Unwanted Marriage: Honey, No More Divorce!

Chapter 448: Sometimes, I Really Hate You

Leah nodded her head while in Michael’s embrace.

Slowly, her crying tapered off. Michael put her down on the bed and covered her with her blanket. He dried her tears with a heavy heart. Her eyes were all red after all that crying.

Tenderly, he patted her back to soothe her. He then picked up a bedtime storybook that was by her bed and offered, "Daddy will read you a story then Leah will close her eyes and go to sleep okay?"

"Okay," replied Leah in acquiescence.

Michael started reading the story in a low calming voice.

It wasn’t long before he noticed that Leah’s breathing had evened out. She had fallen asleep. He finally heaved a sigh of relief.

Standing up slowly so as not to wake Leah, he made sure her blanket was properly covered before tiptoeing out of the room.

Michael paused outside Leah’s doorway for a while as he regarded Jake’s room door.

After much hesitation, he decided he’d better speak to Jake.

Gently pushing the door open, Michael entered Jake’s room. The light was still on. It meant Jake was still awake Jake was reading a book about business management. Michael’s thoughts were complicated when he saw the topic matter.

On the one hand, he was happy that his son was gifted. On the other, he felt Jake was too young to be learning about such heavy topics. He wished that Jake could be carefree and happy like other children his age, to play and cry with abandon.

When Jake saw Michael enter the room, he put his book down and regarded Michael solemnly.

He didn’t say anything because he knew Michael would definitely take the initiative to talk to him.

As Jake expected, Michael looked at him a little awkwardly before asking, "May I come in?"

"You’ve already come in, haven’t you?" Jake asked.

"Well..." Michael explained, "I was afraid you might already be asleep and did not want to wake you up if that was the case."

If Jake was asleep, knocking would have woken him up.

Jake grunted softly in acknowledgement. He did not seem angry over Michael’s transgression.

"Jake, if you’re not too tired, can we have a chat?" Michael hedged.

"I’ve been waiting for you to come to me." Jake adjusted his posture on the bed and sat up straighter.

Pointing at a chair next to his bed, he said, "You can take a seat wherever you want."

In Lea’s room, Michael would have sat on her bed without hesitation. He would be closer to his daughter that way. However, in Jake’s room, Michael faltered. In the end, he moved the chair closer to Jake’s bed and sat there instead.

On the chair, Michael was significantly higher up than Jake on the bed.

"I know you have issues with me and I understand. I admit I have hurt your mother deeply," Michael reflected upon himself, "However, I really love your mother, Leah and you. I hope you will not treat me like an enemy, and put me at arm’s length.

Regardless, I am your father and you are my son. I say that not because I want you to forgive me, but because I hope you can give me a chance. Let me make it up to all of you."

"Chances are not given, they are earned," Jake told Michael seriously. "Just like how you hurt Mummy in the past. Did you ask her opinion on the matter?

Michael was struck dumb by Jake’s comment.

After a while, he replied earnestly, "I will prove myself with my actions." He realised it was no use talking. He had to show Jake just how much he loved them with his actions.

...

Jake blinked his large eyes. He did not reply to what Michael said. Michael felt a little crushed when he saw how Jake seemed to not believe him. Actually, he felt really defeated. Even his son did not believe him. He sighed softly. Michael did not continue to push the issue.

After some thought, he decided to ask Jake about Wendy. "Jake, do you know why Mommy sent you and Leah to Lake City?"

"Because Mommy is busy. We will disturb her work if we are there." Jake replied, quoting Wendy.

Michael shook his head. "Wendy can only trick Leah with that excuse, but she can’t trick you with that."

Jake lowered his head. He wrung his little hands together uneasily. "Actually, I have been waiting for you to ask me."

Since Michael was truly concerned about Wendy, he could not pretend to not have known about such a big thing. He would definitely go around investigating why Wendy had sent them back this time.

"So what do you know?" Michael trembled when he heard Jake’s response.

However, Jake shook his head. "I don’t know what Mommy is going to do but I guess it must be very dangerous. She was even willing to send me and Leah away. That means that she was not certain that she could protect us."

