Hearing that, Cayden hurriedly drove to the theme park.After getting the tickets and entering the place, both of them realized that they did not know where Roxanne was.“Let’s split up. Call me the moment you find her,” Lucian ordered coldly.Cayden nodded in response, and the both of them headed in different directions to look for the woman.Soon, the assistant called, “Mr. Farwell, I think I see Ms. Jarvis.”Lucian asked for his whereabouts and instantly headed that way.Since it was a weekday, there weren’t a lot of people visiting Universe Park. Both of them instantly saw the four figures standing outside the haunted house.It seemed as if the four of them were in a stalemate. Though, to be exact, Roxanne was at a standstill with Archie and Benny.The children were holding on to each of her arms, and she was standing rooted to the ground.“Mommy! Come on in with us. We’ll protect you,” Benny whined while tugging at her arm.Apprehension was written all over Roxanne’s face.Right
Lucian’s eyes darkened at her words. He originally planned to get straight to the point and tell her what he was after, but it felt as though her question had pierced right through his heart.If he were to tell her that he needed her help, the woman would have come up with something sarcastic to ridicule him.Staying silent for a few seconds, Lucian approached her in another way. “I just think that I haven’t given you a proper explanation regarding Archie and Benny getting kicked out of school. I hope that you’ll calm down and hear me out.”Roxanne was already determined that he was the one behind this incident. All she felt was irony when she heard what was just said.Explain? What’s there to explain? Did he not have enough of his fun over the past few days?At the thought of this, a cold glint flashed through her eyes. Her tone was distant as she said, “Mr. Farwell, you hold great power, so do whatever you want. You don’t have to deliberately explain after doing what you did. I don’
Lucian was perplexed and dumbfounded.It was only after a long time that Lucian managed to recollect his thoughts. He held on to her slender wrist, lowered his voice, and uttered word-by-word in precise clarity, “Since when did I say that Estella is Aubree’s child?”Roxanne’s wrist started to hurt, but she was distracted by his mind-blowing statement. Shock and suspicion filled her heart.Estella is not Aubree’s child!No wonder Aubree was not there that day when Estella was sick.However, from what she knew, no one else got together with Lucian besides Aubree.Who can it be? Who’s Estella’s mother?The thoughts started to overwhelm Roxanne, and she struggled to resist popping the question.“Mommy!” two familiar voices called out to Roxanne. “We finally found you! Are you okay?”The children ran frantically toward Roxanne, whose wrist was clutched tightly by Lucian.Archie and Benny exchanged glances before scrambling toward Roxanne.“Mommy, don’t be worried. We will protect you!” Ben
Cayden was driving at a blazing speed, and they arrived at the manor shortly after.After getting down from the car, Lucian led Roxanne, Archie, and Benny and rushed toward the second floor of the building.Meanwhile, James was waiting upstairs. Because of Estella’s resistance, he had to keep his distance while monitoring her, fearing that she would harm herself. Hence, he left the door slightly ajar and silently stood at the entrance.When he saw the four of them, James had his brows slightly knitted before nodding. “Ms. Jarvis.”Roxanne nodded in reply, and her attention was focused exclusively on Estella. “Where’s Essie? Let me take a look at her.”James pointed toward the corner of the room.Roxanne walked in that direction, and she saw Estella curled in the corner with her knees tucked in, and her eyes looked empty like a soulless doll.Recalling how Estella used to welcome her with a sweet, bright smile, Roxanne’s heart was wrenched in pain, suffocating her.This morning, Estell
Although Catalina was there, Lucian was the one who took care of Estella personally. Hence, he was well aware of her quirks and needs.Lucian remembered everything, including how Estella always woke up at midnight, that she needed to drink milk before sleeping, and that she was picky when it came to food.Lucian then stared at the rearview mirror and said to Roxanne, “I’ll leave Essie with you for the next few days. Thank you for helping her.”Roxanne replied calmly, “I’ve said this, and I will say it again. The child is innocent, and I will take good care of her.”Lucian did not overstay his welcome. Seeing that they had set up Estella’s room, he bid goodbye and left after that.Roxanne felt strange.Lucian confidently left Estella with me, just like that?However, her attention was subsequently directed back to Estella, and her lingering thoughts immediately vanished.Outside Roxanne’s house, Lucian’s expression darkened almost immediately. He then took out his phone and rang Aubree
