Not long after, Archie and Benny slowly ambled down the stairs. They did not want Roxanne to see their injured arms, so they deliberately changed into their pajamas with long sleeves.Roxanne was waiting for them by the dining table. As Archie and Benny walked up to her, she suddenly felt something was amiss.She stared at Benny for a long time. Then, she frowned and asked, “Benny, what happened to your hand?”A scrape on Benny’s hand appeared rather unsightly.Hearing his mom’s question, Benny stiffened up. He followed Roxanne’s gaze and noticed the scrape on his palm.Upon seeing that wound, Benny immediately looked at Archie for help.Archie knitted his brows tightly.He figured Benny must have injured his palm when the older kids pushed them earlier.Still, he did not expect the scrape on Benny’s palm would be so eye-catching.Roxanne quickly sensed that her kids were hiding something from her. “Ms. Lane told me you were asleep the whole day. Did you boys sneak out?”She knew her
Roxanne waited for quite a long time, but no one answered the phone. After that, the call was disconnected. If it were in the past, she would never try calling back.But this time, since it was about Archie and Benny, she had no choice but to make the call again.It took Roxanne several tries before the other end finally answered the call.“What is it, Ms. Jarvis?” Lucian’s voice was extremely cold and hostile, a far cry from his usual tone of speech.Roxanne couldn’t help but freeze for a brief moment before she remembered the purpose of her phone call.“Mr. Farwell, why do you always involve the children in matters between us adults?” With a cold voice, she uttered, “Even though you forced Essie to transfer to another school without considering her condition, I don’t have anything to say about that since she is your daughter. But how can you be so narrow-minded that you would reject Archie and Benny’s visit?”Lucian raised his brows when he heard Roxanne’s words.Initially, he thou
Lucian ordered in a cold voice, “You guys have one day to find out what happened and who dared to mess around near the Farwell residence!” After hearing that, Axel agreed without hesitation and immediately led people to patrol nearby the residence.The few hooligans who took money from Aubree received an order from her to stay around the area for the next few days to keep an eye out for the two children.Aubree felt they would come again since they didn’t see Estella when they came the last time.As long as they dared to come, they wouldn’t be able to escape easily as they did.The next morning, the security team of the Farwell residence surrounded the hooligans.“Please, we didn’t do anything!”The hooligans quickly squatted down while shielding their heads as they sensed the other party was not to be trifled with.Axel looked at them coldly. “Did you people chase after two children yesterday?”They exchanged glances with each other, not daring to respond first.These men in black a
Frieda soon conveyed Aubree’s message to Cory. Initially, Aubree thought that the deal could be done via the internet. After all, Lucian’s men were still monitoring Cory.However, when the day of the transaction came, Aubree found herself ill at ease.If she did not watch him with her own two eyes, how was she going to make sure that Cory really deleted the photos?With that thought in mind, Aubree paused in her motions and uttered to Frieda, “Tell Cory that I’m going to watch him delete those photos myself.”Frieda stiffened. “But we might get exposed for this…”Tamping down the feelings of displeasure in her heart, Aubree said with as much patience as she could summon, “If I don’t do this, who knows if Cory’s going to lie to us?”Frieda did not agree with Aubree, but she still told Cory about Aubree’s intention.Naturally, Cory was not interested in meeting Aubree in person.Nevertheless, ten million was too great of a temptation for him to resist.After a moment of contemplation,
The teacher glanced at Estella before turning to Sonya. She then rephrased her sentence. “It’s not that Essie is ignoring the other kids; it’s that she screams when they come close to her.”Then, as if life was trying to prove the teacher’s words, Sonya noticed a few children who were getting picked up by their parents whispering as they looked in Estella’s direction.Along with the teacher’s words, Sonya could guess what those children were whispering about.“Our Essie takes a while to warm up to strangers. It’s her first day here, after all. I hope the teachers will be more patient with her,” Sonya said, maintaining her polite demeanor. “Essie will be a good kid once she’s used to them.”Then, Sonya lowered her head to look at Estella and asked, “Right, Essie?”Estella pressed her lips tightly together as she continued to hang her head. It was as if she did not hear Sonya.Sonya furrowed her brows and crouched down patiently. “I’m talking to you, Essie.”The girl blinked before loo
With that, Lucian strode out of the Farwell main residence with Estella in his arms. Sonya was fuming as she watched her son take Estella away just like that, but there was nothing she could do about it.For the next several days, Estella didn’t go to kindergarten and just stayed home to play under Lucian’s orders.She had become a lot more stable after returning to a familiar environment.Although she was still angry with Lucian, she was at least willing to speak to Catalina.Lucian was aware of her temperament. After finding out that she wasn’t completely refusing to speak, he no longer tried to force her.When the weekend came around, Archie and Benny wanted to see Estella.As they didn’t know if Estella had gone home or not, they were extremely worried.It just so happened that Roxanne was working overtime, and Lysa had taken leave to return to her hometown, leaving the two kids alone in the mansion.Hence, it was a lot easier for them to sneak out this time.After exiting the ma