Michael had expected that to be Jake’s answer. No matter how smart Jake was, he was still a child. Wendy definitely would not tell Jake what she was going to do. But they could all guess that it was something very dangerous.

"Sometimes, I really hate you." Jake frowned and continued, "If not for you, Mommy would not get hurt. She would not end up in such a dangerous situation. You have not brought anything but danger to Mommy and yet, you cannot protect her."

Jake’s words were like a knife that cut slowly into Michael’s heart. That was right. He hated himself often, too. Why could he not protect his wife and children? Why did he need Wendy to go and do dangerous things?

Michael lowered his head and slapped himself viciously. Jake seemed not to have expected that Michael would hit himself. Michael had not held back at all when he slapped himself. The crisp sound of his palm hitting his face reverberated in the room, sounding especially loud.

"Don’t worry. I will wait here for Mommy to come to Lake City. I will not cause trouble for you." Jake clenched his tiny fists and continued seriously, "I don’t want Mommy to worry that we are not getting along while she is risking her life. If Mommy calls, let’s work together so she will not worry."

Michael had already guessed that something was wrong when Wendy sent her two children back. Now that Jake was saying so as well, it seemed that he could not continue staying in Lake City. He had to go to Rheinsville City.

Michael was about to say something when his phone rang. When he looked at his phone, he saw that it was a call from Rheinsville City. It was from the person he had ordered to secretly protect Wendy. Michael picked up the call without any hesitation.

"Mr. Lucas, Mrs. Lucas attended a dinner party and met a man. It seems that Mrs.

Lucas has gotten into a fight with Todd." The man reported simply. "The man is called Clement. Mrs. Lucas and Todd seemed to have fought because of him. Todd threw Mrs. Lucas out of the car on the way back after the dinner party and the man sent Mrs. Lucas home. However, he did not go home with Mrs. Lucas. Mrs. Lucas went upstairs alone."

...

Michael immediately sat up when he heard the name ’Clement’. He felt distraught.

He knew this name. Wasn’t that man on the board of directors for HG Enterprise?

The people on the board of directors of HG Enterprise were all connected to the triads. Wendy had gotten to know Clement and had gotten into a fight with Todd because of Clement?

Michael knew that Wendy and Todd were close. They would not have fought so easily. Even if they had an argument, Todd would not possibly throw Wendy out of the car on the way home. And Clement had been the one to send Wendy home?

Michael seemed to have an idea of what was going on. No wonder Wendy had sent the children here. Did she intend to get close to Clement and get information from him? How dare she do something so dangerous! Sweat trickled down Michael’s back when he thought of that.

Clement was not an ordinary man. Once those who were involved in the underworld begin to suspect the reason why Wendy had gotten close to Clement, they would...

Michael did not dare to imagine what would happen. He took a deep breath. His hand, which was holding on to his phone, felt a little weak.

The man on the other end of the phone did not hear Michael saying anything and thought that he had not heard what he said. He called out, "Mr. Lucas? Are you there?"

"When did this happen?" Michael asked, suppressing his temper.

"Last night-" "Then, why are you only telling me now?" Michael could not hold back his temper as he roared into the phone.

Even though it was through the phone, the man who was on the other end of the line was so afraid that he started to tremble. He immediately explained, "I wanted to report to you last night, but I called you twice and you did not pick up. I thought that you might be busy and since Mrs. Lucas is not in any danger right now, I..."

Michael was indeed very busy during the day. He had a lot of work to do. It was normal for him to not be able to receive calls. After work, he was busy spending time with the children and did not check his missed calls log.

The man on the other end of the line did not hear Michael saying anything, so he said again, "Mrs. Lucas is not in any danger. She is not hurt either. Don’t worry, Mr.

Lucas. We will definitely protect Mrs. Lucas." The man knew what was most important to Michael was Wendy’s safety. That was why he had intentionally emphasized that again.

