The Villain Mom Awakens — Going Viral by Parenting on a Reality Show

Chapter 419 - 421: Paul Grant’s Apology

A waiter heard the commotion and ran over. "Sir, is there anything I can help you with?"

Jackson Kensington wiped the coffee from his cheek. He seemed utterly humiliated, forcing himself to suppress his anger as he waved his hand. "There’s nothing for you to do here. Go away."

Naomi Kenway stood with her arms crossed, watching him without a word.

Remembering the purpose of his visit, Jackson Kensington swallowed his rage and sat down again. The brown liquid dripped from the ends of his hair. He clenched his fists, his eyes vicious. "You’ve really grown some wings, haven’t you? How dare you pour coffee on my head?"

Naomi Kenway smiled faintly and called to the side, "Waiter, another cup of coffee, please."

"No! We don’t need it!" Jackson Kensington scrambled to his feet to stop her.

He sat back down and stared intently at Naomi Kenway. "Just say it. What will it take for you to help Jeanette clear her name? We’re family. We’re blood. Do you really have to take things this far?"

Jackson Kensington pressed his lips together. "I know what you’re resentful about, but was I really so terrible to you when you were a child? Every father loves his daughter. Have you forgotten? I brought you back a gift every time I went on a business trip. I still remember how you would dance with joy." He seemed to drift into his memories. "You were so adorable back then. A single piece of candy would make you ecstatic. You even said that when you grew up, you’d be a good, filial daughter to me and..."

He suddenly trailed off, his thoughts apparently wandering elsewhere.

"Forced by pressure from my mother, you’d bring back the junk Jeanette had already picked through. You call that a father’s love? Am I supposed to be grateful for that?"

Naomi’s tone was calm.

"You..." Jackson Kensington’s face and neck flushed red. She had clearly hit a nerve.

"You’re asking me to help Jeanette clear her name because you’re afraid her career will be ruined. So you *do* understand how terrifying public opinion can be. Let me ask you, then: when you went on Weibo and claimed you only had one daughter to protect Jeanette... did you ever think about the kind of public pressure I would face? Did you ever think my career would be damaged too?"

Jackson Kensington was visibly taken aback, a complex expression on his face.

Naomi Kenway watched him with a cold smile. She knew. ’He must have thought of it.’

"Look at you. So shameless. How can you have the audacity to call yourself my father? Have you no shame at all?"

Jackson Kensington’s lips trembled. As he looked at Naomi Kenway, he realized for the first time that many of her features resembled his own. He had never truly looked at this daughter before, not just out of neglect, but because her face, so similar to Rose Kenway’s, always made him subconsciously look away.

Jackson Kensington sighed and lowered his gaze.

He was just about to look up and say something when he heard a notification chime from his phone. He glanced down. It was a message from Jeanette Kensington, asking how things were going.

Any softness he had just felt vanished in an instant. He asked anxiously, "Are you really trying to drive your sister to her doom? How can you be so cruel? You’re going to block off her entire future over a single sentence."

"Yes," Naomi Kenway said. "And not just her. You and Lorraine Warren, too. Aren’t you all one big, happy family? Of course I’m going to take care of you all at once."

Jackson Kensington trembled. "You’re completely out of control!"

Naomi Kenway couldn’t be bothered to waste any more words on him. She stood up and grabbed her bag. "Don’t forget to tell Jeanette the show is just getting started. She’s always fantasizing about surpassing me, right? But the truth is, no matter how hard she tries, she’ll never even reach my knees."

*

"The contract we signed has been canceled. You don’t need to come to the opening ceremony tomorrow."

Hearing the undisguised disgust in the voice on the other end, Jeanette Kensington was stunned. "Why so suddenly?" she asked in disbelief. "Director Grant, how can you just cancel my role like that? I won’t accept this unless you give me a proper explanation."

"What explanation do you need? You’re being unilaterally dropped from the contract, what more is there to say? Are you really telling me you don’t know why? Do you want me to spell it out and make things ugly?"

Paul Grant’s voice was filled with rage. "I truly never imagined you could be so shameless. Impersonating someone else’s daughter to cash in on a debt of gratitude... I’ve never met anyone as shameless as you! It turns out Nicole is my benefactor’s daughter, and you’re just some illegitimate child, an imposter! You not only deceived me, you made me offend my benefactor’s real daughter! You’re asking me why I’m canceling your contract?"

Paul Grant was panting with anger on the other end of the line. "And it’s not just this movie. We will have no opportunities to work together in the future. I never want to work with an artist of such questionable character ever again!"

Jeanette Kensington was so angry she let out a cold laugh. "Canceling the contract means paying a penalty fee. I suggest you think about that carefully."

"A penalty fee? I can afford it. But let me tell you, your future career in the entertainment industry isn’t going to be so easy from now on!"

BEEP... BEEP... BEEP...

The dial tone buzzed in her ear.

Jeanette Kensington knew that Director Grant had just threatened to have her blacklisted.

The already thorny situation was now even worse.

A wave of dizziness washed over Jeanette Kensington, and she had to grab onto a table to keep from collapsing.

*

Naomi Kenway threw herself into her work on the new film, and everything proceeded smoothly. Thanks to her fame, everyone on the crew treated her with the utmost respect.

During a break, Naomi Kenway received a call from Director Grant.

Her brow furrowed instinctively.

After what had happened, she hadn’t blocked Paul Grant’s number, but seeing his name still irritated her. After all, no one likes to be played for a fool.

"Hello?"

"Ah... is that you, Nicole? Are you on set right now? I think I can hear some noise in the background."

Paul Grant’s voice was cautious and laced with an attempt to curry favor.

Naomi Kenway held the phone away from her ear, confirming that it was indeed Paul Grant calling. She just couldn’t figure out what had gotten into him. He was acting like a completely different person for no reason at all.

"Nicole, are you there?"

"I’m here," Naomi Kenway said. "Is there something you need? If not, I’m going to hang up. It’s a bit busy here."

"Wait, wait, please hold on!" Paul Grant said. "It’s like this... I, uh, I want to invite you to resume your role as the female lead in my new film, *Nirvana*. I know you’re busy with your mentor’s film and your schedule is full, but that’s okay! I’m willing to wait for you. You can come over after you finish filming. I’m willing to wait for you. It’s worth it."

Naomi Kenway couldn’t help but laugh out loud. "Did I hear you correctly? Director Grant, one minute you want me, the next you’re rejecting me. Are you trying to make a monkey out of me?"

Hearing the anger in Naomi Kenway’s voice, Paul Grant hurriedly explained, "No, no, that’s not it. This whole thing... sigh, it’s a long story... It was my fault. I feel terrible about it. Jeanette Kensington’s appearance was an accident..."