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Roxanne chuckled when she heard Madilyn grumbling. Pulling the children into her embrace, Madilyn said with a sigh, “It’s been such a busy month, but I’m already feeling much better after seeing these two kiddos.”With that, she forcefully planted kisses on the boys’ cheeks, only to be shoved away by them in disdain.“Let’s go out and play tomorrow! We haven’t spent much time together ever since you guys returned. It’s my day off tomorrow. I can take all of you out for the entire day,” Madilyn suggested, looking expectant.The boys’ eyes lit up at the idea of going out to play. They instantly turned to Roxanne to hear her response.Roxanne felt conflicted when she was met by the trio’s expectant gazes. “I’m afraid tomorrow is a no-no.”The moment those words left her mouth, the trio’s faces fell simultaneously.Madilyn stared at Roxanne with an exaggerated expression. “Don’t tell me you’re working tomorrow.”Roxanne shook her head. “No,” was all she replied, leaving Madilyn even more
After giving her advice, Madilyn suddenly asked, “So? Was I right? Is Lucian really pursuing you?” Shocked by her best friend’s exaggerated tone, Roxanne froze for a few seconds before returning to her senses. She smiled nonchalantly. “I have no idea what he is thinking. Maybe he’s trying to get close to me because Estella likes me more.”Regardless, Madilyn figured her guess was not too far from the truth. She gave Roxanne a serious glance. “I’m serious. You should try giving the relationship a go. Just take it as a chance to make up for all the regrets from six years ago.”At that, Roxanne fell into deep thought. Finally, she forced a smile and said, “All right. Thank you.”Madilyn got up and hugged her. “You know you can come to me whenever you have something troubling you, right? Don’t keep it to yourself.”Roxanne a*sented with a smile.Madilyn knew Roxanne needed more time to think about it. Thus, she stopped talking and remained quiet in her seat while waiting for the latter t
“Frieda, do you know them?” Ha*so couldn’t help but ask. Frieda slowly returned to her senses and glanced at him with furrowed eyebrows. The disdain in her eyes swiftly faded. “There’s bad blood between me and that woman.”“What did she do to you?” Ha*so asked, confused.Frieda pursed her lips and put on an angry look. “She stole my friend’s man. I can’t stand that.”Ha*so was momentarily stunned when he saw his goddess getting angry. He then stood up and a*sumed a posture as though he was going to help her get revenge. “I’ll teach that woman a lesson!”Frieda couldn’t help but roll her eyes. Quickly schooling her emotions, she gently kicked his leg under the table. “Sit down! Don’t act so rashly. It’ll be embarra*sing if you make a scene!”Because she kicked him very lightly, he thought she was flirting with him. He sat back down obediently and asked, “What do you plan to do, then? I’ll do whatever you ask!”Frieda smiled. “Let’s follow them and see what they’re up to.”Ha*so agreed
Archie and Benny watched silently and enviously from behind. They also wanted to wear matching outfits with their parents. However, they weren’t as bold as their younger sister. Knowing that Lucian was their father, they tended to act more reserved in front of him.Roxanne looked at the happy smile on Estella’s face, and her concern reduced greatly. She patted the girl’s head and said, “The dress really suits you, Essie. Let’s take it off now so the employee can bag them.”Estella shook her head without hesitation and grabbed Roxanne’s hand tightly.She did not want to take off the dress that quickly when it was rare for her to wear the same clothes as Roxanne.Roxanne could guess what the girl was thinking. Well, since we’re already wearing these matching outfits, I don’t think there is any difference if we wear them for a little longer. She went along with Estella’s idea and asked the employee to bag the clothes they were originally wearing.After following the employee to the cash
When she turned back, Roxanne saw Lucian pouring two cups of water and putting one each in front of Archie and Benny. She was puzzled. Is he doing that because they asked for it, or is it because he wants to relieve the awkwardness from earlier?Just as her mind was still in a chaotic mess, a cup of water suddenly appeared in front of her.Roxanne came back to her senses and glanced at the person next to her.Lucian smiled at her mysteriously, then retracted his hand from the cup and turned his attention back to the stage.After staring at the cup with mixed emotions for a long while, Roxanne thanked him in a small voice. She felt apologetic because she believed she had misunderstood him earlier.In order to show him that she didn’t hold a grudge, she took a sip of water from the cup he had given her.The children’s lips quirked up when they saw how the adults interacted. They thought Roxanne had lowered her guard.When the concert ended, Lucian and Roxanne left the auditorium with t
Roxanne instinctively glanced at the man walking in front of her before lowering her gaze to look at the flowers in her arms. She hesitated about giving the flowers back to him. However, before she could say anything, the three children came up to her. When they saw the flowers, they were elated.“Mommy, where did you get the flowers? They look pretty, and they match you so well!” Benny praised despite knowing who had given his mother the flowers.A wave of embarra*sment washed over Roxanne at the boy’s question. Right as she was about to lean over to hand the flowers to Estella, she recalled that the man was still holding her wrist.Evidently, that was something the children noticed as well.Upon her realization, Roxanne began to turn red in her face. Nevertheless, she forced herself to smile calmly at the children as she discreetly flung her wrist to break free of the man’s grasp.Yet, the man only tightened his grip.Roxanne frowned and turned to protest.When Lucian met her eyes,
Her words made Lucian frown as he grimly gazed at her to study her. If he did not mishear what she said, that meant that Roxanne was starting to waver in her stance.Roxanne blinked when her eyes met Lucian’s. Then, she averted her gaze with false calmness.A moment later, Lucian’s deep voice sounded out beside her ear. “I’ve never liked her romantically, and I’ll never marry her. That’s why there’s nothing for me to explain to you.”At that, shock flashed past Roxanne’s eyes.If this were to happen six years ago, she would never expect to hear this from Lucian.He never liked Aubree romantically? How can that be?She could still remember how Lucian had announced that he would only marry Aubree and no one else six years ago. In fact, he did not even mind resorting to emotional abuse to make her leave.If he’s saying this now, then what about what happened six years ago?Lucian’s eyes were on her, so he saw all of the emotions that appeared on her face.When he noticed her shock, he f
Estella pouted and was visibly upset. “I can play with the boys. I don’t need you taking care of me, Ms. Jarvis.” Roxanne felt a pounding headache when the little girl insisted on staying. She decided to try a different approach and said softly, “Why don’t you come another day, Essie? I will surely accompany you by then. I really don’t have the time today.”When the little girl was about to say something, Lucian suddenly voiced, “Essie, Ms. Jarvis told you she’s busy. Don’t disturb her further.”As Roxanne had mentioned the Damaris family just now, his tone was rather clipped.Estella was shocked by her father’s icy tone. She widened her eyes innocently and dared not say anything else as she gave Roxanne puppy dog eyes.The cold wind roused Archie and Benny from their grogginess. Likewise, they were taken aback by their father’s tone.The two boys exchanged glances with each other. We’d better not piss Daddy off in the future. He’s so fierce!Roxanne disapproved of Lucian’s stern man