I personally think that rather forcing the story to go into an alley fight, the dev could have provided a choice there because the girls were obviously against it. Right now, it makes both MC and Jacobs look like some jerks that does not know how to control themselves.
If something really happens to Julia, both Jacob and MC should be blamed because they let themselves being played by Derek and Michael.
So in my opinion, this is a nice update but not thoroughly thought through as the dev/story writer just want to keep us on our feet for next update.