America 1982-Chapter 255 - 2: Tommy’s Encounter with Betrayal_2
"They won’t think that way, I’ve told them that you simply don’t have the time, otherwise everyone who has been helped should be thanking you, not me," Odilia said earnestly:
"However, if you have other plans, that’s fine too. Those who don’t know you might indeed misunderstand. If you feel stressed about appearing with me, I can understand. Don’t be upset, Tommy, I promise I’ll fly to California to be with you every vacation on time."
Tommy gently kissed her cheek, "Thank you for your understanding, Odilia."
"Hearing you... I’m not racist, I just... feel that my charm might not be as great as that of black people when I hear you can’t be with me every day because you are helping them," Odilia said softly, resting her head on Tommy’s shoulder and voicing her minor complaint against him.
Tommy, smiling, patted Odilia’s shoulder and said, "What has given you such an illusion? Has your father, Mr. Farrell, been speaking ill of me again, urging you to break up with me?"
"Of course not, my dad likes you a lot. Have you forgotten the last time we went to see him, and he even opened that bottle of red wine he was saving for his retirement celebration?" Odilia immediately denied. 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝘦𝓌𝑒𝑏𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝘭.𝒸𝘰𝑚
"Three years—three whole years before Mr. Farrell approved of me. Whenever I recall those three years of life, I can’t help but tear up," Tommy told Odilia.
Julian Farrel, Tommy’s future father-in-law, though he never opposed the relationship between his only beloved daughter and Tommy outright, was constantly scheming behind the scenes. If it weren’t for Mr. Page, Tommy’s bodyguard who had been a police officer in Los Angeles with deep connections in California’s police community, Odilia would have happily broken up with him by now.
The guy actually hired private detectives to follow Tommy, tasked with capturing compromising scenes of Tommy with other women, waiting to get explosive material to tell his daughter, Odilia, to stay away from Tommy, the scumbag.
Fortunately, the private detectives for hire who were also retired police officers in California had some personal connections to Page. When one learned that Page was driving for Tommy, he called to try to strike up a relationship and inquire about Tommy’s situation, only to have the loyal Mr. Page immediately inform Tommy, enabling him to swiftly transform into a good man.
It wasn’t until the last dinner with his future father-in-law’s family that Julian dropped the idea of persuading his daughter to break up with Tommy.
As Julian and Tommy chatted alone in the cigar bar, Julian expressed that on the eve of his own marriage, he still held a bachelor’s party and reveled with women. Being men, he knew what Tommy was made of, but seeing Tommy willing to pretend to be a good man for his daughter for three years showed that Tommy truly valued his daughter.
Of course, Tommy did not believe a word of what he said. The main reason the other party tolerated him was because he had seen the halo around Odilia growing more and more. And the reason for Odilia’s increasing radiance was entirely his own silent contributions behind the scenes. No man would go to such lengths for a simple romance without any intention of marriage.
Another secondary reason was Tommy’s choice to fight fire with fire.
With the help of the capable Pinkerton detectives, Tommy finally obtained photos of his future father-in-law and his two mistresses on dates. If Mr. Farrell planned to continue monitoring Tommy for Odilia, Tommy did not mind mutually inflicting harm with his future father-in-law.
If Odilia broke up with him, Tommy would have no loss, but if Mr. Farrell were to face a divorce, his losses would be substantial.
This was why Tommy hated dealing with gentlemen; only if he held their balls in his grasp would they be willing to strip off their disguise and talk to him sincerely.
"You should try this Italian pasta; it has a really nice texture." Hearing Tommy tear up over her father, Odilia awkwardly changed the subject:
"Also, aren’t you going to visit Warwick? Are you flying straight back to California again?"
Tommy swallowed the food in his mouth and said with some frustration, "Forget it. Last time I spoke to the old man on the phone, he was somewhat angry with me. He said he was busy helping the Naval Academy dismantle a decommissioned training ship, and his tone was full of pride. I mocked him. I don’t understand; Tony secured much more for him, and my father gets extraordinarily excited over dismantling an old ship from 1920. What’s there to be excited about? Tony managed to score a long-term ship dismantling contract for him with the Naval Academy through his connections; he could move his workers to Maryland to open a new ship dismantling plant. And yet... he actually said he didn’t want to trouble Tony. What kind of reason is that? Has he forgotten how many times he went to the police station and caused trouble for Tony and me in the past?"
"Family members always consider each other, Mr. Hawk’s behavior is very normal, Tommy. And Mr. Hawk does not want to leave Warwick; he loves it there," Odilia said, trying to console him:
"Tony will surely understand his decision, just like my father spends most of the year busy in cities like New York, Miami, and Los Angeles, yet he still likes to return to Newport whenever he can. Maybe Warwick isn’t as bustling as Annapolis in Maryland, but it’s still home in his heart."
"I understand, I just..."
The mobile phone beside him rang, and Tommy stood up, giving Odilia an apologetic smile before walking a few steps away to answer it: "This is Tommy."
