Roxanne shook her head. “No. I just arrived at work. Is anything the matter? It’s been a long time since you called me.”Since her return to the country, the two had barely contacted each other. Most of the time, Roxanne would be the one calling him to report to him on the progress at the research institute. And because Harvey was usually busy with research, his replies were normally curt.This was the first time Harvey actually called her.“Indeed, there’s something I need your help with.” Harvey went straight to the point. “There’s a project that I need you to follow up with its research and development. I’ll forward you the details in a while. Take a look at it.”Having learned that it was about work matters, Roxanne agreed readily.The two had a brief chat about that project before she concernedly tried to find out about Harvey’s return. “When are you coming back? Let me pick you up.”Harvey looked at his schedule and replied, “Probably not that soon. I’ll let you know before I re
Roxanne jolted in alarm and froze in her movement but still instinctively looked in the direction of the passenger scat.After getting a good look at the person’s face, the scowl on her face deepened. “What are you doing. Mr. Farwell?”Devoid of expression, Lucian shut the car door. “Nothing. My car has broken down. And coincidentally, I happened to see you here. Please drive me back, Ms. Jarvis.”The chilling aura surrounding his body was almost palpable.Well aware how the atmosphere would only become tenser if she continued probing, Roxanne ultimately staried the engine without uttering another word.Throughout the ride, the car was dead silent.Lucian locked his deep gaze on the woman next to him, his brows tightly knitted together. She’s so close with that dude… And they even met up just now. The way they interacted carlier inade it sem like they are a couple…At this point, Lucian could no longer hold his curiosity back and broke the silence. “That guy… Is he Archie and Benny’s
Benny dashed toward the living room excitedly. “We were playing with the Lego bricks that Mr. Farwell gave us! It‘s really fun!”On the other hand, Archie and Estella stayed by Roxanne‘s side. She was holding hands with the children, with one at each side as she watched Benny with a smile on her face.Obviously, the Lego bricks that Lucian had given them met their expectations in terms of the design and level of difficulty, and they loved the gift.In just one night, the three children had already made a base.However, no matter how Roxanne looked at it, that Lego set seemed boyish to her.She looked at Estella with concern in her eyes. “Essie, do you like this toy?”Estella‘s eyes lit up as she nodded fervently.As long as I can play with Archie and Benny, I‘m fine with playing anything!Seeing that, Roxanne felt relieved. After taking a look at the time, she played with them for a while more since it was still early.Archie and Benny were used to playing Lego with her, so each of th
Estella gripped the corner of the desk sadly.“Didn‘t you promise Mommy this morning that you‘ll learn how to talk slowly?” Benny gazed at her. “If you can‘t talk, you can call our names.We‘ve been calling your name, Essie, but you‘ve never said our names!”Estella parted her lips but nothing came out of her mouth. She grew anxious and was about to burst into tears.Seeing that, Archie and Benny gave her the pencil instead of forcing her to talk.However, for the next few days, the two boys grew distant from her at home and at the kindergarten.Every time Estella came to them, Benny would huff angrily, “We treated you well, but you wouldn‘t even call our names! We‘re going to ignore you!”Estella was devastated.For the next few days, Esiella played with Roxanne at home but had no playmates at the kindergarten.She could only watch as Archie and Benny played with the other children and ignored her entirely. Finally, she plucked up her courage to run to them.The boys shared a look an
Gina frowned. “Did Lucian go to her again?”Aubree plopped into the seat next to them furiously. “Duh! Everyone‘s saying that he‘s going to marry Roxanne. I‘m just a gold–digger who clings to him shamelessly. He doesn‘t even want me even if I offer him everything!”Gina and Samuel shared a look,They had heard this rumor, too. However, just like Aubree, they assumed the rumor would be scotched once Lucian agreed to the wedding.Alas, things weren‘t going their way.Gina patted Aubree‘s back in a comforting manner. “No matter what, we‘ll get his explanation soon. Calm down.” |“You‘re asking me to calm down? If we wait any longer, that b*tch will marry him soon!” Aubree declared as a crazed look appeared on her face.Despite her fury, Gina remained calm. “What Lucian wants may not be what the Farwells want. Didn‘t you see how his mother held a prejudice toward that woman previously?” she reminded Aubree.Aubree calmed down slightly. “Are you saying that…”“Let‘s pay the Farwell residen
Lucian stiffened momentarily before regaining his composure to nod. His face was devoid of expression as he said, “Got it. You may leave now.”Cayden nodded. Realizing that Lucian was in a foul mood, he walked out of the office and shut the door quietly.Inside his office, Lucian strode over to the window and stared out, feeling conflicted.For the past six years, his parents kept reminding him to get married to Aubree, but he would always brush them off.Thus, he assumed they understood his intentions.Alas, they ended up going against his wishes and announced the engagement to the outside world after urging him for six whole years.A long while later, he took out his phone to call his father.The call connected quickly.“What is it, Lucian?” Elias didn’t head to work today and was currently enjoying breakfast. After answering his son’s call, he cast Sonya, who was sitting across from him, a look.Sonya knew why her son had called. She took the phone from Elias.Elias allowed her to
“Why are you here?”The person mentioned in the news was standing at her door. He was dressed in a thin shirt, and his hair was slightly messy.After their previous fight, she knew Lucian would often come to visit.However, he was tactful enough to not show himself before her.This was the first time they met in person after the fight.After hearing the news earlier, Roxanne had no idea how she should face him.As the newscaster’s sound could be heard faintly, Lucian knew Roxanne should’ve heard about his engagement. He studied her carefully but realized she seemed calm.Shortly after, he broke the silence. “I’m here to pay Essie a visit. How is she doing?”Roxanne stepped aside to allow him entry. “She’s upstairs. I need to talk to you about her.”They entered the living room one after another. Roxanne gestured for him to take a seat on the couch while she occupied a single couch aside.Catalina served them coffee and left after realizing they had something to discuss.“What is it?”
