“Mommy…” Benny’s voice trembled slightly as he attempted to conceal his fear. “Do I have to go for the surgery?” Roxanne nodded fervently. “Your acute appendicitis will only worsen if you don’t, and you’ll be in even more pain. I’m worried about you.”Benny hesitated for several seconds and gradually removed his hand from his stomach. “Mommy, I’m feeling much better. I’m perfectly fine now. Let’s not go for the surgery, please?”Roxanne shook her head at once.Archie and Benny eyed one another. Their eyes were full of fear and regret.Archie tugged at the hem of Roxanne’s shirt gingerly and said obediently, “Mommy, we’re both sorry for lying to you just now. I was the one who asked Benny to pretend to be sick. Please don’t bring him for surgery.”Benny got down from the bed and stood before Roxanne guiltily as well.Roxanne looked down at Archie and Benny and sighed internally before ruffling their hair. “Have you learned from your mistake?”They hurriedly nodded.Roxanne crouched do
Estella’s mood turned sullen when Catalina didn’t respond. A few minutes later, Catalina gave in and explained, “Mr. Farewell is very busy these days. He ordered me to make sure that you stay at home obediently. If you want to go anywhere, you’ll have to ask him when he’s back.”The thought of her father had Estella turn her head to the side in frustration.Catalina let out a sigh and called Lucian.Lucian was having a meeting at the office when his phone vibrated. Seeing Catalina’s name flashing across the screen, he hesitated briefly before leaving the room to take the call. “What is it?”Catalina shot a glance at the still-upset Estella before speaking into the phone. “Ms. Estella has been sulking since morning, Mr. Farwell, and she didn’t even touch her breakfast.”When Estella heard Catalina talking to her father on the phone, she slowly turned around and stared at the phone.She wanted to talk to her father too.Noticing Estella’s intention, Catalina pa*sed her the phone.Lucia
Lucian felt helpless upon seeing how unperturbed Estella was by what he said. Ever since the little girl got close to Roxanne, she had been practicing double standards and treating her better than him.What Roxanne did last night was too much, but Essie still decided to forgive her. Yet, Essie is mad at me for not paying attention to all the good things she said about that woman. She isn’t even listening to me anymore.Had Lucian not learned that Roxanne was Estella’s biological mother, he might have had difficulty accepting the double standards.After a short while, Lucian suppressed his grievance and comforted the little girl, “Didn’t you say you have something to tell me? I’m all ears now.”Estella lifted her head and glanced at him.Lucian’s eyes darkened, and his heart sank when he saw the expression on her face.He thought she did not give him any response because she was upset.However, when she lifted her head, he realized her cheeks were stained with tears.“Bad Daddy…” Este
While Roxanne was in two minds over whether or not to hurry to the Farwell residence, Jack strode out with a document in his hand and called out, “Ms. Jarvis.” She had no choice but to suppress the worry in her heart and quickly walked toward him. “What’s this?”“You didn’t come in after some time, so I thought I’d bring out the document you needed to go through. You can take a look and sign it if there are no issues.”Hearing that, she murmured her a*sent and checked the document carefully. A moment later, she looked up at Jack and nodded. “Everything looks fine.”“Excellent,” he said with a smile. “You look a little upset. Did something happen?”Recalling the sound of Estella’s cries, Roxanne fell into a slight daze.Jack was puzzled when he saw that she did not respond after a long time. “Ms. Jarvis?”Roxanne jolted to her senses and shot him an apologetic smile. “These are the medicinal herbs we need. Is there anything else you need my help with?”Jack shook his head.Seeing that
Soon, Lucian stopped his car in front of James’ psychiatric clinic. As Lucian had made the call while he was on the way, James was already waiting at the door.After getting out of the car, Lucian walked over to the other side to carry Estella, who was still crying.Upon seeing his outstretched hands, she dodged to the side.“Let me do it,” James offered as he stepped forward.He reached out to Estella and said gently, “Essie, good girl. Let me carry you.”Estella shook her head and choked out, “I want Ms. Jarvis…”James couldn’t help but frown in confusion and glance at Lucian.Lucian had mentioned that Estella wouldn’t stop crying on the phone earlier, but he did not get the chance to explain what had happened in detail.Meeting James’ eyes, Lucian furrowed his brows and said, “Let’s talk inside.”James gave him a nod before turning around to coax the girl again. “Ms. Jarvis will be here soon. Come with me first and let’s wait for her inside, all right?”Estella stared at James dou
Estella pursed her lips and fell silent for a long moment before slowly shaking her head. I still like Daddy, but…“Daddy lied. Daddy is a bad person.”A smile finally broke out on James’ face. “You’re angry with your daddy, but your daddy is angry with Ms. Jarvis.”Estella immediately shook her head. “Daddy cannot be angry with Ms. Jarvis.”James was astonished.He knew Estella was exceedingly fond of Roxanne, but he did not realize it was to this extent.Lucian must be exasperated.Seeing that Estella was going to lose her cool again, James uttered hastily, “I’ll punish him for you. He knows he’s in the wrong too.”Estella calmed down, but she remained sullen. “I want Ms. Jarvis as my mommy. I don’t want anyone else!”James glanced at the door. He could only agree on Lucian’s behalf. “Okay. Only Ms. Jarvis.”Estella finally quieted down and lay on James’ shoulder, sniffling occasionally.James glanced at Estella and gently touched her eyes. “Do you feel awful?”Estella nodded betwe
James was the driver, while Lucian sat at the back of the car with Estella. Suddenly, Estella scrunched up her face and muttered something under her breath.Lucian creased his brows and leaned closer to Estella to hear what she was saying.“Mommy…” Estella mumbled. As she spoke, she even grabbed onto Lucian’s clothes.Although she was still sleeping, Lucian could see that she had grown attached to Roxanne.His gaze darkened as he thought about the woman.James had also heard Estella, and he cast a complicated glance at the rearview mirror.Through the rearview mirror, he saw Lucian’s grim expression and sighed soundlessly.“Essie needs a mother. Until you meet a woman you like, you shouldn’t prevent Essie from seeing Ms. Jarvis regardless of your opinion of her.”After a long moment, Lucian replied in a deep voice, “I’ll take note of that.”James stopped talking because he knew it would be pointless to continue since he did not know what Lucian was thinking.Meanwhile, Roxanne had be
“Mommy, is it because of Essie?” Archie asked. The thought had suddenly occurred to him because the first thing Roxanne had asked when she arrived home earlier was whether Estella had been there.Roxanne’s expression changed immediately when she heard her son guess correctly.Archie is so perceptive! He guessed the reason in an instant!“What’s wrong with Essie?” Benny asked in a puzzled tone.The boys grew concerned about Estella when they saw the look on Roxanne’s face. However, they also knew that if they revealed how worried they were, Roxanne would only become sadder.So, the boys tried their best to hide away the worry and anxiety bubbling in their chests.Roxanne hesitated a little. In the end, she asked the question that had been bothering her, “Would you be angry with me if you wanted to see me, but I didn’t show up in time?”The boys exchanged looks and, without hesitation, shook their heads in unison. “No!”Roxanne looked at them doubtfully.After a while, the boys smiled