“It looks like the little ones like you a lot, Roxanne.”Alongside Jack, Larry walked over with a plate of food in his hands and sat across from Roxanne. Roxanne greeted him by bobbing her head.After smiling at Jack, she turned around and teased Larry, “I’ve more experience taking care of kids than you. Besides, I always carry some sweets just in case I need to use them to coax children. It’s effective, isn’t it?”If it were not for the sweets, Roxanne believed the children would not have cooperated with her no matter how much they liked her.Jack concurred, “It’s indeed a good trick. We can use it on the children during our medical consultations next time.”Roxanne froze for a moment and pressed her lips into a thin line. “It’s just something I learned from experience since I need to handle my kids.”Jack did not continue with the topic as he was more concerned with her mental state. “There will be more children coming in the afternoon. Do you want to take a break, Dr. Jarvis? You m
After the little interlude between Daniel and Roxanne, the meal could be considered a jovial one.When lunch was over, the doctors grouped up according to their respective cubicles and walked back together. The children obediently followed behind. Many doctors had already formed a friendly bond with the children.The children crowded around Roxanne, causing Jack and the others to find it rather hard to move along.With some difficulty, they reached the entrance to their cubicle, and the candy in Roxanne’s purse was nearly all gone.When they entered, Daniel still had some candy left. Hence, he seemed more popular than Roxanne as the children crowded around him with smiles. They appeared to have forgotten the unhappy incident from the morning.It was heartwarming for Roxanne to see the children growing so fond of Daniel.She knew children well. They were not one to hold a grudge. No matter what one did to them, as long as one treated them sincerely, they would reciprocate with genuine
The medical consultation only ended at night. By the time all the children in the orphanage had received their treatments, the doctors were utterly exhausted.Roxanne was also aching all over. However, the thought of those children getting better made her feel glad. Those who suffered from more serious conditions had been sent to the hospital as well.During the whole ordeal, she almost forgot about her original intention of being there. All she cared about was the children.The children were all lined up in the courtyard when the doctors walked out of the cubicles. Led by the director of the orphanage, the children bowed in unison and said, “Thank you, doctors!”The group of doctors was taken aback.It was their first time doing a free medical consultation for orphans and also the first time they encountered such a situation. Thus, they could not help but feel touched. Some of them even teared up.So did Roxanne. She clenched her fists with all her might to stop herself from crying.
It was late at night by the time Roxanne arrived home. However, Archie and Benny were still awake. They opened their bedroom door carefully and stuck their heads out when they heard her coming up the stairs.Roxanne grew heavy-hearted as she was reminded of the kids at the orphanage when she saw the boys.Seeing her expression, the boys ran over to her and asked in concern, “Mommy, what’s wrong? Did something happen at the medical consultation today?”Roxanne forced out a smile and led them back to the room.The boys flanked Roxanne and stared at her earnestly. “Mommy, how are the children in the orphanage?”Roxanne shook her head ruefully. “They don’t have parents. In fact, some of them were abandoned by their parents because they were sick. However, they are still very obedient and understanding.”Images of those kids lying on the bed flashed through her mind, as well as those who were sent to the hospital because the doctors were helpless to treat them.After learning about their c
After lunch, Roxanne drove to the Queen residence.It was all thanks to Alfred that she got to participate in the medical consultation, so she had to offer her gratitude to him personally.The Queen family had also delivered some supplies last afternoon, so she also wanted to thank them on behalf of the kids at the orphanage. While she was at it, she needed to ask them what that was about too.On the way there, she gave Jonathan a call to inform him of her arrival.When she arrived at the Queen residence, Jonathan was already waiting in the living room.Seeing her, he got to his feet and gave her a welcoming smile. “Dr. Jarvis, are you here to visit my grandpa? He’s resting upstairs. Should I ask him to come down now?”Roxanne chuckled and shook her head. “I don’t mind waiting. I need to talk to you, too.”Jonathan arched a brow in confusion. “What is it about?”After they sat on the couch, Roxanne parted her lips and said, “Last afternoon, Rex delivered a huge bunch of supplies to th
The meeting with the Damaris family was important, so Roxanne dressed up to show her sincerity.That afternoon, she arrived at the café earlier than the agreed time.Shortly after, she spotted Jack leading an elderly man into the café.The grey-haired man who resembled Jack was skinny and wearing a traditional outfit.It only took one look for her to guess how they were related to each other.Shocked, Roxanne got up hurriedly. She waited until they both came to a stop in front of her before giving the elderly man a polite bow.The man gave her a kind smile and observed her carefully.Roxanne had put on light makeup and tied her hair up to reveal her delicate features and swan-like neck. She looked beautiful and demure, dressed in a simple but elegant long dress.Sensing his gaze, Roxanne stood in her spot and allowed him to observe him as a smile played on her lips.A while later, the old man looked away and gestured at Jack.“Dr. Jarvis, sorry to keep you waiting.” Jack helped the ol