Archie took the chance to sprint out of the mansion with Estella in tow. They then hid in a corner and waited for Benny to leave. Inside the mansion, Catalina had just poured a cup of water for Benny and a*sumed he was about to go upstairs.To her surprise, Benny gave her a polite bow. “Thank you, Ms. Catalina. I shall take my leave now.”Catalina frowned in puzzlement. “What about Archie?”They both came together, so she couldn’t understand why they would leave separately.Benny pursed his lips guiltily. “Archie left a while ago. He and I snuck in here without telling Mommy, and we were busted. She’s probably giving him an earful right now.”Catalina nodded understandingly. She found their antics amusing.I can’t believe they came this far just to visit a friend. Ms. Jarvis must be beside herself with worry.She suddenly recalled what happened previously and offered, “I’ll ask someone to give you a ride home.”Benny waved his hands anxiously. “N-No need for that. My mommy is waiting
Upon realizing Roxanne didn’t feel any animosity towards her, Estella leaped into her arms happily. Smiling, Roxanne wrapped her arms around Estella and asked gently, “Why are you with Archie and Benny?”Hearing her question, Archie and Benny exchanged a sheepish glance before directing their gaze toward Estella.Should we let Essie tell Mommy we sneaked her out, or should we tell her ourselves? It has been a while since Mommy and Essie last met. She won’t get mad at Essie!Estella didn’t disappoint them, for she quickly revealed, “Archie and Benny came to visit me. I wanted to visit you, so I asked them to bring me here!” Her voice sounded smug.Luckily, I followed them back. Otherwise, there is no telling when I’ll get to meet Ms. Jarvis!Roxanne stiffened when she heard Estella’s answer.Essie ran away from home with Archie and Benny. If Lucian finds out about it, how should I explain it to him? He’ll most probably a*sume the boys persuaded Essie to follow them back to my house.W
Originally, Sonya did not intend to cause trouble for Roxanne at such an hour.Yet she did not expect her son to release such a shocking announcement on the internet, and she only found out while she was having dinner.Sonya was so incensed that she didn’t even finish dinner. After throwing her cutleries in a rage, she set off and drove to Roxanne’s house.She was determined to make Lucian and Estella cut ties with Roxanne as soon as possible.Now that Sonya saw how dependent Estella was on Roxanne, her anger was further fueled.“Roxanne Jarvis, give me back my granddaughter,” she uttered frostily as if Roxanne had snatched Estella away from her.Sensing Estella’s nervousness, Roxanne gripped the former’s hand to soothe her anxiety. Next, Roxanne lifted her head to face the woman opposite her.If this had happened in the past, Roxanne might not know how to respond to a demand like this.However, things were different now. She was Estella’s mother, so she had the right to keep Estella
The boys were exhilarated for nearly the whole day after seeing the announcement in the morning.When night fell, Roxanne had just stepped into the house when Archie and Benny flung themselves at her in excitement. “Mommy!”She was slightly perplexed by their gleeful demeanor. “What’s going on? Did something nice happen in the kindergarten?”As soon as she ended her sentence, she glanced at Estella and was puzzled. If something did happen in the kindergarten, why isn’t Essie acting the same way as them?Upon detecting his mother’s confusion, Archie said, “Didn’t you see the news on the internet?”That confounded Roxanne even further. What news on the internet?Excitedly, Benny added, “Mr. Farwell claimed that we’re his children, just like Essie!”Did I hear that right? Lucian said Archie and Benny are his children? How’s that possible? Roxanne was stunned.He could tell his mother was befuddled, so he grabbed the laptop, clicked on a public forum, and showed it to her.Farwell Group’s
Jonathan’s jaw dropped open in disbelief. If they aren’t his, why does he look so calm in comparison to me, who is freaking out?“What are you thinking?” He shot Lucian an incredulous look. “If you want to help Roxanne by stopping the haters online, then you can just publicize your relationship with her and issue warning letters through your lawyer. Why would you do this?”If it was revealed that the CEO of Farwell Group had claimed to be the biological father of his ex-wife’s children even though they were not his, no one would believe it. It sounded pretty ridiculous, but that was exactly what Lucian did.“If I only did that, the netizens will still a*sume the worst about the boys’ father.” Displeasure flashed across Lucian’s eyes as he explained, “The kids are innocent. If she’s willing to marry me, it will only be a matter of time before the boys become mine, too.”Lucian knew very well that the last thing Roxanne wanted was to drag the kids into her mess, so he was more than wil
