Chapter 1715 Worth It
"Unfair?" James said irritably, "The entire Jude family belongs to her. She's ranked 50th on this year's global rich list. Without the Jude family, would she have so much money at such a young age?"
"Money is something you can't take with you when you die. Julia has never been one to chase luxury. Look at her monthly expenses; they're much less than mine," Caroline said. "I was really uncomfortable when she married Orval back then, but you and Eric insisted, so I had no choice. Now she's finally found someone she likes."
"But that person is Elliott," James reminded her. "Don't forget, Maeve holds shares in the Jude family. Now that Maeve is with the Miller family, she's close to them. In the future, Maeve might not even acknowledge us as her grandparents. If Elliott has ulterior motives, it could bring disaster to the Jude family."
Caroline was silent. "Your health isn't great, and Aaron isn't doing well either. I think we should let Julia leave for now. You can manage the company for a few years. If Elliott has any designs on the Jude family, he'll surely encourage Julia to come back, or his true colors will show eventually. If he truly loves Julia, regardless of her status, then we should support them."
"Support?" James glanced at her. "Another alliance with the Miller family?"
"If Elliott is genuinely good to Julia and we can't stop them, we might as well support them," Caroline sighed. "After what happened with Michael, I've come to realize that we shouldn't interfere too much. We tried everything to separate him and Megan, but even after he married Laura, he couldn't let go of Megan. In the end, it led to today's tragedy. Sometimes, it's better to let them make their own choices, so they don't end up resenting us."
James sighed, "That's different. Megan was too malicious. I should have driven her away from the start."
Caroline shook her head disapprovingly. "Even if you had driven Megan away, Michael would have only hated you. It's the unattainable that lingers in the heart. Julia is the same. It's better to let them see for themselves. Didn't you say we didn't educate Michael properly?"
Mentioning Michael made James fall silent.
After a long time, he finally said, "Let's do it your way."
In the office.
Julia called her secretary in. "Get someone to thoroughly clean Mr. James Jude's office, and arrange a meeting with all the senior executives this afternoon."
Secretary Delphine was stunned. "Julia, is Mr. James Jude coming back?"
She was confused. Julia had put so much effort into sidelining Mr. James Jude.
Especially when she saw the red marks on Julia's face, the secretary's mind raced.
"Yes," Julia said calmly. "Call Aaron over and have him take over my duties."
The secretary was dumbfounded. "Julia, you must be joking."
Julia said nothing, just looked at her calmly.
Delphine left, stumbling, with a premonition that the Jude family was about to descend into chaos again.
Soon, a rumor spread through the Jude Group.
"Did you hear? Mr. James Jude and his wife came to the company this morning and called Julia over. When Julia came out, her face was bruised, like she'd been hit."
"Why would they hit Julia?"
"I don't know. But after Julia came out, word spread from her office that she was handing over her duties."
"Julia's not going to be the CEO anymore? Who's going to be the CEO?"
"Probably Aaron, and Mr. James Jude will return."
"No way, I don't want Julia to leave. Since she took over, our salaries have increased."
Even Caroline and James upstairs heard the news. It was clear that Julia wasn't joking.
Half an hour later, Caroline came in with a bottle of medicine. "Julia, does your face still hurt? Let me put some medicine on it."
Julia, who was preparing to hand over her work, looked at Caroline with a complicated expression. "Mom, you don't have to worry about the Jude family being taken over by the Miller family. I'm already preparing to submit my resignation."
"Julia, let's be understanding of each other," Caroline said, sitting across from her. "Over the years, your father and I have indeed wronged you. Your father was impulsive just now, but he has his concerns. After all, the Jude family is a legacy from our ancestors. If it weren't for the Miller family, we wouldn't have so many worries."
Julia pursed her lips in silence. "Mom, I've always kept my personal feelings and work separate. I'm not that foolish."
"But we're not you, and we don't know Elliott, do we?" Caroline said gently. "Your father and I discussed it. Let's compromise. You can take a break for now, but publicly announce that you've resigned. If Elliott continues to treat you well and doesn't distance himself because you're not managing the Jude family, then your father and I will support you being together."
Julia understood and found it a bit amusing. When she was the CEO of the Jude Group, Elliott hadn't treated her well either.
But if her parents wanted to handle it this way, she was willing to cooperate. She could use a break anyway.
"I'm fine with it," she said calmly.
Caroline relaxed. "I'm glad you understand us. Are you living with Elliott now?"
"Yes," Julia thought for a moment. "His parents don't know about our marriage yet. Because of Laura, they don't like our family much, so we haven't told them."
Caroline's mouth opened. So, after all this, Julia still wasn't welcomed by the Miller family?
Caroline was a bit angry.
Why? What was wrong with Julia? The Miller couple didn't think Julia was good enough? "And Elliott? Is he good to you?"
"Not really. I suddenly broke up with him and married Orval. He hasn't gotten over it and still resents me. We're still working things out. If it doesn't work, we might get divorced."
Caroline was silent.
"Julia, is it worth it for someone like Elliott?"
"Mom, they say first love is the hardest to forget. For me, it's probably like that. Because it wasn't perfect, it's a regret. No matter what the outcome, at least I've tried. Even if it ends, I won't have any regrets," Julia said calmly.
Seeing her like this, Caroline felt reassured. "Julia, having an obsession isn't scary. What's scary is ending up like Michael. We need to be able to pick things up and let them go."
Julia nodded. "By the way, did Garth tell you about me and Elliott?"
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