Alfred was well aware that Hector had met up with Roxanne earlier that day. After dinner that night, he gave Hector a call to have a grasp of their collaboration.Meanwhile, Jonathan was seated alongside him. After knowing that the Damaris family had agreed to collaborate with Roxanne, he notified Lucian without hesitation.In the meantime, Lucian had just put Estella to sleep when he received Jonathan’s call. “Yes?”“Let me tell you some great news. The Damaris family has agreed to collaborate with Dr. Jarvis. Thus, I suppose she’ll not fly overseas temporarily,” Jonathan responded with sheer blissfulness in his tone.Lucian arched his brows and nodded pleasantly. “Well done.”From the other end of the line, Jonathan’s voice sounded again. “Even so, it implies that Dr. Jarvis will have to deal with the young heir from the Damaris family for a certain period after this.”Lucian knitted his brows. “What do you mean?”“Jack Damaris will be in charge of the Damaris family’s research inst
Catching sight of Estella having her meal gloomily, Lucian could not restrain himself from questioning, “Essie, what’s the matter? Why’re you unhappy?”Estella pouted her lips and grumbled, “You don’t like Ms. Jarvis anymore.”Flabbergasted, Lucian was silent for a few seconds before querying desperately, “What makes you say that?”Down in the dumps, Estella stared at him. “We can finally meet Ms. Jarvis during the anniversary celebration, but you don’t seem to look forward to it at all.”Lucian’s brows twitched uncontrollably as he refuted, “That’s not true.”Estella threw him a glance doubtfully. Daddy didn’t look excited at all in the car just now. Even when he’s denying it now, he doesn’t look glad at all. He’s bluffing!Sensing Estella’s doubt, Lucian frowned resignedly. “I only can’t help thinking we can’t carry on like this.”Perplexed, Estella tilted her head.Lucian stroked Estella’s head affectionately. Deep down, he knew he needed her help to mend his relationship with Roxa
“May I know your last name?” Pamela suddenly looked at her. “Jarvis,” Roxanne replied in a hoarse voice.Once Pamela heard the answer, she breathed a sigh of relief and hurriedly notified Lucian.I’ve never heard of the Farwell family having any relationship with a family with the surname Jarvis. Thus, this woman will certainly not be any relative of Essie. Luckily, I call Mr. Farwell in time to confirm it.However, the person on the other end of the line fell silent after she told him Roxanne’s last name.It made her a little worried, and she wondered if she had done anything wrong.“Get her to wait. I’m heading over right now.”When Pamela was about to apologize, Lucian’s deep voice suddenly rang out.She looked at the woman before her in confusion and hastily agreed.Roxanne noticed Pamela’s gaze and felt her heart drop.After hanging up the phone, Pamela looked at Roxanne solemnly and said, “Mr. Farwell said he’ll be here soon. Please leave Estella to me.”Lucian’s tone on the ph
Now that Pamela had taken a good look at Roxanne, she realized there were indeed some similarities between Estella and her. Despite that, she still chose to be careful and confirm with Estella. “Essie, is she your aunt?”Estella only wrapped her arms around Roxanne’s neck with her back facing Pamela. Not a single word came from her mouth.Roxanne had no choice but to pat the girl’s head to attract her attention. “Essie, your teacher’s talking to you.”Only when Estella heard Roxanne’s voice did she slowly turn around.Flashing Estella a smile, Pamela repeated her question.To their horror, Estella pursed her lips and shook her head, clearly looking upset.Both Roxanne and Pamela were stunned by Estella’s response.Roxanne knew Estella was mad because she had denied being her mother. However, she could not explain the situation to Pamela either.Pamela thought that Roxanne, the woman who claimed to have a different identity, was extremely suspicious.She picked up her phone again with
The children got more fearful when they heard Estella calling Roxanne “mommy.” On top of that, the latter did not show any rejection. This lady must’ve seen how we bullied Essie just now.Roxanne patted Estella’s head before lowering her gaze to glance at the surrounding children.“Apologize to Essie!”Her fierce expression made them hang their heads low in guilt.However, the girl who attacked Essie summoned her courage and feigned innocence. “It’s not like that. It was Essie who pushed me first. That’s why—”Hearing the little girl lying straight in her face only brought Roxanne’s anger to a new height. “Why would Essie push you out of nowhere?”When she finished, she suddenly remembered something and reached out to hold Estella’s hand.The moment Roxanne saw the red mark on Estella’s hand, her anger spiked even more. “Did Essie do this to herself, too?”The children exchanged glances, for they never expected Roxanne to have witnessed them stepping on Estella’s hand.Now that her a
