Estella had always kept to a fixed daily routine. While at Roxanne’s house, she had started getting drowsy at around nine o’clock in the evening and only became a little more awake while on the way home.Now, she had been sitting on the couch for a long time. Although she dearly wanted to wait for Lucian to return, she could not fight off the sleepiness that washed over her, and her eyes slowly closed.Catalina knew Estella’s routine like the back of her hand. Upon seeing Estella’s head droop lower and lower, she quickly hurried over to the girl’s side, preparing to catch her at any time.Just as Catalina anticipated, Estella fell fast asleep within a few minutes, and her body tilted to one side.Fortunately, Catalina was well-prepared. She caught Estella in her arms, then carefully carried the latter upstairs.When she finally left Estella’s room and checked the time, she saw it was already late at night.Ms. Estella was so stubborn just now. It seems as though she really does have
Lucian’s end of the line was so silent that his breathing was clearly audible. “Lucian?” Puzzled at not getting any response even after waiting for a while, Jonathan called out Lucian’s name. He started feeling tensed, thinking that his actions had drawn Lucian’s displeasure.There was another long pause before a low voice said, “You’re responsible for the online furor I’m seeing, aren’t you?”Lucian’s tone was impa*sive.Jonathan pondered for several seconds before admitting frankly, “That was the easiest and quickest method that came to my mind. As long as Herbscape Group’s reputation gets dragged through the mud, they may even end up approaching us, begging for an acquisition.”That response is not in keeping with Jonathan’s usually free-and-easy demeanor, yet it’s unsurprising. He has put in a lot of effort to get to where he is today and helped his family gain a solid footing in Horington’s business world. Apart from Damaris Group, they’re the only other family that’s so powerfu
After ending his call with Dean, Jack googled Herbscape Group and was swamped with news headlines about the company. Jack read every article carefully, realizing that every post was published that day.The person behind the exposé clearly did not wish to give Herbscape Group any room to breathe.Jack raised his brows in surprise as he read the news online.He had to admit that the person who uncovered Herbscape Group’s scandalous past was a brilliant mastermind.Only a skilled hacker could dig out the company’s well-hidden scandals.The discovery significantly narrowed his circle of suspects.There were few people in Horington who were this talented and had a history with Herbscape Group.Jack could only think of one person—Lucian.Still, Damaris Group and Herbscape Group had formalized their collaboration a long time ago. It seemed a little late to be exacting revenge now.What is he playing at?Jack narrowed his eyes in thought.Just then, Dean called him again. He was evidently an
A moment of silence descended upon the room. When Lucian saw Catalina’s expression, he instinctively turned around. His heart skipped when he saw the state Estella was in. He swiftly reached out and caught Estella. “Be careful.”At the sight of Lucian holding Estella, Catalina heaved a sigh of relief.Although Estella was only a few steps away from the floor, she was small and fragile. It would be dangerous if she were to fall.Estella had been in a hurry to chase Lucian that she did not watch her steps. The moment she missed her footing, she was so terrified that she couldn’t make a sound at all.Although Lucian had caught her in time, she only felt more and more aggrieved.Why didn’t Daddy wait for me?At that thought, Estella looked up at Lucian with a pout and grumbled, “I couldn’t keep up with you because you were walking too fast.”Lucian furrowed his brows. He knew that Estella was blaming him for her almost accident.Meeting her eyes, he said helplessly, “Essie, I told you th
Jack accepted the cup of coffee from Roxanne and said politely, “Thanks.” Roxanne sat down beside him on the couch and stared at him solemnly. “What should I do now?”A major incident had erupted at Herbscape Group. Yet, Jack dropped by early in the morning to look for her. It meant that he needed her help.However, Jack responded with another question, “Do you have a suspect in mind?”Roxanne was stunned by his question.In fact, she had a suspect in mind, but she did not know how to approach the subject.Subconsciously, she refused to believe that Lucian would do such a thing.“Mr. Lacroix of Herbscape Group told me that he suspects Farwell Group is behind the incident.” Jack fabricated Dean’s words expressionlessly. “It’s because Herbscape Group broke off the contract at the last minute, and as such, Farwell Group decided to take revenge on them.”Roxanne frowned and kept quiet.Dean’s suspicions were the same as hers.Jack glanced at her and continued, “In my opinion, that might
Jack didn’t mind. Instead, he flashed a meaningful grin. “Don’t thank me first. I’m giving you these presents because I have a favor to ask.” Hearing that, the kids immediately put up their guard.Roxanne was similarly baffled. This is only his second time meeting the children. What favor does he have to ask from them?Just as she was wondering, she noticed Jack looking at her, causing her to be startled.The next second, he looked at the kids again and said, “I need to borrow your mommy for a while. Is that all right?”The kids exchanged glances, having already expected that to happen. We knew it. He’s here to take Mommy away again. If Daddy knows about this, I wonder how long Mommy and Daddy’s next fight will last before they reconcile.At that thought, the kids shook their heads without hesitation and uttered matter-of-factly, “Mommy promised to bring us out to have fun today. Adults shouldn’t lie to children!”Hearing that, Jack shot Roxanne a surprised look.Roxanne was instantl
