Lucian’s brows snapped together. He hesitated briefly before accepting the blanket from Catalina. Bending his body, he draped the blanket over them carefully and tucked Roxanne in.After that, he was about to get up when his gaze landed on Roxanne’s sleeping face.Lucian froze, and he couldn’t keep his gaze off her.This was the first time he had ever seen her up close.It was obvious that she wasn’t sleeping well. Her lashes would flutter occasionally as though she would wake up any minute.Lucian wondered when she would wake up.Suddenly, she frowned in her sleep as her head slipped off the couch.Before she could fall off the couch, Lucian reached out instinctively to protect her head. She fell into his embrace instead.Suddenly, he registered the sensation of her soft cheek brushing against his palm.Lucian’s gaze turned dark. Afraid of waking her up, he didn’t move an inch.Roxanne was in his embrace, and Estella was in Roxanne’s embrace.Seeing that, a thought occurred to Catali
After the braid was done, Roxanne led Estella out.She turned and spotted the man standing at the door.Immediately, the warmth in Lucian’s gaze disappeared and was replaced by an indifferent look. He told her courteously, “Breakfast’s ready. Let’s go downstairs.”With that, he turned around and left without waiting for them.Roxanne was rooted to the spot.His expression was different just now. It appeared for a fleeting moment only, though. Was I seeing things?Snapping out of her reverie, Roxanne led Estella down the stairs.Estella took the seat next to Lucian at the dining table.Roxanne was about to take the seat across from them when Estella tugged at her sleeves, forcing her to stop in her tracks.“Ms. Jarvis, why don’t you sit beside Ms. Estella?” Sensing Estella’s intention, Catalina chuckled and pulled out the chair beside the little girl.Estella nodded in agreement and gazed at Roxanne expectantly.At once, Roxanne glanced at the man sitting on the other side of the littl
Sonya felt bad for her. “Don’t be afraid. I’ll head back home to deal with the matter right away.”On the way back from the café, Sonya grew more worried the more she thought about it. Hence, when Elias got off work, she called him to go to the manor together.Lucian went to pick up Estella after work. As soon as the two entered the door, they noticed the elderly Farwells sitting on the couch with a solemn expression. It was apparent that they had something to say.“Dad, Mom, why didn’t you tell me you were coming over? Is there a problem?” Lucian queried in puzzlement.Those words had barely left his mouth when Sonya nodded solemnly. “There’s something we wish to talk to you about.”Upon seeing the grave expression on his mother’s face, Lucian knitted his brows. He turned his head and handed Estella to Catalina to allow her to take the little girl upstairs first.Catalina obliged. Estella also greeted her grandparents obediently before following her caretaker upstairs.Lucian sat dow
Lucian did not say anything in the end, thinking that he would just head over and pick up the little girl in two days.Estella was very well-behaved with her grandparents and fell asleep obediently after dinner.Meanwhile, Sonya called Aubree, telling her to come over in the morning to send Estella to kindergarten, as she always felt that the little girl did not like Aubree because they spent too little time together.The following morning, Aubree arrived early, and after greeting the elders, she reached out to take Estella’s hand.Estella had just eaten breakfast, and her face fell when she saw Aubree coming over. Upon seeing the latter’s outstretched hand, she shrank back further, expressing great resistance.“Be good, Essie. Ms. Pearson is sending you to kindergarten. If you don’t leave now, you’ll be late,” Sonya patiently persuaded for a long time.Hearing this, Estella hesitated for a while. However, at the thought that she would be able to see the two little boys when she arriv
Aubree frowned but quickly covered it up with a smile, hurriedly changing the subject. “Maybe she’s not feeling too well today. After all, her fever has only just gone down. Please keep an eye on her. If anything happens, please contact me.”The teacher agreed with a smile, not looking too much into it.Aubree handed Estella over to the teacher and pretended to give her a couple of words of advice before turning to leave.She had only just gotten into her car when she spotted a familiar Mercedes-Benz parked in front of the kindergarten.Roxanne brought her two children out of the car soon after.Estella’s expression cleared up, and she began to look as right as rain once the three of them showed up.Aubree’s expression darkened rapidly.She watched bitterly as Roxanne chatted casually with the teacher before handing the kids over, and her expression remained gloomy until Roxanne got into her car and left.She only stopped watching once the Mercedes-Benz disappeared at the end of the r
Roxanne didn’t really know what was going on, but she still went upstairs and knocked on his door.The head of kindergarten’s expression also seemed strangely suspicious.“Pippa told me you wanted to talk to me about something. What’s wrong?” Roxanne asked.The head of kindergarten smiled in an extremely business-like way as he said slowly, “This is the problem. I’ve been observing your children for the last two days, and I feel like they are simply not suitable for our kindergarten. Maybe you should consider giving them a change of environment.”So he just wants to expel Archie and Benny!Roxanne frowned but remained polite. “Did they do something wrong today at school? If that’s the case, I will definitely tell them off at home. Please don’t worry. I can promise that they won’t do it—”She wasn’t done with her promises when the head of kindergarten cut her off abruptly, “The two of them have done fine. However, I wouldn’t like them to stay in this kindergarten any longer. Of course,