Roxanne heaved a sigh of relief. She could see that although Estella was a bit out of place, the other children approached her enthusiastically and played with her.Yet before she could feel totally at ease, she saw Estella letting out a yelp.The children who were skipping around also halted their actions one by one.Feeling her heart tighten, Roxanne instinctively looked in Pamela’s direction.Something was obviously wrong with Estella, and Pamela could probably see that from where she was standing.However, there was a child who wouldn’t stop crying next to Pamela. Although she did notice a small commotion over here, she was occupied with coaxing the child beside her.Left with no choice, Roxanne turned back to Estella and observed her worriedly.The girl hung her head low as she ma*saged her hand on her lap.Roxanne could only see Estella’s actions vaguely from her spot, but she could guess that the latter was hurt.Upon realizing that, Roxanne felt a little distressed. Neverthel
Roxanne was surprised by her son’s words. She knew they had always been very sensible and had always taken good care of Estella.However, what she didn’t expect was that they had been thinking about this even more than she did.Benny chimed in sweetly, “Mommy, please talk to Mr. Farwell about this. We’re worried that Essie might get bullied, and we won’t be there to protect her.”Roxanne felt her chest tighten at the mention of Estella being bullied.She recalled the incident when Estella had been bullied by her cla*smates when Archie and Benny first entered the cla*sroom.Back then, the boys had stepped forward to protect Estella and helped her to smoothen things over with her cla*smates.However, now that Estella was in a new kindergarten, she no longer had any playmates she was familiar with. Roxanne was worried that if Archie and Benny weren’t beside Estella, the past would repeat itself.There’s a possibility that it would be just like what the boys said. Estella would be ostrac
Meanwhile, Estella and Pamela were the only ones left at the kindergarten entrance. “Essie, who’s coming to pick you up today? Were you always picked up so late in your previous kindergarten?” Pamela patiently clarified the matter with Estella, for it was the first time she had encountered such a situation.Estella pursed her lips in silence as if she didn’t hear Pamela at all.It was never her desire to come to the new kindergarten, and now that she was left to wait for a long time, she couldn’t help but feel depressed.Just when Pamela was wondering whether to give Lucian a call, a car gradually rolled up beside them.Aubree alighted from it with an anxious expression on her face.“I’m sorry for being late, Ms. Yaxley. Traffic was really bad.” After speaking to Pamela, she gave Estella an apologetic look. “I’m sorry to have made you wait, Essie. I’ll definitely come earlier next time!”Estella continued to pout in silence.Seeing that, Pamela defused the situation with a smile. “It
Jack froze for a few seconds before coming to some kind of realization and agreeing to it. The two of them then went out of the research institute.A look of delight danced across Colby’s face when he saw them leave.Ever since Jack came for Roxanne, Colby had been keeping his focus on the two.Therefore, he saw the look of struggle on Roxanne’s face.Evidently, what he had said in the morning was effective.Meanwhile, Roxanne came to a stop in her tracks at the entrance of the institute with mixed feelings still surging in her heart. In the meantime, Jack stopped behind her.“Sorry.” Roxanne had calmed herself down on their way out and realized that she had been a little too carried away earlier.Jack raised a brow and teased, “What’s the matter? Why are you apologizing to me all of a sudden? You couldn’t have secretly done something terrible to the project, could you, Ms. Jarvis?”Roxanne shook her head immediately. “Of course not.”I’ve done so much for this project. Why would I d
Estella looked at her father, who was already at the door and turned to look at Aubree, who was still standing by the couch. A few moments pa*sed, and the little girl finally begrudgingly got out of her chair and jogged to keep up with Lucian.Aubree let out a relieved sigh and caught up to them as well.“Daddy,” Estella mumbled. She gave her father a puppy-eyed look and tugged at the corner of his shirt in a bid to curry favor with her father.Lucian lowered his gaze to meet Estella’s. He lifted his hand and patted her head. “I’m really busy lately. Please don’t throw a tantrum at me.”Estella pursed her lips in disapproval, refusing to believe what he said.She knew as a matter of fact that Lucian was in a bad mood because he had quarreled with Roxanne.Estella was flabbergasted that Lucian was still trying to lie to her, despite the fact that even she knew the real reason her father was upset.Why are adults so weird? Why doesn’t Daddy just make up with Ms. Jarvis?Of course, Luci
Cory was in a good mood, knowing he had once again made a fortune. He then said, “Of course. Ms. Pearson, I’m sure you’ve come to me again because you believe in my capabilities. Now, tell me. What is it that you want me to investigate?” Narrowing her eyes, Aubree said, “Investigate what happened between Roxanne and Lucian!”Cory let out a meaningful chuckle when he heard what she said.Aubree questioned coldly, “Why are you laughing?”As if unaware of her anger, Cory muttered, “Since you’ve agreed to the price I proposed so readily, I have to show you something.”With that, he took out a phone from the bag beside him and typed away on the screen.Soon, Aubree received a few messages on her phone.“I believe what you’re about to see won’t disappoint you, Ms. Pearson.” Cory sounded confident.Aubree furrowed her brows and swiped open her phone, checking the messages he sent.The chat interface showed that Cory had sent her more than ten pictures.Each picture was attached with the tim