Six years ago, Lucian himself had said that the only woman he intended to marry was Aubree.Roxanne still remembered that very clearly.“Six years ago, you came in between Lucian and me. We missed out on so much time together because of you.”Aubree’s face tensed. “Now, everyone in Horington knows about the engagement between Lucian and me. Since you know about it, I hope you take better care of your reputation and stay away from him. Six years ago, you were the other woman. I hope you don’t repeat that mistake. We are both women, but I feel ashamed for you!”Roxanne frowned. “Instead of spending your time criticizing me, why don’t you use that time on Mr. Farwell?”Six years ago, it was her ignorance that made her fall for Lucian.However, Lucian was the one who kept trying to get closer to her at the moment.Seeing that she was still in denial, Aubree’s tone lowered. “I am here to warn you out of kindness. Six years ago, you might not have cared about your reputation. Now, you have
“Are you in a bad mood, Mommy?” Archie and Benny looked at her with concern.Roxanne was taken aback. She thought she had hidden her emotions well in front of her kids, but they saw right through her ruse.“Why did you ask?” she asked nonchalantly, glancing at them in the rearview mirror.Archie’s face creased in bewilderment. “You ignored Essie just now. Did Mr. Farwell annoy you?”The slightly unsettled feeling gnawed at the pit of her stomach at the mention of Lucian.She must have been really close with him during that period of time for Archie to have misunderstood.Benny added, “Essie almost cried.”Roxanne drew her brows together in a frown, and her heart wrenched as she could only imagine Estella’s pitiable face without seeing it for herself.She wished she could apologize to Estella.Aubree’s words further solidified her inclination to cut all ties with Lucian.She didn’t want to interfere with the kids’ friendship, but she really wanted to limit her contact with Lucian.Roxa
Roxanne frowned slightly and was about to reject Hugo Reynolds. Meanwhile, escaping from the crowd on the dance floor, Madilyn sat beside her directly and started to give Hugo a once-over.Hugo had an elegant appearance. His chiseled facial features remained obvious under the bar’s dim light. Although Hugo lacked a fit body, he was not too skinny. Besides, judging from his attire, Madilyn could tell that his outfit cost about one hundred thousand.Hmm. I guess I can give him an eight out of ten?After rating him inwardly, Madilyn agreed before Roxanne could decline him, “Sure! Do you have any friends? Ask them to come over!”Hugo’s table was right next to theirs. In fact, he had noticed them earlier when both of them danced together. Hence, he knew that they came together. Hearing Madilyn’s agreement, Hugo did not hesitate and asked his friends to join their table. His friends were good-looking, and all of them dressed in expensive clothes. As they approached the table, they brought a
Roxanne strenuously helped her up while politely bidding goodbye to everyone.“Let me help you girls.” Hugo stood up and continued, “You seem to be struggling. Let me help you get her into the car.”Roxanne hesitated for a few seconds. Looking at the tipsy Madilyn, she agreed eventually, “Thank you for your help!”After interacting with Hugo that night, she had a pretty good impression of him. Besides, Roxanne could not support Madilyn alone after having a few glasses of wine.Seeing that she had agreed, Hugo went up to them and was about to lend Roxanne a hand. It was at that moment he heard a deep voice coming from behind. The tone of the man sounded displeased.“I appreciate your kindness, but I’ll send the girls back. Thank you, Mr. Reynolds.”Several people were stunned to hear that voice.Roxanne’s body instinctively stiffened at once.She knew Lucian too well. By listening to his voice alone, she could imagine his frosty expression at that moment.Moreover, Roxanne did not know
After staying silent for a few seconds, Lucian uttered, “Are you planning to find a father for Archie and Benny in a place like that? Do you think you can find a reliable man there?”Roxanne let out a chuckle. “I’ll only know if the man is reliable once we get to know each other. Of course, I can’t find out if the man is reliable if you keep interrupting us like what you did earlier. Mr. Farwell, if you’re so worried, why don’t you introduce someone to me?”“Roxanne!” A flash of anger passed through Lucian’s eyes.Roxanne averted her gaze in disappointment. “Mr. Farwell, since you don’t plan to do that, you should mind your own business from now on.”With that, she opened the car door and helped Madilyn out of the car.Through the rearview mirror, Lucian saw that Roxanne was struggling to walk while supporting Madilyn. Frowning, he got out of the car and wanted to give Roxanne a hand.Sensing Lucian’s intention, Roxanne immediately turned sideways to avoid him. Looking at the man, who
