Benny dashed toward the living room excitedly. “We were playing with the Lego bricks that Mr. Farwell gave us! It‘s really fun!”On the other hand, Archie and Estella stayed by Roxanne‘s side. She was holding hands with the children, with one at each side as she watched Benny with a smile on her face.Obviously, the Lego bricks that Lucian had given them met their expectations in terms of the design and level of difficulty, and they loved the gift.In just one night, the three children had already made a base.However, no matter how Roxanne looked at it, that Lego set seemed boyish to her.She looked at Estella with concern in her eyes. “Essie, do you like this toy?”Estella‘s eyes lit up as she nodded fervently.As long as I can play with Archie and Benny, I‘m fine with playing anything!Seeing that, Roxanne felt relieved. After taking a look at the time, she played with them for a while more since it was still early.Archie and Benny were used to playing Lego with her, so each of th
Estella gripped the corner of the desk sadly.“Didn‘t you promise Mommy this morning that you‘ll learn how to talk slowly?” Benny gazed at her. “If you can‘t talk, you can call our names.We‘ve been calling your name, Essie, but you‘ve never said our names!”Estella parted her lips but nothing came out of her mouth. She grew anxious and was about to burst into tears.Seeing that, Archie and Benny gave her the pencil instead of forcing her to talk.However, for the next few days, the two boys grew distant from her at home and at the kindergarten.Every time Estella came to them, Benny would huff angrily, “We treated you well, but you wouldn‘t even call our names! We‘re going to ignore you!”Estella was devastated.For the next few days, Esiella played with Roxanne at home but had no playmates at the kindergarten.She could only watch as Archie and Benny played with the other children and ignored her entirely. Finally, she plucked up her courage to run to them.The boys shared a look an
Gina frowned. “Did Lucian go to her again?”Aubree plopped into the seat next to them furiously. “Duh! Everyone‘s saying that he‘s going to marry Roxanne. I‘m just a gold–digger who clings to him shamelessly. He doesn‘t even want me even if I offer him everything!”Gina and Samuel shared a look,They had heard this rumor, too. However, just like Aubree, they assumed the rumor would be scotched once Lucian agreed to the wedding.Alas, things weren‘t going their way.Gina patted Aubree‘s back in a comforting manner. “No matter what, we‘ll get his explanation soon. Calm down.” |“You‘re asking me to calm down? If we wait any longer, that b*tch will marry him soon!” Aubree declared as a crazed look appeared on her face.Despite her fury, Gina remained calm. “What Lucian wants may not be what the Farwells want. Didn‘t you see how his mother held a prejudice toward that woman previously?” she reminded Aubree.Aubree calmed down slightly. “Are you saying that…”“Let‘s pay the Farwell residen
Lucian stiffened momentarily before regaining his composure to nod. His face was devoid of expression as he said, “Got it. You may leave now.”Cayden nodded. Realizing that Lucian was in a foul mood, he walked out of the office and shut the door quietly.Inside his office, Lucian strode over to the window and stared out, feeling conflicted.For the past six years, his parents kept reminding him to get married to Aubree, but he would always brush them off.Thus, he assumed they understood his intentions.Alas, they ended up going against his wishes and announced the engagement to the outside world after urging him for six whole years.A long while later, he took out his phone to call his father.The call connected quickly.“What is it, Lucian?” Elias didn’t head to work today and was currently enjoying breakfast. After answering his son’s call, he cast Sonya, who was sitting across from him, a look.Sonya knew why her son had called. She took the phone from Elias.Elias allowed her to
“Why are you here?”The person mentioned in the news was standing at her door. He was dressed in a thin shirt, and his hair was slightly messy.After their previous fight, she knew Lucian would often come to visit.However, he was tactful enough to not show himself before her.This was the first time they met in person after the fight.After hearing the news earlier, Roxanne had no idea how she should face him.As the newscaster’s sound could be heard faintly, Lucian knew Roxanne should’ve heard about his engagement. He studied her carefully but realized she seemed calm.Shortly after, he broke the silence. “I’m here to pay Essie a visit. How is she doing?”Roxanne stepped aside to allow him entry. “She’s upstairs. I need to talk to you about her.”They entered the living room one after another. Roxanne gestured for him to take a seat on the couch while she occupied a single couch aside.Catalina served them coffee and left after realizing they had something to discuss.“What is it?”
