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
“Do you want me to keep this medicine for you?” Jack didn’t take those kids seriously. Instead, he turned around and threw the question at Roxanne.Roxanne frowned as she pondered it for a while. “It’s better to send it to the research institute. There’s no point in keeping this with me.”“Then I will need you to come with us,” Jack said.Hearing that, Archie and Benny tensed up. The grips on the hem of Roxanne’s dress tightened.Just when she was about to agree to his request, she noticed the boys’ unusual reaction. She glanced at them with concern.The boys looked at their mother. “Mommy, aren’t you unwell?”It was only after the boys contemplated for some time that they finally came up with those words.Roxanne’s expression changed slightly. Her eyes grew gloomy as she thought of Estella.“Forget it if you’re not feeling well. I’ll just tell the staff over there,” Jack said.Roxanne pulled herself together and shook her head with a smile on her face. “It’s better for me to go over
“Okay,” Lucian said, then took Estella back to the Farwell residence. Soon after, the black Bentley drove away.A camera flashed in the gra*s in front of Roxanne’s house, and a man appeared from the gra*s afterward.While processing the photographs he had just taken, he hurriedly got into his car and tailed Jack’s, which was heading toward the research institute.Roxanne tried to suppress her worries about Estella on the way to the research institute. She began asking about matters related to Herbscape Group.“I was in a rush to leave just now. How are things with Herbscape Group going?”Roxanne really wanted to know if Herbscape Group had actually done those things.Or if Lucian’s business strategies were so terrifying that they allowed him to pa*s off fake as genuine.A hint of displeasure flashed across Jack’s eyes. However, his tone was warm when he spoke to Roxanne. “It’s probably not optimistic.”Roxanne furrowed her brows. She had a theory in mind.“Herbscape Group is involved
Aubree’s phone suddenly vibrated twice when they were talking. Both of them turned to look at the phone in unison.Aubree glanced at it and knew the private detective had sent more photos again.A grim look appeared on her face when she thought about the photos she had been receiving these days.Except for the photos from yesterday, all the other photos were basically of Roxanne and Lucian being together.She had had enough of seeing them getting intimate with one another.A crease appeared between her brows when she tapped on the message to look at the photos.“What’s wrong? Who texted you?” Gina wanted to say more, but when she saw that Aubree was lost in her thoughts, she craned her neck and saw the photos on the phone. “Isn’t that… the son of the Damaris family?”Numerous thoughts raced through her mind as she spoke.A little while later, she asked dubiously, “Are the discussion on the internet some time ago real?”Did Roxanne really use Jack to join the Damaris family’s project?
Back at the Pearson residence, Aubree went back to her room after sending the message. She didn’t know what Sonya’s reaction would be, but she was sure Sonya’s impression of Roxanne would be completely ruined.Gina was still sitting downstairs, wondering if she should call Sonya and add fuel to the fire.Just when she took out her phone and was about to make the call, her doorbell suddenly rang.Gina kept her phone and went to open the door.She was surprised to see Sonya standing there.“Where’s Aubree?” Sonya smiled gently at Gina, suppressing her anger.Only then did Gina regain her senses and realize this visit was the effect of the photos Aubree had sent, but she didn’t know what Sonya was going to say.Gina could barely suppress the smugness in her heart. After some time, she pointed to the room upstairs and said, “She came back early in the morning and went upstairs. She seems to be in a bad mood, but I didn’t dare to ask.”Upon hearing that, Sonya felt slightly apologetic.Gi
“Aubree!” Frieda only came back to her senses after Aubree left in a huff.A loud slam sounded downstairs.Frieda hurried over to the balcony to see Aubree marching into her car and driving away swiftly.The sight caused Frieda to ball up her fists in frustration.I came here today to convince Aubree not to act recklessly! Instead of achieving that, I have actually given her the idea of settling scores with Roxanne. If she heads there alone, she’ll surely cause a commotion!Frieda quickly ran down the stairs and went after Aubree’s car, which was heading for Roxanne’s house.…On the other hand, Roxanne and the children had no idea about what happened back in Aubree’s house.Roxanne was preparing lunch for the children in the kitchen.“Mommy, will Mr. Farwell have lunch with us today?” Benny asked eagerly at the door of the kitchen.The children noticed Lucian’s dedication as he showed up every day, but they still felt uncertain.Hearing that, Roxanne paused in her tracks. She belate
No matter how she thought about it, Aubree just couldn’t calm down. It wasn’t until she gave Cory a call that she found out about Roxanne’s discharge from the hospital.Without a doubt, the news further unsettled her.After much contemplation, she steeled herself and gave Lucian a call.However, she had to wait for a long while before she heard an answer in a frosty voice. “What is it?”Despite gritting her teeth, she maintained a caring tone. “Lucian, I just received a call from Ms. Yaxley saying that Essie has missed school recently. Is she not feeling well?”The moment she finished, Aubree felt her heart tense up as if she was afraid of hearing Lucian say that Estella was at Roxanne’s.Furrowing his brows in brief silence, Lucian replied, “Essie is at my mom’s. You don’t have to bother. As for the teacher, just inform her that Essie is sick.”Due to the bad blood between Aubree and Roxanne, Lucian didn’t plan on letting the former know where Estella really was.In addition, Lucian
