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
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