“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
Twenty minutes later, the car slowly stopped at the Farwell residence.Estella did not want anyone to carry her. She quietly got down from the car by climbing down slowly.Lucian followed right behind and did not utter a word.The moment the father and daughter stepped into the house, they heard someone calling Estella.“Essie!” Aubree, who was playing on her phone in the living room, exclaimed when she lifted her head and saw them entering the house.The moment she saw the child from a distance, she ran toward her and gave her a hug. “Essie, you’re finally home! How could you run away and not tell us? I got the shock of my life when you went missing, do you know that? Are you okay? Are you injured?”She started inspecting Estella’s body to make sure the latter was all right.Estella froze for a bit, as she was taken aback by Aubree’s actions.But the cold look soon returned to the little one’s gaze when Aubree’s voice kept ringing in her ear, expressing her insincere concern.Does sh
In the middle of the night, Lucian tiptoed into Estella’s room in the Farwell residence and tucked her in.He watched the little girl sleeping soundly in bed for quite a while before he turned and stepped out of the room.The moment he came out of the room, Cayden stepped forward to update him, “Mr. Farwell, I’ve dropped by the restaurant to investigate the matter. However, I didn’t discover anything as the surveillance cameras there were broken.”“So coincidentally?” Hearing that, Lucian knitted his brows. The moment my suspicion was piqued, the surveillance cameras were broken as well?Looking troubled, Cayden replied hesitantly, “It could be mere coincidence. After all, we haven’t received any news about Mrs. Farwell- I mean, Ms. Jarvis, since she left years ago. I don’t think she’d appear out of the blue in this city.”Right after he said that, he noticed his boss’s expression darkening.Cayden’s heart skipped a beat. He cast his head down and dared not utter anything more.“I got
Roxanne was clueless about the incident at the kindergarten.After leaving the kindergarten, she headed straight to the research institute set up in the country by her professor.The moment she stepped into the building, she saw a charming man dressed in a suit approaching her.“Welcome back, Roxanne. I’m excited to be your colleague again.”Colby Galloway stood before her and extended his hand.Roxanne nodded and shook his hand, quickly retracting it.Previously, Colby was abroad. He was also in Harvey’s team and was involved in many types of research and development.During that time, Colby had been her a*sistant. After all, he was a graduate of a famous school, and his capabilities were acknowledged by Roxanne and Harvey.Though Roxanne’s attitude was impa*sive, Colby did not mind it. He smiled and offered, “Come on. I’ll bring you to the office.”With that, he turned around and led the way, introducing the structure of the research institute and the key personnel along the way.Up
Gina and her husband were at a loss for a moment. They initially thought Sonya came to defuse the tension.Seeing Sonya putting up an arrogant look left them unsure of what to do.Gina tested the waters by pleading, “Mrs. Farwell, we will heed your advice and not do stupid things anymore. Please help us!”As soon as she finished speaking, she noticed Sonya’s gaze fall on Samuel, who stood beside her.Gina immediately caught her drift and cleared her throat to get Samuel’s attention.Clearly, Sonya still thought the Pearson family was of use to her, and she wanted them to pledge their loyalty to her.Given that Gina lacked authority in the Pearson family, Sonya hinted at Samuel so he could make the first move.They might have been friends for years, but after all the things the Pearson family had done, Gina knew they were now at Sonya’s mercy. Their friendship had become solely based on interests and more transactional.Of course, Samuel could read Sonya’s mind too, but after much pon
Aubree chuckled in delight as the public showed disdain for Roxanne. “Roxanne, you b*tch, I’m going to let you get a taste of your own medicine.”Early in the morning that day, Sonya read the comments on the internet.She was furious when she found out that Lucian had sent Roxanne to the hospital and had even spent the night there taking care of her.She could still recall the incident vividly. Roxanne had just returned to the country not long ago, and Lucian had insisted on taking care of her.Sonya read through the comments furiously.Everyone had different opinions regarding the matter. Public opinion was swayed.Sonya’s face darkened when she saw a comment about how well Lucian and Roxanne complimented each other.They’re a good match? Since when has she ever been worthy of my son? On what grounds? Certainly not her looks, nor her two illegitimate children. Speaking of which, I’ve yet to find out who fathered those two children.Just as she was about to blow up, the public’s view
Frieda could just imagine Aubree’s face after the latter read the comments even though they were only speaking over the phone. She said dryly, “You should take a look for yourself, Aubree…”Aubree turned on the speakerphone and opened her social media app grimly.Someone commented: Aubree is shameless. How dare she claim to be Mr. Farwell’s first crush when she’s really just a homewrecker? If he truly had feelings for her, why would he have married his original spouse?Another seconded: That’s right. Whatever feelings Mr. Farwell had for his first crush would have been gone by now after six long years. Moreover, Mr. Farwell acts as if he doesn’t even know her. If you ask me, his original spouse is his first crush. Aubree is just a nobody.The comments were scathing and merciless, leaving no room for doubt about the netizens’ disdain toward Aubree.Aubree had to muster up all her energy to resist the urge to throw her phone across the room.“Roxanne, that b*tch!” she cursed through gr
