Estella was confused, but she still smiled innocently, for she knew Roxanne was praising her. The former then retracted her hand obediently. Subsequently, Roxanne took out the tools she had prepared and carefully scooped out the yellow flower along with its roots.Estella cocked her head to one side, confused by what she saw.“For medicinal herbs like this, we need to preserve their roots as well,” Roxanne explained patiently.Hearing that, the girl nodded even though she did not understand Roxanne’s words completely.Now that Estella knew Roxanne was looking for that kind of flower, the former quickly got up and scoured the area.It did not take long for Estella to find a huge area of it, so Roxanne collected a few more to be preserved.Soon, noon arrived. The children were clearly hungry because their pace had slowed.Noting that, Roxanne brought them back to the tent to prepare food for them.She had woken up early that morning to prepare a various selection of food for the childr
Aubree quickly grew impatient as the group of four didn’t return to their tent even after a long while. She whipped out her phone and sent the private detective a message: Where are you?Logically, he should have arrived before her, but Aubree hadn’t noticed anyone else around when she scanned her surroundings earlier.Where on earth did he go? What a useless man!She furrowed her brows in dismay.Seconds later, her phone screen lit up with a response from the private detective: Look up.The puzzled woman lifted her head and noticed that the leaves of a nearby tree appeared to be rustling.In the next second, she caught sight of a camera flash.Aubree frowned in displeasure and lowered her head as she typed a reply: Keep a close eye on them! Take pictures if anything strange happens and send them to me.The private detective a*sented without hesitation.After that, Aubree cast one last glance in the direction of Roxanne and her kids before slowly driving away.If it was possible, she
“Mommy, did this cup get contaminated?” Archie inquired in puzzlement. Hearing her son’s voice, Roxanne snapped back to her senses and flashed him a rea*suring smile. “No, something must’ve fallen in it. I’ll get you another cup of water.”She caressed the boy’s head and got up to toss the water. After that, she refilled the cup.However, Archie refused to drink anything.Regardless if something fell in it or something was wrong with the water, the boy was traumatized.As such, Roxanne didn’t pressure him but pa*sed him a bottle of mineral water from her bag instead.Only then was Archie willing to gulp down the water.Meanwhile, Benny and Estella had already finished their water. Their eyes were fixed on the pebbles that the latter had laid out on the ground.Roxanne didn’t interrupt the two and only instructed her oldest son, “Archie, take care of Benny and Estella. I’ll go pick some medicinal herbs.”Since it was still early, she wanted to take advantage of the daylight to gather
When he saw that Roxanne wanted to have a look at his stomach, Benny removed his arms without a fuss. Roxanne caressed Benny’s forehead. Her eyes were filled with distress.However, after examining the two children, Roxanne still could not arrive at a diagnosis.As time pa*sed, the children’s pain became increasingly severe.Roxanne felt immensely helpless and powerless at that moment.She blamed herself for having brought the children out to camp but failing to watch over them properly.Her guilt and distress were plainly written all over her face.Archie noticed his mother’s mood and approached her quietly. “Mommy.”His voice pulled Roxanne out of her reverie, and she forced herself to calm down. Then, she said, “I brought a medical kit with us. Can you go get it from the tent and bring it here?”The children were in excruciating pain, and yet, Roxanne had not managed to locate the cause of it.At that moment, she could only do her best to ease their symptoms.I’ll give them some p
Early on, Archie mentioned that there was something wrong with his water, and Roxanne had indeed detected a faint smell that usually occurred only when a certain type of bacteria was mixed with water. However, the problem was that it was a type of bacteria that only survived under laboratory conditions.The fact that it was found in the wilderness meant that someone must have intentionally placed it there.As such, the first thing Roxanne did was to check if there was anyone else around.However, she had a clear view of the entire field. Apart from them, there was no one else.Due to that, Roxanne a*sumed it was a coincidence that the water had such a smell and not because the bacteria were actually present.Little did she expect that someone had added the bacteria to the kids’ water.Roxanne’s heart clenched when she thought about the symptoms one would experience after ingesting the bacteria.“Mommy, it hurts so much…” Benny muttered, grabbing his mother’s hand. He had finally cave
