Subsequently, she got to her feet and regained her composure before heading to the restaurant next door. “I’m sorry to have kept you waiting.”Upon entering the restaurant, Jessica gave her two guests an apologetic look.Her arrival brought a sense of relief to Roxanne and Jack who responded with a faint smile. “It’s all right. Please take a seat.”Nodding in acknowledgment, Jessica sat down beside them. However, at the sight of the untouched food on the table, she looked at them in surprise. “Didn’t I ask you to start first? Why did you wait for me? I’m really sorry that the food is now cold.”Since Roxanne didn’t know Jessica that well, she simply broke into a cordial smile.As for Jack, he gave her a perfunctory reply. “Since you’re the host, it’s right that we wait for you.”He had barely spoken when silence descended upon the table.At a loss as to what to do, Roxanne gave Jack an awkward look, for she intended to leave early if possible.When Jessica wasn’t around, she and Jack
The next morning, while Roxanne was having breakfast with the children before sending them to school, the doorbell suddenly rang. The ring caused Roxanne and the boys to exchange glances as the same thought popped into their minds—Lucian and Estella were there.After all, both of them usually dropped by at that hour.Without a second thought, Roxanne got up and opened the door.She was subsequently greeted by the sight of her best friend looking all anxious.“Did something happen?” A sinking feeling crept into her heart.The frowning Madilyn stretched her head to look at the children—who were busy eating—before pulling Roxanne out the door.Cognizant that it was something the children weren’t supposed to know, Roxanne followed the former to the yard. “What’s wrong?”“Did you see the news in the morning?” Madilyn sounded exceptionally grim.Hearing that, Roxanne shook her head in response as she was clueless.As Lysa was held back by something at home and couldn’t come to work for the
Initially, Roxanne wanted to put out a statement. However, since her Twitter account was mostly used to surf for news, it essentially had no content. Therefore, whatever she had to say would likely not reach anyone.After further contemplation, she decided to give Colby a call and got him to use the research institute’s account to put out her clarification.Although the account wasn’t particularly popular, it was still a much better option than using hers.“What happened?” Colby had gone to the research institute early and only learned of the controversy when Roxanne gave him a call.When he saw the pictures of Roxanne and Jack interacting with each other, he felt a faint squeeze in his heart.Sighing in resignation, Roxanne clarified, “I can’t really give you a good explanation but what happened last night was a misunderstanding. Both of us were not alone at the dinner.”Even though her a*surances failed to cheer Colby up, he remained hopeful and persuaded himself to have faith in R
As the hubbub got closer, Lucian soon entered Roxanne’s field of vision, spotting a stern expression. Roxanne stared at the man before her in astonishment. “Why are you here?”His formal outfit suggested that he was just in a meeting, yet his tie appeared loose as though it had been tugged slightly.Upon hearing her query, Lucian’s expression turned icy. “If you can come, why can’t I?”After saying that, he shot her a look while suppressing his anger before turning to face the reporters behind him, his cold eyes swept across their faces. “If you have any questions, I can answer on her behalf.”The crowd shuddered at his gaze, and everyone turned to look at one another. No one dared to say a word for some time.Given Lucian’s status, if they said something wrong that day, they might lose their jobs.No one wanted to face that kind of repercussion.Lucian frowned and grabbed the wrist of the woman behind him before glancing at the crowd in front of him. “If there are no questions, I’m
In the evening, after kindergarten cla*s was over, Archie and Benny stared at their father standing before them in confusion. “Your mommy has something to do, so I’ll be in charge of sending you to school for the next few days,” Lucian explained in a deep voice.The boys exchanged glances upon hearing his words but did not give it much thought. After all, from their perspective, whichever of their parents doing that was the same.The fact that Mommy is leaving the matter of sending us to school to Daddy means their relationship is developing in a good direction.As that thought came into their minds, Archie and Benny were secretly pleased as they obediently followed Lucian into the car.Estella was also on cloud nine.If Daddy is responsible for taking Archie and Benny to school these few days, it means I get to visit Ms. Jarvis’ home every day!All three kids were in a good mood and chattered away in the back seat.Unlike them, Lucian was thinking of Roxanne with a solemn look.It’s
That very night, the Queen family announced that Roxanne was the one who had cured Alfred’s sickness, resulting in the latter nominating her as a candidate for the Damaris family’s project. The internet went abuzz right after that.In a short span of time, those who were initially against Roxanne now sided with her, although there were some who still questioned her ability.Roxanne was astounded to suddenly receive such an update before going to bed.She had once thought of asking Alfred to help clear the air, but she also didn’t want to involve him in the whole ordeal.Yet, the Queen family had decided to help her voluntarily.Thanks to that, the situation was now far more controlled compared to during the day, even if some remained doubtful of her.Not wanting to disrupt Alfred’s quiet time, Roxanne decided to dial Jonathan’s number.The latter had just finished taking care of his family’s PR errands when he answered Roxanne’s call.“I just saw the announcement made by your family.
