Frowning, Lucian fell silent for several seconds. Within several short seconds, the smile slid off Aubree’s face.Until Lucian’s voice sounded once more.“Judging by Essie’s demeanor this morning, the relationship between you seemed to have improved by a lot.”Aubree froze for several seconds at his words before she registered what he said.It was true that the child had been receptive toward her that morning.Aside from rejecting her touch, Estella had responded to almost everything she had said.It was a big improvement compared to before.“I was the one at fault back then,” Aubree replied with a laugh. “I wasn’t patient enough with Essie. Now that I’m a little more patient, Essie can sense it and responds accordingly.”“That’s good,” Lucian answered solemnly. “Enjoy each other’s company.”Smiling, Aubree a*sured him she would.Without discussing it any further, Lucian ended the call on the pretext of work.Though he had already decided to proceed with the engagement, he did not ha
In the kindergarten, Archie and Benny sat in their seats quietly while the other children were playing games with Pippa. They could sense something was off when Roxanne said she would send them to school that morning.It wasn’t until Roxanne handed them over to Pippa that they noticed Roxanne glancing at the crowd from time to time as if she was looking for someone.When Pippa led them into the school, they looked back and saw Roxanne still looking around.Although Archie and Benny said nothing, they knew Roxanne was looking for Lucian and Estella.Mommy must feel terrible after the fight with Daddy that day.At the thought of Roxanne’s sadness and disappointment, Archie and Benny’s moods were gloomy, too.“Archie, Benny, what’s wrong?”Seeing the listless look on the boys’ faces, Pippa walked over to comfort them, “Are you missing Estella?”At the mention of Estella, Archie and Benny’s faces immediately fell. I wonder how Essie is doing…“Don’t worry. Mr. Farwell will take good care
Archie and Benny stayed in the bathroom for a little while longer before heading out. Roxanne was still chatting with Jack at the time.She had wanted to get him to leave as soon as possible, but Jack started talking about the ancient medicine books halfway through the conversation.Due to Roxanne’s incredible pa*sion for medicine, she couldn’t help but get carried away talking about it again.It wasn’t until Lysa told them dinner was ready that she snapped out of it.“Would you like to stay for dinner, Mr. Damaris?” Roxanne asked out of courtesy.Jack arched an eyebrow when he saw Archie and Benny standing next to the kitchen.They were both glaring daggers at him and looked like they would tear him to pieces if he accepted her invitation.Because they were still kids, they just looked adorable no matter how fierce their expressions were.Jack couldn’t help but smile in amusement as he drawled suspensefully, “Thank you for the invitation, Ms. Jarvis. I—”He was halfway through his s
Aubree followed Estella closely into the room. Hesitantly, she muttered, “Lucian…” She felt somewhat guilty when she noticed the young girl fuming at Lucian.At the same time, she was relieved that Estella had not said a word to her father.Lucian nodded at Aubree and said, “Sorry for troubling you to look after Essie.”Aubree was delighted by his words. She sputtered, “Not at all. I’m happy to do this. Essie’s a lovely girl.”As for how she upset Estella in the car earlier, Aubree decided to sweep things under the rug if the young girl kept things to herself.“Dinner’s ready. Why don’t you eat with us?” Lucian offered.Aubree was over the moon. “Sure.”They entered the dining room one after another.Catalina had already set the table for three.Aubree said, “I’ll go get Essie.”Despite her suggestion, she was not confident about coaxing Estella downstairs.After all, the young girl was put out because of Aubree, and she might not listen to her instructions.If she throws a tantrum i
Cory was in a good mood, knowing he had once again made a fortune. He then said, “Of course. Ms. Pearson, I’m sure you’ve come to me again because you believe in my capabilities. Now, tell me. What is it that you want me to investigate?” Narrowing her eyes, Aubree said, “Investigate what happened between Roxanne and Lucian!”Cory let out a meaningful chuckle when he heard what she said.Aubree questioned coldly, “Why are you laughing?”As if unaware of her anger, Cory muttered, “Since you’ve agreed to the price I proposed so readily, I have to show you something.”With that, he took out a phone from the bag beside him and typed away on the screen.Soon, Aubree received a few messages on her phone.“I believe what you’re about to see won’t disappoint you, Ms. Pearson.” Cory sounded confident.Aubree furrowed her brows and swiped open her phone, checking the messages he sent.The chat interface showed that Cory had sent her more than ten pictures.Each picture was attached with the tim
Estella looked at her father, who was already at the door and turned to look at Aubree, who was still standing by the couch. A few moments pa*sed, and the little girl finally begrudgingly got out of her chair and jogged to keep up with Lucian.Aubree let out a relieved sigh and caught up to them as well.“Daddy,” Estella mumbled. She gave her father a puppy-eyed look and tugged at the corner of his shirt in a bid to curry favor with her father.Lucian lowered his gaze to meet Estella’s. He lifted his hand and patted her head. “I’m really busy lately. Please don’t throw a tantrum at me.”Estella pursed her lips in disapproval, refusing to believe what he said.She knew as a matter of fact that Lucian was in a bad mood because he had quarreled with Roxanne.Estella was flabbergasted that Lucian was still trying to lie to her, despite the fact that even she knew the real reason her father was upset.Why are adults so weird? Why doesn’t Daddy just make up with Ms. Jarvis?Of course, Luci