Roxanne didn’t even let him finish his sentence before she bellowed angrily, “Don’t you think you’re going a little bit overboard? No matter what happened in the past, it should stay between us. Just come at me instead! I won’t say no to that, but the kids are innocent. They don’t know anything. Why are you doing this to them?”She dug her fingernails into her palm in an attempt to calm herself down. Trying her best to stop her voice from wavering, she continued, “Yes, I shouldn’t have done that in the past. That was my fault, so feel free to get revenge on me for that. But please, can’t you find it in your generous, generous heart to forgive my kids?”She looked down after that, feeling her eyes start to water from frustration.The head of kindergarten had been right. It wasn’t hard for her to find another kindergarten for the kids, but that was only if Lucian didn’t interfere.If he wasn’t willing to let either of them go, then she couldn’t do anything no matter how much power she h
Roxanne hesitated for a few seconds before telling Madilyn about everything that had happened today.When she heard about Lucian being petty enough to take it out on the two kids, Madilyn was extremely pissed off. “What kind of man is he? How can he do that to kids? I won’t let this happen to my godsons! I’m going to tell him off.”She was about to storm out of the house, but Roxanne quickly pulled her back.They sat down on the couch and Roxanne chuckled. “It’s fine. I’ve already gone to talk to him. On the way back, I thought it through. You know what? This is a good chance to really cut things off with him. I don’t have to worry about him stealing the boys away from me anymore.”However, Madilyn still couldn’t let it go. “What about Archie and Benny? How are you going to explain to them?”Roxanne was still stressing out about that. She hesitated before replying, “I’ll come up with something.”The two of them continued chatting about the matter for a little while until it got late a
Roxanne had long guessed Sonya would treat her with an unpleasant attitude. Although she was displeased, she didn’t show it on her face.“It’s Essie and Mr. Farwell’s wishes that Essie stays here. As you’re her grandma, I have nothing to say if you want to bring her back, but I hope you respect Essie’s opinions.”Sonya frowned in displeasure.I’ve already asked Essie just now. I wonder what sorcery Roxanne has cast on her to make her refuse to go home. That’s why I turned to ask Roxanne, but I didn’t expect this woman to be so tactless!Sonya was livid.Just then, Estella spoke. “Grandma, I don’t want to go home. I want to stay here and play with Archie and Benny.”Estella looked at Sonya pitifully.Usually, when Estella wore such an expression, Sonya would have gone along with her wishes. However, she was filled with rage right now, so Estella’s look only added fuel to the fire.“You have to go home even if you don’t want to. You belong to the Farwell family. How can you stay at some
Ten minutes ago, Catalina had been instructing the rest of the household staff on their chores when she heard the doorbell ring.The moment she opened the door, she saw that it was Sonya.Before Catalina could greet her, Sonya questioned her, “Where’s Essie? Tell Essie to come out. Tell her that her grandma is here.”Catalina was put in a difficult position.Estella had not been in the manor for the past few days.She had thought that the little girl was with Sonya.However, judging from Sonya’s reaction, Catalina knew there and then that Estella was with Roxanne.It was obvious that Sonya must have discovered that, and that explained her anger.As a servant, Catalina did not know how to answer her question. In the end, she replied, “I will inform Mr. Farwell right away.”She was about to go and seek help from Lucian when Sonya stopped her in her tracks.“I want to see Essie. If she doesn’t come down, I will go up myself.”With that, she began to walk upstairs.Catalina had no choice
“Please wait for a moment as Mrs. Farwell is taking a nap. I’ll tell her you’re here.” After inviting Aubree to sit on the couch in the living hall, the butler was ready to go up to call Sonya.Aubree knitted her brows and responded, “It’s okay. I can go up and check on her.”The butler knew Sonya doted on her. He hesitated but eventually agreed to allow her to go upstairs.Aubree responded with a nod. After plastering a smile on her face, she took the stairs and went up.Sonya had just woken up from her nap in the master bedroom upstairs. Upon hearing a knock on the door, she opened it right away.“Mrs. Farwell.” Aubree grinned politely. “I hope I’m not disturbing you.”Sonya, too, responded with a smile when she realized it was Aubree. “Not at all. I just woke up.”Aubree walked up to her and held her arm affectionately. “I brought you lots of gifts. Let’s go down and check them out.”“Aww, you’re too sweet.” Sonya glanced at her. “You didn’t have to do that. I’m happy that you’re h
