Chapter 329: Give Me Some Time
Everyone could see Todd’s feelings for Wendy. In the beginning, Wendy had thought he was merely treating her as his junior, explaining why he had treated her well. Slowly, she’d realized that he cared for her and her two children very much.
Wendy had actually suspected that she might be overthinking. She was already a mother of two children after all. Todd, on the other hand, was young and outstanding—the dream lover of many women. Why would he be interested in her? Wendy had not deemed it an important matter however, because she had only been thinking of taking revenge on Michael at the time. When she’d reconciled with Michael and they had lived in harmony as a family of four, Todd hadn’t even crossed her mind. Todd hadn’t behaved strangely either.
Now, just as Wendy thought that everything was going to be the same, Todd had done something completely unexpected. Wendy had had a hunch about it, which was why she had cut Todd off before he could finish what he wanted to say.
Everyone was cheering them on.
"Ms. Swift, go for it."
"Ms. Swift, don’t hesitate. He is an outstanding man. There won’t be another like him if you miss this opportunity!."
"All of us could see how Mr. Lewis feels about Ms. Swift. He took extra care of her in the office. I thought Mr. Lewis would never ever pop the question! Who would have guessed that Mr. Lewis would finally say it out loud today? Hahahahaha! You have our blessings!"
"Mr. Lewis used to pick Jake and Leah up from the kindergarten all the time. Even us teachers began to suspect he was their father. When we found out that he wasn’t, we even talked about it. We said that he must be interested in the children’s mother as he treats the children so well. Hahaha!"
"I think that’s enough. There is another person over there..."
Needless to say, the ’other person’ was referring to Michael.
Michael stood by the side, irritated and awkward.
He clenched his fist and took a few steps forward. He seized Todd’s hand and threw the bouquet of roses on the ground.
He lowered his voice and furiously demanded, "Don’t you think you’re taking advantage of the situation?"
Todd flung off Michael’s hand and looked at him in disdain. Sarcastically, he said, "Mr. Lucas, you are allowed to remarry but Corrine is not allowed to find her happiness again. Isn’t that too selfish of you?"
"This..." Michael gritted through his teeth, glancing at Christian by the side.
He could only hold in the rest of his words. Michael knew that Todd was interested in Wendy all along, but he had never thought that Todd would take advantage of the situation and confess now.
After all, it had not been long since Wendy had left Lake City. She had yet to properly overcome her distress. Michael had assumed that the fight between him and Christian would have come to an end in another five to six months. By then, Wendy should have gotten over what had happened. Even if he had yet to resolve things with Christian then, he could still look for Wendy and explain the situation to her.
But why now? Even Christian was here.
"I’ve liked Corrine for a very long time, but I have never forced her," Todd said, lifting his chin slightly while narrowing his eyes at Michael who was in front of him. His gaze was fueled with disdain. Todd continued, "Back then, I thought you were treating Corrine with all your heart so I decided to let her go. I didn’t even fight for her before I let her go. It’s a pity that you failed and betrayed my trust. I said it then; that if you were to make Corrine shed another tear, I’d come and get her back. I am only honoring my promise today."
Every single word Todd uttered landed like punches to Michael’s heart.
Michael couldn’t refute anything that Todd said.
In the midst of the drama, Christian added to the trouble, saying, "I think what Mr. Lewis said is right. We are all men. I can totally understand your feelings. Wendy is your ex-wife after all. Even if you are not related now, you would still feel uneasy seeing her get together with another man. Well, all men are the same. Even when we don’t want something anymore, we don’t want others to have it either. But you were once husband and wife. You can’t be too selfish."
When Christian made that remark, he eyed Wendy suggestively and with intention.
No doubt, he was saying it to agitate Wendy. He was telling Wendy that all men behaved like that, possessive towards their belongings.
Wendy took a deep breath, wearing a smile across her face. The scene became pitch silent. No one spoke again. They seemed to be waiting for Wendy’s reply. But Wendy had no idea how to respond. She was certain that she didn’t have feelings for Todd. If she were to accept him then, wouldn’t she be giving him false hope?
But if she were to reject him, Michael would probably see her as a joke.
