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
“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
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
“Lucian, I’ve been married to you for three years, but you’ve never once touched me. I’ll give my blessing to you and your first crush by giving up on our marriage. Tomorrow, you’re free to go after her. But for now, just make it up to me for my feelings for you all these years, please?”With that said, Roxanne Jarvis leaned down and pressed her lips to the man before her as though she was a moth drawn to fire. Her action was both frenzied and desperate.She knew this was a despicable move, but she had loved him for too long.All the while, she had suffered greatly, and now, all she wanted was a little consolation.“Roxanne, how dare you!”Lucian Farwell clenched his jaw as his fury sprang to life. His handsome face was as black as thunder.He wanted to push her away, but the mounting desire in his body was too overpowering. It threatened to burn away all his capacity for reason.How dare she scheme against me?“I’m afraid of nothing…”A lone drop of tear slipped out of the corner of
Roxanne hurried to Harvey’s office.After pushing the door open, she spotted the little rascals inside. They were sitting on the couch in the office and swinging their legs nonchalantly.The boys lit up at the sight of Roxanne. Scrambling off the couch, they ran toward her excitedly. “Mommy, you’re finally done! I thought you’d be staying in the laboratory forever!”“Mommy, you’ve worked hard! Are you tired? Sit down. I’ll give you a ma*sage.”They led Roxanne to the couch so she could take a seat.As Roxanne took in their concern, she suddenly felt it was worth it to get yelled at.“Look at how obedient you are. You weren’t like this when you hacked into my computer earlier!” Harvey huffed angrily behind his desk.Archie declared, “It was all your fault, Professor Lambert! You kept asking Mommy to work overtime. Look, she’s getting malnourished!”“That’s right! Mommy’s an ordinary human being. How could you ask her to work day and night?” Benny chimed in as he kneaded Roxanne’s shoul
Roxanne’s heart lurched to her throat and remained there as she hurried out of the airport. She kept turning at her shoulder to confirm he didn’t come after them.Fortunately, his figure remained nowhere to be seen even after they exited the airport.Roxanne could finally heave a sigh of relief.The kids found it strange that she kept turning her head to glance behind them.As Roxanne seemed anxious, they knew it wasn’t the time to ask questions. Without a word, they allowed her to drag them out obediently.“Roxanne! Archie! Benny!” A woman called from afar.The three of them lifted their heads and saw a lady dressed in a suit, waving at them happily as she made their way to them.Roxanne relaxed gradually at the sight of the woman. Flashing a smile, she said, “Madilyn, it’s been so long!”Madilyn Xander was her best friend back in university and was currently working as a doctor in her own family’s hospital.Shortly after, Madilyn came to a stop before them and flung her arms around
Lucian glared at her silently for a few seconds.Meanwhile, Aubree dug her nails into her palm to stop herself from revealing her real emotions.“You’d better not be lying.”Lucian averted his gaze a while later and turned to Cayden. “Did the police get back to you?”Cayden’s voice was grim. “Not yet.”He glanced at Lucian carefully and asked, “Could someone has kidnapped Ms. Estella?” Concern was evident in his voice.The girl was Lucian’s darling daughter. She was well-adorned in the Farwell family and thus became the target of many of Lucian’s rivals. Previously, she was nearly kidnapped.Now, she was nowhere to be found, and even the police couldn’t find her anywhere. Hence, Cayden couldn’t help but think of the worst—someone had kidnapped her.Lucian’s gaze turned as dark as thunder. “Increase the manpower and expand the search area. I want to see her by the end of today!”“Got it!” Cayden responded loudly.He felt a chill go down his spine when he realized his employer was about
There were now only two people inside the room.Lucian scanned his surroundings before his gaze fell on his daughter.The little girl was still upset by Roxanne’s sudden departure, so upon seeing her father, not only was she completely unafraid, but she even turned away with a huff.A faint scowl appeared on Lucian’s face.Well aware that Estella was just as enigmatic and difficult to handle as her father was, this was a job for Lucian’s assistant, Cayden.“Are you okay, Ms. Estella?”The little girl merely glanced at him before furiously turning away once more.Cayden observed her. Noticing that she was safe and sound, he sighed with relief and turned to report to his boss.With narrowed eyes, Lucian turned to the woman beside his daughter.Madilyn’s chest tightened as she met his gaze, and she secretly squeezed her own hands to compose herself.“Where’s Roxanne?”Lucian’s expression darkened as he took a good look at Madilyn’s face.He could actually tell it was her?Madilyn fretted
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