Roxanne a*sumed that the list of partners would only be announced by the Damaris family in a few days. Little did she expect to receive Larry’s call the next morning, right after she woke up.Hence, she answered the phone groggily.“Have you seen it? The Damaris family has released the list of partners.” Larry’s voice rang out the moment the call connected.His words jolted Roxanne awake. “Why so sudden?”I’m not ready yet.Larry chuckled. “I’m as clueless as you are. However, I heard that there’ll be a commencement event in two days in the form of a press conference. Therefore, we had better be prepared, as reporters nowadays can be very demanding. Who knows what sort of questions will be thrown out by them, especially toward someone new like you who doesn’t have any background.”The grateful Roxanne replied, “Thanks for giving me the heads-up, Larry. I’ll make the necessary preparations.”Nonetheless, Larry quickly followed up. “Anyway, congratulations, Dr. Jarvis. Your reputation
Meanwhile, Roxanne had delegated Madilyn to pick the children up to Madilyn as she promptly headed to the meeting. No sooner had she stepped out the door than she saw Jack’s car at the entrance.At the sight of her, he alighted from the car and took a look behind her. Feeling slightly disappointed, he inquired, “Are the children still at school?”Roxanne nodded. “I got a friend of mine to pick them up. Is there a reason why you want to see them, Mr. Damaris?”Jack casually nodded. “I’ve brought them some gifts. But since they’re not around, let’s just forget it. I’ll personally hand them over the next time I see the boys.”The fact that he had prepared presents for them surprised Roxanne, for she didn’t expect him to be so attentive.“Since you have gotten them the presents, it’s only right you hand them to the boys yourself.” Roxanne pursed her lips into a smile upon regaining her senses.With that, she turned around and headed toward her car.She had barely taken a step when Jack’s
Subsequently, she got to her feet and regained her composure before heading to the restaurant next door. “I’m sorry to have kept you waiting.”Upon entering the restaurant, Jessica gave her two guests an apologetic look.Her arrival brought a sense of relief to Roxanne and Jack who responded with a faint smile. “It’s all right. Please take a seat.”Nodding in acknowledgment, Jessica sat down beside them. However, at the sight of the untouched food on the table, she looked at them in surprise. “Didn’t I ask you to start first? Why did you wait for me? I’m really sorry that the food is now cold.”Since Roxanne didn’t know Jessica that well, she simply broke into a cordial smile.As for Jack, he gave her a perfunctory reply. “Since you’re the host, it’s right that we wait for you.”He had barely spoken when silence descended upon the table.At a loss as to what to do, Roxanne gave Jack an awkward look, for she intended to leave early if possible.When Jessica wasn’t around, she and Jack
The next morning, while Roxanne was having breakfast with the children before sending them to school, the doorbell suddenly rang. The ring caused Roxanne and the boys to exchange glances as the same thought popped into their minds—Lucian and Estella were there.After all, both of them usually dropped by at that hour.Without a second thought, Roxanne got up and opened the door.She was subsequently greeted by the sight of her best friend looking all anxious.“Did something happen?” A sinking feeling crept into her heart.The frowning Madilyn stretched her head to look at the children—who were busy eating—before pulling Roxanne out the door.Cognizant that it was something the children weren’t supposed to know, Roxanne followed the former to the yard. “What’s wrong?”“Did you see the news in the morning?” Madilyn sounded exceptionally grim.Hearing that, Roxanne shook her head in response as she was clueless.As Lysa was held back by something at home and couldn’t come to work for the
Initially, Roxanne wanted to put out a statement. However, since her Twitter account was mostly used to surf for news, it essentially had no content. Therefore, whatever she had to say would likely not reach anyone.After further contemplation, she decided to give Colby a call and got him to use the research institute’s account to put out her clarification.Although the account wasn’t particularly popular, it was still a much better option than using hers.“What happened?” Colby had gone to the research institute early and only learned of the controversy when Roxanne gave him a call.When he saw the pictures of Roxanne and Jack interacting with each other, he felt a faint squeeze in his heart.Sighing in resignation, Roxanne clarified, “I can’t really give you a good explanation but what happened last night was a misunderstanding. Both of us were not alone at the dinner.”Even though her a*surances failed to cheer Colby up, he remained hopeful and persuaded himself to have faith in R
As the hubbub got closer, Lucian soon entered Roxanne’s field of vision, spotting a stern expression. Roxanne stared at the man before her in astonishment. “Why are you here?”His formal outfit suggested that he was just in a meeting, yet his tie appeared loose as though it had been tugged slightly.Upon hearing her query, Lucian’s expression turned icy. “If you can come, why can’t I?”After saying that, he shot her a look while suppressing his anger before turning to face the reporters behind him, his cold eyes swept across their faces. “If you have any questions, I can answer on her behalf.”The crowd shuddered at his gaze, and everyone turned to look at one another. No one dared to say a word for some time.Given Lucian’s status, if they said something wrong that day, they might lose their jobs.No one wanted to face that kind of repercussion.Lucian frowned and grabbed the wrist of the woman behind him before glancing at the crowd in front of him. “If there are no questions, I’m
In the evening, after kindergarten cla*s was over, Archie and Benny stared at their father standing before them in confusion. “Your mommy has something to do, so I’ll be in charge of sending you to school for the next few days,” Lucian explained in a deep voice.The boys exchanged glances upon hearing his words but did not give it much thought. After all, from their perspective, whichever of their parents doing that was the same.The fact that Mommy is leaving the matter of sending us to school to Daddy means their relationship is developing in a good direction.As that thought came into their minds, Archie and Benny were secretly pleased as they obediently followed Lucian into the car.Estella was also on cloud nine.If Daddy is responsible for taking Archie and Benny to school these few days, it means I get to visit Ms. Jarvis’ home every day!All three kids were in a good mood and chattered away in the back seat.Unlike them, Lucian was thinking of Roxanne with a solemn look.It’s
That very night, the Queen family announced that Roxanne was the one who had cured Alfred’s sickness, resulting in the latter nominating her as a candidate for the Damaris family’s project. The internet went abuzz right after that.In a short span of time, those who were initially against Roxanne now sided with her, although there were some who still questioned her ability.Roxanne was astounded to suddenly receive such an update before going to bed.She had once thought of asking Alfred to help clear the air, but she also didn’t want to involve him in the whole ordeal.Yet, the Queen family had decided to help her voluntarily.Thanks to that, the situation was now far more controlled compared to during the day, even if some remained doubtful of her.Not wanting to disrupt Alfred’s quiet time, Roxanne decided to dial Jonathan’s number.The latter had just finished taking care of his family’s PR errands when he answered Roxanne’s call.“I just saw the announcement made by your family.