Estella showed no response whatsoever when Roxanne helped undress her.As the pants came off, Roxanne was greeted by horrifying bruises and welts all over Estella’s buttocks.“It must’ve been really painful, huh?” Roxanne asked while caressing the little girl’s cheeks, feeling sorry for her.Estella simply stared blankly at her in response.“Don’t worry. I’ll make sure to be gentle, and we’ll give Daddy a call once we’re done with your bath,” Roxanne continued with a heavy heart after a brief moment of silence.After giving Estella a quick bath and a change of clothes, Roxanne had her wait on the bed while she gave Lucian a call.The call got through within seconds. “What’s wrong? Did Essie cause you any trouble?”“Was Essie’s autism really triggered by Archie and Benny being expelled?” Roxanne asked solemnly.Lucian frowned. “What do you mean by that?”Roxanne felt her heart ache when she realized he was probably oblivious to what happened, but the thought of him being an irresponsib
With that in mind, Roxanne nodded and led him upstairs.As Estella had already fallen asleep, the room was only illuminated by a night lamp at the time. Afraid that she would wake her up, Roxanne made sure to be extra careful and gentle.While standing by the door with his hands in his pockets, Lucian shifted his gaze from Estella to the decoration in the room.Not only did the room look exceptionally neat and tidy, but the dolls that Roxanne’s kids brought over also added a warm and homely feel to it.Looking at the room caused the anger that Lucian was suppressing to vanish completely and filled his heart up with warmth.After applying the ointment, Roxanne made sure that Estella was still fast asleep before getting up. “It’s done.”Her gaze met Lucian’s the moment she turned around, and the two of them locked eyes in silence for a few seconds.Eventually, Lucian snapped out of it and said with a nod, “Thanks.”Roxanne then closed the door behind her and walked him downstairs.After
With that in mind, Roxanne greeted him and waited for Pippa to bring the kids out the door.It wasn’t long before class was over, and the kids walked through the door in a straight line.Archie and Benny could be seen escorting Estella on both sides as they came out.After the five of them got into Lucian’s car, Benny kept tugging at Roxanne’s sleeve with a huge smile on his face.Unsure of why he was grinning from ear to ear, Roxanne flashed him a confused look in response.“Essie seemed to have a bad dream after waking up from our afternoon nap today! She kept crying even though Ms. Ward and the other kids tried to comfort her. In the end, Archie and I were the ones who calmed her down! Do you think she knows us, Mommy?”Roxanne had felt the same way earlier that morning, so hearing about it filled her heart with a warm sensation. “Maybe. I’m really glad that you two are able to look after Essie.”Benny patted himself on the chest confidently as he said in his childish voice, “Don’t
On the way to the Farwell residence, Estella puffed up her cheeks as she sat in the backseat. She stared at her father through the rearview mirror. “Daddy, did you make Ms. Jarvis angry again?”Lucian frowned slightly when he heard Estella’s soft and adorable voice.Estella caught on to the change in Lucian’s expression and knew that she had guessed correctly. She snorted angrily.She had thought that Lucian wanted to bring her to meet Roxanne.However, it turned out he had gone to create trouble for Roxanne instead.“I won’t listen to you anymore, Daddy!” Estella said gloomily.Lucian’s frown deepened. He patiently explained, “It’s because of work.”It’s this excuse again!Estella looked at the rearview mirror unhappily and said, “You only know how to lie to little kids, Daddy.”Lucian’s eye twitched in anger when he heard that.Estella continued listing out her grievances. “You also said that to me the previous time! Earlier tonight, you tricked me into bringing you to Ms. Jarvis t
Lucian stared at Roxanne with a grim expression. Even if she did not say it out explicitly, he could tell that she was still being suspicious of him.Realizing that, Lucian’s expression darkened terribly, while the tone of his voice became colder.“Since you are refusing my offer, Ms. Jarvis, I won’t insist upon it anymore.”With that, he turned around and left the study.As she watched his retreating figure, Roxanne’s eyes glinted with an unfathomable emotion. Confusion filled her heart at that moment.Lucian’s words still left her wondering why he had decided to come all the way to see her in the first place.She wouldn’t believe his claim that he was merely here to provide the medicinal herbs.However, Lucian did not mention anything else besides that.Roxanne mulled over it in the study alone, but she could not find an answer to her doubts.After quite some time, she finally decided to leave the room.Meanwhile, the children had finished their dinner and were playing in the livin
