When his dad’s lawyer pays him an unexpected visit, a young man who lives off his father’s money regrets putting his stepdaughter out on the street. He didn’t think that his father would take him out of the will.
As Mr. McDowell moved into his seventieth decade, both his health and his worries got worse. All because of Jared, his spoiled 24-year-old son who was useless.
Since Mr. McDowell could remember, Jared had been spending his money carelessly and having fun. The older man didn’t realize how often he had let his son off the hook because he was so busy building his estate until he was in his 70s.
One night, he decided Jared needed to learn about his responsibilities, so he asked his secretary to invite the boy to dinner. Jared showed up in a terrible state…
“Curry with chicken! I love it!” Jared yelled as he sat down with his father for dinner. When the servants brought them food, Jared ate it all up.
Mr. McDowell couldn’t even pick up the fork after seeing how bad his son was. Jared’s clothes were dirty, and he smelled like he had been drinking.
Mr. McDowell said with a sigh, “Slow down, son.” “The food is staying where it is.”
“It’s really great, dad! You already know that I love curries. “I could eat them every day!” exclaimed Jared. “Good for a hangover…” When he saw his father’s angry face, he stopped talking.
“Hangover,” his father said in a quiet voice. “Certainly. You’ve been living your life like that.”
“Oh, no, Dad,” Jared said dismissively. “It’s just… so why this dinner?” he asked as he took a big bite of bread to change the subject.
“Jared, you need to learn how life works,” his father told him. “You should get older.”
Jared smiled without care. “Hurry up, Dad! What else is there to know? I mean, nothing is wrong. Wait, you’re not sick, right?”
“I’m fine, son,” Mr. McDowell said after clearing his throat. You should think about how you feel. Jared, you need to start taking your life more seriously. Find a wife and have children… I’d like to see my grandchildren very much.”
Jared coughed because the chicken almost made him suffocate. “Wow, Dad… I’m not sure… I mean, I’m still kinda young.”
“I mean it, Jared,” his father said sternly as he stood up. “You need to think about this or I’ll have to stop you! Start your own family! Be a gentleman! Or leave! You have a choice. Also, try to eat as much as you can. This might not be possible forever!”
Even though the food was good, Jared had a terrible time at the dinner. He had things that were more important to him than his dad would ever understand. Jared had parties to go to and trips to faraway places to take. He wanted to get the most out of life.
But Jared didn’t understand how important his dad’s words were until a few days later, when he was at a bar ordering drinks for a friend and his credit card wouldn’t work. Mr. McDowell had taken away his car, cancelled his credit card, and stopped him from getting money.
At that point, Jared was as desperate to find a girl as a fish out of water. He had enough money to get by for a few days, but he needed to get out of his mess before it was too late.
And he did it. Jared met a beautiful girl named Layla through his friends. Layla had a young daughter named May.
Layla and May wanted love and support from a man, and Jared gave it to them.
He fell in love with Layla and was a great father to May. All of it was a trick to get back in good standing with his father, but he pulled it off. The plan Jared made worked.
Two weeks later, he went to his father’s house with Layla and May for dinner. Mr. McDowell was so happy to see that his son was getting his life back on track.
May said, “Jared is so nice.” “He loves us so much, and he’s so good to Mommy!”
Oh, is he?” Mr. McDowell asked. “What is it about him that you like so much?”
“He buys me ice cream, and he loves Mom!” May clapped her hands in a happy way, and Mr. McDowell smiled with relief.
“I love you too, May,” Jared said, putting his plan into action in a clever way. “And I love Layla, dad. I actually agreed to this dinner so I could tell Layla I wanted to marry her. She is the best person I could have found. I love her!”
After only a month, Jared and Layla got married, and Mr. McDowell gave them a beautiful house to live in. Layla thought everything was great in her life. She had a wonderful home, family, and husband.
But that was before Jared got drunk one night and was a monster when he came home. Layla was shaken, terrified, and wanted to escape him. May still liked Jared, but Layla was terrified of him because he was everything a woman would be afraid of.
Layla decided to put her pain aside for the sake of her daughter and because Mr. McDowell was a kind grandfather and father-in-law. This is something that many women do. She kept her family together, which is what most of us would have done.
But don’t we women sometimes think too much from our hearts? You can’t always get those knots out of the thread. These knots represent the wrongs we think we can fix but can’t. Two years later, that’s what happened to Layla.
Mr. McDowell and Layla were driving home from his doctor’s appointment when they were in a terrible car accident. Jared was supposed to go with them, but at the last minute, he changed his mind.
In the car accident, Mr. McDowell died, and Layla was taken to the hospital with minor injuries. Jared thought that now that his annoying old father was dead, he could live his life on his own terms. So, he made Layla sign the papers for the divorce and kicked May out onto the street.
“Daddy!” cried May. “Why do you not love us anymore? Again, you’re making us feel bad. Every time, you hurt Mama. “Yes, I know!”
Jared had a cold laugh. “Both you and your mother deserve to be homeless. And daddy? You don’t deserve to be anywhere near me. You and your mother who begged can go back to where you came from. Think about how you’ll pay for the hospital bills for your mom!”
After he kicked May out, Jared was very happy with himself. Two days later, he planned a big funeral for his father, invited everyone he knew, and then got together with his friends to celebrate his “victory.”
May told Layla that she would take care of her, but Layla had to beg for it on the streets. In fact, she did!
After everyone had left the funeral, Mr. McDowell’s lawyer, Mr. Cain, paid Jared an unexpected visit with bad news.
“Jared, I think you should sit down for this one,” he said in a serious tone. “Your father…a month ago, he changed his will.”
Then Mr. Cain told Jared what was in the will, which shocked him. “He left it all to… my stepdaughter? That child? Why did he do that when I, his son, was still alive?”
Mr. Cain said that Mr. McDowell never told him why, but he was in a hurry and asked me to make the changes as soon as possible. “Please forgive me… I need to go to the hospital and tell your wife what’s going on.”
Mr. Cain knew why Mr. McDowell changed his will, but he only told Layla why.
“He knew how you were putting up with Jared… He told Layla, “May told him.”
“He left everything to us?” asked Layla, who was crying. “Really? Did he do that?”
Mr. Cain nodded. “He hoped for a good future for you and Layla. I’m glad he did what he did, to be honest. I know Mr. McDowell for a long time. He was more than just a customer. He was a relative.”
Layla and May were very thankful for what Mr. McDowell did, but Jared was busy coming up with another plan. He went to Layla’s hospital room with flowers and cried like a crocodile in the hopes that she would forgive him and hug him.
But she wasn’t going to be tricked again.
She said with a smile, “You were right, Jared.” “We don’t even deserve to be near you. We’d never get as low as you do. We’d never do anything bad to our family! You didn’t even spare your dad! “Go away or I’ll call the police.”
Nothing was left for Jared. He got what was coming to him.