The next morning, Roxanne woke up and immediately checked the comments online. She was now the most trending person on Twitter.Thinking that the comments were leaning to her disadvantage, Roxanne’s heart sank as she glanced at the first post with a frown.To her surprise, the most viral Tweet was a video of her own professor in an interview. It wasn’t just him; many of Harvey’s internationally-renowned research partners from his overseas institutes were present too.“I’ve long heard about the Damaris family’s project,” Harvey stated in the video. “As Janet’s professor, I’m extremely proud that my student has been chosen to take part in this project. I’ve also come across many comments on her medical prowess within the nation. Please give Janet your trust for she’ll be sure to surprise you.”The man had a smile on his face, but his eyes looked stern.After he was done speaking, it was the other researchers’ turn to give their opinion about Roxanne.Upon seeing those familiar faces, e
Lucian’s frown deepened when he heard the boys, and he eventually decided to hold his tongue. As the children looked on eagerly, Lucian sat down at the table and took a sip of the drink made by Archie and Benny.Estella, too, happily joined her father and drank a mouthful until she ended up with a milk mustache. “Archie, Benny, you guys are amazing!” she exclaimed.Wow! I’ve never even made breakfast for myself before!Amused by the look of admiration on Estella’s face, Roxanne chuckled and promptly handed her a piece of tissue.Archie and Benny, on the contrary, were feeling mighty proud of themselves after the little girl’s compliment.“You could’ve told me if you didn’t have time to prepare breakfast. I can always take the kids out to eat,” Lucian said in a low voice.Right there and then, Roxanne suddenly remembered why she had wanted to call earlier and turned her attention to Lucian. “I’ve already settled everything on my end, Mr. Farwell. I won’t have to trouble you again.”As
Naturally, Archie and Benny also knew Estella wouldn’t be thrilled to attend a new school.Nevertheless, they decided not to push that matter further when they saw Roxanne’s reddened eyes.“We got it, Mommy.”Roxanne forced a smile at her kids. “Let’s finish our meals and get rested earlier.”The boys nodded obediently.Subsequently, the trio had their dinner absentmindedly.They returned to their rooms after taking a few bites of their food.Roxanne lay on her bed, looking at the conch shell Estella gave her, with complicated emotions churning within her.She had just been listening to Archie and Benny giving her an account of their fun time hanging out with Estella the day before.Unexpectedly, Lucian had transferred Estella to another school that day.She could easily imagine how hard Estella would’ve cried when the latter was informed of that matter.Nonetheless, she wa
Archie and Benny told me that Essie took the day off yesterday afternoon. I a*sumed Lucian had something urgent to do, so I didn’t give it much thought. Who would’ve known Essie would be transferring away the next day… After taking a moment to recompose herself, Roxanne asked, “Did she cry?”Estella had cried a lot when Archie and Benny had been expelled, so she a*sumed Archie and Benny would also feel upset about her leaving.Benny shook his head. “We didn’t get to see Essie. It was Ms. Ward who told us about it.”They didn’t know if Estella had cried about her transfer.It wasn’t until they heard Roxanne’s question that they realized Estella was probably just as upset as they were, if not more.Archie and Benny tugged anxiously at Roxanne’s shirt. “Let’s go visit Essie, Mommy! She must be really sad right now!”Roxanne wanted to visit Estella too, but the mere thought of heading over to the Farwell residence reminded her of what she had seen that night.Lucian and Aubree were chatt
Meanwhile, Archie and Benny were standing next to Pippa at the kindergarten. “Where did Essie go, Ms. Ward?”Pippa had no idea where Estella went, but she tried to rea*sure the boys. “Essie took the day off. But I’m not too sure about the reason.”“Will we be able to see her tomorrow?” Archie asked.Pippa was hesitant to answer that question at first. Seeing how anxious the two of them were, however, she flashed them a smile. “Yes, you will.”Only then did Archie and Benny breathe sighs of relief.When cla*ses were almost over, Pippa received a call from the head of kindergarten.He summoned her to his office and handed her a document and a pen.“All that’s left to do is for you to sign this.”Pippa took the pen and quickly read through the document.“Essie is transferring to another kindergarten? But why? Is there something we’re not doing well enough?” she asked in confusion when she realized what it was.“Mr. Farwell said it was a personal reason. He also said he would continue fu
Jonathan had wanted to try persuading him further, but Lucian cut him off, “I have a meeting to attend. We’ll talk about this some other time.” Jonathan had no choice but to get up and leave the office.After stepping out of Farwell Group, Jonathan thought about the advice he had given Lucian earlier and regretted every single word he said.If I had known things were that bad between them, I would’ve changed the way I worded my sentences! Now, look what I’ve done! Not only did Roxanne show no interest in Lucian whatsoever, but he has also given up on winning her over! Honestly, I feel really bad for Essie. She really likes Roxanne and wants her to become her mother someday. The best part about this is the fact that Roxanne is her biological mother. However, she’s in for a huge disappointment, as Lucian has already given up on winning her over. There’s only so much a child like Essie can handle…Of course, Lucian had thought about the exact same thing.He showed up outside the kinderg
