Roxanne was a little worried that Estella would be unhappy that Lucian wasn’t around to dine with them. To her surprise, however, Estella was smiling happily as she munched away on her food. It was as though she didn’t even mind if Lucian was there.Roxanne felt her heart ache when she saw that.Is Lucian really so busy that he barely has time to spend with his daughter? That probably explains why Estella is recovering so slowly…Roxanne was about to bring the kids back upstairs after dinner when Catalina entered the living room and said, “Mr. Farwell is waiting for you in the back garden, Ms. Jarvis.”Having witnessed the incident earlier that afternoon, Catalina was tempted to address Roxanne as “Mrs. Farwell.”However, she chose not to, as she figured it would make her uncomfortable.Roxanne paused and stared at the kids after hearing that.What does Lucian want to see me for? Would it be convenient to bring the kids with me?“We want to go too, Mommy!” Benny exclaimed while tuggi
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
“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
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,
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
“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
“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
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
Quiet settled in the car again. Lucian had thought Roxanne would offer him an explanation or words of rea*surance after he had shown understanding, but she remained silent for a long time.That ticked him off, but he couldn’t go back on his words and could only keep his emotions in check.Thankfully, Benny had notified him of this earlier, or he would have flipped his lid thinking about Roxanne and her indulgent demeanor working together with Jack.“You could take a break on this trip, too,” Lucian continued, not meaning a word he said. “The stories circulating online these few days must have affected you. I should have handled it better. I wanted to take you away for an excursion after my trip, but it seems that the medical consultation came at the right time.”Roxanne came back to her senses and seemed to remember something. “Sorry for troubling you with the comments online.”Lucian frowned. “I was the one who put you in this situation. I should be the one apologizing to you.”Roxa
I have never needed to inform Lucian about impending business trips, but things are different now. Knowing how much he dislikes Jack, I should inform him it is with Jack I’m making this trip. I have gotten so used to leaving whenever work crops up for the past six years that I would have forgotten if not for Benny’s reminder. Benny watched his mother’s expression soften and knew his timely words worked. Although his face glistened with anticipation, he was also silently urging his father to hurry up.Roxanne fell silent for a long while before grabbing her phone to give Lucian a call.Just when she found his number, a horn sounded outside the mansion.Somehow knowing exactly who it was, Roxanne put her phone away and walked to the entrance with her suitcase in tow.She saw Lucian’s Bentley at the door. Clad in a smoky gray vest with sleeves rolled up halfway, he emerged from the car and strode toward her.“What are you doing here?”Roxanne had a funny feeling as she watched him appro
Estella nodded innocently in response to their explanation. It is true that I know nothing about the stock market, and hearing about it would mean nothing to me, anyway.“Then finish up your discussion and come play with me!” Estella whined.Benny gave Estella a guilty nod.As he watched her climb up the bed, he produced his watch to send his father a message.Meanwhile, Lucian was displeased after learning from Benny’s message that Roxanne was going to the medical consultation again with Jack.Though I can’t bear to say anything to her, I’m even more unwilling to keep this to myself.After mulling the matter over, Lucian called Jonathan and blamed him for telling Roxanne about the medical consultation run by the Damaris family and for introducing Jack to her.Jonathan was deeply amused by his friend’s accusations. “Are you kidding me? I did that to help you appease your wife! She would have left the country if not for the Damaris family’s project!”Since learning about the Farwell f
Roxanne was totally unaware of the children’s involvement in Aubree’s predicament. Upon waking up the following morning, she wasted no time browsing the discussion online.Lucian’s announcement from the night before topped the trending topics, above the other popular topics from the day before that lay below, forgotten. The search phrases of the posts were also almost completely deleted.Roxanne deemed the matter resolved and was finally appeased.She was getting out of bed to prepare breakfast for the children when Jack suddenly called.Roxanne picked up at once, thinking it pertained to the project. “What happened, Mr. Damaris?”She sounded apologetic, as she feared her being the subject of tabloid gossip would affect the project.Jack sounded concerned on the other end. “Are you all right? I saw the comments online yesterday and considered dropping by, but I was swamped. Now that I have some time to spare, I’m calling to check if the comments have brought you down.”Roxanne froze