Arching his brows, Lucian asked, “Do you like Archie and Benny very much?”Estella nodded firmly in response.Archie and Benny have been nice to me ever since our first meeting. They also protected me in kindergarten. With the two of them around, the other kids didn’t dare to bully me anymore. I feel like a princess of kindergarten now!Estella’s eyes gleamed whenever Lucian mentioned the two boys.He felt conflicted upon seeing Estella’s hopeful expression.Still, it’s easier to let Estella interact more with Archie and Benny than to send her to recover at Roxanne’s house.Thinking of that, Lucian felt relieved. “Since you like Archie and Benny so much, you can ask Catalina to prepare more snacks before going to school in the future. Then, you can share with the boys,” he suggested.Estella tilted her head, unable to comprehend Lucian’s words for a moment.Stroking Estella’s head, Lucian added, “You should be nice to Archie and Benny and play more with them since they have been treat
Roxanne halted her steps, unsure what he was trying to say.Looking at the woman standing beside her, Lucian pursed his lips indifferently. “If I remember correctly, you once said that the children are innocent and should not get involved in our matters. However, does this only apply to Archie and Benny?”Upon hearing that, Roxanne turned around and met his gaze. “What do you mean?”Lucian raised an eyebrow. “You know that Essie likes you and would feel sad if she doesn’t see you. However, you refused to meet her multiple times, knowing that this might cause her condition to worsen. Isn’t Essie innocent in this matter? I don’t mind if it’s me you want to avoid, but there’s no need to do the same thing on her as well.”Roxanne was promptly taken aback when she heard that.Although she had considered if Estella would feel upset for not seeing her, Roxanne dismissed the thought as she had never seen herself as someone important. Besides, Lucian would definitely take good care of Estella.
Larry couldn’t help but feel amused after realizing the meaning behind her words.“You had studied under Professor Lambert for so many years. Do you still see yourself as that same nobody in the past who just went overseas? Those experts might not have heard of your real name before, but they had long heard of your other alias-Janet.”A flash of joy passed through Roxanne’s eyes.Following that, the woman rubbed hernose as she giggled.She was so accustomed to being humblethat she almost forgot that Janet, the other name she used, had some reputation internationally. “In that case, I’ll accept your offer.” Roxanne chuckled as she invitation card inside her handbag. put theLarry nodded. “It’s supposed to be yours.”“I saw on the invitation card that the conference will take place tomorrowafternoon. What time should we set off?” Roxanne asked.Seeing how thrilled she was, the joy in Larry’s eyes intensified. “Tomorrow morning. Both of us can get some rest upon reaching. We will be a
Seemingly sensing Roxanne’s gaze, Lucian turned toward her. Roxanne was stupefied when their eyes met. It took her a few seconds to come back to her senses and signal Lucian to stop the head of the kindergarten.“I don’t have much time. Tell them to hurry up.” It was as if he did not understand the look she gave him.What the he*l!The head of the kindergarten was quick to agree to it and promptly went to call the parents.Once the other man was out, Roxanne turned to look at Lucian disapprovingly. “You don’t need to blow this out of proportion.”Those kids might take out their anger on Essie after getting scolded by their parents. The lesson I taught them was more than enough.Lucian’s eyes flitted toward the girl in Roxanne’s arms before anger seeped into those eyes. “Those parents could not educate their children well and let their kids bully Essie, so it is normal for them to have to pay the price for it. The consequences await them will only be more severe if they don’t apologiz
Pamela had not been paying attention to Estella, and she dared not tell any lies in the face of Lucian’s gaze. Thus, half-way through her speech, she turned to cast a pleading look at Roxanne.Roxanne had planned to talk to Lucian about it anyway, so when her eyes met with Pamela’s, she continued where Pamela trailed off.“The kids crowded around Essie and said something to her. They even stepped on Essie’s hand. Essie resisted, but they pushed her down again. I only intervened when I couldn’t bear to watch it anymore.”Roxanne could somewhat guess what the children had said to Estella, but she did not want to rub salt into the girl’s wound.As Roxanne gave Lucian the explanation, Lucian’s expression turned colder.At the same time, the more Roxanne said, the angrier she became. She questioned, “The intense way the kids bullied Essie means that this has been going on for more than a day or two. Do you really not know anything about this, Mr. Farwell?”Why did he put Essie in a school
“May I know your last name?” Pamela suddenly looked at her. “Jarvis,” Roxanne replied in a hoarse voice.Once Pamela heard the answer, she breathed a sigh of relief and hurriedly notified Lucian.I’ve never heard of the Farwell family having any relationship with a family with the surname Jarvis. Thus, this woman will certainly not be any relative of Essie. Luckily, I call Mr. Farwell in time to confirm it.However, the person on the other end of the line fell silent after she told him Roxanne’s last name.It made her a little worried, and she wondered if she had done anything wrong.“Get her to wait. I’m heading over right now.”When Pamela was about to apologize, Lucian’s deep voice suddenly rang out.She looked at the woman before her in confusion and hastily agreed.Roxanne noticed Pamela’s gaze and felt her heart drop.After hanging up the phone, Pamela looked at Roxanne solemnly and said, “Mr. Farwell said he’ll be here soon. Please leave Estella to me.”Lucian’s tone on the ph
