anger.
Wendy’s hand, which was hanging by her side, tightened little by little.
What she and Michael once had was also fading little by little.
She and Michael once loved each other, and now they fought against each other and spoke to each other with vicious words.
The things in this world were really fickle.
Wendy didn’t say anything else, and the smile at the corner of her mouth was cold and mocking.
She turned around decisively, without the slightest hint of attachment.
Leah had already cried a lot. She did not understand the reason, but she knew that her daddy and mummy had a fight, and it was a very serious kind of fight.
Jake held Leah’s hand, turned his head to look at his sister, and helped her wipe her tears.
A moment ago, Leah almost fell over if Jake hadn’t pulled her.
Leah reached out and hugged Jake with tears streaming down her face.
"Wendy, if you leave today, I’ll marry Yonina right away!" Michael looked at her back and said his last threat.
Unfortunately, this threat was more like an irritant to Wendy.
Sure enough, Wendy paused for a moment and then walked away without turning back.
Michael did not go after her again but could only watch Wendy leave.
Michael took a deep breath but felt relieved inside. She and their children were gone, away from this unpleasant place.
"Michael, let’s go," Yonina watched Michael stand in place for a while without moving a muscle, so she had to speak up.
Wendy’s figure was no longer in his sight, but Michael was still reluctant to leave.
"Let’s go. If we don’t go, there will be more people around later," said Yonina looking around.
Wendy and Michael were already well-known figures to the public. Now, the quarrel at the airport had attracted a lot of people’s attention.
At first, these people only sneakily took a few pictures. Later, they took out their cell phones to record the video.
Michael swept a glance with a cold expression on his face without saying a word and turned to go.
Yonina followed him.
Wendy’s cell phone rang many times. When it rang again this time, she still didn’t answer it. Because this call was from the mansion.
Grandmother probably also knew that she was leaving today.
Last time, Grandmother had said they should go back to have a good chat, but Wendy hadn’t gone back yet.
Now that she called, what could Wendy say when she answered?
After cutting the call, Wendy wrote a text message.
The text message only had two simple words saying, "Sorry, Grandmother."
After she sent it, an announcement sounded in her ear to say that the plane was leaving.
After that, Wendy turned off her cell phone.
...
Back in Rheinsville City, Wendy stayed in the same home she used to live in.
Looking at the familiar place, Wendy only felt a sense of irony.
The last time she left, she thought she would never come back. She never thought that she would be back again in such a short time.
Todd helped Wendy carry all the things into the house.
"You don’t have to help us. After such a long flight, you are tired too," said Wendy. "Go back and rest early. We’ll just put these things away tomorrow."
"Okay then. If you need anything, call me anytime," Todd’s hand was on his ear as he made a calling gesture.
Just after he had turned to take a step, Todd’s phone rang.
When he looked, he saw that it was Timothy calling, and Todd stopped in his tracks.
After a short while, Todd turned around and walked back and said, "Corrine, Timothy just called and said he’s going to give us a welcome reception. Do you want to go?"
"No, I’m too tired today," Wendy replied.
After such a long plane ride, she was indeed very tired. However, more importantly, she was mentally tired. Wendy was not in the mood to go out for a meal.
"Timothy, you heard her," Todd spoke into the phone.
Then Todd handed the phone to Wendy and said, "Timothy said he wanted to talk to you."
Wendy took the phone and said, "Timothy... "
"You guys are pretty tired today, so let’s do it tomorrow. It’s been a while since I’ve seen my two grandkids. I’m not going to work tomorrow, so I’ll take them out to play."
Wendy was about to say something when Timothy continued, "Don’t say no."
Wendy said with some reluctance, "Okay, I’ll see you tomorrow then."
After the call ended, Wendy handed the phone back to Todd.
"It looks like Timothy has more weight." Todd smiled and said, "I’ll see you tomorrow."
"Okay."
After Todd left, Wendy closed the door.
The next morning, the doorbell rang as expected.
Jake ran over to the door. When he saw Todd and Timothy, he smiled and said, "Mr. Lewis, Mr. Woods, what are you doing here together?"
"I met him downstairs," Todd replied.
Timothy reached down and picked up Jake, gave him a kiss on the cheek, and said, "Did you miss Mr. Woods? I missed you both."