Plus, with Todd’s identity, he would become a laughing stock if he were to be rejected after confessing his feelings in public. It would have been fine if it had been anyone else, but his feelings for Wendy had lasted for many years and everyone knew about it.
It would be really humiliating if Todd were to be rejected under such circumstances. Wendy didn’t like Todd but she respected him as her senior. She couldn’t bear to see Todd lose his reputation.
Just as Wendy was thinking what the best response would be, Jake extended his hand and reached out for her.
He held Wendy’s hand tightly while looking up at her. He said with determination, "Mommy, Uncle Todd is very nice to me and Leah. Over the years, he has been taking care of us. I believe that if he becomes our daddy, he will definitely treat us really well."
Leah heard what Jake said and her eyes were fueled with confusion. She quickly asked, "Jake, what are you talking about? How would Uncle Todd become our daddy? He is our daddy."
Leah pointed at Michael who was standing by the side.
"Isn’t it great to have an extra daddy? Leah, didn’t you wish for Uncle Todd to be our daddy back then? You secretly called Uncle Todd ’daddy’ last time. Do you remember?" Jake asked Leah.
"It seems quite nice to have an extra daddy. But also... not." Leah couldn’t grasp the situation well. She merely found it strange.
Back then, Leah hadn’t known that she had a daddy. Todd had been nice to them and Leah liked him a lot. That was why Leah had secretly called Todd ’daddy’ and said that she wished for Todd to be her daddy.
"Leah, tell me. Is Uncle Todd nice to Mommy and us?" Jake asked.
Leah nodded, smiling, "Yes."
"That will do then. As Uncle Todd is nice to us, it will be nice to have him as our daddy too. Isn’t it?" Jake continued to convince Leah.
Just as Leah was about to nod, Michael came forward and held her hand. He immediately shook his head, saying, "No, it’s not."
"No?" Leah had finally been convinced by Jake but Michael was telling her otherwise. She was puzzled.
Michael knew that his son was a lost cause. So, he squatted and told Leah, "You can only have one daddy. I am your daddy and you can’t have any others."
"But there are a few kids in our class who have two daddies too. A boy in our kindergarten in Lake City told me that he has two daddies and he gets two presents during Christmas every year. From what I see, he looks very happy about it," Leah said.
Michael felt helpless when he heard what she said.
"That’s very rare. Most of them who have two daddies aren’t happy," Michael told Leah.
Todd smirked coldly, saying, "Mr. Lucas, are you trying to say that I am going to torture the children in the future? In the past five years, I wonder where their father was. And now, their father is telling the children that he is the best."
Christian said leisurely, "Michael... people will view you as a laughing stock if you behave like this. It’s okay if you embarrass yourself in our own territory. You can’t embarrass yourself in another city."
"Shut up!" Michael roared in anger. He wished that he could stab Christian to death right there and then. If it wasn’t because of him, there wouldn’t be such drama.
Christian played along and really did shut his mouth.
It became quiet again. Everyone’s attention was redirected back to Wendy.
Todd’s fresh bouquet was thrown away. He stood before Wendy and looked into her eyes. He said sincerely, "Corrine, trust me. I will treat you better than anyone else and I will be loyal to you for the rest of my life."
The part where he spoke of loyalty was obviously a quip against Michael.
"Please give me a chance. Would you?" Todd asked and waited for Wendy’s answer with anticipation.
"I..." Wendy took a deep breath.
Except for Michael, everyone else seemed to be anticipating her agreement. Even though Michael was there, everyone began to cheer Todd on again.
"Accept him!"
"Accept him!"
The recurrent cheers broke out and Wendy couldn’t bring herself to say anything to reject Todd. Todd would be embarrassed if she were to do so.
Placed in a very difficult position, she lowered her head slightly. However, this tiny action of hers was misinterpreted by everyone else as her nodding in agreement.
"She agreed! She accepted him!"
The crowd applauded.
Wendy lifted her head, wanting to say something. But she realized that everyone was looking at her and Todd and giving their blessings
’Forget it. Let it be for now. I can’t reject him in front of everyone. I will talk to Todd again later,’ Wendy thought.
Todd took a step forward and held Wendy’s hand. He then smiled, nodding at everyone and expressing his gratitude, "Thank you, everyone."
