Since her request was going to make things difficult for others, Roxanne could not insist on it. She smiled in resignation and said, “In that case, don’t worry about it. We’ll leave it as it is.”Almost immediately, Jeffrey replied, “Thank you for your understanding, Ms. Jarvis. If there’s nothing else, I’ll end this call with you. Other parents are trying to reach me as well, so I’ll have to get back to them.”He was in a hurry to hang up, seemingly worried that Roxanne would change her mind.After ending the call with Jeffrey, Roxanne stared blankly at the crumpled piece of paper with the words Sleeping Beauty on it.The two boys noticed her reaction and gingerly called out, “Mommy.”Roxanne looked at them with downcast eyes. Seeing that their mom seemed disheartened, the boys anxiously asked, “Mommy, you don’t like that play?”She nodded, which aroused the curiosity in the boys.“Why? Is it a terrible story? Can you tell us that story?” they asked.Roxanne frowned slightly and bit
That night, both the boys and Roxanne did not get a good night’s sleep.Roxanne couldn’t stop thinking about Lucian’s reply in the group chat and also their collaboration in the play.As for the kids, they were kept awake by the worry that their mommy would back out of the play.The next morning, Roxanne stepped out of her room and saw two little “pandas” at her door.Surprised at the sight of the dark circles around the boys’ eyes, she frowned and softly jested, “Where did these two pandas come from?”The boys innocently looked up to her and gave her sheepish smiles.Roxanne shook her head and asked with concern, “What happened? Did you not sleep well last night? How did you get such bad dark circles?”Roxanne’s heart ached, and she bent over and gently caressed the area around their eyes.The boys closed their eyes to accommodate her, but there was a look of anxiousness on their faces. “Mommy, you’re still going to join us in the anniversary celebration, right?” They sought her a*su
“Ms. Jarvis.” Estella spoke, gingerly tugging on Roxanne’s outfit.Roxanne dropped her gaze and saw the little girl piteously looking at her with her big round eyes. She seemed to be asking why Roxanne was ignoring her.Roxanne was ruffled by her puppy-dog eyes, but she could only return a forced smile.Lucian noticed her uneasiness with Estella. His brows furrowed, but he quickly hid his emotions and said, “We are counting on your support to make the play a success, Ms. Jarvis. This will be the kids’ first performance, so I hope you can set aside your personal feelings for the benefit of the kids.”Roxanne’s expression froze. Her heart was in turmoil, but she put on a nonchalant front. She casually nodded her head and replied, “Don’t worry. I will.”As his gaze swept past her face, he could see she had pursed her lips and looked indifferent. Very obviously, she had no intention of engaging with him.Lucian lowered his gaze and exchanged a knowing look with Estella.The little girl go
When Estella heard that Roxanne wanted to switch to another group for the play, she pouted in distress and looked to her daddy for help.Lucian appeared emotionless, but his mouth was tensely shut. Although he did not say anything, it was obvious he was pissed.Before he made his way to the kindergarten that morning, he told himself he would avoid getting into a disagreement with Roxanne. However, when he saw she was adamant about switching groups with Ca*sandra, he couldn’t help but get furious.Estella suddenly recalled what Lucian had told her the night before. He had told her he would need her help to mend their relationship with Roxanne.She turned her gaze from Lucian and looked toward Roxanne. She was sniffling as she looked piteously at Roxanne, and tears were brimming in her reddened eyes.Her loud sniffling was very conspicuous in the noiseless cla*sroom, and everyone turned to look at her and Roxanne.“I want Archie and Benny!” Estella cried out, pouting and heaving as she
Just like that, the meeting came to an end after a brief discussion.Pippa stood at the cla*sroom door and waved goodbye at the parents as they left.Roxanne walked up to her with a concerned expression and asked, “Ms. Ward, are you sure you don’t want to change the plot for Sleeping Beauty? I don’t know if it’s appropriate for children to witness that final scene…”Pippa flashed her a rea*suring smile as she replied, “Don’t worry, Ms. Jarvis. The kids already know about this sort of thing. Besides, you’re not really going to kiss in front of them. You’ll be positioning yourselves to look like you’re kissing.”Pippa then looked behind her and asked, “I’m sure you’ll offer your full cooperation, right, Mr. Farwell?”Roxanne tensed up when she heard that.“Of course,” Lucian replied, his voice sounding like he was whispering right next to her ear.Roxanne lowered her gaze and stepped aside before turning around to look at him.“Don’t worry, Ms. Jarvis. I’m not the kind of guy who would
The next day, Roxanne was so busy working at the research institute that it was already seven in the evening when she got home.Upon entering the house, she froze in surprise when she saw Lucian standing in the living room.I remember agreeing to rehearse the stage play after the kids got off school, but I didn’t think he’d just let himself in without informing me beforehand…“Mommy!” Archie and Benny called out to her excitedly when they realized she was home. They then gave Estella’s hand a gentle tug, prompting her to turn around.Estella had a disappointed expression on her face at first, but her eyes lit up the moment she saw Roxanne.“Ms. Jarvis!” Estella shouted as she ran over and threw herself at Roxanne before Archie and Benny could.Suppressing her discomfort, Roxanne patted Estella on the head and asked, “When did you come over, Essie?”“She came home together with us!” Archie and Benny replied before Estella could.Noticing the frown on Roxanne’s face, they continued expl
While having dinner, Roxanne realized Lysa had arranged for Lucian to be seated right in front of her.As Lucian’s gaze would fall upon her from time to time, Roxanne felt extremely uncomfortable throughout the entire meal.After what seemed like forever, they were finally done having dinner. Lysa then cleaned up the table while Roxanne and the others headed over to the living room to rehearse the stage play.Although they had yet to finalize the roles for the play, Lucian and Roxanne became obvious choices for the prince and princess due to the kissing scene.The kids then stared blankly at Roxanne as they were unsure of the roles they should take up.After going through the script, Roxanne gave it some thought before saying hesitantly, “Essie can play the role of the witch.”Estella nodded obediently in response.“What about us, Mommy?” Archie and Benny asked in unison while staring at her excitedly.They were curious as they didn’t remember finding any roles in Sleeping Beauty that
It wasn’t until she heard Benny’s voice that Roxanne regained her senses and recalled that they were rehearsing.As for Lucian’s actions, it was needed by the script.Realizing that fact, the apologetic Roxanne smiled at the children. “I’m sorry for spacing out. Please continue.”After exchanging curious glances, the children obediently agreed.Meanwhile, Lucian, who was looking at Roxanne, had an epiphany that brought a grim expression to his face.Feeling guilty to the extent of not daring to look in his direction, Roxanne naturally didn’t notice the change in him.As the rehearsal continued, they had to change their roles.Roxanne, playing the princess after she was all grown up, did so with much aplomb.It wasn’t until the prince appeared while she was asleep that her frustrations began to build.Taking on the role of the prince, Lucian would either be too aloof or not angry enough when he faced Estella.Naturally, his performance caused Roxanne to worry.“Mr. Farwell, you’ll scar
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