With that, the door to the mansion slowly closed, and Estella‘s tiny figure was gone from Roxanne‘s sight.Missing the little girl dearly, Roxanne took a deep breath and forced her tears back in.They had spent quite some time together, and the kid had obviously grown fond of her and the boys. On top of that, her illness showed evident signs of improvementIf at all possible, Roxanne wished that she could continue to stay with Estella and take care of the latter until she had completely recovered. How I wish I could hear her say a full sentence…Unfortunately, it seemed that was no longer possible.As Archie and Benny walked down the stairs after Roxanne and Estella, the boys could tell that their mother was sad to send Estella away. Although they, too, felt the same, they kept their words to themselves.When they saw how saddened their mother was, they snuggled up in her arms and promised, “Don‘t be sad, Mommy. We promise we will always be with you.”Roxanne hugged the cuddly kids in
Larry trusted her, so he nodded and agreed to let her work her magic.Roxanne ended up spending most of her time at the hospital over the next two days.She discussed the matter with a few domestic experts who were renowned in that field. After that, she came up with a new medical proposal, but even then, the chances of success were only forty percent.On the day of the surgery, Roxanne dropped her kids off at the kindergarten early in the morning. She hurried to the hospital immediately after to confirm the surgical procedure with the other experts. The preparation for the surgery was done following that.The surgery would begin at one o’clock in the afternoon, and if everything went smoothly, the entire process would take about five or six hours. That would give her just enough time to go pick up her kids.Roxanne’s confidence caused her to dismiss the idea of asking Lysa to pick up the kids.Soon, it was one o’clock, and the surgery began officially.Roxanne and the other medical
Archie and Benny were used to her being late, so they didn’t mind and shook their heads when they heard what she said. They were actually worried about her. “Mommy, have you been working all this time? Are you tired?”“Not at all,” replied Roxanne while grinning.Despite her words, her body was actually exhausted.If it weren‘t for her kids, she wouldn‘t even have the strength to lift her arm.Years ago, a complication occurred when she gave birth to her kids, and she lost a lot of blood. As a result, she had been frail and weak.It was also why she would be exhausted every time she operated for an extended period and would need to rest a lot to recuperate.“Why is Essie…?” asked Roxanne as she stared at Estella in confusion.Lucian is already here to pick her up, so why hasn‘t she gone home yet? Or… did he stay out of the courtesy to take care of Archie and Benny?Conflicting emotions welled up in Roxanne when she came to that conclusionNo one knew when Lucian had made his way to th
Estella was confused, but she still smiled innocently, for she knew Roxanne was praising her. The former then retracted her hand obediently. Subsequently, Roxanne took out the tools she had prepared and carefully scooped out the yellow flower along with its roots.Estella cocked her head to one side, confused by what she saw.“For medicinal herbs like this, we need to preserve their roots as well,” Roxanne explained patiently.Hearing that, the girl nodded even though she did not understand Roxanne’s words completely.Now that Estella knew Roxanne was looking for that kind of flower, the former quickly got up and scoured the area.It did not take long for Estella to find a huge area of it, so Roxanne collected a few more to be preserved.Soon, noon arrived. The children were clearly hungry because their pace had slowed.Noting that, Roxanne brought them back to the tent to prepare food for them.She had woken up early that morning to prepare a various selection of food for the childr
“What is…” Estella carefully placed the wreath in her hand and shot Roxanne a delighted look. Smiling, Roxanne patted Estella’s head and said, “It looks a little funny because I haven’t made one in a long time.”In response, Estella shook her head fervently. “I love it!”As if to prove how much she loved it, Estella placed it gently in front of her and began drawing it.Seeing that, Roxanne and the boys scooted over curiously, only to be shocked by Estella’s drawing, which was slowly becoming complete.Her previous drawing of the plants was rather decent, though her brushstrokes were a little childish.However, her drawing of the wreath was unbelievable. In fact, it almost looked real.“Essie, you’re amazing!” Benny breathed.Roxanne, too, smiled and nodded in agreement.By the time Estella was done with the drawing, Benny could not help but ask, “Essie, have you taken art cla*ses before?”However, Estella shook her head in confusion.The look of surprise in Benny’s eyes only intensi
The camping location Roxanne had picked was in the suburbs near a mountain. It was a two-hour drive from the city, so they only arrived when it was close to noon. When Roxanne got out of the car, she could not help but sigh in awe while scanning the surroundings. The two-hour drive was worth it.Their camping location was on a lush field with tiny flowers growing all over the place.Roxanne had purposely chosen a wider area to set up their tent. There was also a little forest not far from their spot.The vegetation in the forest was denser, and rabbits would hop out and encircle their visitors from time to time.On the other side was a tiny waterfall, and thanks to the moving water, the surrounding air was quite refreshing and cool.The gurgling sound of water also created a serene vibe. It could not be a more suitable camping site.Happiness was written all over the children’s faces.“It’s so beautiful!” Estella gazed at the scenery, forgetting all the unhappy events that happened t
