Beside her, Lucian heard the boys’ voices faintly and placed his work aside. He looked at her and was about to ask whether she had to head home to take care of them, but the sight of her tenderexpression made him change his mind.“Who normally takes care of the boys when you’re busy? Do they stay at home? Or do you hire someone to take care of them?” he asked.Roxanne told him, “My friend helps out. Now, Lysa will take care of them.”Lucian asked, “Was it the same when you were working overseas?”Despite not knowing why he posed that question, Roxanne answered instinctively, “I’d hire someone to take care of them or bring them to my workplace. My colleagues loved them.”Right after those words left her mouth, the living room went silent again.Roxanne lowered her gaze to check on the little girl’s condition.“They’re older now and easier to take care of. It must have been hard when they were younger,” Lucian said suddenly. His gaze fell on her as he pretended to ask nonchalantly, “Ho
Lucian’s brows snapped together. He hesitated briefly before accepting the blanket from Catalina. Bending his body, he draped the blanket over them carefully and tucked Roxanne in.After that, he was about to get up when his gaze landed on Roxanne’s sleeping face.Lucian froze, and he couldn’t keep his gaze off her.This was the first time he had ever seen her up close.It was obvious that she wasn’t sleeping well. Her lashes would flutter occasionally as though she would wake up any minute.Lucian wondered when she would wake up.Suddenly, she frowned in her sleep as her head slipped off the couch.Before she could fall off the couch, Lucian reached out instinctively to protect her head. She fell into his embrace instead.Suddenly, he registered the sensation of her soft cheek brushing against his palm.Lucian’s gaze turned dark. Afraid of waking her up, he didn’t move an inch.Roxanne was in his embrace, and Estella was in Roxanne’s embrace.Seeing that, a thought occurred to Catali
After the braid was done, Roxanne led Estella out.She turned and spotted the man standing at the door.Immediately, the warmth in Lucian’s gaze disappeared and was replaced by an indifferent look. He told her courteously, “Breakfast’s ready. Let’s go downstairs.”With that, he turned around and left without waiting for them.Roxanne was rooted to the spot.His expression was different just now. It appeared for a fleeting moment only, though. Was I seeing things?Snapping out of her reverie, Roxanne led Estella down the stairs.Estella took the seat next to Lucian at the dining table.Roxanne was about to take the seat across from them when Estella tugged at her sleeves, forcing her to stop in her tracks.“Ms. Jarvis, why don’t you sit beside Ms. Estella?” Sensing Estella’s intention, Catalina chuckled and pulled out the chair beside the little girl.Estella nodded in agreement and gazed at Roxanne expectantly.At once, Roxanne glanced at the man sitting on the other side of the littl
Sonya felt bad for her. “Don’t be afraid. I’ll head back home to deal with the matter right away.”On the way back from the café, Sonya grew more worried the more she thought about it. Hence, when Elias got off work, she called him to go to the manor together.Lucian went to pick up Estella after work. As soon as the two entered the door, they noticed the elderly Farwells sitting on the couch with a solemn expression. It was apparent that they had something to say.“Dad, Mom, why didn’t you tell me you were coming over? Is there a problem?” Lucian queried in puzzlement.Those words had barely left his mouth when Sonya nodded solemnly. “There’s something we wish to talk to you about.”Upon seeing the grave expression on his mother’s face, Lucian knitted his brows. He turned his head and handed Estella to Catalina to allow her to take the little girl upstairs first.Catalina obliged. Estella also greeted her grandparents obediently before following her caretaker upstairs.Lucian sat dow
Lucian did not say anything in the end, thinking that he would just head over and pick up the little girl in two days.Estella was very well-behaved with her grandparents and fell asleep obediently after dinner.Meanwhile, Sonya called Aubree, telling her to come over in the morning to send Estella to kindergarten, as she always felt that the little girl did not like Aubree because they spent too little time together.The following morning, Aubree arrived early, and after greeting the elders, she reached out to take Estella’s hand.Estella had just eaten breakfast, and her face fell when she saw Aubree coming over. Upon seeing the latter’s outstretched hand, she shrank back further, expressing great resistance.“Be good, Essie. Ms. Pearson is sending you to kindergarten. If you don’t leave now, you’ll be late,” Sonya patiently persuaded for a long time.Hearing this, Estella hesitated for a while. However, at the thought that she would be able to see the two little boys when she arriv
Aubree frowned but quickly covered it up with a smile, hurriedly changing the subject. “Maybe she’s not feeling too well today. After all, her fever has only just gone down. Please keep an eye on her. If anything happens, please contact me.”The teacher agreed with a smile, not looking too much into it.Aubree handed Estella over to the teacher and pretended to give her a couple of words of advice before turning to leave.She had only just gotten into her car when she spotted a familiar Mercedes-Benz parked in front of the kindergarten.Roxanne brought her two children out of the car soon after.Estella’s expression cleared up, and she began to look as right as rain once the three of them showed up.Aubree’s expression darkened rapidly.She watched bitterly as Roxanne chatted casually with the teacher before handing the kids over, and her expression remained gloomy until Roxanne got into her car and left.She only stopped watching once the Mercedes-Benz disappeared at the end of the r
