Chapter 429: Do You Trust Me?
It was a video call. Wendy could see Michael’s face clearly on the screen. Wendy then touched her face instinctively and found that she had just washed up and did not have any makeup on. She guessed that she must look pale since she had been busy for the past few days. She then hung up the video call immediately.
She made a voice call to Michael instead. Michael frowned when he saw that it was a voice call. He had seen the two kids, but he had not seen Wendy’s face.
In fact, seeing the kids was just an excuse. The person he wanted to see was Wendy.
He didn’t expect Wendy to hang up the video call almost immediately after answering it.
"Anything else?" asked Wendy as she cleared her throat.
After that, she explained, "Well... the signal’s poor."
"I see. Why don’t we video call again?" Michael deliberately asked upon hearing Wendy’s explanation.
"It’s getting late, and I’m already in bed. Let’s not do a video call. You may speak your mind if you have anything else to say," Michael got Wendy’s hint. She had already washed up and did not have any makeup on. Or perhaps she was in her pajamas, so it was not convenient for her to show her face to Michael.
Michael could not help laughing inwardly. They had been husband and wife for so many years. Furthermore, they’ve already had two kids together. Which part of her body would he not have seen? She’s actually feeling shy now?
Michael did not expose her. Wendy would feel embarrassed if he did so.
He was no longer the Michael she knew in the past. There were certain things that he would not do now as a reformed man.
But Michael still hoped to see Wendy. He was cracking his brain as he pondered how to let Wendy accept a video call from him.
For a moment, Michael could not find any reasonable excuses.
"Anything else?" asked Wendy when she realized that Michael was quiet.
Suddenly, Michael had an idea.
"Hello... Hello... Wendy, can you hear me? Hello..." Michael’s voice sounded distorted. Wendy frowned as Michael hung up deliberately.
She looked at her cellphone and her frown deepened. What was Michael up to this time?
Soon after, Michael called her back. This time, it was a video call again. Wendy seemed to understand what Michael was up to. Her face darkened slightly. She was wondering if she should answer it.
In fact, she knew that Michael had nothing more to say to her. If they continued with the conversation, it would just be normal chit-chatting.
Her cellphone was still ringing. In the end, Wendy took the call. Michael’s familiar face appeared in front of her again. Wendy’s heart was beating fast the moment she saw his face. She immediately switched her camera to face the wall instead of herself.
When Michael saw the wall, he knew that he could not force her into it any further.
Otherwise, Wendy would blow her top for sure. He had no choice but to say, "I am sorry, Wendy. The signal’s poor over here too."
"It’s okay," Wendy did not ask again if Michael had anything to say to her. If he did, he would have said it earlier on.
It was dead silent again.
"Wendy, has Timothy taken any action?" Michael found a topic at random.
"I don’t think so," said Wendy. "I guess he still needs my help, so he wouldn’t take any action for the time being."
"I heard Todd saying that he will send some men to protect you," said Michael. "Why not I send my men over to protect you too?"
...
Michael had sent his men to protect Wendy all along.
However, he did not monitor her whereabouts at all times.
His men would not report anything to Michael unless it was an emergency.
Both Michael and Todd knew that Wendy did not like to be followed.
Or should it be said that nobody liked to be followed?
If Wendy knew that someone had been following her in the dark, she would get furious, for sure.
Michael and Todd knew this point better than anyone else.
No one would dare to step on Wendy’s baseline on this.
"Not necessary," Wendy rejected his goodwill. "You are not familiar with Rheinsville City. It would be troublesome for you to send your men over too. Todd is quite powerful in Rheinsville City, so it will be enough for him to send his men to protect me."
As soon as she finished her words, she did not hear any response from Michael from the other end of the call. After giving it some thought, she explained, "Todd is just worried about my safety, that’s all."
Wendy felt so regretful after she explained it.
Why was there a need for her to explain to Michael?
She had not forgiven him yet.
Even if she was having a relationship with Todd, it was absolutely none of Michael’s business since he was her ex-husband.