Roxanne could feel Lucian’s heavy gaze on her back. Although her back was facing him, she still could not ignore the fact he was staring at her.Due to Lucian’s presence, she was no longer in the mood to eat anything.“You kids go ahead. I have something to discuss with Mr. Farwell,” said Roxanne softly after taking several quick bites and placing away her cutleries.She could not stand having Lucian staring at her all the time, and she wanted to know why he came to her place.The kids did not think too much about that and nodded obediently in response.Seeing that the kids had agreed to let her go, Roxanne stood up and walked over to Lucian. “Let’s talk in the study.”Lucian nodded casually and stood up, following her to the study.“Mr. Farwell, to what do I owe this pleasure of having you over at my place? Do you have something important to tell me?” Roxanne stood in the center of the study, looking at him warily. “If you’re here to offer me the technical advisor’s position for Her
That night, Lucian went to the kindergarten to pick Estella up. It was already late by the time he arrived, so Estella was the only kid left at the kindergarten.“Daddy,” Estella greeted him aggrievedly after noticing his arrival.He patted her head apologetically. “I’m sorry that I’m late.”Then, he looked up and nodded at Pippa.Pippa had waited with Estella the whole night. Now that Lucian had finally shown up, she could rest a*sured and let him take the little girl home.After bringing Estella into the car, Lucian sat idly for some time instead of starting the vehicle.Estella urged him in puzzlement, “Daddy?” Her voice pulled him back to reality.He glanced at the little girl through the rearview mirror and saw a bewildered expression spread across her face.“Have you seen Ms. Jarvis in the past few days?” he asked.Estella became crestfallen upon listening to his question and shook her head dejectedly.However, she quickly turned delighted. “Archie and Benny said I’ll be able t
Jonathan cleared his throat at Lucian’s lack of response.“I heard a fire broke out in Dr. Jarvis’ research institute two days ago.”Hearing that, Lucian snapped his brows together.Jonathan was satisfied to see his response. “What’s the matter? Did you not know about this?”Lucian nodded, his expression somber.He had not seen Roxanne since the kiss the other night.Therefore, he knew nothing of what happened to her.Although Estella would try to get news about Roxanne from Archie and Benny before telling her father what she learned, Lucian knew that Roxanne would not let the boys know that she had been in danger.Jonathan fell silent when he saw his friend’s grim expression, and he waited for Lucian to speak instead.“Was the fire a bad one? Was she hurt?” Lucian could not help but ask.Jonathan lifted a brow. “Won’t you know if you go and take a look at her?”At that, Lucian’s expression turned dark again.Jonathan was bewildered by that.What does this mean? Did they have a fight
When the a*sistant thought about how Jack had invested twelve billion in Herbscape Group, he found himself unable to continue speaking. Despite everything, twelve billion was a hefty sum.Even if Herbscape Group was a hot potato, keeping it around meant that they would be able to see where the twelve billion was going.If they threw the hot potato away, it would mean throwing the twelve billion into the gutters.“Do tell me how you’re planning to deal with this,” Jack urged with a frown.Jack’s voice snapped the a*sistant back to his senses, and he had no choice but to steel himself and continue.“If we keep Herbscape Group around, I’m afraid it’ll affect Damaris Group’s reputation, so…”Jack arched a brow.The a*sistant squeezed out, “So, the best way to deal with this is to cut ties with Herbscape Group as quickly as we can.”It’s even better if we do it before the news of Herbscape Group’s executives landing in jail spreads.That was what Jack thought as well, though his heart ach
Only after hearing Colby’s response did Roxanne relax slightly. “I see. I’ll leave it to you, then. Feel free to come to me if you need anything,” she said.Colby agreed.Roxanne couldn’t help adding emotionally, “If you can find those medicinal herbs again, you’ll solve a huge problem for me.”Finally, Colby felt chirpy upon hearing Roxanne’s tone.Ever since Roxanne went to the research institute, she had been solving all kinds of problems on her own.She would only let him, the person in charge of the research institute, help her with trivial matters.Therefore, Colby knew that despite her praises, she had always only regarded him as an ordinary researcher at the research institute.After all, he was nothing compared to the men she had by her side.This time around, he was rather surprised at the fact that it didn’t take much to trick Roxanne into holding him in high regard.No one would’ve expected him to do so much just to create a distance between Roxanne and other men. It’ll b
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?”
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