Roxanne didn’t really know what was going on, but she still went upstairs and knocked on his door.The head of kindergarten’s expression also seemed strangely suspicious.“Pippa told me you wanted to talk to me about something. What’s wrong?” Roxanne asked.The head of kindergarten smiled in an extremely business-like way as he said slowly, “This is the problem. I’ve been observing your children for the last two days, and I feel like they are simply not suitable for our kindergarten. Maybe you should consider giving them a change of environment.”So he just wants to expel Archie and Benny!Roxanne frowned but remained polite. “Did they do something wrong today at school? If that’s the case, I will definitely tell them off at home. Please don’t worry. I can promise that they won’t do it—”She wasn’t done with her promises when the head of kindergarten cut her off abruptly, “The two of them have done fine. However, I wouldn’t like them to stay in this kindergarten any longer. Of course,
Roxanne didn’t even let him finish his sentence before she bellowed angrily, “Don’t you think you’re going a little bit overboard? No matter what happened in the past, it should stay between us. Just come at me instead! I won’t say no to that, but the kids are innocent. They don’t know anything. Why are you doing this to them?”She dug her fingernails into her palm in an attempt to calm herself down. Trying her best to stop her voice from wavering, she continued, “Yes, I shouldn’t have done that in the past. That was my fault, so feel free to get revenge on me for that. But please, can’t you find it in your generous, generous heart to forgive my kids?”She looked down after that, feeling her eyes start to water from frustration.The head of kindergarten had been right. It wasn’t hard for her to find another kindergarten for the kids, but that was only if Lucian didn’t interfere.If he wasn’t willing to let either of them go, then she couldn’t do anything no matter how much power she h
“What’s wrong?” Jack and Colby were both gentlemen. They wanted to wait for Roxanne to leave before leaving.However, Roxanne’s car was still parked at the same spot even after they had waited for some time. Thus, they went up to check on her.Roxanne felt a little helpless. “The car’s broken.”Maybe some parts weren’t fully repaired from the accident last time.Hearing that, Jack and Colby exchanged glances, and Jack offered, “Let me help you to check.”With that, he got into the vehicle to check on it.He had always been interested in cars, so he thought something like that was happening because Roxanne did not understand them enough.Just as he was about to get to work, he heard Roxanne say, “This car was knocked by another car some time ago. Maybe the mechanics missed a few parts. I’ll get it repaired another day.”At that, Jack stopped whatever he was about to do.Since she already knows what the problem is, then it’s definitely not a man-made problem.“Then… Let me send you hom
There was a slight change of expression on Colby’s face when he heard that. Instantly, his eyes were fixated on Roxanne. She wants to treat Jack to a meal? Since when? How come I know nothing about it? Did they contact each other privately?Intrigued, he blurted, “Really? When was that?”Roxanne replied, “I made that suggestion when Mr. Damaris and I were talking about the medicinal herbs last night.”Turning to Jack, she added, “Mr. Damaris has helped our institute fix a huge mess. This meal is nothing significant compared to the favor received.”In other words, she made it clear that the meal was not meant to pay Jack back for his generosity.Jack did not seem bothered by her words.He glanced at Colby and teased Roxanne, “How then does Ms. Jarvis plan to return me the favor?”Jack’s gaze, coupled with his question, made Colby’s heart sink.He quickly turned to Roxanne, impatiently waiting for her response.Putting on a serious expression, she stated, “I’ll definitely make your sac
After staying up the entire night, Roxanne got up super early the next morning. She wanted to leave as soon as possible for the research institute because Jack was scheduled to deliver the medicinal herbs on time.Hence, she did not want to keep him waiting.With that thought in mind, Roxanne tried to stay awake.Upon getting dressed, she went downstairs, only to be greeted by two concerned children at the dining table.Roxanne sat down next to Archie and Benny. Then, she gave them both a peck on the cheek like she always did.When she lifted her head, she noticed faint dark circles under the kids’ eyes.She frowned immediately and asked, “You two didn’t have a good night’s sleep?”The boys shook their heads, feeling guilty.Benny answered in a piping voice, “I had a nightmare and caused Archie to sleep poorly.”Though feeling groggy, Roxanne could tell that it was just an excuse. She snapped her brows together and said, “You can come over and look for me the next time you have a bad