When he heard what Wendy had said, Michael chuckled.
He was happy with Wendy’s explanation.
It indicated that Wendy still cared about Michael.
However, Wendy’s face darkened when hearing his laughter.
She should not have treated him well.
This man was good at seeking favor by servile flattery.
"It’s already very late now. I am going to bed," said Wendy as she intended to hang up the phone.
"Wait," Michael said hurriedly. "Can I look at you before hanging up the call?"
Initially, Michael did not want to mention this matter. However, after hearing Wendy’s explanation, he was full of confidence now.
When she heard this, Wendy was so regretful for explaining it to him just now.
Or else, he would not be flattered.
"Wendy, we have not seen each other for such a long time. Could you please let me have a look at your face?" said Michael in an exceptionally gentle manner. He was acting like a spoilt child too.
Michael’s tone gave Wendy goosebumps all over her body.
"Could you speak properly?" said Wendy.
"All right, let me take a look at your face," Michael asked her again.
"Next time then," Wendy yawned purposely. "I am very sleepy now."
"Just one glance," pleaded Michael.
"I am going to sleep now. Bye," said Wendy as she ended the call instantly.
When he heard the disconnected sound from the other end of the call, Michael seemed to be displeased. However, when he came to think about the explanation, he twitched his mouth into a smile.
Wendy could finally breathe a sigh of relief. She touched her heart and felt that it was pumping fast.
How strange? It was not the first time she had spoken with Michael. Moreover, they had known each other for so many years. Why was her heart pumping so fast right now?
Wendy swallowed hard to suppress the throbbing of her heart.
Suddenly, she felt thirsty. She got up from her bed to pour herself a drink.
To her surprise, she saw Jake standing at the door.
Wendy was so shocked that her glass almost fell to the ground. "Jake, why are you here?"
Wendy looked at the door. Did she close the door after she came into the room earlier?
How could she not notice Jake opening the door when she was on the phone with Michael?
"Erm... How long have you been standing there?" asked Wendy tentatively.
"Not long. But I overheard your conversation with him," said Jake seriously as his face darkened.
He knew it all along that Wendy was talking to Michael over the phone. He just chose not to expose them.
...
Jake had not been able to go back to sleep. Feeling a little worried, he decided to have a chat with Wendy.
Unexpectedly, he found his mother on the phone with Michael.
At first, Jake had thought of forgiving Michael and supporting him in getting back together with Wendy again.
But after Michael hurt his beloved mother again, Jake did not wish to see his mother get hurt again.
Wendy started to panic as she listened to what Jake said. She looked at her phone that was by her bedside and got up immediately to pick it up. She quickly put it behind her back as if trying to hide something.
Then, Wendy smiled at Jake and tried asking again, "What did you hear?"
"He said he wanted to see you, but you said next time because you’re sleepy," Jake replied honestly.
"Ahem." Wendy coughed, instantly regretting her question.
She was already feeling embarrassed but hearing it from Jake’s mouth made her feel even more embarrassed.
Jake could tell that Wendy did not want to discuss this matter, but he went ahead anyway. He looked up at her and said with a serious face, "Mummy, I don’t want you to be with him again."
Now, Jake no longer called Michael "Daddy" but used the third person to refer to him.
Wendy had been caring for Jake since he was born and, so, naturally, she knew that Jake did not like Michael now.
"Why?" Wendy put her mug and phone down and then stooped down to Jake’s eye level. "No matter what happened, Michael Lucas is still your daddy. Do you really hate him so much?"
"Leah has always wanted a daddy, but to me, having a daddy or not doesn’t matter as long as I have Mummy," said Jake. "The three of us have gotten along just fine without him, and he has never appeared in our lives anyway. So even in the future, we will still get along fine without him."
"But won’t we be able to have better lives with Daddy?" Wendy asked. She had not thought of forgiving Michael nor talking about this with Jake before.
But now, she hoped for Jake to forgive Michael.