There was no use for Michael to get angry at them. Wendy was only planning to get close to Clement. Even if anything were to happen, it would not be within the past few hours. Michael breathed in deeply and controlled his emotions. free𝑤ebnovel.com

He said into the phone, "Keep a close watch on everything that Mrs. Lucas does. You have to report to me what she does immediately. If I do not pick up, send me a text message."

"Yes, Mr. Lucas." The man on the other end of the line answered immediately.

After hanging up, Michael instantly called Mr. York. When the call went through, he immediately said, "Send some people to Rheinsville City right now. Send 100 elite bodyguards. Remember, I only want the elites. Then, book a plane ticket to Rheinsville City for me immediately. No, 100 is not enough. Send as many bodyguards as you can over there. I won’t take a plane either. Send me a chopper. I will take a chopper there."

Michael did not have much power in Rheinsville City. It was also very troublesome for him to send men there from Lake City, but he could not possibly watch and do nothing as Wendy put herself in danger. If something were to happen to Wendy, then everything he had done would all be for naught.

...

Jake was silent and did not speak at all while Michael made his calls. After Michael hung up, Jake got up from the bed and looked at Michael. He blinked and asked, "What happened?"

Even though Jake had not heard what the man on the other end of the phone said, he could hear what Michael said. So, he knew how serious the situation was.

"Is Mommy in danger?" he asked solemnly, a heavy expression on his tiny face.

Michael put his phone into his pocket after he hung up. He stretched out his hand to pat Jake’s head. He knew that Jake was very smart and thoughtful, which was why he did not really want to tell Jake what had happened.

After some thought, Michael said, "No, Mommy isn’t in any danger. Don’t worry." It was obvious that Michael was just trying to soothe Jake and that he was not telling him the truth.

Wendy had not told Jake anything, and now, even Michael would not tell him anything either. "Do you all think that I don’t know anything?" Jake was angry as he spoke sharply. "Do you think that I won’t worry if you don’t tell me anything?"

"No... That’s not it..." Michael sighed. It was precisely because he knew that Jake could understand the situation that he did not want to tell him anything. However, Jake was right. If he did not tell him anything, Jake would just be even more worried.

"I am just guessing here, but..." Michael sighed again as he spoke. "Mommy might be planning to do something dangerous. She’s gotten in contact with someone very dangerous. I am planning to go to Rheinsville City right now. You and Leah wait here for us to come back to Lake City together, okay?"

Jake’s expression grew even heavier. He sighed deeply, looking as stern as an adult.

Even Michael was worried about Wendy. The uneasy feeling in Jake grew even stronger. He tilted his head upwards to look at the man in front of him. Then, he nodded his understanding. Michael stretched out his hand to pat Jake’s head.

Just as Michael was about to turn around and leave Jake’s room to pack his things, his phone rang once more. This time, it was a call from Wendy. When Michael saw her name on his phone, he frowned. "It’s a call from Mommy," he said to Jake. "You know what to say, right?"

Jake nodded. Michael definitely did not want him to tell Wendy that he was going to Rheinsville City. Jake wanted Wendy to be safe, which was why he supported Michael’s decision to go to Rheinsville City to help her. When Michael saw his son nod, he accepted the call.

Wendy had video-called him. When he saw the familiar face on the screen, Michael smiled and waved at her. "Hi, Wendy."

"Are you still awake?" Wendy waved at him as well. When she saw that Michael was in the bedroom, she said, "It must be very late over there."

"We were just about to go to bed," Michael said and pointed the phone toward Jake.

"I just got Leah to go to bed. She keeps crying because she misses you. After putting her to bed, I came to check on Jake. I didn’t expect him to still be awake."

"Leah’s already asleep?" Wendy waved at Jake. "Jake, do you miss me?"

"Of course, Mommy. Are you doing okay by yourself in Rheinsville City?" Jake asked with concern, pretending not to know anything. "Is it really lonely at home with no one to talk to?"

"Yeah, but it’s nice that it’s quiet. I have a lot more inspiration when I work," Wendy said with a smile.

"That’s great. Mommy, hurry up and finish your work and come back to Leah and I in Lake City." Jake nodded and continued, "We are waiting for you."