Archie and Benny had already gotten up when Roxanne arrived home. They promptly asked about Estella.The boys were delighted to learn that Estella could talk again.As Roxanne’s wrist was injured, the boys refused to let her do anything and stayed by her side the entire day.The following day, Roxanne wanted to head to work at the research institute, but the boys insisted that she stay at home.“Mommy, you’re hurt. You should rest at home.” Benny shot her an imploring look.Archie chimed in, “We’re afraid you’ll fall ill, just like last time.”They could still remember how they had freaked out when Roxanne got sick previously.Roxanne knew the kids were worried about her. As her wrist was hurt, it would be difficult for her to work. Hence, she bobbed her head in agreement.After breakfast, the doorbell rang.Roxanne got to her feet and answered the door.She was taken aback by the unexpected visitors. “Why are you here?”Clad in a casual coat, Lucian held Estella’s hand. Estella was h
“You guys are right. All right, then. I’ll get going first. See you all,” Lucian said after a pause, pursing his lips. Since he had unilaterally called off his engagement with Aubree, and the news was not made public yet, Lucian thought he should only let them know later.Archie and Benny were surprised and disappointed when Lucian actually agreed so readily.So, he’s really getting married to that woman. Does this mean he doesn’t want us anymore?The disgruntlement evoked by this thought was apparent on the children’s faces, and they replied curtly, “Goodbye, Mr. Farwell.”Lucian was puzzled by their sudden change of attitude. The man wondered if he had done anything wrong to upset them, aside from his engagement with Aubree.Earlier on, he had found Archie and Benny strangely distant, so he had decided to leave them alone. Yet when he actually did so, the two boys suddenly seemed disturbed by his departure.Seriously… What’s the matter? I can’t think of a reason for their behavior.
Estella’s gaze was glued to Roxanne’s back, tears rolling down her cheeks uncontrollably. Archie and Benny were equally miserable. They did not expect Roxanne to be so heartless. When they saw that the girl was crying, they went over and consoled her.“Don’t cry, Essie. Mommy is really busy these few days. You can always come over and play once Mommy is free again,” Benny cajoled with a smile, yet his attempt was futile.When Archie saw that Estella was still sobbing, he took out a handkerchief to wipe away her tears as he comforted her, “We can still play together at the kindergarten, Essie. Mommy really likes you because you’re a good girl, so don’t cry. You’ll look ugly if you keep crying, and Mommy doesn’t like that.”Estella stopped and looked at the boy with doubt in her eyes.“Yeah! Archie’s right,” Benny quickly chimed in with a nod. “Mommy doesn’t like kids who cry.”It was not until then that Estella finally held back her tears with much effort.An inexplicable glint shone
Over at the Pearson residence, Aubree had been depressed ever since Lucian chased her out the other day. In the past, Sonya would always take her side and defend her, but she did not that day because there was nothing she could do to change anything.Aubree despaired when she recalled Sonya’s inaction.She was not dumb. After years of waiting for Lucian, she knew in her heart that he was not keen on marrying her. Yet she had always wanted to try her luck believing that Sonya would help her.She had always thought that Lucian would marry her one day as long as she waited for him.However, her hope was crushed when Roxanne returned to the country and Lucian expressed his intention to break off their engagement.After having some time to herself to cool her head off for a day, Aubree still decided to take the chance again by paying Sonya a visit.Sonya was not expecting her to come by that day when she saw her at the door. But after a short pause, she invited Aubree in, as she always di
Unbeknownst to Roxanne, Aubree had begun to plot against her. She was too occupied with the research she had to do. Her busyness was not entirely an excuse to send Estella home.If the children had not insisted that she took a day off because of her injured wrist, she would not have taken a break from her research work.Early the next morning, Roxanne was awakened by a call from her teammate. After a brief conversation, she rushed over to the research institute without even having the time to have a bite of breakfast.The beginning and end phases of a research project were usually the hardest parts. At the start of the project, Roxanne had dedicated so much time to it that she would spend days at the research facility.Since they were then at the final stage of the project, things were picking up again.Colby, who was still a*sisting Roxanne on the project, was alarmed when he saw the injury on her wrist while they were conducting an experiment. “Dr. Jarvis… Your hand…”Roxanne was s
Her change in color did not go unnoticed by Cayden, but the man could not understand the reason behind it. When he saw that Lucian had ended the call, he quickly walked over. “Do you have an umbrella? Where’s your car? I can send you home first before Mr. Farwell comes. He’s going to take a while.”Cayden gestured to open the umbrella in his hand, but Roxanne stopped him.“It’s okay. Someone’s picking me up.”Cayden nodded and just stood beside her quietly after that.Seeing that the man was not going anywhere, Roxanne looked at the rain and hesitated as she distanced herself from him.The rain is abating. I should go before he comes down.“Mr. Farwell! I thought you—” Cayden exclaimed.Just as she took the first step into the rain, Lucian was already behind her.Although Roxanne did not know why Cayden did not finish his sentence, she was too nervous to turn around to check out what was happening.When she felt cold air engulfing her, she fled into the rain without a second thought.
Meanwhile, Estella had been waiting at the kindergarten entrance way before school started that morning, hoping she could see Roxanne, Archie, and Benny.The brothers had told her the day before that Roxanne was finally coming home and would be fetching them to school.The night before, she had also waited for Roxanne eagerly, but in the end, she only saw Madilyn.She felt disappointed at first, yet when she knew that Roxanne had a message for her, she was comforted because it meant Roxanne still thought about her.That was the reason why she was not altogether upset, and she was looking forward to seeing Roxanne the next day.However, not only did she not see Roxanne, but she also did not see the two brothers at school.That made her extremely sad.“Essie! Come on in! It’s almost time for school!” Pippa did not call out until school was about to start since she did not know what the kid was doing.Estella pouted and shook her head in refusal.“What’s going on?” Pippa asked.Ever sinc
“Ms. Jarvis…”At the sight of Roxanne lying on the bed with a sickly complexion, Estella felt tears welling up in her eyes again.Estella’s voice made Roxanne’s heart melt. Seeing the little girl come running toward her bedside, she forced a smile. “I’m fine. Don’t worry, Essie.”Like a pitiful kitten, Estella leaned by the bedside and stared at Roxanne with teary eyes.Estella’s gaze calmed Roxanne down significantly. “Why are you here alone?” Roxanne asked in a gentle voice.“Ms. Ward says you’re sick.” Estella was close to tears.Roxanne nodded and reached out to caress the little girl’s head. “Thank you for caring so much about me, Essie.”Similarly, Estella also stretched her arm out, intending to touch Roxanne’s forehead.Roxanne had let them do a fever check by touching her forehead the other time. She could still vividly recall how Roxanne’s forehead was burning then.When Roxanne realized what Estella was trying to do, she tried to get up from the bed and move her head closer