Roxanne’s expression became even more scornful at his explanation. “Aubree? So basically it was your idea too, right? Who in Horington still doesn’t know about the marriage between the Pearson family and the Farwell family? Aren’t you afraid she’ll feel bad after hearing how desperately you’re trying to clear boundaries with her right now?”She pulled her wrist out of the man’s grasp and said coldly, “Don’t worry, Mr. Farwell. I’m not shameless, and I won’t annoy you anymore, so you don’t have to explain anything to me.”After that, she walked off without looking back.A dark cloud formed over Lucian’s expression as he watched her leave.Estella began crying uncontrollably after standing in shock for a few seconds. She tossed her father’s hand aside and started to run after Roxanne’s car.She had a feeling that she might not see Roxanne again after this.Estella felt immense panic at the thought and she didn’t know what to do.In her panic, she tripped over a rock on the ground and fe
Close to an hour later, James stepped out of the room, looking quite exhausted.Nothing had worked to the effect that he was hoping for, in spite of him having doled out every trick in the book that he knew of just to coax some manner of response from Estella.“How did it go?” Lucian inquired anxiously.James shook his head. “Essie has completely shut herself in. She has refused to communicate with anyone and is resistant even to me. My guess is that she must have been triggered by something. The only way to resolve this is by identifying the source of her trauma.”Lucian’s expression dimmed when he heard that.Seemingly unaware of the change in his friend’s mood, James continued to ask of the latter in earnest, “Has Essie encountered any situation recently that might have brought about this change in her emotional state?”Memories of the kid breaking her silence because of Roxanne came flowing back to Lucian. The answer thus became obvious to him.After a moment’s pause, Lucian recou
Hearing that, Cayden hurriedly drove to the theme park.After getting the tickets and entering the place, both of them realized that they did not know where Roxanne was.“Let’s split up. Call me the moment you find her,” Lucian ordered coldly.Cayden nodded in response, and the both of them headed in different directions to look for the woman.Soon, the assistant called, “Mr. Farwell, I think I see Ms. Jarvis.”Lucian asked for his whereabouts and instantly headed that way.Since it was a weekday, there weren’t a lot of people visiting Universe Park. Both of them instantly saw the four figures standing outside the haunted house.It seemed as if the four of them were in a stalemate. Though, to be exact, Roxanne was at a standstill with Archie and Benny.The children were holding on to each of her arms, and she was standing rooted to the ground.“Mommy! Come on in with us. We’ll protect you,” Benny whined while tugging at her arm.Apprehension was written all over Roxanne’s face.Right
Lucian’s eyes darkened at her words. He originally planned to get straight to the point and tell her what he was after, but it felt as though her question had pierced right through his heart.If he were to tell her that he needed her help, the woman would have come up with something sarcastic to ridicule him.Staying silent for a few seconds, Lucian approached her in another way. “I just think that I haven’t given you a proper explanation regarding Archie and Benny getting kicked out of school. I hope that you’ll calm down and hear me out.”Roxanne was already determined that he was the one behind this incident. All she felt was irony when she heard what was just said.Explain? What’s there to explain? Did he not have enough of his fun over the past few days?At the thought of this, a cold glint flashed through her eyes. Her tone was distant as she said, “Mr. Farwell, you hold great power, so do whatever you want. You don’t have to deliberately explain after doing what you did. I don’
Lucian was perplexed and dumbfounded.It was only after a long time that Lucian managed to recollect his thoughts. He held on to her slender wrist, lowered his voice, and uttered word-by-word in precise clarity, “Since when did I say that Estella is Aubree’s child?”Roxanne’s wrist started to hurt, but she was distracted by his mind-blowing statement. Shock and suspicion filled her heart.Estella is not Aubree’s child!No wonder Aubree was not there that day when Estella was sick.However, from what she knew, no one else got together with Lucian besides Aubree.Who can it be? Who’s Estella’s mother?The thoughts started to overwhelm Roxanne, and she struggled to resist popping the question.“Mommy!” two familiar voices called out to Roxanne. “We finally found you! Are you okay?”The children ran frantically toward Roxanne, whose wrist was clutched tightly by Lucian.Archie and Benny exchanged glances before scrambling toward Roxanne.“Mommy, don’t be worried. We will protect you!” Ben
Cayden was driving at a blazing speed, and they arrived at the manor shortly after.After getting down from the car, Lucian led Roxanne, Archie, and Benny and rushed toward the second floor of the building.Meanwhile, James was waiting upstairs. Because of Estella’s resistance, he had to keep his distance while monitoring her, fearing that she would harm herself. Hence, he left the door slightly ajar and silently stood at the entrance.When he saw the four of them, James had his brows slightly knitted before nodding. “Ms. Jarvis.”Roxanne nodded in reply, and her attention was focused exclusively on Estella. “Where’s Essie? Let me take a look at her.”James pointed toward the corner of the room.Roxanne walked in that direction, and she saw Estella curled in the corner with her knees tucked in, and her eyes looked empty like a soulless doll.Recalling how Estella used to welcome her with a sweet, bright smile, Roxanne’s heart was wrenched in pain, suffocating her.This morning, Estell
Although Catalina was there, Lucian was the one who took care of Estella personally. Hence, he was well aware of her quirks and needs.Lucian remembered everything, including how Estella always woke up at midnight, that she needed to drink milk before sleeping, and that she was picky when it came to food.Lucian then stared at the rearview mirror and said to Roxanne, “I’ll leave Essie with you for the next few days. Thank you for helping her.”Roxanne replied calmly, “I’ve said this, and I will say it again. The child is innocent, and I will take good care of her.”Lucian did not overstay his welcome. Seeing that they had set up Estella’s room, he bid goodbye and left after that.Roxanne felt strange.Lucian confidently left Estella with me, just like that?However, her attention was subsequently directed back to Estella, and her lingering thoughts immediately vanished.Outside Roxanne’s house, Lucian’s expression darkened almost immediately. He then took out his phone and rang Aubree
Estella showed no response whatsoever when Roxanne helped undress her.As the pants came off, Roxanne was greeted by horrifying bruises and welts all over Estella’s buttocks.“It must’ve been really painful, huh?” Roxanne asked while caressing the little girl’s cheeks, feeling sorry for her.Estella simply stared blankly at her in response.“Don’t worry. I’ll make sure to be gentle, and we’ll give Daddy a call once we’re done with your bath,” Roxanne continued with a heavy heart after a brief moment of silence.After giving Estella a quick bath and a change of clothes, Roxanne had her wait on the bed while she gave Lucian a call.The call got through within seconds. “What’s wrong? Did Essie cause you any trouble?”“Was Essie’s autism really triggered by Archie and Benny being expelled?” Roxanne asked solemnly.Lucian frowned. “What do you mean by that?”Roxanne felt her heart ache when she realized he was probably oblivious to what happened, but the thought of him being an irresponsib