With that, the door to the mansion slowly closed, and Estella‘s tiny figure was gone from Roxanne‘s sight.Missing the little girl dearly, Roxanne took a deep breath and forced her tears back in.They had spent quite some time together, and the kid had obviously grown fond of her and the boys. On top of that, her illness showed evident signs of improvementIf at all possible, Roxanne wished that she could continue to stay with Estella and take care of the latter until she had completely recovered. How I wish I could hear her say a full sentence…Unfortunately, it seemed that was no longer possible.As Archie and Benny walked down the stairs after Roxanne and Estella, the boys could tell that their mother was sad to send Estella away. Although they, too, felt the same, they kept their words to themselves.When they saw how saddened their mother was, they snuggled up in her arms and promised, “Don‘t be sad, Mommy. We promise we will always be with you.”Roxanne hugged the cuddly kids in
Meanwhile, Roxanne was still lost in a daze. “Madilyn, what…”Cocking a brow, Madilyn stepped aside to usher them in. “Come onboard. I’m here to pick you up.”Roxanne was blown away by the words.Is she asking us to get in the helicopter and leave just like that? We might be able to escape this time, but what about when the reporters come for us again?When she saw Roxanne remaining motionless, the puzzled Madilyn urged her, “Hurry up! What are you still hesitating for? Whatever concerns you have, we’ll discuss it on board.”She extended her hand while speaking.With the helicopter hovering right before her eyes, Roxanne realized that Madilyn’s effort would go to waste if she didn’t get on.Holding that thought, Roxanne took the latter’s hand. Given how close the helicopter was, all she needed to do was take a step forward to board it.After carrying Estella over, Roxanne turned around to do the same with the boys. Little did she expect them to be raring to go.Reciprocating their ent
It wasn’t until Lucian heard Madilyn’s words that he realized her point and stopped in his tracks.“This whole incident might just blow over if you don’t show up, but it will definitely worsen if you make an appearance. If that happens, they might even swarm Farwell Group along with Roxanne’s house!” Madilyn reminded him.She knew the mentality of those journalists all too well.Lucian clenched his fists so tightly that his veins were bulging from underneath his skin. “What should I do, then?” he asked while trying to suppress his anger.I wouldn’t have acted so impulsively if I knew this would happen!Madilyn rolled her eyes at him in response. Why is he asking us for a solution when he’s the one who caused all this?“Mr. Farwell, how about we send someone over to get Mrs. Farwell out of there?” Cayden suggested cautiously.“How are you going to do that? There are so many journalists around!” Madilyn snapped at him.Cayden fell silent and flashed her an awkward look in response.“If
News about the Farwell family’s two additional young heirs, who were given birth by Lucian’s ex-wife, caused an uproar in Horington.Of course, the journalists took action almost immediately. No one knew how they got the information, but they found and swarmed around Roxanne’s research institute and mansion.Roxanne was still asleep when she received a call from Linda telling her not to leave the house that day.When Roxanne received that call, she was still in a daze.However, the moment she got out of bed and saw the crowd outside, she panicked.The crowd was clearly there because of Farwell Group’s statement yesterday.Noticing her room’s curtains were pulled open, the crowd downstairs hurriedly focused their cameras in the direction of her room window and began snapping pictures.Shocked, Roxanne hastily drew her curtains.At the same time, her phone rang again.She grabbed it to take a glance, only to see it was from an unknown number.Suspicious, she answered it. The person on t
“It was Lucian who let Essie stay with me. So, if you want to take her away, you’ll have to get his consent first,” Roxanne emphasized without a change in her expression.The little girl in her embrace immediately chimed in, “I’ll do what Daddy says!”As Sonya watched the mother and daughter duo presenting a united front, she felt her temples throb.After all, her son had already made such a statement. The answer she would get could not be more obvious if she made the call.Roxanne’s saying that because she has no plans to let me take my granddaughter away! Most importantly, my son is siding with her. Ugh! I can’t do anything about it.After waiting for some time and seeing that Sonya didn’t take any action, Roxanne said, “If you don’t want to make the call, then please leave now. It’s getting late, and the children are hungry. I don’t have the energy to prepare another person’s portion.”With that, Roxanne put Estella down and gestured for the boys to take Estella upstairs.Once the
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