Jack excused himself to answer a phone call in the middle of the meal. He returned with an apologetic look. “I’m sorry, my grandpa summoned me back but didn’t explain why.”Roxanne smiled considerately. “You should hurry up and return since Old Mr. Damaris is looking for you. I’ll go home by myself.”He apologized again before rising to leave.She finished her meal alone before glancing at the time. It was already one in the afternoon. She got a little worried thinking about the kids at home and got up to pay the bill.“The gentleman who left has already paid the bill,” the staff said, smiling.Roxanne was surprised to hear that.Didn’t we agree that I will treat him to this meal as a thank-you gesture? Yet he settled the bill…“Oh, this is a gift from that gentleman.” The staff handed her a bouquet, a look of envy plain on her face. “You’re so lucky.”Roxanne was caught off guard when her relationship with Jack was once again misconstrued.Her gaze strayed to the flowers when she wa
“I think I have Dr. Jarvis’ contact too. If you can’t do it, I can,” Hector said faintly. Jack looked utterly helpless when he heard those words because he knew Hector was threatening him. Rather than letting Roxanne and Jessica meet each other without my presence, I might as well just be there to keep Jessica in check.In the end, Jack agreed to it. “All right. I’ll try to contact Ms. Jarvis. But I can’t promise she’ll agree to it.”With a wide smile on his face, Stephen said, “Thank you. Let me know when she gets back to you.”Jack nodded indifferently in response.Stephen chatted with Hector for a little while and asked about the Damaris family’s recent situation before standing up to excuse himself.The moment Stephen left the Demaris residence, a dejected look replaced the smile on his face.That night, Jessica was hammered when a few men brought her home. Stephen was in utter shock when he saw that and thought his daughter had been taken advantage of.To his surprise, those men
Just as the children were about to bargain their way out, they heard someone’s footsteps coming from the entrance. They held their tongues and turned toward the door, only to see Roxanne holding a bouquet of flowers in her hands, looking puzzled.“Mommy!” Archie and Benny dashed toward her in excitement, seeing that she had returned.Roxanne, however, was looking at the man in her living room with a frown on her face. Lucian? What is he doing here?She glanced at the flowers in her hands and felt somewhat guilty.Lucian had noticed the flowers as well, and a wave of annoyance washed over him once more. She’s rejected all my flowers before this. But now, she’s holding a bouquet someone has gifted her. It’s most probably from either Larry or Jack. What does she take me for?“Mommy?” Getting no response from Roxanne, Benny tugged at the corner of Roxanne’s shirt. I need Mommy to convince Daddy to let us eat fried chicken in the future!Only then did Roxanne regain her senses and glance
After cleaning up the coffee table, Roxanne got up to go and throw away some trash when she found Lucian standing in the doorway, blocking her path. “Could you please let me through, Mr. Farwell?” Lucian frowned when he heard her voice and turned sideways to let her pa*s.He watched her walk away and could not stop his gaze from flicking toward the flowers she had temporarily left on the couch. His eyes flashed with anger.After returning from throwing the trash, she heard him ask in a low voice, “Didn’t you say you were going to treat me the same as the others?”Roxanne halted her footsteps at those words and raised her gaze to meet his with a quizzical expression.Furrowing his brows, Lucian asked, “Why did you send back all the flowers I sent you previously, yet bring home the flowers other people give you?”Before Roxanne could respond, she heard him press further. “So who are the flowers from? Larry? Or is it Jack?”“They’re…” She started to answer his question without even thin
Archie held out the flower again hesitantly. “There are plenty of lilies in Mommy’s bouquet. That’s why I dared to take one of them.” Lucian’s brows furrowed as he finally understood what Archie meant.Someone obviously sent those flowers that Roxanne brought back as a thank-you gift. I was the one who misunderstood the whole thing. No wonder she flew into such a rage!Lucian’s expression relaxed drastically after he realized the truth of the situation. He swept his gaze over to Roxanne, who was busy in the kitchen, then turned back and took the lily Archie was holding. “I’m sorry. I jumped to conclusions. Essie and I will stay for dinner.”With that, he set Estella down.As soon as her feet touched the ground, Estella shot her father a glare before running off toward the kitchen to look for Roxanne.In the living room, Lucian held the lily taken from Roxanne’s bouquet of flowers with a frown. He and the boys stared at each other for some time.Archie and Benny could see Lucian’s fru
The game began with Roxanne and Lucian in the middle and the boys on either side. “Green light… Red light!”Estella waited for them to take a few steps before suddenly spinning around.Although the others stopped in their tracks at once, the two little ones lost their balance and swayed about for a little bit before steadying themselves.Fortunately, all Estella wanted was for them to all play together. Hence, she did not take issue with it and quickly turned back.When the game resumed, Roxanne could not help wondering whether the boys’ excitement was causing them to veer toward the center.She glanced at Archie, who was next to her, helplessly.However, all his attention was on Estella standing right in the center.It seemed as though he was straying in that direction solely because he was eager to tag Estella.Seeing that, Roxanne sighed inwardly and moved toward the center to make room for him.Meanwhile, Lucian, too, noticed the same thing with Benny. He seems to be behaving odd
The children were no longer in the mood to continue playing. Roxanne had left anyway, so there was no need for them to carry on with the game. At the side, Lucian watched as they dragged their feet over to the carpet and plopped down listlessly. Twitching his lips in amusement, he lifted his eyes and glanced upstairs. Then, he headed up the stairs.After all, he had to talk to Roxanne about the misunderstanding earlier and clarify things.The children initially thought their battle plan this time was a total flop, but they spotted Lucian voluntarily going upstairs when they looked over their shoulders.Without a shadow of a doubt, he was going to look for Roxanne.When they saw that, a spark of hope flared within them.Upstairs, Roxanne shut herself in the bedroom, feeling exceedingly conflicted.She didn’t know what was wrong with her earlier.Just a while ago, I was irritated by Lucian’s domineering attitude. Yet, I was still bewitched by the tenderness in his eyes during the game.
The children weren’t much help in the kitchen, but with them around, Roxanne’s turbulent emotions slowly subsided. When she came out after cooking dinner, she immediately spotted Lucian sitting on the couch.He seemed to be rather tired, for he had already dozed off while they were preparing dinner. His head tipped slightly to the side, and he half-leaned against the couch. Even while asleep, he was still as elegant as ever.Seeing that, Roxanne instinctively gentled her movements to not make too much noise and made a shushing gesture at the children.The children followed her gaze. The instant they laid eyes on the sleeping man, a glimmer of bemusement flashed across Archie and Benny’s faces.Daddy would usually settle work matters whenever he was free. But today, he actually fell asleep. Has he been too exhausted from work recently?The brothers looked at Estella in confusion.When Estella’s eyes fell on the man asleep on the couch, the smile on her face gradually faded. Her eyes b