The search lasted the entire morning.The grim-faced Cayden, who returned with his subordinates in the afternoon, said, “We found nothing, Mr. Farwell.”Admittedly, Cory was an excellent private investigator.Cayden could not help but wonder how he had managed to keep in touch with his employers.Not only did Cayden not find any evidence of how the mastermind instructed Cory to spy on Roxanne, but he also could not find proof that could expose Cory’s identity as a private investigator.Cory began playing the sympathy card. “Mr. Farwell, I told you no one instructed me to do anything.”Lucian waited for half a day but did not get the answer he was looking for. His eyes blazed with fury when he saw the pretentious innocent look on the culprit’s face.“If no one put you up to this, why did you stalk her?” he asked.Cory blinked innocently. “B-Because I find Ms. Jarvis attractive. I wished to snap photos of her since I was trying my hand at photography.”He had felt nervous before Cayden
Meanwhile, Lucian, too, ordered Cayden to investigate the issue.With Farwell Group’s financial capability, the investigation was carried out effortlessly.In less than an hour, Cayden had managed to bring the private investigator to Farwell Group.It was not until the private investigator was led to Farwell Group’s entrance that he realized something was off.“D-Did I do something wrong? Why did you bring me here?”Cayden cast him a cold glance. “Why are you asking me that? I’m not the one who calls the shots here. You’ll find out soon.”The private investigator’s legs trembled when he heard Cayden’s words.The only person who came to mind when he thought of the person who called the shots for Farwell Group was none other than Lucian Farwell.The private investigator had recently been following Roxanne around on Aubree’s orders. During those times, he had indeed seen Roxanne interacting with Lucian.Yet, he paid no mind to that.After all, he was merely doing as instructed. He did no
Upon hearing that, the doubtful Roxanne and Madilyn exchanged glances.They had spoken to nearly all the research institutes that could develop that specific bacterium in Horington, and only that research institute confirmed that their laboratory had previously lost the bacteria.Although it happened half a month ago, the bacteria could remain viable as long as they were appropriately preserved.Madilyn was aware of that and didn’t hesitate to ask, “How did you guys lose the bacteria back then? Do you guys have any findings now?”The person’s answer did not disappoint them. “One of the researchers should have taken it,” he said frankly.Madilyn was filled with confusion when she heard that.“Although we have no solid evidence, we were certain about that. Two days after the bacteria went missing, that researcher suddenly quit. We haven’t heard from her since then,” the person continued.Before Madilyn could speak, Roxanne asked, “What’s the name of that researcher?”The person on the o
At the side, Estella had her head lifted and gazed at Roxanne, looking hopeful.Roxanne’s gaze flickered. Only after obtaining Lucian’s promise did she forcibly suppress the worry within her.“Got it. I’ll take good care of Essie for the next few days.”Lucian indifferently inclined his head a fraction in acknowledgment. Shortly after, he took his leave and left.Roxanne watched as his car disappeared into the distance before bringing Archie, Benny, and Estella into the mansion.All three children were already starving to the point that their stomachs growled incessantly.Without tarrying, Roxanne prepared some quick and easy breakfast to fill their stomachs first.After having breakfast, she had the children play by themselves while she stood up and went into the study.She simply couldn’t sit back and do nothing about the person who used the bacteria on the children.Worse still, Lucian left Estella at her place. Hence, she wanted to catch the culprit as soon as possible to eliminat
“Have you and the kids been here?”Lucian came to a stop under a gigantic tree.Stopping with him, Roxanne looked around before shaking her head. “No.”That tree was located at the edge of the woods.Yesterday, she had been with Archie, Benny, and Estella in the woods or by the waterfall.As such, they indeed hadn’t been to that particular spot.Nodding in understanding, Lucian motioned for her to take a look at the bottom of the tree.Roxanne followed his gaze and took a closer look, upon which she made out a vague footprint.From the looks of it, it obviously belonged to an adult.As the footprints moved toward the edge of the gra*sy area, they grew increasingly faint.Therefore, she had no way of knowing whether the owner of those footprints had gone anywhere near the tent.However, it was certain that someone else was there yesterday other than her and the children.In fact, that person had been watching from the side while she was playing with the children.That realization had a
After Archie, Benny, and Estella had dozed off, Roxanne turned off the small night light in the tent.Consequently, the tent was pitch-dark right then, and she had no idea whether Lucian was asleep on the other side.Well, I didn’t hear any movement in a long time, so he has probably gone to sleep.At that thought, Roxanne quietly got up and left the tent. She sat outside under the moonlight alone and stared blankly into space.The weather had been great for the past two days. The moon shone brightly, but there weren’t many stars in the sky.For safety reasons, Lucian had the headlights turned on, illuminating the tent’s surroundings and rendering it like daylight.As Roxanne looked at the scenery around her, her mind gradually began drifting.Too many things had happened that day.At first, the children suddenly contracted a bacterial infection. Then, she inexplicably ended up in the same space as Lucian.Both of the incidents had her emotions turn into a jumbled mess.While she was