"Of course, I did," Jake said sweetly. "I often wanted to come back to see you, so I came back."
"You’re still as sweet as ever." Timothy didn’t hear Leah’s voice and frowned as he carried Jake into the house.
He saw Leah sitting quietly on the sidelines without saying a word. She looked a little sad from the back.
Timothy put Jake down and went to Leah’s side, squatted down, and said kindly, "Leah, what’s wrong? Are you upset?"
"Mr. Woods... " Leah pouted as she held back her tears to keep them from falling.
Reaching out, Leah wrapped her arms around Timothy’s neck and rested her head on his shoulder, and couldn’t help but cry.
Timothy did not know much about what happened to Wendy in Lake City, but with so much uproar, he, more or less understood, some of it.
Timothy reached out and patted Leah’s back, little by little, to soothe her.
Suddenly, Leah stopped crying.
Timothy had wondered why when he saw Wendy coming from the side.
Leah wasn’t afraid of Wendy. Rather, she was afraid that she would be upset.
Leah knew that every time she cried, Wendy was very sad.
And once Leah mentioned Daddy, Mummy would be sad too. She didn’t want Wendy to be upset.
...
"Timothy, you’re here," Wendy sounded a little tired.
She hadn’t slept all night last night and had only rested her eyes for a moment at dawn.
When Timothy saw the fatigue on Wendy’s face and her mental state, he felt worried.
Although he knew something about what had happened to Wendy recently, he did not expect that it would affect her so much.
Wendy looking like this was something Timothy hadn’t seen before.
"Corrine, are you okay?" Timothy asked with concern.
"I’m fine," Wendy replied with a smile.
"So... " Timothy wanted to ask Wendy about what happened in Lake City, but then he thought about how it would rub salt into her wound.
Obviously, this wasn’t a good time to ask.
"Then let’s go," Timothy said as he hugged Leah. "I’ll take you guys out for some good food, then we’ll go to the amusement park this afternoon and your favorite BBQ at night, okay?"
Leah sniffled and nodded her head. But there was no happiness on her face.
Wendy did not have the mood to go out to play either. But she knew that Timothy and Todd had good intentions.
With the state her two children and she were in now, it really wasn’t appropriate to stay at home. It might be better to go out for relaxation.
What Wendy didn’t expect was that the incident would hurt Leah so much.
She ate only a little when she had lunch.
She couldn’t get excited when she went to the playground in the afternoon.
She didn’t want to ride the Ferris wheel and the merry-go-round, which she used to like the most.
"Leah, look at that merry-go-round. Isn’t it beautiful? Can Mummy take you to the top one?" Wendy said gently to Leah, "We can see the people underneath when we sit on it. We can watch Jake, Mr. Woods, and Mr. Lewis while they are underneath our feet."
"I don’t want to sit on it," Leah shook her head.
"Then I’ll take you on a bumper car." Todd pointed to a bumper car and said, "I’ll ride in one with you, and Mummy and Jake will ride in one, okay?"
"Mr. Lewis, you and Mr. Woods ride in the same car." Leah shook her head again and said, "I don’t want to play."
Leah’s state made Wendy increasingly worried.
Before, she had only thought that Michael was too busy to come home. Now, she knew that Wendy and Michael’s relationship had collapsed, and their family had fallen apart.
"So, what does Leah want to play?" Wendy asked as she squatted down to be at the same height as her.
"I don’t want to play anything," Leah repeatedly shook her head.
Looking at Leah like this, Wendy teared up a little. She reached out and hugged Leah as her fingers tightened around her shoulders.
After taking a deep breath, Wendy didn’t know how to comfort Leah.
Leah had always wanted to have a father.
Previously, she never knew who her father was, and Leah could only imagine.
Now, she had felt the love of a father and loved Michael as a father.
To deprive her of her most desired paternal love at a time like this would be cruel to a five-year-old child.
But what could Wendy do?
The matter could not be kept hidden forever.
Wendy was not returning to Lake City anytime soon, and Michael was not likely to come to Rheinsville City to find them.
In time, Leah would still be looking for Michael, her daddy.
"I’m sorry, Leah," Wendy bowed her head slightly and couldn’t help the tears that fell.
In the end, she still hurt the two children she wanted to protect the most.
