When Roxanne saw how persistent the girl was, she agreed to a game with the children. “I’m done!” Estella announced when she had found a hiding spot.Even after rounds of the same game with Archie and Benny, the girl still shouted out loud whenever she was done hiding.Roxanne could not help laughing at that.Right after Estella shouted, Roxanne heard Archie’s and Benny’s soft giggles from another corner.“I’m coming!” Roxanne exclaimed, shaking her head.Then she walked toward where Archie and Benny were.The boys were still feeling proud of themselves because they thought they had found a seemingly strategic place where no one could find them, but they were proven wrong.They even planned on changing their hiding place to make it more difficult for Roxanne to find them. But just as they were crawling out from where they were, they bumped into the woman.They looked up, only to see her smug smile. “Mommy, please give us another chance…” they mumbled, standing up in front of her.Rox
While Roxanne was bandaging him, she could sense Lucian’s gaze on her. However, Roxanne did not know what was on his mind.I wonder if he’s thinking about what happened last night…Roxanne could not help but recall the bottle of red wine that was almost finished the night before, and that made her feel perplexed. As such, the bandaging she did for Lucian was a little rough around the edges.“Are you done?” asked Lucian when he saw that she was not doing anything else.It was only then Roxanne returned to her senses and maintained a calm face. “It’s almost done.”Lucian took a look at the bandage on his hand, raised his brows, and said, “Ms. Jarvis, it seems that you are very selective when it comes to your medical skill, aren’t you?”Roxanne was startled by what he said. She followed his gaze and noticed that her bandaging was indeed horribly done.For a moment, Roxanne could not help but blush. She opened her mouth but did not know what to say.Thankfully, all Lucian did was teased
Roxanne was much more relaxed when she saw that Lucian’s preparations had been very thorough.The captain of the yacht chatted with them, “The weather is ideal for a trip out to the sea today.”Roxanne glanced at Lucian and saw no response from him, so she acknowledged politely.Seeing that she responded, the crew became more enthusiastic and started to introduce the activities that were available.Before they could arrive at the area for the dolphin sighting, the children’s attention was completely captured by the crew’s briefing. Excitement was written all over their small faces.Once in a while, Roxanne would respond as well.“I heard from Mr. Farwell that all of you are out here for the dolphin sighting. To be honest, that is not the most exciting thing to do in this area. I will highly recommend diving since the water in this area is well protected, and the views underwater are beautiful. If you have the chance, you should give it a try,” the crew strongly recommended.Roxanne st
Hence, the instructor gradually released her.Slowly, the underwater scenery appeared before Roxanne. When she saw the scenery in front of her, her eyes lit up.There was a vast array of colorful coral and fishes. The waters refracted the rays of sunlight and shone down on the treasures of the sea, giving them a mysterious color.Roxanne could not help but reach out her hand.Soon, a tiny fish circled her finger intimately.The instructor was stunned by the interaction, and he quickly took out his camera to take pictures of the scene.In the pictures, Roxanne looked like a beautiful mermaid interacting peacefully with the beautiful creatures of the sea.Meanwhile, the people on the yacht began to worry when Roxanne and the instructor had not returned after a long time.Benny shouted anxiously at the sea, “Mommy!”Estella, too, gripped the railing nervously and glanced at Lucian. “Daddy, why isn’t Ms. Jarvis back?”When Lucian heard her question, his gaze darkened, and he comforted her
Roxanne made herself comfortable in the seat, not daring to face the crowd’s stare. She kept her eyes lowered and thanked Lucian, who did not respond. Instead, he stared at her silently before returning to the seat in front of them. The diving instructor, who accompanied Roxanne into the water, climbed up the steps skillfully and returned the camera to her. When he was about to help her remove the swimming gear, he subconsciously glanced at Lucian, worried that the latter might get angry at him for getting too near to Roxanne.Thankfully, Lucian showed no response this time.Only then did the instructor carry on with his task.“Mommy, why did you go down there for so long?” Benny asked worriedly, looking at Roxanne.Roxanne, who had already removed the diving gears with the help of the instructor, appeared pale.The boys could not help but worry at the sight of their mother’s pale face.With a smile on her face, Roxanne comforted, “The scenery down there was really beautiful, so I wa