The next day, Estella got out of bed and waited outside Lucian’s room. She still wanted to convince him to go camping with them. When Lucian opened the door and was about to leave the room, he noticed the girl was standing right before him.Needless to say, Lucian knew her motive.Instead of giving her a chance to speak, he said, “Come. Let’s go and have breakfast. Ms. Jarvis should be arriving shortly.”The girl shook her head, but before she could say something, Lucian interrupted again. “I need to go to the office now. You must obey Ms. Jarvis, okay? Call me if you need anything.”Before Estella could open her mouth and speak, he immediately walked past her and went downstairs.Meanwhile, Catalina was preparing breakfast for them in the dining area.When she saw him walking to the door, she asked in concern, “Breakfast’s ready, Mr. Farwell. Would you like to eat some before leaving?”Lucian continued walking. “I have to leave now. Remember to open the door for Ms. Jarvis later. Sh
On the way to the Farwell residence, Estella puffed up her cheeks as she sat in the backseat. She stared at her father through the rearview mirror. “Daddy, did you make Ms. Jarvis angry again?”Lucian frowned slightly when he heard Estella’s soft and adorable voice.Estella caught on to the change in Lucian’s expression and knew that she had guessed correctly. She snorted angrily.She had thought that Lucian wanted to bring her to meet Roxanne.However, it turned out he had gone to create trouble for Roxanne instead.“I won’t listen to you anymore, Daddy!” Estella said gloomily.Lucian’s frown deepened. He patiently explained, “It’s because of work.”It’s this excuse again!Estella looked at the rearview mirror unhappily and said, “You only know how to lie to little kids, Daddy.”Lucian’s eye twitched in anger when he heard that.Estella continued listing out her grievances. “You also said that to me the previous time! Earlier tonight, you tricked me into bringing you to Ms. Jarvis t
Lucian stared at Roxanne with a grim expression. Even if she did not say it out explicitly, he could tell that she was still being suspicious of him.Realizing that, Lucian’s expression darkened terribly, while the tone of his voice became colder.“Since you are refusing my offer, Ms. Jarvis, I won’t insist upon it anymore.”With that, he turned around and left the study.As she watched his retreating figure, Roxanne’s eyes glinted with an unfathomable emotion. Confusion filled her heart at that moment.Lucian’s words still left her wondering why he had decided to come all the way to see her in the first place.She wouldn’t believe his claim that he was merely here to provide the medicinal herbs.However, Lucian did not mention anything else besides that.Roxanne mulled over it in the study alone, but she could not find an answer to her doubts.After quite some time, she finally decided to leave the room.Meanwhile, the children had finished their dinner and were playing in the livin
Roxanne could feel Lucian’s heavy gaze on her back. Although her back was facing him, she still could not ignore the fact he was staring at her.Due to Lucian’s presence, she was no longer in the mood to eat anything.“You kids go ahead. I have something to discuss with Mr. Farwell,” said Roxanne softly after taking several quick bites and placing away her cutleries.She could not stand having Lucian staring at her all the time, and she wanted to know why he came to her place.The kids did not think too much about that and nodded obediently in response.Seeing that the kids had agreed to let her go, Roxanne stood up and walked over to Lucian. “Let’s talk in the study.”Lucian nodded casually and stood up, following her to the study.“Mr. Farwell, to what do I owe this pleasure of having you over at my place? Do you have something important to tell me?” Roxanne stood in the center of the study, looking at him warily. “If you’re here to offer me the technical advisor’s position for Her
That night, Lucian went to the kindergarten to pick Estella up. It was already late by the time he arrived, so Estella was the only kid left at the kindergarten.“Daddy,” Estella greeted him aggrievedly after noticing his arrival.He patted her head apologetically. “I’m sorry that I’m late.”Then, he looked up and nodded at Pippa.Pippa had waited with Estella the whole night. Now that Lucian had finally shown up, she could rest a*sured and let him take the little girl home.After bringing Estella into the car, Lucian sat idly for some time instead of starting the vehicle.Estella urged him in puzzlement, “Daddy?” Her voice pulled him back to reality.He glanced at the little girl through the rearview mirror and saw a bewildered expression spread across her face.“Have you seen Ms. Jarvis in the past few days?” he asked.Estella became crestfallen upon listening to his question and shook her head dejectedly.However, she quickly turned delighted. “Archie and Benny said I’ll be able t
Jonathan cleared his throat at Lucian’s lack of response.“I heard a fire broke out in Dr. Jarvis’ research institute two days ago.”Hearing that, Lucian snapped his brows together.Jonathan was satisfied to see his response. “What’s the matter? Did you not know about this?”Lucian nodded, his expression somber.He had not seen Roxanne since the kiss the other night.Therefore, he knew nothing of what happened to her.Although Estella would try to get news about Roxanne from Archie and Benny before telling her father what she learned, Lucian knew that Roxanne would not let the boys know that she had been in danger.Jonathan fell silent when he saw his friend’s grim expression, and he waited for Lucian to speak instead.“Was the fire a bad one? Was she hurt?” Lucian could not help but ask.Jonathan lifted a brow. “Won’t you know if you go and take a look at her?”At that, Lucian’s expression turned dark again.Jonathan was bewildered by that.What does this mean? Did they have a fight