Lucian knew Roxanne was uneasy about his presence, so he went straight to the couch and quietly read his emails right after he entered the room. Roxanne was playing with the children when a few knocks on the door grabbed her attention. She got up and went to get the door.When she pulled the door open, she saw two waiters pushing a cart, and beside them stood a man who seemed to be the manager. The man was looking at her respectfully.Roxanne was puzzled about the crowd outside her door since they did not order any room service. She instinctively turned to glance at the man sitting quietly on the couch.“Good afternoon. I’m the manager of the hotel, and this is the lunch included in your vouchers. Enjoy your meal,” the manager said with a courteous smile.Comprehension dawned on Roxanne. She immediately thanked the manager and stood aside to let the waiters push the cart into the room.Roxanne called the children over to have lunch after the waiters had set up the table.Lucian, howe
At the side, Roxanne had also heard Benny’s screams, but by the time she turned, it was too late. The boy had already sought refuge behind Lucian. The sight of the smile on that man’s face while the two of them were together left Roxanne with mixed feelings.As much as she had done for the children, certain forms of security were something only a father could provide.Oblivious to her sentiments, the boy excitedly tugged at her as he wanted her to admire the fish alongside him.Out of nowhere, a mermaid dove from above and waved at them through the gla*s.Wide-eyed, the boys asked Roxanne, “Is this real, Mommy?”Amused by their innocence, Roxanne patted them on the head. “Of course not, but she does look pretty, though.”“Could you dress up like a mermaid too, Mommy?” Benny looked at Roxanne in anticipation.Taken by surprise at first, Roxanne then went on to explain smilingly, “Well, I could, but I think that’d be a paid program.”When the children heard her saying that she could, t
After dinner, the lot of them headed directly to the beach to await the commencement of the fireworks display. Illuminated by the light of the moon, the ripples upon the surface of the sea sparkled like glitter—a picture of perfect tranquility.Although the beach was quite packed, there was not much noise.Immersed in such a setting, the ma*ses sat around and indulged themselves in infrequent bits of quiet conversations.With one hand holding Estella and the other on Benny, Roxanne weaved her way through the crowd while Lucian followed behind them.Being surrounded by so many bodies, Roxanne could not help but worry about the little ones and was hoping to find a more secluded spot where they could stay.As the beach grew increasingly populated, it drew a frown from Lucian who called out to the quartet ahead of him. “Come to Daddy, Essie.”He was wary of Roxanne’s way of herding the children and was afraid that Benny, who was occupying the fringes, would get lost in the crowd.Estella
Meanwhile, Roxanne was getting impatient after waiting for a long time with Archie and Estella. However, she had no choice but to wait in distress because she was worried about Archie and Estella whenever she recalled Lucian’s words.Suddenly, her phone vibrated.Roxanne frowned and instantly picked up the call without hesitation.“We found Benny. He’s watching the band’s performance. I’ve already instructed someone to keep an eye on him. Come over.” Lucian’s deep voice sounded.Roxanne felt relieved after hearing that. She immediately expressed her gratitude. “Thank you. I’ll be there immediately.”On the other end of the line, Lucian grunted in response before hanging up the call and hurrying to Benny’s location first.“Have they found Benny?” Archie asked carefully after taking in his mother’s expression.Roxanne nodded slightly and flashed a rea*suring smile at him.Archie appeared more agitated than his mother. “Let’s hurry up and find Benny! He’s alone. He must be scared out of
Archie sensed Roxanne’s remorse. He grabbed her hand and comforted her, “We’ll come here again and watch the fireworks next time. I’m very happy that we can find Benny this time.”With that, he curved his lips and beamed at his mother as if to prove that he was truly fine.Roxanne’s feelings of guilt intensified.“Come here. I’ll carry you.” Lucian’s deep voice sounded from atop.Archie subconsciously gazed up and met Lucian’s eyes, which were brimming with tenderness.Seeing that, Archie hesitated and turned to look at Roxanne to ask for her opinion.Roxanne frowned and scrupled for a few moments before taking a step back to make way for Lucian. “Thank you, Mr. Farwell.”She had caused Archie and Benny to be left out from indulging in fatherly affection for so many years. Although they had yet to realize their relationship with Lucian, Roxanne could not bring herself to deprive Archie and Benny of the opportunity to enjoy paternal love anymore.Archie’s eyes gleamed when he saw his m
“I’m sorry, Benny,” Archie apologized to his brother when the crowd shifted their attention away from them. “It was my fault for not holding your hand tightly enough that you got lost in the crowd.” Benny gazed at his brother and said casually, “It wasn’t your fault, Archie; it’s too crowded here. Besides, I wasn’t lost, and it was fun playing the drums, anyway!”Archie frowned for several seconds before nodding slowly. “I will hold your hand tightly next time,” he promised, “and never allow something like this to happen again.”Benny nodded vigorously as he squeezed his brother’s hand.Estella came over to join the fun. “Me too! I’ll hold both your hands!”The little girl clutched Benny’s hand as she spoke.Touched to see the three children walking hand in hand with similarly solemn expressions, Roxanne smiled gratefully. “Come, Benny,” she said gently. “Thank Mr. Farwell.”Benny appeared to be surprised by her words.“Mr. Farwell was the one who found you,” Roxanne said.The boy gl
Roxanne was about to bring the two boys up upon arriving back at the hotel when she felt a pair of resentful eyes on her back. Frowning, Roxanne glanced behind her and saw Estella hesitantly shuffling after her three paces behind.The child stopped in her tracks when she noticed her quarry had turned her head. Her little face was alight with anticipation.Not far away, Lucian pretended not to see them as he busied himself with pouring a gla*s of water from the bar.Roxanne walked toward the child. “Do you want to sleep with me, Essie?”The child nodded vigorously before asking cautiously, “Is that okay?”Roxanne’s heart softened at the child’s tentativeness. “Go ask your Daddy,” she said softly as she gazed at the man in the vicinity. “If he says yes, I’ll take you upstairs.”The child’s eyes brightened. She strode to Lucian’s side with her stubby legs, but the man ignored the child’s approach.Knowing that her father would agree, Estella tugged the hem of his shirt fearlessly. “Can
Lucian’s face fell slightly. “I’ll leave you to your work, Mr. Farwell. I’m just here for a drink. Don’t feel the need to entertain me.”Roxanne inclined her head at him before turning to head to the bar.The bar was filled with expensive wine, as they were in a presidential suite worthy of the name. Some bottles were even vintage.Roxanne did not know much about wine other than red wine was a sleeping aid. After perusing the selection, she opened a bottle at random.When Lucian heard the sound of a bottle opening, he turned around to glance at Roxanne’s back. Although he could not see which bottle she had opened, he reminded her, “Red wine will cause a ma*sive hangover. Don’t drink too much.”Roxanne grunted nonchalantly in response.The sound of Roxanne pouring herself wine was the only thing audible in the ensuing silence of the suite.Lucian’s attention was so focused on her that the contents of his email did not register to him.Roxanne quickly finished a gla*s of wine, but she