“Ah!” cried out Aubree as she violently threw the phone in her hand away. “I’ll ensure that b*tch, Roxanne, regrets the day she was born! She must be the one responsible. She has to be!” With that, Aubree was about to rush out when Samuel stopped her in her tracks.“Idiot! Have you forgotten about what happened at the Farwell residence yesterday? Do you actually think it’s a good idea to confront Roxanne now?” rebuked Samuel.Aubree seemed even madder after listening to that. “You’re my father! Can you really sit by and do nothing while those people cursed at me online? Since our family has nothing left to lose, I’m going to drag that b*tch down to the abyss with me!”At that point, Samuel could no longer hold his anger in, so he slapped his daughter so hard that she fell into her bed. “You’re the reason our family is ruined, yet you show no remorse! In fact, you seem more than ready to repeat your mistakes. Now you listen to me well. I don’t care if you have to kneel before Lucian o
“Mr. Farwell!” At Farwell Group, the staff in charge of publishing comments on the internet noticed a shift in the trend of the public’s opinion, so he hurriedly went to seek further instruction from Lucian.Lucian glanced at the screen and furrowed his brows.He saw the internet was flooded with speculations about his relationship with Roxanne and criticisms toward Aubree.“We didn’t do this. We merely released some news about the Pearson family. This statement mentioning the original spouse came out of nowhere. Should we attempt to sway the public opinion again?” the employee hurriedly explained.Lucian rejected the suggestion. “That’s not needed. Just let it be. Find out where the statement about the original spouse stemmed from.”The employee replied guiltily, “I investigated the source, but the information was leaked from a virtual IP address that does not correspond to a physical network interface…”Hearing that, Lucian narrowed his eyes and was immediately reminded of the prev
Even though Roxanne and Estella had been by each other’s side a lot recently, their feelings toward each other were much different from before after the truth was revealed. Roxanne had so much she wanted to tell her lost daughter. Similarly, Estella had a lot she wanted to say to her mother.The two lay in bed and chatted endlessly, never running out of topics to talk to each other about.“I drew a lot of pictures of me and my mommy, but none of those mommies in the pictures were as pretty as you.”Estella looked at Roxanne with glee in her eyes, her smile so sweet and lovely that it softened Roxanne’s heart. “Now that I found you, can you draw pictures with me, Mommy?”Roxanne’s heart nearly melted into a puddle at her question. “Sure. Let’s do everything together!”Estella’s eyes sparkled with delight. “Archie and Benny too! I want to do everything with them too!”Roxanne promised with a laugh, “Archie and Benny will be by your side too.”“Mommy,” Estella suddenly whispered into Ro
In the meantime, Lucian was driving Roxanne and the kids back to Roxanne’s place. Roxanne felt uneasy throughout the whole ride, for she a*sumed the man had something to say because he was driving unusually slowly. However, as the car slowly came to a stop in front of the mansion, Lucian still remained silent. The woman’s anxiousness was replaced with confusion.In contrast, the kids were chattering and having fun at the back. When the car stopped, they didn’t cease playing as they hopped off the vehicle and chased each other around in the yard.As soon as the kids were out of hearing range, Roxanne asked, “Do you have something to say to me?”She thought Lucian felt uncomfortable talking to her in front of the children.Yet, the man merely smiled at her. “I just wanted to stay with you guys for a little longer, that’s all.”He gazed at Roxanne and continued with a sigh, “I don’t know when you’ll give me an answer, and I’m worried that you’ll run away again. You won’t run away again,
“Okay. I’ll wait for you.” Lucian suppressed his disappointment and said, “You can take your time to think it over. There’s no rush. I’m willing to wait for as long as you need.”He then glanced at the diamond ring in Roxanne’s hand. “I hope you can keep the ring. Put it on when you’ve thought it through. I’ll know your answer by then.”Roxanne was touched when she heard that. The guilt she felt grew more intense as she said, “Thank you.”She found it difficult to tell Lucian the reason she rejected him.It wasn’t because she did not believe him but because she felt she had wronged Archie and Benny.Cayden heaved a sigh of relief when he saw Roxanne keep the ring.Looks like Mr. Farwell still stands a chance, and a good chance at that!However, Sonya’s expression darkened.I knew it! She’s leaving my son hanging! I’d never let someone like her become a part of the Farwell family!Just as Sonya was thinking about how to make Roxanne give up, the latter suddenly walked toward her.She
When Lucian saw that Roxanne was going to retreat, his gaze swept across Estella. “Do you really have the heart to decline? Essie dreams about having a mother. Could you bear to keep her waiting? You’ve already been absent from her life for six long years!”His words left Roxanne totally baffled.She looked down at Estella in shock, wondering what Lucian meant.Is it what I think it is?The two kids had yet to realize what Lucian was talking about and simply looked at the two adults innocently.Roxanne took a deep breath and forced herself to stay calm. Then, she turned to Lucian and asked, “What are you talking about? What do you mean when you said I’ve been absent from Essie’s life for six long years? I’m just…”I was just an outsider to Essie. Why did he say that? The person who has missed out on watching Essie grow up should be her biological mother, no?“Lucian, what has gotten into you?”Sonya never wanted Roxanne to be a part of the Farwell family.Furthermore, since Estella h