"Mummy, if you want me to make a choice, I think Uncle Todd would be more suitable as our daddy," said Jake as he analyzed seriously. "Mummy, you have known Uncle Todd for so many years, and both of you get along well. Leah and I also like him very much. Most importantly, Uncle Todd has always liked Mummy, and he has always been good to you. I think Uncle Todd is the best choice for you."
"Jake, do you think your daddy did not treat me well?" Wendy asked. She and Michael had a huge fallout before, and that must have left a big scar in Jake’s little heart.
This was something that Wendy had overlooked.
She was so heartbroken then that she had not considered her children’s feelings.
Jake nodded his head. Wendy bit her lips, pondering how she should explain to him.
"Mummy, I know that you used to love him a lot. Otherwise, you wouldn’t have had Leah and me. But now, you have better choices. You don’t have to love him again," said Jake. "I don’t know what happened between you and him in the past, but now, he has a new fiance, and they will have a new baby soon. If you were to start over again with him, it wouldn’t be just the two of you. Mummy, Uncle Todd is really not bad."
From Jake’s perspective, Michael would only bring pain to Wendy.
And to Jake, he did not care who his father was. He only cared about his mother and sister.
He did not want his mother to get hurt again.
But Michael kept hurting his mother over and over again.
...
"Jake, relationships aren’t that rational," Wendy explained after giving it some thought. "You’re still young, so you won’t understand that yet.
"But I can tell you that Daddy loves us. He loves you, loves Leah, and loves me. So, you don’t have to worry about it, ok?"
"But, Mummy," said Jake, a little anxiously, "every time you were hurt was because of him. Besides, now he has a new fiance."
Although Wendy knew that Jake was very smart, he was still too young.
So, there were some things that Wendy decided were too early to let him know.
She pursed her lips and said, "Jake, just trust Mummy, and also trust Daddy, ok?"
"Mummy, hadn’t Daddy hurt you enough? Why do you still choose him? I just don’t get it," asked Jake, his face filled with bewilderment and worry.
"You will come to understand," Wendy said as she picked Jake up and placed him on his bed. She then sat down next to him.
Wendy held his small hand in hers like she was trying to soothe him. "Jake," she said gently, "about what happened between your Daddy and me, you will come to understand soon. It shouldn’t be too long. Maybe in another month? Or a couple of weeks?"
"Are you saying that you and Daddy are acting?" Jake turned his head aside to look at Wendy and asked.
Jake’s question was a big surprise to Wendy.
"How did you know?" asked Wendy.
"I guess it," replied Jake. His eyes looked ahead, but his face still looked worried.
"HG has run into such big trouble this time, and your relationship with Grandpa seems to be getting worse recently. I went online today to read about Daddy’s news.
They said that he took advantage of HG’s troubles and snatched many clients from HG. At such an important time, instead of making Daddy pay for it, you were talking to him nicely. And you were doing it secretly."
"Mummy," Jake turned his head to look at Wendy again. "Are you ganging up with Daddy against Grandpa?"
If someone else had said that, Wendy would have denied it straight away.
But because it was Jake, Wendy was hesitant.
How much Jake already knew was way beyond what Wendy had expected.
This little son of hers had really given her a big surprise.
While Wendy was still figuring out how to answer him, Jake already knew the answer. "But Mummy, why?" he asked. "Even if you want to make up with Daddy, you don’t have to gang up with him against Grandpa, right? It was Grandpa who saved you and even mentored you. Without Grandpa, you wouldn’t be where you are today. Mummy, I simply cannot accept what you are doing."
Jake had thought that it was because Wendy loved Michael that she chose to work with him.
But Wendy was up against the person who had saved her. To Jake, what Wendy was doing seemed rather ungrateful.
And so, Jake hated Michael even more.
Because of Michael, Jake’s mother had become such a person.
"Jake, I didn’t think that you are so smart and able to understand so many things," said Wendy. She placed her hands on his shoulders and said in a more serious tone, "But there are some things that even you wouldn’t understand. You’re still far too young, and there are some things you shouldn’t know too much about. But let me be clear, I am not an ungrateful person. Jake, do you trust me?"