The deck was rather narrow, but the two adults wanted to give the children enough space to stand there. Thus, both of them stood quite close to each other.From the back, both of them looked like a couple. On top of that, the children’s laughter made them look like a peaceful family.Roxanne wanted to take a step away when she realized the distance between her and Lucian was getting smaller. However, Lucian grabbed her wrist.“What are you doing? Let go!” Roxanne whispered, worried she would frighten the children.Lucian frowned and gazed sternly at her. “Don’t move about. It’s dangerous.”Roxanne was taken aback by Lucian’s expression.Just as she was about to say something, she saw some movements on the surface of the water in the distance.In the next second, the children cheered, “Dolphins! The dolphins are here!”Hearing that, Roxanne and Lucian glanced over.Not far away, a pod of dolphins leaped out of the water and went back in with a splash as they swam toward them.The child
Ultimately, they were children. Despite what happened earlier, Benny returned to his happy self after playing with the dolphins. Seeing it was almost time, the staff in front reminded, “Mr. Farwell, it’s time to return.”Lucian gave him a brief answer and turned to the children standing on the deck. “Come here. It’s time to go back.”However, the children still continued patting the dolphins’ heads, reluctant to leave.Seeing that, Lucian frowned. He had no idea how to get them to come back.Meanwhile, Roxanne was amused to see Lucian’s troubled looks. She stepped forward and said gently, “We’re going back now. Let’s say goodbye to the dolphins.”With that, she held the children’s wrist.Only then did the children return to reality and wave at the dolphins reluctantly. “We’re going back! Goodbye!”As if understanding their words, the dolphins leaped into the air one by one.When Archie and Benny were waving at the dolphins, they felt a wet and slippery feeling on their faces.The chi
The smile on Roxanne’s face deepened when she saw how much Estella liked the conch. Roxanne took the conch and placed it beside Estella’s ear.Estella tilted her head and shot her a puzzled look.“Listen. Legend says conches have the sound of the waves. Can you hear it?” Roxanne gazed at Estella with a smile.When Estella heard that, her eyes lit up, and she listened attentively.After some time, she nodded vehemently. “Yes! I hear it!”This time, it was Roxanne who was surprised.Roxanne was only playing with Estella. Never did she expect the kid to give her a definite answer.For a moment, Roxanne could not help but doubt herself.Archie and Benny came over when Estella said she heard the sound of waves in the conch. “We want to listen to it, too!”Still feeling dubious, Roxanne placed the conch at the boys’ ears.After some time, Archie and Benny nodded vigorously, their eyes sparkling.Their reactions filled Roxanne with greater suspicion. Unable to fight her curiosity, she placed
Cory was in a good mood, knowing he had once again made a fortune. He then said, “Of course. Ms. Pearson, I’m sure you’ve come to me again because you believe in my capabilities. Now, tell me. What is it that you want me to investigate?” Narrowing her eyes, Aubree said, “Investigate what happened between Roxanne and Lucian!”Cory let out a meaningful chuckle when he heard what she said.Aubree questioned coldly, “Why are you laughing?”As if unaware of her anger, Cory muttered, “Since you’ve agreed to the price I proposed so readily, I have to show you something.”With that, he took out a phone from the bag beside him and typed away on the screen.Soon, Aubree received a few messages on her phone.“I believe what you’re about to see won’t disappoint you, Ms. Pearson.” Cory sounded confident.Aubree furrowed her brows and swiped open her phone, checking the messages he sent.The chat interface showed that Cory had sent her more than ten pictures.Each picture was attached with the tim
Aubree followed Estella closely into the room. Hesitantly, she muttered, “Lucian…” She felt somewhat guilty when she noticed the young girl fuming at Lucian.At the same time, she was relieved that Estella had not said a word to her father.Lucian nodded at Aubree and said, “Sorry for troubling you to look after Essie.”Aubree was delighted by his words. She sputtered, “Not at all. I’m happy to do this. Essie’s a lovely girl.”As for how she upset Estella in the car earlier, Aubree decided to sweep things under the rug if the young girl kept things to herself.“Dinner’s ready. Why don’t you eat with us?” Lucian offered.Aubree was over the moon. “Sure.”They entered the dining room one after another.Catalina had already set the table for three.Aubree said, “I’ll go get Essie.”Despite her suggestion, she was not confident about coaxing Estella downstairs.After all, the young girl was put out because of Aubree, and she might not listen to her instructions.If she throws a tantrum i