Now that Pamela had taken a good look at Roxanne, she realized there were indeed some similarities between Estella and her. Despite that, she still chose to be careful and confirm with Estella. “Essie, is she your aunt?”Estella only wrapped her arms around Roxanne’s neck with her back facing Pamela. Not a single word came from her mouth.Roxanne had no choice but to pat the girl’s head to attract her attention. “Essie, your teacher’s talking to you.”Only when Estella heard Roxanne’s voice did she slowly turn around.Flashing Estella a smile, Pamela repeated her question.To their horror, Estella pursed her lips and shook her head, clearly looking upset.Both Roxanne and Pamela were stunned by Estella’s response.Roxanne knew Estella was mad because she had denied being her mother. However, she could not explain the situation to Pamela either.Pamela thought that Roxanne, the woman who claimed to have a different identity, was extremely suspicious.She picked up her phone again with
The children got more fearful when they heard Estella calling Roxanne “mommy.” On top of that, the latter did not show any rejection. This lady must’ve seen how we bullied Essie just now.Roxanne patted Estella’s head before lowering her gaze to glance at the surrounding children.“Apologize to Essie!”Her fierce expression made them hang their heads low in guilt.However, the girl who attacked Essie summoned her courage and feigned innocence. “It’s not like that. It was Essie who pushed me first. That’s why—”Hearing the little girl lying straight in her face only brought Roxanne’s anger to a new height. “Why would Essie push you out of nowhere?”When she finished, she suddenly remembered something and reached out to hold Estella’s hand.The moment Roxanne saw the red mark on Estella’s hand, her anger spiked even more. “Did Essie do this to herself, too?”The children exchanged glances, for they never expected Roxanne to have witnessed them stepping on Estella’s hand.Now that her a
Roxanne heaved a sigh of relief. She could see that although Estella was a bit out of place, the other children approached her enthusiastically and played with her.Yet before she could feel totally at ease, she saw Estella letting out a yelp.The children who were skipping around also halted their actions one by one.Feeling her heart tighten, Roxanne instinctively looked in Pamela’s direction.Something was obviously wrong with Estella, and Pamela could probably see that from where she was standing.However, there was a child who wouldn’t stop crying next to Pamela. Although she did notice a small commotion over here, she was occupied with coaxing the child beside her.Left with no choice, Roxanne turned back to Estella and observed her worriedly.The girl hung her head low as she ma*saged her hand on her lap.Roxanne could only see Estella’s actions vaguely from her spot, but she could guess that the latter was hurt.Upon realizing that, Roxanne felt a little distressed. Neverthel
Roxanne was surprised by her son’s words. She knew they had always been very sensible and had always taken good care of Estella.However, what she didn’t expect was that they had been thinking about this even more than she did.Benny chimed in sweetly, “Mommy, please talk to Mr. Farwell about this. We’re worried that Essie might get bullied, and we won’t be there to protect her.”Roxanne felt her chest tighten at the mention of Estella being bullied.She recalled the incident when Estella had been bullied by her cla*smates when Archie and Benny first entered the cla*sroom.Back then, the boys had stepped forward to protect Estella and helped her to smoothen things over with her cla*smates.However, now that Estella was in a new kindergarten, she no longer had any playmates she was familiar with. Roxanne was worried that if Archie and Benny weren’t beside Estella, the past would repeat itself.There’s a possibility that it would be just like what the boys said. Estella would be ostrac
Meanwhile, Estella and Pamela were the only ones left at the kindergarten entrance. “Essie, who’s coming to pick you up today? Were you always picked up so late in your previous kindergarten?” Pamela patiently clarified the matter with Estella, for it was the first time she had encountered such a situation.Estella pursed her lips in silence as if she didn’t hear Pamela at all.It was never her desire to come to the new kindergarten, and now that she was left to wait for a long time, she couldn’t help but feel depressed.Just when Pamela was wondering whether to give Lucian a call, a car gradually rolled up beside them.Aubree alighted from it with an anxious expression on her face.“I’m sorry for being late, Ms. Yaxley. Traffic was really bad.” After speaking to Pamela, she gave Estella an apologetic look. “I’m sorry to have made you wait, Essie. I’ll definitely come earlier next time!”Estella continued to pout in silence.Seeing that, Pamela defused the situation with a smile. “It
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