Wendy felt awkward. She subconsciously wanted to take her hand back but she realized that Todd was grasping onto her hand tightly.
Michael stood by the side as he watched them. His eyes were fueled with anger. Only Zen, who was in the corner, noticed that there was another person who was also infuriated besides Michael.
That person was Christian. His eyes were fixed upon Wendy and Todd’s clasped hands.
The event resumed after that with the kids continuing to perform. Wendy took her hand back, and in a lowered voice, she said to Todd, "About this, I..."
Todd seemed to guess what Wendy was about to say. Instead, he walked forward with a smile, greeting one of the guests. He asked, "Did you have fun today?"
Watching Todd’s back, Wendy bit down on her bottom lip. She had no idea what to do.
"Mommy, be happy. Uncle Todd is really nice," Jake told Wendy, right in front of Michael.
Wendy was not in the mood to fool around. She looked at the bustling scene while she sat and sipped at her wine. Feeling the urge to go to the bathroom, she stood up and left the party.
"Excuse me. Where’s the washroom?" She asked a waiter.
The waiter pointed. "Turn right at the end of the corridor."
"Thank you," Wendy said, and started in the direction that the waiter had given. Suddenly, someone seized her by the hand. Wendy let out a scream.
Then, she saw that it was Michael. She frowned, asking coldly, "What are you doing?"
"Can I talk to you for a bit?" Michael asked.
"There’s nothing to say between us," Wendy replied. She flung Michael’s hand away harshly and realized that she couldn’t shake him off. Angrily, she said, "Let me go!"
Michael didn’t let go, and Wendy became angrier, warning him, "Michael Lucas, this is Rheinsville, not Lake City. If you are not going to let go, don’t blame me for making a scene."
Michael had no choice but to release Wendy’s hand as she stared at him in anger. The moment Michael let go, Wendy took huge strides forward. Michael could only chase after her.
"What do you want from me?" Wendy asked in irritation.
"I..." Michael rubbed his nose, saying helplessly. "I am going to the washroom. Didn’t the waiter say that it’s in front?"
Wendy took a deep breath. She didn’t say anything else but left.
Fortunately, Michael didn’t touch Wendy again.
Just as Wendy let out a breath of relief and wanted to leave after using the toilet, Michael suddenly grabbed her hand and pulled her into the male washroom.
He then covered Wendy’s mouth. He lowered his voice and said, "There’s no one else in the male washroom. Don’t talk but listen to me. Just for a while, please?"
Wendy’s mouth was covered. She couldn’t speak even if she wanted to.
"I know that you hate me but please give me some time... Half a year! Half a year at most. If you still want to be with Todd after half a year, I wouldn’t have any objections. Please?" Michael pleaded. Once he’d said his piece, Michael let Wendy go.
"Why? Are you going to divorce Yonina in half a year’s time?" Wendy smirked coldly.
"Wendy..." Michael wanted to say something but suddenly, Todd entered the bathroom.
He saw the scene and he immediately pulled Michael away. Christian had told him earlier that Michael had followed Wendy to the bathroom. Todd didn’t have a good impression of Christian so he hadn’t believed him at first. But he thought there was no harm if he were to go to take a look, just in case.
Who would have expected that they really were in the bathroom?
Todd pulled Wendy behind him and stared angrily at the man in front of him, roaring, "Michael, you’ve gone too far! I am warning you. Stop trying to get close to Corrine. She is my girlfriend now."
"Wendy, remember what I said just now," Michael said before he turned to leave the bathroom. With Todd there, he couldn’t say anything more.
Once Michael had left, Todd immediately looked Wendy up and down, asking, "Are you okay?"
Wendy nodded. He let out a breath of relief when he saw that she was fine.
"What did he mean just now?" Todd asked probingly, looking into Wendy’s eyes.
"What else could he say? He told me not to be with you," Wendy answered.
Todd wasn’t surprised at Wendy’s reply.
Wendy then added, "Todd, I have something to tell you. I accepted you just now merely because..."
Todd made a gesture to stop her. He then pulled Wendy by the hand, saying, "The party is ending soon. Let’s send the guests off."
