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, cla*s had ended at the kindergarten. With most of the students gone, only the three children were left waiting at the school field.They were in a particularly good mood as they were looking forward to the rehearsal later.While Archie and Benny would chat occasionally, Estella sat obediently by the side with a smile on her adorable face.“Why isn’t Ms. Lane here yet?” Benny began to grow curious when he noticed the sky turning dark.Ms. Lane has always arrived early, so why is she late today?Despite furrowing his brows, Archie rea*sured his brother, “Perhaps she’s occupied with something. Let’s just wait for a while longer.”At that moment, Lucian strode through the kindergarten entrance and was greeted by the sight of the three children sitting in a row.“Daddy!” Estella, the first to see him, waved at Lucian.After hurrying up to her, Lucian knitted his brows while staring at the brothers.Over the last few days, Lysa had been picking up the boys since Roxanne was avoid
In the brightly lit backyard, the boys were kicking a ball around while Estella, holding up her skirt, ambled behind them. Even though she didn’t manage to get a kick in, she smiled widely the entire time.“Mommy!” Benny, who had just kicked the ball in the direction of the door, was given a fright when he suddenly saw Roxanne emerge from the house.The moment she stepped out, Roxanne was stunned to see the ball flying straight at her face.Just when it was inches away from her, she felt a hand reach out from behind and pull her to the side.In the next second, the ball brushed past her body before falling onto the ground.As Lucian appeared from behind Roxanne, he looked at the dumbstruck children and instructed in a deep voice, “Come back in for dinner.”It wasn’t until they gradually gathered their wits that they hurried up to Roxanne’s side.“Mommy, I’m sorry for scaring you. Are you all right?” Benny apologized meekly.Roxanne gave his hair a rea*suring tousle. “I’m fine, but you
At the sight of Estella throwing herself into Lucian’s arms, Roxanne stopped awkwardly and held back the two boys running behind her.“Daddy!” Unaware of the change in Roxanne’s mood, Estella tugged ecstatically at Lucian’s sleeve. “Let’s play hide and seek for a while before going home!”Lowering his head to gaze at Estella, Lucian then shifted his attention to Roxanne with an indiscernible look in his eyes.When she met his gaze, Roxanne felt a sudden sense of guilt.She had just reprimanded the brothers for running wildly with Estella. But now, she was the one doing it instead.After an awkward silence, Lucian remarked in a deep voice, “It’s getting late. I’ll be taking Essie home now.”He had barely finished when he turned toward Estella and said, “We have to go now, but we’ll come back again tomorrow.”Despite puffing her cheeks up to express her unwillingness, Estella recognized that she had had a lot of fun that evening already. After a brief hesitation, she demonstrated her ac
Having heard Lucian’s words, the frowning Roxanne felt a strong sense of resistance within her.Lucian’s deep voice rang out again. “If we don’t rehearse it, please don’t accuse me of taking advantage of you when I kiss you by mistake.”In that moment, Roxanne couldn’t believe her ears.Nevertheless, she did find the scenario Lucian had conjured up to be entirely possible.“Besides, neither of us are actors by profession. If we don’t practice, how would we know where we should stand to make the kiss realistic?” Lucian, who could sense her wavering, pressed on calmly, causing her to feel ambivalent about the matter.She admitted that he had a point. However, given that the anniversary celebration was still a few days away, she would have to be in close proximity to him for consecutive days if they were to rehearse the scene.In the midst of her hesitation, Estella’s squeaky voice piped up, “Why are we rehearsing everything but this scene?”She proceeded to give Roxanne a quizzical yet
After several days of rehearsal, it was finally Friday.When Roxanne went to pick the little ones up in the evening, she saw the children carrying a pile of clothes in their arms. Excitement was written all over their faces.“Look, Mommy! These are our costumes!” Benny showed her the costumes as Roxanne walked toward him.Roxanne nodded gently in response and took over the outfits from the boys.Meanwhile, Estella was also waiting at one side while carrying two pairs of costumes—one for her and one for Lucian.Estella had always been physically weak. That was why she seemed to have difficulties carrying the costumes and a bag on her back.Once Roxanne took over the costumes from Benny and Archie, the boys ran to her and helped her with the clothes.Estella gratefully pa*sed the garments to the boys and thanked them.The three children then lined up in front of Roxanne, waiting for her to lead them to the car.In the last couple of days, Roxanne would always take them back together. Es