Free Web NovelChapter 294: Shield Me
"You can do whatever you want, as long as it is what you like to do. I will not stop you," Wendy replied, caressing Jake’s head. She was, after all, a democratic mum.
"Hmm... " Deep in thought, Jake asked again, "And if what I want to do is something that you detest? Or if, like Grandpa, you will have no one to follow in your footsteps as a designer? What will you guys do if, in the future, neither Leah nor I have any interest in taking over the family business?"
"Then we’ll just have to have another kid," Michael replied with a laugh. "And if the third child is also not willing to take over from us, we will have another. We could go on having more kids until, eventually, there will be one who will be willing to take over the family business."
"Michael!" Glaring, Wendy rebuked him in a low voice, "Speak for yourself! Who’s going to produce more kids with you?!"
"Hahaha... " Michael’s mood lightened up considerably when he noticed Wendy’s embarrassment.
"Just kidding," Michael said to Jake. "I share the same view as your Mummy. You are free to choose any profession you want, as long as it’s not immoral, criminal, or damaging to society. You have our full support."
"And what if we marry someone that you don’t like?" Despite his young age, Jake was fully aware of how much Winnie disliked Wendy, her daughter-in-law.
And it was her dislike of Wendy that had caused so much turmoil within the family.
Both Wendy and Michael were surprised that Jake had asked these questions.
Generally speaking, he would rarely touch on these topics.
"Hey, kid, how old are you, huh? And asking these questions already?" Wendy teased him.
"Just checking," Jake replied.
"OK, since you’ve asked, I will tell you where I stand with this." Wendy’s tone became a little more serious as she continued, "As long as the spouse you’ve chosen for yourself has decent core values and is of good character, I will not use their family, social, or economic background as an excuse to object to your choice."
"If only Grandma were as open-minded as you are," Jake murmured unhappily, keeping his head down.
At that, Michael and Wendy looked at each other.
Instantly, the atmosphere turned somber.
On her part, however, Leah simply stared questioningly at them with her big, round eyes.
She did not understand what their conversation was about.
Shortly after, they arrived at the airport.
Having alighted from the car, Wendy led them to where Jill had said she would be waiting.
As expected, she saw a scowling Timothy emerging from the airport arrival hall, gripping Jill by the hand and saying, "You can forget about returning to Lake City. Listen up. I don’t care about what you want. You must remain in Rheinsville City.
"Starting tomorrow, I will assign someone to teach you about designing. If you don’t produce results, you can forget about leaving the house, let alone travel out of Rheinsville City!"
"Do you realize that this is illegal house arrest?" Jill protested angrily. Being quick-tempered by nature, she had never been intimidated by her father and never cowered before him.
Knowing that acting submissively would not work on him either, she continued defiantly, "Do this to me, and I will call the cops!"
"Call the cops? Sure, that’s only if you can get hold of a phone to make that call!"
Timothy retorted.
"Wendy!" Seeing Wendy walking towards them, Jill’s eyes lit up with hope. As she struggled in vain to break away from Timothy’s grip, she looked helplessly at Wendy, pleading, "Help me, please. My dad is planning to lock me up!"
"Oh good, Corinne, you’re here," Timothy said, still holding on to Jill’s hand. "Come and help me take her home. I must not let her escape again."
"Timothy... " Wendy had intended to speak up for Jill but stopped mid-sentence, realizing that Timothy would not let Jill go regardless of what she said.
At that thought, she instead said, "Fine. I will help you send her home."
Wendy reached out, planning to pull Jill over to her side.
However, because she had previously stood in solidarity with Jill, Timothy did not trust her.
In fact, she had even spoken up in Jill’s defense.
Wendy was feeling a tad awkward at not being able to pull Jill over to her side.
Smiling, she suggested, "Why don’t you let Jill strike out on her own?
"Let’s give her a timeline, say, three years. If three years is too long, then two years.
"If she cannot make it as a singer within the next two years, then she should come back. In any case, she’s twenty-four now and would only be twenty-six by then.
"Having failed, she would realize that her dream had been unsustainable, and would be more open and willing to learn to design.
"It would be a better scenario than forcing her to learn designing when her heart is not there.
"Also, are you really planning to lock her up at home?"
"I just knew that you would be taking her side on this," Timothy said, a little miffed.
"I have spoken with you about this on many occasions, and I had thought that you understood why. I’m disappointed that you are not supporting me on this."
"It’s not that I do not support you, but Jill loves to sing."
Wendy held her two kids by their hands and recalled their conversation in the car earlier. She said to Timothy, "Jake asked me earlier about what we would do if he picked a profession that we did not like. My answer to him was that, as long as it was a profession that did not cause harm or damage to society, they would have my full support."
"That’s different," Timothy rebutted. "These kids are still far too young."
"But how is it different? You were the one who had always forced Jill to take over from you. But this is not something that she wants to do."
