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
Roxanne was taken aback by how the girl had launched herself into her arms, but after the shock came delight.It was the same action as before. In the past, Estella would jump into Roxanne’s arms whenever she saw the latter.Although the girl was crying, at the very least, she was reacting to her surroundings.At that thought, Roxanne lifted her uninjured arm and gently hugged the girl to her. At the same time, she tentatively asked, “Essie, have you recovered? Do you know who I am now?”The girl gave her a slight nod, but she continued to sniffle.At that, Archie’s and Benny’s eyes lit up. They then walked over to Estella and pointed at themselves. “Then do you know who we are?”However, Estella’s gaze was fixed on Roxanne’s injured arm; she did not look at them at all.The boys were disappointed.Sensing their emotions, Roxanne raised her hand to ruffle Estella’s hair and softly said, “The boys are here too. Do you see them? They’ve been taking care of you the past two days.”It was
Realizing what she was going to do, Lucian said, “I’ve asked Catalina to come. She’ll be taking care of you all for the next two days, so sit down and eat first.”Roxanne halted in her tracks before turning to thank the man, “Thank you.”She was not going to act like she was a stranger to Lucian because of Estella, so she was not going to turn him down on his offer.Lucian nodded.Roxanne turned to the boys. “Come on. You must be hungry too. Dig in while the food is still hot.”It was true that the boys were starving. Upon hearing her words, they jumped down from the couch and walked toward the dining table in a line.Roxanne was squeezed between them. Habitually, she tried to take care of them by taking food for them. However, she only recalled her injury right after she raised her hand. Thus, she had no choice but to use her left hand, but her movements were clumsy because of that.At the sight of the slowness of their mother’s actions, Archie and Benny said to Roxanne, “Mommy, you
It seemed like Estella could see that Roxanne had something on her mind, for the girl buried herself into Roxanne’s arms slowly before looking at the woman with big, concerned eyes.As Roxanne looked at the girl’s clear eyes, she recollected herself and hugged her.Her heart melted when her arms wrapped around the small and soft body. At the same time, she found herself letting go of the niggling question.The identity of Estella’s biological mother and the current relationship between Lucian and Aubree had nothing to do with her at all.She and Lucian should have been strangers. They were only interacting because of Estella. That was all.Overthinking things would only make her feel even more frustrated.In the meantime, at the Farwell residence, Sonya and Elias were about to rest. When they heard the sudden ringing of the doorbell, they hastily opened the door.Instantly, they were greeted by the apologetic faces of Samuel and Gina. Aubree was behind them, her eyes red.“What happen
Sonya could not sleep almost the entire night because of Aubree’s words.Consoling Aubree was not the only reason she had told Aubree that she was not going to let Roxanne into the family. It was also because she genuinely hated that ruthless woman.That ruthless woman was capable of abandoning Lucian and Estella once, so Sonya was sure that she would do it again.I have no idea what my son’s thinking about. I can’t believe he’s actually thinking of having her marry into the family again.The more Sonya thought about it, the angrier she became. That night, she sent men to find out where Roxanne was living, planning to visit her the next day.By the time Roxanne woke the next morning, Catalina had already made breakfast. Just as she was eating breakfast with the three children, someone rang the doorbell.Roxanne then asked Catalina to take care of the children as she went to open the door.Originally, she thought that Lucian had come to pick them up for kindergarten, but she was dumbfo
However, Sonya seemed unfazed by that. “Sonya has told me about this already. Essie was the one who had not been obedient, and Aubree only punished her in that way in her panic. She has already apologized to me. Essie is at fault too. Aubree will be her stepmother in the future, but she’s still kicking up fusses like these.”Hearing that, Catalina realized she could not say anything else. All she could do was cast a pitying look at Estella.The girl had just walked out of her own world recently. After this crying session, Catalina was afraid that she might revert to her state from the day before.After Archie and Benny heard their conversation, they guessed that the unfamiliar woman was Estella’s grandmother. Nevertheless, they did not hold themselves back as they refuted, “Essie didn’t kick up a fuss. That bad woman is in the wrong to have hurt a kid! Why would you listen to an outsider and scold Essie? She’s been badly hit, but you don’t feel upset for her at all? If not for my momm