After the meal, Lucian told Cayden to send Archie and Benny back home to rest while he stayed in the ward with Roxanne so they could both keep Estella company.Roxanne couldn’t bear to leave the little girl alone in the ward. Estella was still afraid and refused to release her grip on the corner of Roxanne’s clothes.Roxanne felt guilty at the sight of Estella’s pale face. She caressed Estella’s cheek and apologized, “I shouldn’t have rejected you this afternoon. I’m really sorry.”Estella shook her head silently.The guilt in Roxanne’s heart remained, and she looked downcast.Regret had overwhelmed her when she learned of Estella’s disappearance.Now that she knew that Estella was emotionally affected by the incident, she got so heavy-hearted that she could barely breathe.“It has nothing to do with you.” Lucian’s brows knitted together when he heard her blaming herself.Roxanne forced out a smile and glanced at him without a word.She had experienced losing her child, so there was n
Lucian brought Estella back to the Farwell residence after Roxanne left.When they arrived, Sonya and Elias were already waiting in the living room. Aubree was sitting beside them with a woeful expression.Seeing them, Aubree immediately got to her feet to welcome them. “Lucian, is Essie all right?”She then got down on her knees to check on Estella’s condition.Estella retreated and hid behind Lucian. She grabbed the edge of Lucian’s shirt and refused to look at Aubree.Aubree remained patient and reached out to take Estella’s hand. “Essie, I’m really sorry for upsetting you. I was just—”Slap! Estella slapped her hand away abruptly.I hate this evil Ms. Pearson! She’s the reason Ms. Jarvis stays away from me!Aubree refused to give up yet. She came closer to Estella as Sonya and Elias were watching her actions.I can’t let Essie show them that we’re not close to each other!She stretched her hand out again. “Essie, don’t be afraid. I just want to check on your injury.”Without waiti
After learning that it was Roxanne who had found Estella, Sonya stopped reprimanding her. She focused on consoling Estella, who was still crying in her arms.A while later, Estella exhausted her energy and finally stopped crying.“Good girl, Essie.” Sonya patted her back. “Ms. Pearson adores you. She accidentally angered you, so can you forgive her?”Hearing Aubree’s name, Estella scrunched up her brow and turned around. She stretched her hands toward Lucian.Lucian picked her up and answered on her behalf, “Essie refuses to forgive her. Even if Essie does forgive her, I will never forgive her!”With that said, Lucian glared at Aubree. “This has dragged on for long enough. I shall make myself clear once again. I will never marry you. From today onward, we no longer have anything to do with each other. You have no reason to show up before Essie anymore!”His words stunned everyone else.It took Sonya a few seconds to regain her composure. She grabbed Lucian’s arm and demanded, “Lucian,
Archie and Benny had already gotten up when Roxanne arrived home. They promptly asked about Estella.The boys were delighted to learn that Estella could talk again.As Roxanne’s wrist was injured, the boys refused to let her do anything and stayed by her side the entire day.The following day, Roxanne wanted to head to work at the research institute, but the boys insisted that she stay at home.“Mommy, you’re hurt. You should rest at home.” Benny shot her an imploring look.Archie chimed in, “We’re afraid you’ll fall ill, just like last time.”They could still remember how they had freaked out when Roxanne got sick previously.Roxanne knew the kids were worried about her. As her wrist was hurt, it would be difficult for her to work. Hence, she bobbed her head in agreement.After breakfast, the doorbell rang.Roxanne got to her feet and answered the door.She was taken aback by the unexpected visitors. “Why are you here?”Clad in a casual coat, Lucian held Estella’s hand. Estella was h
“You guys are right. All right, then. I’ll get going first. See you all,” Lucian said after a pause, pursing his lips. Since he had unilaterally called off his engagement with Aubree, and the news was not made public yet, Lucian thought he should only let them know later.Archie and Benny were surprised and disappointed when Lucian actually agreed so readily.So, he’s really getting married to that woman. Does this mean he doesn’t want us anymore?The disgruntlement evoked by this thought was apparent on the children’s faces, and they replied curtly, “Goodbye, Mr. Farwell.”Lucian was puzzled by their sudden change of attitude. The man wondered if he had done anything wrong to upset them, aside from his engagement with Aubree.Earlier on, he had found Archie and Benny strangely distant, so he had decided to leave them alone. Yet when he actually did so, the two boys suddenly seemed disturbed by his departure.Seriously… What’s the matter? I can’t think of a reason for their behavior.
Estella’s gaze was glued to Roxanne’s back, tears rolling down her cheeks uncontrollably. Archie and Benny were equally miserable. They did not expect Roxanne to be so heartless. When they saw that the girl was crying, they went over and consoled her.“Don’t cry, Essie. Mommy is really busy these few days. You can always come over and play once Mommy is free again,” Benny cajoled with a smile, yet his attempt was futile.When Archie saw that Estella was still sobbing, he took out a handkerchief to wipe away her tears as he comforted her, “We can still play together at the kindergarten, Essie. Mommy really likes you because you’re a good girl, so don’t cry. You’ll look ugly if you keep crying, and Mommy doesn’t like that.”Estella stopped and looked at the boy with doubt in her eyes.“Yeah! Archie’s right,” Benny quickly chimed in with a nod. “Mommy doesn’t like kids who cry.”It was not until then that Estella finally held back her tears with much effort.An inexplicable glint shone
Over at the Pearson residence, Aubree had been depressed ever since Lucian chased her out the other day. In the past, Sonya would always take her side and defend her, but she did not that day because there was nothing she could do to change anything.Aubree despaired when she recalled Sonya’s inaction.She was not dumb. After years of waiting for Lucian, she knew in her heart that he was not keen on marrying her. Yet she had always wanted to try her luck believing that Sonya would help her.She had always thought that Lucian would marry her one day as long as she waited for him.However, her hope was crushed when Roxanne returned to the country and Lucian expressed his intention to break off their engagement.After having some time to herself to cool her head off for a day, Aubree still decided to take the chance again by paying Sonya a visit.Sonya was not expecting her to come by that day when she saw her at the door. But after a short pause, she invited Aubree in, as she always di
Unbeknownst to Roxanne, Aubree had begun to plot against her. She was too occupied with the research she had to do. Her busyness was not entirely an excuse to send Estella home.If the children had not insisted that she took a day off because of her injured wrist, she would not have taken a break from her research work.Early the next morning, Roxanne was awakened by a call from her teammate. After a brief conversation, she rushed over to the research institute without even having the time to have a bite of breakfast.The beginning and end phases of a research project were usually the hardest parts. At the start of the project, Roxanne had dedicated so much time to it that she would spend days at the research facility.Since they were then at the final stage of the project, things were picking up again.Colby, who was still a*sisting Roxanne on the project, was alarmed when he saw the injury on her wrist while they were conducting an experiment. “Dr. Jarvis… Your hand…”Roxanne was s