Sensing that she was out of sorts, Lucian felt like probing further. However, he swallowed his words at the last moment when he thought of their previous interaction. Even when the table had been set up, neither of them said a word.As for the three children, who were already seated at the table, the sight of their parents busying themselves brought glee to their faces.The delight they exuded gradually softened Roxanne’s heart.Even though Roxanne had calmed down after dinner, the results of the investigations from the afternoon were still on her mind. “Mr. Farwell, are you ready to talk about it?”Filled with curiosity, the children inquired with their childish voices, “Talk about what?”Roxanne flashed a smile at them. “It relates to the research institute and has nothing to do with you. Go out and play now.”In response, the children looked toward Lucian for verification.The latter affirmed in a serious tone, “Go on now.”Only then did they slowly make their way out of the mansi
Lucian remained at the research institute for the entire afternoon. After he left the building in the evening, he glanced at the time. A brief hesitation flashed past his eyes before he called Cayden and asked him to grab the medicine in his possession for examination. Then he drove to Roxanne’s place.Meanwhile, the children were playing with each other at home.Roxanne was preparing their dinner absentmindedly.It was because she felt a little regretful after Lucian left.After all, he was investigating a matter involving her, and she wanted to be a part of it.Furthermore, that was the main reason she left the hospital in the first place.However, she simply couldn’t leave the house because the children refused to let her go.To make matters worse, she still hadn’t gotten a single text or call from Lucian for the whole afternoon.Hence, she had no idea if he unearthed anything.Just as Roxanne was getting distracted, she heard the children’s voice in the living room.The children
After a while, Lucian shifted his icy look away from Colby, to which the latter responded with a calm sigh of relief. Then, Colby reflexively stepped away and allowed Lucian to take his seat while he stood at the side.Both of them then watched yesterday’s surveillance footage, starting with the experiment Roxanne was performing with Jack.In the footage, they saw Roxanne joking around with Jack.Colby was also in the footage, but he was a few steps behind Roxanne and Jack with an expression completely different from theirs.Overall, it seemed as though Colby was the only one focusing on the experiment while the other two were not involved in any work.Lucian always thought Roxanne was way too intimate with Jack.However, it was the first time he saw the two of them interacting with each other without his presence. They don’t look like business partners at all! It’s completely different from how Roxanne describes their relationship.The longer he watched the footage, the colder his e
A few moments later, Roxanne organized her thoughts and explained, “It’s just standard procedure for acupuncture. If he wants to perform it on me, he can’t do it with my clothes on.” Upon hearing that, Lucian furrowed his eyebrows slightly as a look of dissatisfaction flashed past his eyes. Now that I think about it, Jack did need to remove her clothes to perform acupuncture on her. Still, it was disturbing!His jealous expression amused her.“Setting that aside, Jack’s behavior is still very suspicious,” Lucian concluded stubbornly.That rendered Roxanne speechless.While she didn’t want to believe Jack was acting maliciously, she had to admit that, from an objective point of view, he was pretty suspicious.Lucian frowned at her and informed her coldly, “I plan to investigate this matter in the afternoon. Will you join me?”Nodding, Roxanne was about to accept his invitation when the children pounced into her embrace.Thus, instead of replying to him, she stared at the children, puz
Estella hugged her and refused to let go. Thus, Roxanne explained resignedly, “Your daddy and I haven’t eaten yet. We’ll keep you company after our meals, all right?”Upon hearing that, the girl finally released Roxanne and stared intently at her.Roxanne smiled, patted her head, and turned to Lucian. “Come on in, Mr. Farwell. I’ll prepare some food.”The look in Lucian’s eyes darkened before he ambled into the living room. It’s been a long time since I was invited by her. This feels pretty good.The children were relieved to see the relationship between the two adults improved after Roxanne left the hospital.As Lucian sat on the couch, he watched the children play with each other.Inside the kitchen, Roxanne was preparing the food nonchalantly.As a result of all that, the atmosphere in the mansion became surprisingly heartwarming.Not long after, Roxanne exited the kitchen with two sandwiches and a gla*s of hot milk before putting them in front of Lucian. “It’s nearly time for lun
The rain had stopped when the two reached the parking lot. The custom-made jacket Lucian used to shelter them from the rain was wet. Even his arms got soaked from the rain.Standing by the side of the car, Roxanne watched him open the door and put his jacket on the back seat with no change in expression. After a moment of hesitation, she decided to sit in the pa*senger seat.Soon, Lucian got into the car and drove toward her house.“I wonder what they are doing now.”Feeling uneasy by the silence inside the car, Roxanne quickly searched for a topic.Lucian raised his eyes and glanced at her face reflected in the rearview mirror. “Cayden will take good care of them. You can call him if you’re worried.”Roxanne grinned. “It’s okay. I believe Cayden will take good care of them.”As they spoke about the kids, Roxanne couldn’t help but think of how they left without hesitation this morning.She wondered what was on the kids’ minds when they did that and decided to find the answer when she
Hearing Roxanne’s apology, there was a flash of smugness in Colby’s eyes, but his tone was full of concern. “As long as you get better, it doesn’t matter how tired I get. I thought… Forget it. Let’s not talk about this. Why did you call?”Uneasy, Roxanne said, “I’m afraid I’ll have to continue to trouble you.”Colby was busy since yesterday after she fell unconscious.Recently, they needed to carry out an investigation. Due to that, they had to ask for Colby’s help to grant them free rein.For everything Colby had done, Roxanne felt nothing but sorry for him.Colby, on the other end of the phone, was working overtime at the research institute, handling the surveillance footage of the research facility.He froze momentarily when he heard what Roxanne said but soon returned to normal. “What is it? Go on. I’ll try my best to help.”Roxanne said with a grateful smile, “Mr. Farwell and I want to investigate yesterday’s incident. In the process, we will need permission to access the resear