When Roxanne was having lunch the next day, she saw Pippa’s text in the group chat. It was about the kids’ activity grouping.Upon clicking the link, she caught her name at the top of the list right away. It was followed by Lucian’s name.Roxanne was flabbergasted. She checked it once more and even queried the teacher: Ms. Ward, am I supposed to read the name list horizontally or vertically?Oh no, it’s Murphy’s law! If it was arranged horizontally, I’ll be in the same group as Lucian. Anything that can go wrong will go wrong.Pippa replied in a jiffy: Hi, Ms. Jarvis, please read it horizontally.Roxanne’s expression froze at the sight of the message. Refusing to give up, she asked once more to try her luck: May I switch to another team?Meanwhile, Pippa was helping other parents to regroup the other kids. When she read Roxanne’s text, she felt bad for not doing her a favor. She responded: I’m sorry, Ms. Jarvis. The groups have been fixed, and we can’t change them anymore. In addition
Since her request was going to make things difficult for others, Roxanne could not insist on it. She smiled in resignation and said, “In that case, don’t worry about it. We’ll leave it as it is.”Almost immediately, Jeffrey replied, “Thank you for your understanding, Ms. Jarvis. If there’s nothing else, I’ll end this call with you. Other parents are trying to reach me as well, so I’ll have to get back to them.”He was in a hurry to hang up, seemingly worried that Roxanne would change her mind.After ending the call with Jeffrey, Roxanne stared blankly at the crumpled piece of paper with the words Sleeping Beauty on it.The two boys noticed her reaction and gingerly called out, “Mommy.”Roxanne looked at them with downcast eyes. Seeing that their mom seemed disheartened, the boys anxiously asked, “Mommy, you don’t like that play?”She nodded, which aroused the curiosity in the boys.“Why? Is it a terrible story? Can you tell us that story?” they asked.Roxanne frowned slightly and bit
That night, both the boys and Roxanne did not get a good night’s sleep.Roxanne couldn’t stop thinking about Lucian’s reply in the group chat and also their collaboration in the play.As for the kids, they were kept awake by the worry that their mommy would back out of the play.The next morning, Roxanne stepped out of her room and saw two little “pandas” at her door.Surprised at the sight of the dark circles around the boys’ eyes, she frowned and softly jested, “Where did these two pandas come from?”The boys innocently looked up to her and gave her sheepish smiles.Roxanne shook her head and asked with concern, “What happened? Did you not sleep well last night? How did you get such bad dark circles?”Roxanne’s heart ached, and she bent over and gently caressed the area around their eyes.The boys closed their eyes to accommodate her, but there was a look of anxiousness on their faces. “Mommy, you’re still going to join us in the anniversary celebration, right?” They sought her a*su
“Ms. Jarvis.” Estella spoke, gingerly tugging on Roxanne’s outfit.Roxanne dropped her gaze and saw the little girl piteously looking at her with her big round eyes. She seemed to be asking why Roxanne was ignoring her.Roxanne was ruffled by her puppy-dog eyes, but she could only return a forced smile.Lucian noticed her uneasiness with Estella. His brows furrowed, but he quickly hid his emotions and said, “We are counting on your support to make the play a success, Ms. Jarvis. This will be the kids’ first performance, so I hope you can set aside your personal feelings for the benefit of the kids.”Roxanne’s expression froze. Her heart was in turmoil, but she put on a nonchalant front. She casually nodded her head and replied, “Don’t worry. I will.”As his gaze swept past her face, he could see she had pursed her lips and looked indifferent. Very obviously, she had no intention of engaging with him.Lucian lowered his gaze and exchanged a knowing look with Estella.The little girl go
When Estella heard that Roxanne wanted to switch to another group for the play, she pouted in distress and looked to her daddy for help.Lucian appeared emotionless, but his mouth was tensely shut. Although he did not say anything, it was obvious he was pissed.Before he made his way to the kindergarten that morning, he told himself he would avoid getting into a disagreement with Roxanne. However, when he saw she was adamant about switching groups with Ca*sandra, he couldn’t help but get furious.Estella suddenly recalled what Lucian had told her the night before. He had told her he would need her help to mend their relationship with Roxanne.She turned her gaze from Lucian and looked toward Roxanne. She was sniffling as she looked piteously at Roxanne, and tears were brimming in her reddened eyes.Her loud sniffling was very conspicuous in the noiseless cla*sroom, and everyone turned to look at her and Roxanne.“I want Archie and Benny!” Estella cried out, pouting and heaving as she
Just like that, the meeting came to an end after a brief discussion.Pippa stood at the cla*sroom door and waved goodbye at the parents as they left.Roxanne walked up to her with a concerned expression and asked, “Ms. Ward, are you sure you don’t want to change the plot for Sleeping Beauty? I don’t know if it’s appropriate for children to witness that final scene…”Pippa flashed her a rea*suring smile as she replied, “Don’t worry, Ms. Jarvis. The kids already know about this sort of thing. Besides, you’re not really going to kiss in front of them. You’ll be positioning yourselves to look like you’re kissing.”Pippa then looked behind her and asked, “I’m sure you’ll offer your full cooperation, right, Mr. Farwell?”Roxanne tensed up when she heard that.“Of course,” Lucian replied, his voice sounding like he was whispering right next to her ear.Roxanne lowered her gaze and stepped aside before turning around to look at him.“Don’t worry, Ms. Jarvis. I’m not the kind of guy who would
The next day, Roxanne was so busy working at the research institute that it was already seven in the evening when she got home.Upon entering the house, she froze in surprise when she saw Lucian standing in the living room.I remember agreeing to rehearse the stage play after the kids got off school, but I didn’t think he’d just let himself in without informing me beforehand…“Mommy!” Archie and Benny called out to her excitedly when they realized she was home. They then gave Estella’s hand a gentle tug, prompting her to turn around.Estella had a disappointed expression on her face at first, but her eyes lit up the moment she saw Roxanne.“Ms. Jarvis!” Estella shouted as she ran over and threw herself at Roxanne before Archie and Benny could.Suppressing her discomfort, Roxanne patted Estella on the head and asked, “When did you come over, Essie?”“She came home together with us!” Archie and Benny replied before Estella could.Noticing the frown on Roxanne’s face, they continued expl
While having dinner, Roxanne realized Lysa had arranged for Lucian to be seated right in front of her.As Lucian’s gaze would fall upon her from time to time, Roxanne felt extremely uncomfortable throughout the entire meal.After what seemed like forever, they were finally done having dinner. Lysa then cleaned up the table while Roxanne and the others headed over to the living room to rehearse the stage play.Although they had yet to finalize the roles for the play, Lucian and Roxanne became obvious choices for the prince and princess due to the kissing scene.The kids then stared blankly at Roxanne as they were unsure of the roles they should take up.After going through the script, Roxanne gave it some thought before saying hesitantly, “Essie can play the role of the witch.”Estella nodded obediently in response.“What about us, Mommy?” Archie and Benny asked in unison while staring at her excitedly.They were curious as they didn’t remember finding any roles in Sleeping Beauty that