At that, Jill nodded vigorously.
"Grandpa, please let Aunty Jill pursue her love for singing," Jake said as he stepped forward and looked up at Timothy. "Have you ever heard her sing?"
Of course, Timothy had heard his daughter sing. It was just that he had not really thought about how good she was at it.
For no reason other than that, he did not want her to be a singer.
"She sings really well," Jake added.
"Grandpa, just let Aunty Jill sing, please," Leah stepped up also to plead on Jill’s behalf.
On his part, Michael just stood to the side, not saying anything.
In a situation like this, he decided that it would be inappropriate for him - an outsider - to have an opinion.
"What is this?" Timothy asked angrily. "Are you all ganging up on me? Am I wrong to make her learn to design? I have already made plans and opened doors for her.
Once she picks up designing, she should be able to look forward to a flourishing career.
"Do you realize what the entertainment industry is like? Trying to make your mark as a singer is not a walk in the park!"
"And you’re absolutely right, but Jill wants to sing," Wendy countered. Lips pursed, she thought about how to help Jill. In the ensuing silence, she saw Jill looking hopefully at her and, taking a deep breath, said, "Let’s do this. Give Jill two years.
"I will pick up all of HG’s new projects. But I will not remain at HG.
"Within a month, I would have laid the groundwork for this project, after which I will return to Lake City and continue to work on it from there. You have my word that the new series will launch as planned."
"Are you threatening me?" Timothy could not believe that. In addition to his own daughter, his goddaughter was also giving him a hard time.
"No, Timothy, I’m not threatening you. I’m just hoping that you would give Jill a chance," Wendy countered.
Taking a deep breath, she continued, "It is very tough to have to give up something that one loves. Don’t you agree that it’s all because of our love and passion for design that we have been able to come this far? And since Jill loves to sing, we should allow her to do so."
"Come on, Grandpa. Let Aunty Jill try it out for herself," Jake urged, immediately following up on his mum’s words.
"Oh, Grandpa... " Leah stepped forward to tug at Timothy’s shirt sleeve, rocking it gently. "Since I love dancing, I have told Aunty Jill that she should do the singing and I will dance to her songs. Mummy will definitely not stop me if I want to be a dancer in the future. So, why don’t you let Aunty Jill be a singer, OK?" fгeewebnovёl.com
With Wendy and her two kids all speaking up for Jill, Timothy began to waver.
Why are they all trying to dissuade him from stopping Jill from becoming a singer?
Was he really at fault here?
But then again, he was merely looking out for Jill, making sure that her future was secure.
The entertainment industry was made up of all kinds of people from everywhere and of diverse backgrounds. There was no telling what kind of people Jill, being on her own and without his protection, would end up with.
On the other hand, if she did as she was told and remained by his side to focus on studying design, her future should be smooth sailing.
Also, in a year or two, he would find her a suitable young man as a spouse, so she’d be all set and be able to enjoy her life with no worries.
So, why did she have to venture out and try to make a career for herself?
Wendy noticed that Timothy was looking pensive, as though he was caught in a dilemma and trying to figure something out.
Seizing the opportunity, she reached out stealthily and pulled Jill away from Timothy’s grip over to her side.
Timothy recovered from his trance and immediately tried to pull Jill back.
However, Jill, who was adamant about not going home with him, quickly hid behind Wendy.
"Thank you so much, Wendy," she whispered. "My passport and ID card are in my dad’s bag. Distract him and shield me while I retrieve them."
Truth be told, Wendy was very reluctant to help Jill in defying her father.
But, remembering that Jill had been forcibly dragged home by Timothy, she could understand her frustration.
If the shoe were on the other foot, and she was forced to give up being a designer to join the entertainment industry as a singer, she would go crazy too.
That’s why she could understand how Jill felt.
Very softly, she made a sound to acknowledge Jill’s request.
Despite it being just a soft sound, Jill had heard her response.
"Sorry, Timothy, it is really not my intention to oppose you," Wendy apologized again. "I just hope that you will give Jill a chance or, at the very least, try to put yourself in her shoes. How would you feel if you were forced to give up being a designer and made to pick up some other skills? Would you submit willingly?"
While talking, she gestured very slightly with her hand behind her back, signaling to Jill to find an opportunity to retrieve her passport and ID card.
"I am fifty years old," Timothy began. "During my twenties, if my family had been running a different type of business and were able to provide me with absolute support in my career, I would not have gone to study design.
"Interest can always be cultivated. Jill is fighting back so hard because she is not willing to make the effort."
"Times have changed, Timothy. In your generation, you did not have the right to choose, but now, Jill has the right to do so," Wendy countered. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see that Jill had already sneaked up behind Timothy.
And the bag that Jill had referred to - the one that contained her passport and ID card - was actually Timothy’s backpack.
If she were to retrieve her documents from his backpack, they’d have to do something to distract Timothy.