Jack froze for a few seconds before coming to some kind of realization and agreeing to it. The two of them then went out of the research institute.A look of delight danced across Colby’s face when he saw them leave.Ever since Jack came for Roxanne, Colby had been keeping his focus on the two.Therefore, he saw the look of struggle on Roxanne’s face.Evidently, what he had said in the morning was effective.Meanwhile, Roxanne came to a stop in her tracks at the entrance of the institute with mixed feelings still surging in her heart. In the meantime, Jack stopped behind her.“Sorry.” Roxanne had calmed herself down on their way out and realized that she had been a little too carried away earlier.Jack raised a brow and teased, “What’s the matter? Why are you apologizing to me all of a sudden? You couldn’t have secretly done something terrible to the project, could you, Ms. Jarvis?”Roxanne shook her head immediately. “Of course not.”I’ve done so much for this project. Why would I d
Meanwhile, Estella and Pamela were the only ones left at the kindergarten entrance. “Essie, who’s coming to pick you up today? Were you always picked up so late in your previous kindergarten?” Pamela patiently clarified the matter with Estella, for it was the first time she had encountered such a situation.Estella pursed her lips in silence as if she didn’t hear Pamela at all.It was never her desire to come to the new kindergarten, and now that she was left to wait for a long time, she couldn’t help but feel depressed.Just when Pamela was wondering whether to give Lucian a call, a car gradually rolled up beside them.Aubree alighted from it with an anxious expression on her face.“I’m sorry for being late, Ms. Yaxley. Traffic was really bad.” After speaking to Pamela, she gave Estella an apologetic look. “I’m sorry to have made you wait, Essie. I’ll definitely come earlier next time!”Estella continued to pout in silence.Seeing that, Pamela defused the situation with a smile. “It
Meanwhile, Lucian arrived downstairs and went into the car with Roxanne in his arms. She was so deep asleep that she did not stir at all. After putting a jacket over her and fastening her seatbelt, Lucian got into the driver’s seat and drove back to the hotel.Worried that he might wake Roxanne up, he drove very slowly.By the time they got back to the hotel, it was already past nine at night.“Roxanne?”Lucian parked the car and softly called out to Roxanne.In response, Roxanne scrunched her eyebrows slightly. She then pulled the jacket over her shoulder and covered her ears.Seeing that, Lucian couldn’t resist stroking her hair. He got out of the car quietly before carrying her off the car seat.It was breezy outside. Despite the jacket draped over her, Roxanne instinctively snuggled into his chest.Lucian held her tighter and quickened his pace, though his steps remained steady.At the sight of the sweet couple, the people in the hotel lobby looked over with surprise and envy.Ig
Just then, Jack’s muffled voice rang out beside Roxanne. “Ms. Jarvis, are you okay?” Roxanne forcefully blinked her eyes to clear her head, but all her efforts proved futile.Despite having heard Jack’s question, she couldn’t muster the energy to reply, so she could only acknowledge him by holding eye contact.Jack had also drunk quite a lot, and after noticing how intoxicated Roxanne was, he knew it was time to bid farewell to Terence and the family members.“It’s getting late. We should be heading back to get some rest. We’ll still have to return to the nursing home tomorrow to continue the treatments.”Upon hearing that, the crowd knew better than to take up any more of the duo’s time. As such, everyone expressed their gratitude once more before seeing Roxanne and Jack out of the restaurant.With Roxanne in such a drunken stupor, Jack had to keep her steady by holding her arm.There were even a few instances when he tried to pull the doctor into his arms so they could walk togethe
It took Jack and Roxanne a while before they could pacify the elderly man and calm him down. After that, they continued treating the rest of the elderly people.Initially, the elderly people liked Roxanne for her looks and her sweet demeanor, and they were also curious about her relationship with Jack.However, after witnessing how the two of them treated the elderly man, the others saw the duo in a new light.During their consultations, they would eagerly list out all of their health issues.Many even talked about the minor issues they faced every day, desperately hoping that Roxanne and Jack could make them as healthy as a horse.The two of them ended up getting heavier and heavier workloads.Once the sessions were over, Roxanne was exhausted.“How do you feel?”Jack was tired too. He took a bottle of water and walked over to sit beside Roxanne.Wiping the sweat off her forehead, she then took the bottle he pa*sed to her and took a sip out of it before turning back to the smiling e