“Ms. Jarvis…” Estella, who was in Roxanne’s embrace, called out weakly. Roxanne stroked her cheek and a*sured her, “Come on. You’ll not be in as much pain anymore after drinking the medicine.”Naturally, Estella trusted her and leaned over to have her medicine.A frown instantly formed on her face after she took a sip.Roxanne placed the cup near Estella’s lips. However, the latter refused to open her mouth again.Ever since Estella was young, she had always taken pills or been on an IV drip when she was sick. She had rarely had any traditional medicine.Hence, Estella could not stand the bitterness of it.Just as Roxanne was worrying about how she could get Estella to finish her medicine, Archie walked in.“Hurry up and drink your medicine, Essie. I’ll give you a piece of candy once you finish it!”He squatted down in front of Estella and waved his fist.Hesitating, Estella looked at Archie for a moment before opening her mouth and chugging the medicine. She then turned her head and
Roxanne shut the door and gave Madilyn a call.It took a while before Madilyn answered.“Roxanne? Didn’t you go camping? Is there something you need?”It seemed pretty noisy on the other end of the line, so Roxanne asked, “What are you doing?”Madilyn sounded pained. “Don’t mention it. I was forced to work overtime again.”As soon as she said that, the noise increased.Before Roxanne could say anything, Marilyn hurriedly added, “I need to get back to work. I’ll call you later.”She then hung up right away.Roxanne’s gaze turned dark as her phone screen dimmed. She didn’t call Marilyn back.After a brief hesitation, she tried calling Larry.Larry picked up pretty quickly, but he was in another state and couldn’t be of help in time.Roxanne didn’t tell him anything despite his concern. She dismissed him with a few cursory words and hung up.There was no time to explain things. Besides, she didn’t want to trouble them further.As her friends couldn’t be of help, Roxanne couldn’t stop pan
Hearing his suggestion, Roxanne was almost convinced but remained hesitant.After all, Lucian wasn’t in the medical industry. He couldn’t recognize many medicinal herbs.Besides, she also needed the exact dosage.She couldn’t afford the consequences of getting an incorrect dosage.Lucian had already gotten into his car to start the engine. “I’m going to the research institute now. I’ll call you when I arrive, so you need to think about what medicinal herbs you need now.”Without waiting for a response, he cut the line and called Cayden.“Mr. Farwell, where are you? The meeting…”Cayden felt an incoming headache when Lucian left without looking back, leaving the higher-ups waiting inside the conference room.Lucian ordered, “Something else cropped up, so the meeting is adjourned. They can leave now.”Cayden agreed hastily and entered the conference room to relay his orders.After giving that order, Lucian hung up and sped toward the research institute.Roxanne stared at the smartwatch
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
Estella’s resolve wavered at the mention of Lucian. She had seen how drunk Lucian was the night before and surmised he must have drunk a lot.I wonder what Daddy was up to.Aubree delighted at the indecision in Estella’s eyes and continued, “If you don’t want to attend school, I can help put in a word or two when your daddy’s feeling better.”It was only then that Estella relented and allowed her entry into the room.Aubree got to her feet to let Estella get dressed while she picked out the clothes she would wear to school.Once the clothes were selected, she a*sisted Estella to brush her teeth.Estella gradually began to let her guard down.Aubree used to threaten her whenever they spent time together.Estella supposed Aubree wouldn’t try anything since she didn’t seem inclined to do so this time.Moreover, Aubree brought up Lucian in their conversation.Estella was docile and compliant to her demands as she did not want to trouble Lucian. Nonetheless, her expression was still sulle
Aubree spent the night in the same guest room she stayed in during her previous visit. As she entered the room, she could not help but recall what she had done last time.For a moment, I even thought of using the same method to teach that little b*tch another lesson to see if she dares to be disobedient again!However, it was only a fleeting thought because, ultimately, she was still afraid Lucian would find out about it.Now that she had hope, she would never be able to forgive herself if she lost it due to another mistake she made.As Aubree lay in bed, the scene from earlier in Lucian’s bedroom kept playing through her head.I was so close to becoming Mrs. Farwell! If only Cayden hadn’t appeared!Aubree stayed up all night, waiting for Cayden to come over and inform her that Lucian had woken up.She never expected to wait until the sun was high in the sky, and he still had not come over.The memory of Cayden’s attitude toward her the night before made Aubree grit her teeth. She go