Soon, some recalled Roxanne’s previous scandal after reading the statement. One comment read: So what happened between Mr. Farwell and Aubree Pearson?Another read: Isn’t that obvious? Aubree is the homewrecker. She was the one who faked the rumors so Roxanne would give up on Mr. Farwell!One netizen replied: But what about Roxanne and Jack? They had been involved in two scandals. Besides, they seem to be on good terms.Another comment read: Isn’t that obvious? They are both capable doctors. Besides, the recent medical consultations were all initiated by the Damaris family. It’s normal for them to be on good terms!Many online users expressed their disapproval of Aubree, while the rest offered their support and blessing to Roxanne and Lucian.Now that Roxanne and Jack’s relationship was clarified, everyone thought Roxanne and Lucian were the perfect couple.One comment read: I heard that Roxanne had participated in various medical consultations recently. A while ago, someone ran into
The medicinal herb company owned by the Damaris family was mainly run by their own people, leaving outsiders nothing but envy. Lucian went silent after hearing that.However, that piqued Jonathan’s interest. “Why? Is Roxanne working with the Damaris family again? Do you need my help with anything?”Lucian managed to detect the hint of derision in his voice and snickered. “Go on and acquire the Damaris family’s medicinal herbs company if you’d really like to help.”Jonathan rubbed his nose sheepishly and said, “Well, anything but that.”“Then there’s nothing you can do. Bye.”Lucian hung up the call right after that.Jonathan’s face was full of reproach as he watched his phone screen go dark.That was the second time Lucian had woken him up in the middle of the night and hung up after dropping a bomb on him.It had taken him considerable effort to finally drift off to sleep.Great. It looks like I won’t be able to sleep at all tonight, either!Jonathan lay back down in bed, scrolling
It was already past nine at night when Roxanne reached home. As she got out of the car, she felt anxious and guilty for leaving the children alone at home.Hence, she hurried into the mansion, but as soon as she entered, she was greeted with the lively sounds of the children playing with each other and running around.Roxanne stopped in her tracks and looked inside the living room, surprised.Initially, she thought Madilyn had come over, but Lucian was sitting on the couch instead.As if sensing her presence, the man turned around to look.When their gazes met, Roxanne’s shock intensified. “What are you doing here?”Didn’t we agree on meeting some other day?Upon noticing her return, the children stopped playing and gathered around her, yearning for affection.“Mommy, you came home so late! Daddy’s been waiting for a long time!”Roxanne ruffled the children’s hair, but her gaze was still locked on Lucian.Lucian sat on the couch, crossing his legs. The button on his collar was undone
Lucian had mentioned visiting Roxanne in the past few days, but she rejected him by saying she had work to do. When he heard Estella mention that Roxanne was rarely home, he finally realized how hard she had been working recently.“Are you free tomorrow at noon? Let’s have lunch together,” Lucian suggested.He was determined to let Roxanne get some rest.Roxanne fell silent for a few moments when she heard the time he mentioned before replying apologetically, “Sorry, I’m not free.”Lucian frowned. “Why? Is there work that you have to complete?”Roxanne scratched her nose sheepishly. “I’ve promised to meet up with Mr. Damaris for lunch tomorrow to discuss a project.”Jack Damaris?Lucian’s expression instantly darkened.We’ve hardly been in contact these few days, and yet she’s been contacting him?What the elderlies from the nursing home said echoed in Lucian’s mind once again.After all, he and Roxanne did not work in the same industry. Plus, the woman was a workaholic, causing thei
I can’t believe the Queen family is the culprit! I… I a*sume that with our friendship of years, even if they refuse to help us, at the very least, they won’t hit us when we’re down. Yet, they are the reason we ended up in such a state! If that’s the case, why did Frieda come to our house yesterday? Did she come to shed crocodile tears? Gina glared at her daughter resentfully. “You knew about it, didn’t you?”Aubree’s involvement in the company’s affairs meant that she must have known who the culprit was, yet she still permitted Frieda to visit her, much to Gina’s bafflement.If I knew the Queen family was behind this, I wouldn’t have allowed Frieda to enter our house!Aubree’s eyes had also turned red. “So what if I did know? It was the Farwells’ order! Lucian drove us into a corner all because of that b*tch!”I refuse to give up just yet! Even if I end up in hell, I’ll drag that b*tch down with me!Her words made Gina feel as though the world was crumbling around her.She could not
At noon the next day, Jonathan brought Frieda shopping. They bought a bunch of gifts before driving to the restaurant where they were supposed to meet Roxanne. The restaurant was near the research institute. Due to the closeness of both locations, Roxanne thought she could head back to do some more work if their meeting ended early.Something in the research institute held her up, so Jonathan and Frieda were already waiting in the private room by the time she arrived.“I’m sorry, Dr. Jarvis. Did I interrupt your work?”Despite addressing Roxanne by her name in front of Lucian, Jonathan was mindful of his behavior and addressed her politely when she was present.Roxanne offered him a polite smile. Her gaze then landed on Frieda, and confusion crossed her eyes.If I’m not mistaken, Frieda never liked me. So why is she here today?Considering how busy she was handling various projects at the research institute, Roxanne did not want to be involved in any trouble.Jonathan rose to his fee