When they arrived back home, Archie and Benny wanted to cheer Roxanne up, but she did not give them a chance to do so as she headed straight for the study.When they saw Roxanne’s retreating figure, they felt disappointed and worried.They kept thinking that something must have happened at Lucian’s house that they did not know about.Roxanne closed the door to the study. She had a conflicted look as she sat at the desk.The truth was, she did not have any work. That was just an excuse she came up with at the very last minute.She thought of how she felt when she saw Lucian and Aubree together and felt a strange feeling tug at her heart.What’s wrong with me? I knew that Lucian was using me as his tool to compete in business. His previous pursuit was all talk. But why does my heart feel heavy when I see him with another woman…Roxanne had no idea how to face this version of herself.Suddenly, the ringing of a phone tore her away from her thoughts.She snapped back to her senses and loo
At the Farwell residence, Aubree was having dinner with Lucian and Estella.While they were eating, Aubree tried her best to engage in a conversation with the two, but she received no response.This angered her.Indeed, Lucian did not kick her out this time. However, he was acting as though she did not exist, as he had never looked at her once.They finally finished dinner. Aubree stood up first and turned to Catalina. She kindly said, “Catalina, let me help you clean up.”Catalina was surprised and wondered why Aubree had a sudden change in attitude.Before she could say anything, Aubree had started cleaning the table.Since Lucian would not accept her affection, she could only swallow her pride and try to impress him by doing little things.“Daddy…”Estella carefully tugged on her father’s sleeve.Lucian looked down at her.“I want to see the flowers.” She glanced at Aubree as she spoke.She did not want to stay with Aubree.If Aubree were to stay at their place, then Estella would
Lucian’s rejection was cold and indifferent. “Mind your own business.”After uttering that, he took Estella’s hand and went inside.Aubree’s expression darkened as she stared after their retreating figures. However, she quickly adjusted her expression and chased after them.Catalina had already prepared dinner, and when she saw Lucian entering with Estella, she heaved a sigh of relief. “Dinner is ready, Mr. Farwell, Ms. Estella. Come eat!”Just as she finished speaking, she noticed Aubree coming in the doors.Catalina’s expression stiffened slightly, but she forced herself to maintain a cordial smile.Aubree ignored her and made a beeline straight for Lucian and Estella.Lucian, too, ignored her. The only reason he did not outright drive Aubree away was that he did not want to aggravate his mother, who would, in turn, trouble Roxanne.However, if they expected anything more from him, then they would be sorely disappointed.Meanwhile, Lysa brought Archie and Benny home.Roxanne was alr
Estella nodded at Archie and Benny obediently.“Essie!”Just as the three children were chatting up a storm, someone suddenly called out to Estella from a distance.The three children turned to look toward the direction of the voice in unison.Since Lucian was out sick, there was no way he would come pick up Estella.By that logic, Catalina was likely the one who had come to fetch her.However, when they saw the person who was approaching, surprise tinged their expressions. One by one, they frowned.The person who called out to Estella was Aubree.Paying no heed to Archie and Benny, Aubree strode toward Estella directly.“Essie, your father is still sick, so I came to pick you up in his stead.”Aubree reached out, intending to take Estella’s hand.Estella pursed her lips. A reluctant look spread across her face when she saw the woman’s outstretched hand and she silently hid her hands behind her back.Frowning slightly, Aubree admonished the little girl, “Essie.”Sensing the veiled thr
While that was happening, Sonny had also informed Sonya that Lucian was unwell.Although she had previously gotten into an argument with Lucian, she still decided to personally check in on her son upon learning of his condition.“Mrs. Farwell.”When Catalina saw Sonya walking through the door, she could not help thinking about how the mother-son pair had quarreled the last time. She hesitated, wondering whether to let the latter go upstairs or not.Naturally, Sonya paid no mind to her hesitation. “Is Lucian in his room?”Catalina nodded. “He’s not feeling well and is resting. How about—”Before she could finish her sentence, Sonya interrupted impatiently, “My son has fallen ill. As his mother, of course I want to see him.”With that, she strode upstairs.Not daring to stop her, Catalina could only trail behind awkwardly.Over in the bedroom, Lucian thought it was Catalina coming to check on him again when he heard a knock on the door.“Come in,” he responded in a low voice.Soon, the
Right as Estella brought water over, she saw Catalina exiting the room and closing the door behind her.At that, she quickened her pace and jogged over to the doorway before looking at Catalina angrily.“I want to give this to Daddy!”The second Catalina turned around, she was greeted by the sight of the sulking girl. A resigned look crept into her eyes.Mr. Farwell enjoys giving me challenges like these, doesn’t he?“Ms. Estella, Mr. Farwell isn’t feeling well, and he has gone to sleep again.”Catalina dared not look into Estella’s eyes as she spoke, for she could not bear to lie to the girl.Upon hearing that her father had gone to sleep, Estella looked at the gla*s of water in her hands in disappointment and in silence.Catalina glanced at the time. It would still take some time before Sonny got here, so she brought Estella back to her room to rest.Half an hour later, Sonny walked into the mansion with his medical kit.By then, Catalina had already coaxed Estella to sleep, so she