Chapter 361
Adela Ludwig couldn’t help but complain a few times, insisting their trip had taken a toll–no wonder Jamison had lost so much weight and looked so worn out. She kept reminding him to take it easy for a few days, to rest up and not rush back to work.
Jamison, thinking of the wound on his back, knew he couldn’t work even if he wanted to, so he just nodded along with his mother’s fussing.
After dinner, he was eager to make his escape, but Danny called him back.
“Jamison, come to my study for a minute.”
Jamison hesitated. “Can’t it wait a couple of days? I’m exhausted. I just want to go home and rest tonight.”
He really was at the end of his rope and just wanted to leave.
But to his father, those words only sounded like rebellion from an ungrateful son.
“So what now? I can’t even get you to listen to me anymore?” Danny’s eyebrows shot up in irritation.
Thad, knowing his brother’s condition, tried to intercede. “Dad, look at him. He’s worn out. Let him and Ivy head home.”
But the old man was stubborn as ever. With a stony face, he snapped, “It’ll only take a few minutes. Upstairs. Now.” Then he marched off toward the study.
Jamison wanted nothing more than to turn and walk out, but Ivy whispered, “Just go up for a bit. If you’re not back down in ten minutes, I’ll come get you and say I need to leave.”
He shot her a wry look. “Didn’t know you’d make such a good mediator.”
Dr. Ludwig didn’t care about saving face in front of his parents, but he still listened to Ivy and headed upstairs.
Downstairs, Halley came running over, bright–eyed and excited. “Aunt Ivy, come on! I want to show you my pets!” She grabbed Ivy’s hand and pulled her away.
Upstairs in the study, Danny settled into his chair and fixed his youngest son with a penetrating stare. “Are you really planning to build a life with Ivy?”
Jamison sat down, quirking a smile. “Do you really think I treat marriage as some kind of joke?”
His father shot him a look, then after a pause said, “She seems level–headed enough, and she’s good to you. If you’re sure about this, your mother and I won’t stand in your way. But there’s one thing–don’t throw money into the Windsor family’s bottomless pit.”
The Ludwigs had spent the past few days thinking this over. There was no winning against their stubborn youngest son, so they’d decided to just go with the flow–but some things needed to be said.
Jamison replied lazily, “Didn’t she already say at the hospital that she’d cut ties with her family? So you two can stop worrying.”
“Cut ties? That’s easy to say, but blood is blood. You can’t just sever it, and the law won’t recognize it either. If the Windsors go bankrupt or something happens to her parents, she’ll still be responsible for them.”
“Being responsible comes in different flavors. Sure, you can support someone with gourmet meals and silk sheets, but you can also just make sure they’re fed and clothed. The second option hardly costs anything.”
Danny’s face turned red with anger. “You really are unbelievable.”
Jamison just shrugged. “Mom always says, ‘Like father, like son.’ So if I’m a scoundrel, Dad, you’ve only got yourself to blame.”
Danny’s expression darkened. He snatched up a heavy wooden paperweight from his desk, ready to hurl it across the room, when suddenly the door burst open.
“What do you think you’re doing? At your age, still losing your temper and throwing things!” Adela Ludwig rushed in, worry etched on her face. She’d been lurking near the door, ready to intervene the moment this inevitable father–son clash exploded.
Danny glowered at her. “Did you hear what he just said?”
“I heard it. And he’s not wrong. Look at you–still flying off the handle at your age. He’s young and stubborn, it’s only natural.”