Slowly getting to his feet, Lucian pinned a dark look on Roxanne, who stood at the door. “I really don’t know when you learned to use your kids to set me up, Ms. Jarvis.”Roxanne’s eyes flickered, her gaze mystified.When had I ever done such a thing?Glimpsing the innocent expression on her face, Lucian frowned and started to head in her direction slowly.The instant Roxanne noticed his intentions, her heartstrings drew taut, and she backed away warily. Throughout it all, she kept a distance from him.“Why are you drawing away if you’re not feeling guilty, Ms. Jarvis?” Lucian sneered.Upon hearing that, Roxanne hesitantly stopped retreating, her brows furrowing imperceptibly. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”His gaze gloomy, Lucian demanded lowly, “Don’t tell me it wasn’t because you were sure I wouldn’t ignore the kids’ calls that you had Archie phone me, Ms. Jarvis?”Again, Roxanne clenched her hands by her sides and remained silent.It’s true that I did such a thing, but
“As long as I find a method effective, it isn’t considered despicable,” Lucian riposted coldly after a while, putting away the scrutiny in his eyes. Her eyes flickering, Roxanne nodded self-deprecatingly. “Oh well, I’m not far-sighted enough.”Lucian stared at her thoughtfully.Out of the blue, he offered in a much gentler tone than earlier, “If it’s to your liking, I can retain you as the technical advisor of Herbscape Group.”Upon hearing that, Roxanne snapped her head around with a frown, meeting his gaze in puzzlement.He was absolutely livid just now, but he’s now extending me an olive branch in the blink of an eye. Is this considered… a chance for me to salvage things?At that thought, mirth bubbled within her.Meanwhile, Lucian’s hand tightened around her wrist when he received no answer from her even after a long time had pa*sed.“Farwell Group can likewise give you the same resources as Damaris Group.”Roxanne could sense that the surrounding temperature was gradually droppi
Lifting her eyes, Roxanne glanced at Archie and Benny. Sensing her stare, Archie and Benny raised their eyes guiltily and flashed her a smile before averting their gazes nonchalantly.A strange feeling welled within Roxanne. Gradually, realization dawned upon her.No wonder Lucian asked me such a question earlier. It turned out that they used my name to come and visit Essie.That understanding had a sense of exasperation inundating her. But ultimately, she didn’t say anything.Well, they only did so because they really wanted to come here and visit Essie. Besides, I’m pretty sure Essie’s mood only lifted because they came.“Are you still feeling unwell anywhere now?” Roxanne regarded Estella in concern.In response, Estella shook her head docilely and replied in a cute voice, “Archie and Benny played with me!”At that, Roxanne knew that her conjecture was right. Relief suffused her.“Why did you come so late, Ms. Jarvis? Have you just finished your work?” Estella inquired, concerned
Roxanne didn’t want to tarry after dinner, so she took her leave with Archie and Benny. “Can’t you play with me for a while longer, Ms. Jarvis?”Estella clutched at the hem of her shirt with all the reluctance in the world.Leaning down, Roxanne stroked her head and cajoled gently, “It’s late, so I’ve got to go home.”After saying that, she added in a moment of weakness at the sight of Estella’s reluctant expression, “I’ll come and keep you company another day.”She merely wanted to comfort the little girl, but the latter unexpectedly took it seriously.“When will that be?” Estella gazed at her pitifully with solemnity written all over her face.Upon hearing that, Roxanne was inexorably stunned for a while.When will that be?On instinct, she lifted her eyes and glanced at the man across from her, telling him with her eyes that she didn’t really mean it.In the past, Lucian would speak up and help her diffuse the situation. But this time, he acted as though he didn’t notice her predi
Roxanne could tell that the children were getting anxious, so she did her best to suppress her emotions. “I’m not mad. In fact, I want to thank you for comforting Essie.” Even though the kids’ actions did cause a misunderstanding with Lucian, Roxanne knew Estella’s mood would not have improved had it not been for them.The children breathed a sigh of relief after hearing their mother but remained somewhat cautious.“Sorry, Mommy. We won’t run off by ourselves again,” promised Archie after crawling into her embrace.Despite how dim the light in the car was, the exhaustion on Roxanne’s face was plain to see.The boy was convinced that he did not do anything wrong before, but at that moment, he was filled with guilt.Benny, too, crawled into his mother’s arms and apologized.Then, Roxanne gave her children a big hug before patting them on the head. “I know you were just worried about Essie.”In response, the kids nodded in agreement because they were indeed concerned about Estella.Howe
After confirming that the fire was put out and getting the green light from the firemen, Roxanne was finally able to get near the research institute that was engulfed in an inferno. Her heart sank the moment she managed to get a closer look.She had been worried sick all morning, overcome by the apprehension that the medicinal herbs that she had just retrieved the day before were all gone.Alas, her worst nightmare came true. The very store that caught on fire was the one where the medicinal herbs were stored.Not only were the medicinal herbs the batch that they had just retrieved the day before destroyed, but the other medicinal herbs they previously stocked up were also burned to ashes.Fortunately, Colby had managed to call for help in time and managed to stop the fire from spreading to other areas.“This…” Standing beside Roxanne, Colby found himself to be at a loss for words as he stared at the shambles before them.Roxanne let out a soft sigh. “Well, luckily no one was hurt, a
In the research area, the researchers had just regained their composure from the fire incident earlier and got back to work. When they saw two people walking in, they stopped what they were doing in unison.With a grim expression, Roxanne swept a glance at everyone and asked, “Did anyone come to the research institute yesterday afternoon?”Coincidentally, the surveillance cameras were down, so Roxanne could only a*sume that someone had gone over at that time.As soon as those words fell, everyone exchanged glances with each other silently. Yesterday was a Sunday. It was such a good opportunity to rest at home. So why would anyone come to the research institute without a reason? Besides, she’s asking questions that has something to do with the fire. Even if someone was here, why would they admit it?Suddenly, Roxanne was exuding a fearsome aura as she threw a cold glance at everyone. “I have no desire to suspect anyone here, nor can I think of a reason why an employee at the research
Jason was regretting what he did dearly. In fact, he regretted it the moment he did it the day before. However, Colby had already locked the research institute up, so he couldn’t salvage the situation, even if he wanted to.That morning, he made the effort to arrive at the research institute to see if there was anything he could do to fix it.However, he was wrong when he thought he had arrived early enough. By the time he arrived at the entrance, the firefighters were already at the scene.Jason couldn’t help but slap himself twice across the face when he recalled the burnt storage and what Roxanne had said.“This is my fault, Dr. Jarvis. I’m so stupid!” Utterly embarra*sed, he asked, “Since I’ve come forward on my own, c-could you please let the matter slide? My son is still in the hospital…”Roxanne dug her fingers into her palms to force herself to stay calm. “That’s not up to me, Dr. Coleman.”“This matter is being investigated by the police. Jason, how could you be so foolish?”