Meanwhile, in the CEO’s office of Farwell Group, Jonathan was sitting in front of Lucian with a teasing smile on his face. “I hear a portion of medicinal herbs from Herbscape Group’s overseas branch has been shipped back to Horington.”Lucian simply nodded without saying anything in response.“Back then, I suggested you lend a helping hand, but you refused to do so. Now, look what has happened!” Jonathan continued with a chuckle.I thought he was actually going to ignore Roxanne completely, but he ended up intervening anyway!“Well? How did Dr. Jarvis respond to you lending her a hand?” Jonathan asked.The look on Lucian’s face turned gloomy the moment he heard that.When Jonathan didn’t get a response from Lucian, he slowly came to realize that he had said something he shouldn’t have.From his expression, it’s obvious that their relationship has yet to improve. In fact, it might even have gotten worse. This doesn’t make any sense, though…Noticing the confused frown on Jonathan’s fa
“What is it?” Aubree asked with a scowl. Frieda retrieved her phone and showed her a few photos.There was a tent in the first photo. Not far away from the tent was a white skirt.Nothing else was shown, but Aubree’s face was already grim.I know the tent. It was the one Roxanne and the little b*stards set up that day. The white skirt is most probably the one I wore that day.The photo didn’t show anything else, so the person who took the photo was obviously targeting her.In the following photo, Aubree could be seen wearing that white skirt. She was holding a white medicine bottle with an unknown substance inside.The photos showed what Aubree had done that day.Finally, the series of photos ended when Aubree finished positioning the bacterium and made her exit.Aubree’s face was as dark as thunder by the time she scrolled to the last picture.“Where did you get these?” she demanded.Frieda quickly explained, “I don’t know. Someone sent them to me yesterday with a text.”She hurried
The next morning, words about Aubree’s injury became public knowledge. Sonya contacted Aubree to show her concern.“Aubree, I heard you were injured. Is that true?”Aubree sat on the edge of her bed and stared at her wounded ankle. Her expression was cold, but she replied nicely, “I accidentally fell down, but I’m fine. You don’t have to worry about me, Mrs. Farwell.”Sonya furrowed her brows. “How did you fall? Didn’t you visit Lucian yesterday? Does he know that you’re hurt?”Aubree sounded conflicted as she responded, “Mrs. Farwell, you should stay out of this.”“He knows about it, doesn’t he?” Sonya immediately guessed.Every time Lucian mentioned his relationship with Aubree, he would tell me to stay out of it. Even Aubree is saying the same thing now!At that thought, Sonya grew breathless with anger. “Tell me how you got hurt.”A smug look flashed across Aubree’s eyes as Sonya was close to the truth.She pretended to be hesitant for a few seconds as if struggling with what to
Lucian’s phone rang when he arrived at the hospital entrance. It was the landline from home.“When are you coming back, Daddy?”Estella’s demure voice sounded from the other end as soon as he picked up.“I’m on the way,” Lucian replied softly. “Go to sleep first, I’ll be home to see you soon.”Estella promised and hung up quickly after that.It was already late at night when Lucian arrived back at his manor.Then, he made his way to Estella’s bedroom as soon as he got home just like how he had promised her.To his surprise, he found the child still awake. She watched him enter indignantly without saying a word.Lucian frowned. “What are you angry about this time?”“You’re back so late!” Estella complained.I would love it if Daddy spent all night with Ms. Jarvis, but he was with Ms. Pearson. I dislike her! Counting in the travel time, it would not take him more than an hour to make it back.Lucian’s brows twitched at the child’s complaint.The child had never complained when I was ou
“Daddy!” Estella urged a moment later when she did not receive an answer from her father. Shaking himself out of his reverie, Lucian nodded resignedly at his daughter.Only then did she let go and watch him go down the stairs.Aubree was beside herself with anxiousness as she waited downstairs and remained in doubt as she watched Lucian descend the stairs.That little b*tch’s private word with Lucian is obviously trying to get him not to send me to the hospital.Aubree was aware that Lucian spoiled Estella and was even delaying marrying her because of the girl.I wonder if I would have to go to the hospital alone because of her.Aubree could not quell her racing heart, even when Lucian stood firmly before her.Lucian turned to address the family doctor. “I must trouble you with Ms. Pearson, Dr. Elswick.”Aubree’s eyes widened at those words when she realized she was correct in her hunch that he did not intend to keep her company.“Do you hate me that much, Lucian?” Aubree hung her he