“Mommy…” Benny’s voice trembled slightly as he attempted to conceal his fear. “Do I have to go for the surgery?” Roxanne nodded fervently. “Your acute appendicitis will only worsen if you don’t, and you’ll be in even more pain. I’m worried about you.”Benny hesitated for several seconds and gradually removed his hand from his stomach. “Mommy, I’m feeling much better. I’m perfectly fine now. Let’s not go for the surgery, please?”Roxanne shook her head at once.Archie and Benny eyed one another. Their eyes were full of fear and regret.Archie tugged at the hem of Roxanne’s shirt gingerly and said obediently, “Mommy, we’re both sorry for lying to you just now. I was the one who asked Benny to pretend to be sick. Please don’t bring him for surgery.”Benny got down from the bed and stood before Roxanne guiltily as well.Roxanne looked down at Archie and Benny and sighed internally before ruffling their hair. “Have you learned from your mistake?”They hurriedly nodded.Roxanne crouched do
Estella’s mood turned sullen when Catalina didn’t respond. A few minutes later, Catalina gave in and explained, “Mr. Farewell is very busy these days. He ordered me to make sure that you stay at home obediently. If you want to go anywhere, you’ll have to ask him when he’s back.”The thought of her father had Estella turn her head to the side in frustration.Catalina let out a sigh and called Lucian.Lucian was having a meeting at the office when his phone vibrated. Seeing Catalina’s name flashing across the screen, he hesitated briefly before leaving the room to take the call. “What is it?”Catalina shot a glance at the still-upset Estella before speaking into the phone. “Ms. Estella has been sulking since morning, Mr. Farwell, and she didn’t even touch her breakfast.”When Estella heard Catalina talking to her father on the phone, she slowly turned around and stared at the phone.She wanted to talk to her father too.Noticing Estella’s intention, Catalina pa*sed her the phone.Lucia
Naturally, Archie and Benny also knew Estella wouldn’t be thrilled to attend a new school.Nevertheless, they decided not to push that matter further when they saw Roxanne’s reddened eyes.“We got it, Mommy.”Roxanne forced a smile at her kids. “Let’s finish our meals and get rested earlier.”The boys nodded obediently.Subsequently, the trio had their dinner absentmindedly.They returned to their rooms after taking a few bites of their food.Roxanne lay on her bed, looking at the conch shell Estella gave her, with complicated emotions churning within her.She had just been listening to Archie and Benny giving her an account of their fun time hanging out with Estella the day before.Unexpectedly, Lucian had transferred Estella to another school that day.She could easily imagine how hard Estella would’ve cried when the latter was informed of that matter.Nonetheless, she wa
Archie and Benny told me that Essie took the day off yesterday afternoon. I a*sumed Lucian had something urgent to do, so I didn’t give it much thought. Who would’ve known Essie would be transferring away the next day… After taking a moment to recompose herself, Roxanne asked, “Did she cry?”Estella had cried a lot when Archie and Benny had been expelled, so she a*sumed Archie and Benny would also feel upset about her leaving.Benny shook his head. “We didn’t get to see Essie. It was Ms. Ward who told us about it.”They didn’t know if Estella had cried about her transfer.It wasn’t until they heard Roxanne’s question that they realized Estella was probably just as upset as they were, if not more.Archie and Benny tugged anxiously at Roxanne’s shirt. “Let’s go visit Essie, Mommy! She must be really sad right now!”Roxanne wanted to visit Estella too, but the mere thought of heading over to the Farwell residence reminded her of what she had seen that night.Lucian and Aubree were chatt
Meanwhile, Archie and Benny were standing next to Pippa at the kindergarten. “Where did Essie go, Ms. Ward?”Pippa had no idea where Estella went, but she tried to rea*sure the boys. “Essie took the day off. But I’m not too sure about the reason.”“Will we be able to see her tomorrow?” Archie asked.Pippa was hesitant to answer that question at first. Seeing how anxious the two of them were, however, she flashed them a smile. “Yes, you will.”Only then did Archie and Benny breathe sighs of relief.When cla*ses were almost over, Pippa received a call from the head of kindergarten.He summoned her to his office and handed her a document and a pen.“All that’s left to do is for you to sign this.”Pippa took the pen and quickly read through the document.“Essie is transferring to another kindergarten? But why? Is there something we’re not doing well enough?” she asked in confusion when she realized what it was.“Mr. Farwell said it was a personal reason. He also said he would continue fu