Coming down the stairs, Aubree spotted her father surrounded by the other relatives pointing their fingers at him and questioning him. “What are you guys doing?” Aubree asked after seeing the scene.In the entire Pearson family, their family was the superior one; they had never received such treatment.Hearing her voice, everyone turned to look at her.“You still have the guts to question us, huh? You know, had you not offended Lucian, our family would not have been like this right now. Old Mr. Pearson established Pearson Group all by himself. It’s not something you can toy with! You’re the one who messed up, but why do we have to bear the consequences as well?”Aubree appeared in a wretched state as her cheek was still swollen, and Samuel’s handprint did not fade.Aubree was so infuriated that her hand started trembling. “Oh, we’re talking about that now, are we? Didn’t all of you also bask in the glory when Pearson Group was at its peak?”If not for the marriage contract between Lu
Her face contorted with anger when she saw Farwell Group’s new announcement trending. On top of that, the announcement clearly stated it was Aubree’s personality that caused the annulment of the engagement.How could Lucian do this to me?A netizen commented: I’ve met Aubree before. Sure enough, she’s not all that great. She always looks down on others as if we’re inferior to her.Another comment read: I heard Aubree even scolded the daughter of the Farwell family and called her Little Mute. Back then, I thought I’d gotten the wrong person because they hadn’t called off their engagement yet. Now that I see it, it’s definitely Aubree. No wonder Mr. Farwell wants to renounce the engagement.The more Aubree read, the darker her expression grew.Everyone, no matter their identity, was stepping out to criticize her.Hmph! What do they know? It’s all Roxanne’s doing! Who knows what she said to Lucian? It’s clearly that b*tch’s fault. What right do they have to criticize me?Aubree was seei
Aubree’s joy did not last long, for the tables had turned that evening. Farwell Group made an announcement again, clearly stating the reason for the annulment of the engagement between the Farwell and the Pearson family. At the same time, it also contained a warning for the people who contributed to the discussions on the internet.One specific line in the announcement caused an uproar on the internet. It read: The Farwell and the Pearson family have annulled their engagement due to Aubree’s personality that is unfit for the role of Mr. Lucian Farwell’s wife.Someone wrote: The Farwell family must’ve toned down their words. They’re a big family, after all. I bet Aubree has done something disgusting behind their backs. Farwell Group is already sparing her dignity by saying it’s a personality problem.Another wrote: So, who’s the problem now? Aubree or Roxanne?Someone replied: Do you still need to ask that? Didn’t Farwell Group explain everything clearly in the announcement? It’s Aubr
Lucian narrowed his eyes dangerously as he scanned the inside of the restaurant. When the others saw Lucian had gone looking for the man to settle the scores, they retracted their gazes guiltily.Meanwhile, the man was so scared he did not dare breathe loudly in front of Lucian.Truth was, the man had no ill intentions.He had only read the discussion on the internet and gotten curious about their relationship.In fact, when the man saw Roxanne bringing along two sons of unknown origins, he figured Lucian would have some grudge against her.To the man’s astonishment, Lucian seemed to be truly in love with Roxanne.Moreover, Roxanne did not look like a crafty person as described in the rumors.Lucian suddenly thought of something and warned the man, “I don’t care what you think, but you’d better keep your eyes to yourself and not interrupt our meal.” After that, he instructed the waiter to move them to a different private room.“What happened?”Uneasiness swirled within Roxanne’s hear
It was her first photograph with the three children. More importantly, it was after learning that Estella was the baby whom she had thought died prematurely.“Thank you,” she said gratefully.Looking at her trembling hands, Lucian pulled her into his arms. “If you want to thank me, then reconsider my proposal. I was lying to you. I can’t wait much longer. Six years is long enough. I don’t want to keep waiting.”Roxanne lowered her head without answering. Her eyes brimmed with guilt.Having detected something in her silence, Lucian released her with a sigh and gave her a kind smile. “It’s all right. I can wait a little longer. Besides, I’m sure you wouldn’t bear to keep me waiting too long.”Roxanne looked away, not knowing what to say.Meanwhile, having tired themselves out, the children came running over to the adults.“Mommy, what were you looking at earlier?”Benny could tell that something was wrong between their parents, so he hurriedly tried to change the subject. Clutching Rox