It was apparent that they did not buy her explanation at all. Roxanne cast a glance at Jack, hoping that he would help her out.However, Jack only smiled before turning away and changing the topic. “No matter what kind of relationship we have, it won’t affect our ability to treat you. Next, please.”He did not deny the elderly people’s a*sumption of their relationship, and so the elderly people became even more confident about their guesses as they looked at Roxanne and Jack lovingly.Upon realizing that she could not change their minds, Roxanne decided to drop the topic.Nevertheless, she later made sure not to do anything to let others misunderstand the nature of her relationship with Jack.Roxanne ended up consulting dozens of elderly people, but their health issues were all common and not too severe.As she was fully prepared to find their conditions had worsened, she was glad to see that they seemed better than she had thought they would be.Thank God they’re not doing as terrib
Arriving before the room door, Roxanne glanced at the shirt on herself. “I’ll wash this shirt and return it to you.”Since they were at the food stall for quite some time and even got into a conflict with those drunkards, it was no wonder their clothes were reeking of barbecue and alcohol.Roxanne was undeniably a little thrown off by the smell.“You probably got a shock earlier, didn’t you?” Lucian asked, sidestepping the topic Roxanne brought up.It took Roxanne a good few seconds to process the man’s question. In response, she pursed her lips and smiled. “Yeah, a little. That was a big group. We should’ve just walked away. There’s no point getting entangled with them.”Lucian’s brows drew together. “I don’t like the way they look at you.”In other words, he was telling her he chose not to leave because those drunkards were blatantly taking liberties with her through their words.Roxanne was taken aback, but she slowly put on a smile on her face. “Thank you.”I was the one who sugg
“I’m sorry. I really didn’t see you there.” Not wanting to escalate the situation, Roxanne apologized and adjusted her chair a little.The drunkards’ eyes lit up with lust when they saw her pretty face and amazing figure.Roxanne frowned in discomfort when she noticed them ogling her body.That was when she heard Lucian standing up next to her.She had wanted to stop him as she thought he was going to start a fight with the drunkards, but he simply stepped in front of her and shielded her with his large frame.“Given how packed this place is, it’s common for people to bump into each other. Of course, since you all think we’re at fault here, I’ll take responsibility and make it up to you guys. Which table are you seated at? I’ll have the stall owner put your expenses on my bill,” Lucian said while glaring at the drunkards.Roxanne breathed a sigh of relief when she heard that.Oh, thank goodness… I thought Lucian was actually going to fight them! He may be skilled and all, but they ha
“So, what are we going to eat?” Since he had already heard her stomach growling, Roxanne decided to be straightforward about it.Lucian retracted his gaze and replied, “I haven’t been here in a long time, so I’m not too sure if that restaurant is still in business. Come on, let’s head downstairs.”The two of them continued chatting as they made their way toward the elevator.That was when Jack’s door opened by a crack, and he could see them as they entered the elevator.The look in his eyes turned gloomy the moment he saw Roxanne’s outfit and recognized the man standing next to her.That’s Lucian! So, he’s the one who came to Jadeborough with Roxanne! I can’t believe Roxanne declined my dinner invitation only to go out for supper with Lucian! Is it true what the rumors say about their relationship improving because of Essie? If that’s the case, then it’ll be near impossible for me to win Roxanne over!Jack’s face darkened.The elevator slowly came to a halt on the first floor, and Ro
Lucian furrowed his brows and replied, “What else can I do? I don’t know anything about medical consultation. Since you are in the medical industry as well, give me some tips, then.” Jonathan held his forehead in exasperation.Is he seriously thinking of helping out at the nursing home tomorrow?The man let out a long sigh in his heart before replying patiently, “From what you’re telling me, Roxanne and Jack are staying in the same hotel now. Aren’t you worried at all? You know Jack has ulterior motives toward Roxanne…”The crease between Lucian’s brows grew deeper.He looked up at Roxanne’s room and saw that the lights had already been turned on.Recalling Jonathan’s words, Lucian could no longer sit still. Immediately, he opened the door and got out of the car.Jonathan was still blabbering nonstop over the phone.After heading into the hotel, Lucian made a reservation for the room next to Roxanne’s.It was already almost ten at night when Roxanne entered her room.She hesitated fo
“If you enjoy it here, then we can go traveling often in the future,” Lucian said when they were on the way to the lake. “The past few years have been incredibly hectic, so I’m looking forward to taking some time off to relax during my vacations.” He was holding Roxanne’s hand. She stared at his side profile and felt a bitter feeling spreading across her heart.For the past six years, they had been out of touch and unaware of each other’s current status.Roxanne led a hectic but fulfilling life.On the contrary, Lucian didn’t seem to be doing well.“We can bring the kids here one day. I don’t think they have been in the mountains before.”Lucian stopped in his tracks and turned over his shoulder to look at her.They had arrived at the lake.Perhaps they were in the mountains, for the lake water was crystal clear. The branches of the drooping willows by the lake were swaying lightly in the breeze.Roxanne glanced at him and said distractedly, “I believe Archie and Benny want to travel