Jonathan had wanted to try persuading him further, but Lucian cut him off, “I have a meeting to attend. We’ll talk about this some other time.” Jonathan had no choice but to get up and leave the office.After stepping out of Farwell Group, Jonathan thought about the advice he had given Lucian earlier and regretted every single word he said.If I had known things were that bad between them, I would’ve changed the way I worded my sentences! Now, look what I’ve done! Not only did Roxanne show no interest in Lucian whatsoever, but he has also given up on winning her over! Honestly, I feel really bad for Essie. She really likes Roxanne and wants her to become her mother someday. The best part about this is the fact that Roxanne is her biological mother. However, she’s in for a huge disappointment, as Lucian has already given up on winning her over. There’s only so much a child like Essie can handle…Of course, Lucian had thought about the exact same thing.He showed up outside the kinderg
Meanwhile, in the CEO’s office of Farwell Group, Jonathan was sitting in front of Lucian with a teasing smile on his face. “I hear a portion of medicinal herbs from Herbscape Group’s overseas branch has been shipped back to Horington.”Lucian simply nodded without saying anything in response.“Back then, I suggested you lend a helping hand, but you refused to do so. Now, look what has happened!” Jonathan continued with a chuckle.I thought he was actually going to ignore Roxanne completely, but he ended up intervening anyway!“Well? How did Dr. Jarvis respond to you lending her a hand?” Jonathan asked.The look on Lucian’s face turned gloomy the moment he heard that.When Jonathan didn’t get a response from Lucian, he slowly came to realize that he had said something he shouldn’t have.From his expression, it’s obvious that their relationship has yet to improve. In fact, it might even have gotten worse. This doesn’t make any sense, though…Noticing the confused frown on Jonathan’s fa
“What is it?” Aubree asked with a scowl. Frieda retrieved her phone and showed her a few photos.There was a tent in the first photo. Not far away from the tent was a white skirt.Nothing else was shown, but Aubree’s face was already grim.I know the tent. It was the one Roxanne and the little b*stards set up that day. The white skirt is most probably the one I wore that day.The photo didn’t show anything else, so the person who took the photo was obviously targeting her.In the following photo, Aubree could be seen wearing that white skirt. She was holding a white medicine bottle with an unknown substance inside.The photos showed what Aubree had done that day.Finally, the series of photos ended when Aubree finished positioning the bacterium and made her exit.Aubree’s face was as dark as thunder by the time she scrolled to the last picture.“Where did you get these?” she demanded.Frieda quickly explained, “I don’t know. Someone sent them to me yesterday with a text.”She hurried
The next morning, words about Aubree’s injury became public knowledge. Sonya contacted Aubree to show her concern.“Aubree, I heard you were injured. Is that true?”Aubree sat on the edge of her bed and stared at her wounded ankle. Her expression was cold, but she replied nicely, “I accidentally fell down, but I’m fine. You don’t have to worry about me, Mrs. Farwell.”Sonya furrowed her brows. “How did you fall? Didn’t you visit Lucian yesterday? Does he know that you’re hurt?”Aubree sounded conflicted as she responded, “Mrs. Farwell, you should stay out of this.”“He knows about it, doesn’t he?” Sonya immediately guessed.Every time Lucian mentioned his relationship with Aubree, he would tell me to stay out of it. Even Aubree is saying the same thing now!At that thought, Sonya grew breathless with anger. “Tell me how you got hurt.”A smug look flashed across Aubree’s eyes as Sonya was close to the truth.She pretended to be hesitant for a few seconds as if struggling with what to
Lucian’s phone rang when he arrived at the hospital entrance. It was the landline from home.“When are you coming back, Daddy?”Estella’s demure voice sounded from the other end as soon as he picked up.“I’m on the way,” Lucian replied softly. “Go to sleep first, I’ll be home to see you soon.”Estella promised and hung up quickly after that.It was already late at night when Lucian arrived back at his manor.Then, he made his way to Estella’s bedroom as soon as he got home just like how he had promised her.To his surprise, he found the child still awake. She watched him enter indignantly without saying a word.Lucian frowned. “What are you angry about this time?”“You’re back so late!” Estella complained.I would love it if Daddy spent all night with Ms. Jarvis, but he was with Ms. Pearson. I dislike her! Counting in the travel time, it would not take him more than an hour to make it back.Lucian’s brows twitched at the child’s complaint.The child had never complained when I was ou
“Daddy!” Estella urged a moment later when she did not receive an answer from her father. Shaking himself out of his reverie, Lucian nodded resignedly at his daughter.Only then did she let go and watch him go down the stairs.Aubree was beside herself with anxiousness as she waited downstairs and remained in doubt as she watched Lucian descend the stairs.That little b*tch’s private word with Lucian is obviously trying to get him not to send me to the hospital.Aubree was aware that Lucian spoiled Estella and was even delaying marrying her because of the girl.I wonder if I would have to go to the hospital alone because of her.Aubree could not quell her racing heart, even when Lucian stood firmly before her.Lucian turned to address the family doctor. “I must trouble you with Ms. Pearson, Dr. Elswick.”Aubree’s eyes widened at those words when she realized she was correct in her hunch that he did not intend to keep her company.“Do you hate me that much, Lucian?” Aubree hung her he