Archie and Benny stayed in the bathroom for a little while longer before heading out. Roxanne was still chatting with Jack at the time.She had wanted to get him to leave as soon as possible, but Jack started talking about the ancient medicine books halfway through the conversation.Due to Roxanne’s incredible pa*sion for medicine, she couldn’t help but get carried away talking about it again.It wasn’t until Lysa told them dinner was ready that she snapped out of it.“Would you like to stay for dinner, Mr. Damaris?” Roxanne asked out of courtesy.Jack arched an eyebrow when he saw Archie and Benny standing next to the kitchen.They were both glaring daggers at him and looked like they would tear him to pieces if he accepted her invitation.Because they were still kids, they just looked adorable no matter how fierce their expressions were.Jack couldn’t help but smile in amusement as he drawled suspensefully, “Thank you for the invitation, Ms. Jarvis. I—”He was halfway through his s
In the kindergarten, Archie and Benny sat in their seats quietly while the other children were playing games with Pippa. They could sense something was off when Roxanne said she would send them to school that morning.It wasn’t until Roxanne handed them over to Pippa that they noticed Roxanne glancing at the crowd from time to time as if she was looking for someone.When Pippa led them into the school, they looked back and saw Roxanne still looking around.Although Archie and Benny said nothing, they knew Roxanne was looking for Lucian and Estella.Mommy must feel terrible after the fight with Daddy that day.At the thought of Roxanne’s sadness and disappointment, Archie and Benny’s moods were gloomy, too.“Archie, Benny, what’s wrong?”Seeing the listless look on the boys’ faces, Pippa walked over to comfort them, “Are you missing Estella?”At the mention of Estella, Archie and Benny’s faces immediately fell. I wonder how Essie is doing…“Don’t worry. Mr. Farwell will take good care
Frowning, Lucian fell silent for several seconds. Within several short seconds, the smile slid off Aubree’s face.Until Lucian’s voice sounded once more.“Judging by Essie’s demeanor this morning, the relationship between you seemed to have improved by a lot.”Aubree froze for several seconds at his words before she registered what he said.It was true that the child had been receptive toward her that morning.Aside from rejecting her touch, Estella had responded to almost everything she had said.It was a big improvement compared to before.“I was the one at fault back then,” Aubree replied with a laugh. “I wasn’t patient enough with Essie. Now that I’m a little more patient, Essie can sense it and responds accordingly.”“That’s good,” Lucian answered solemnly. “Enjoy each other’s company.”Smiling, Aubree a*sured him she would.Without discussing it any further, Lucian ended the call on the pretext of work.Though he had already decided to proceed with the engagement, he did not ha
Estella’s resolve wavered at the mention of Lucian. She had seen how drunk Lucian was the night before and surmised he must have drunk a lot.I wonder what Daddy was up to.Aubree delighted at the indecision in Estella’s eyes and continued, “If you don’t want to attend school, I can help put in a word or two when your daddy’s feeling better.”It was only then that Estella relented and allowed her entry into the room.Aubree got to her feet to let Estella get dressed while she picked out the clothes she would wear to school.Once the clothes were selected, she a*sisted Estella to brush her teeth.Estella gradually began to let her guard down.Aubree used to threaten her whenever they spent time together.Estella supposed Aubree wouldn’t try anything since she didn’t seem inclined to do so this time.Moreover, Aubree brought up Lucian in their conversation.Estella was docile and compliant to her demands as she did not want to trouble Lucian. Nonetheless, her expression was still sulle
Aubree spent the night in the same guest room she stayed in during her previous visit. As she entered the room, she could not help but recall what she had done last time.For a moment, I even thought of using the same method to teach that little b*tch another lesson to see if she dares to be disobedient again!However, it was only a fleeting thought because, ultimately, she was still afraid Lucian would find out about it.Now that she had hope, she would never be able to forgive herself if she lost it due to another mistake she made.As Aubree lay in bed, the scene from earlier in Lucian’s bedroom kept playing through her head.I was so close to becoming Mrs. Farwell! If only Cayden hadn’t appeared!Aubree stayed up all night, waiting for Cayden to come over and inform her that Lucian had woken up.She never expected to wait until the sun was high in the sky, and he still had not come over.The memory of Cayden’s attitude toward her the night before made Aubree grit her teeth. She go
When the two women arrived at the club, Jonathan had already sobered up a little. He tensed up when he saw Aubree entering the room with his sister.Jonathan vaguely recalled Lucian making a call in his drunken stupor earlier, but he thought Lucian had made a call of regret to Roxanne with the courage of his drunken state.Even if it was not a call to Roxanne, Lucian should have called Cayden instead.Alas, Lucian had called Aubree.So all that talk earlier was a waste of my breath! Lucian has really given up on Roxanne.“Lucian, how do you feel?”Aubree instantly went to Lucian’s side the moment she stepped into the room, and she began studying the man with concern.Lucian had drunk more than Jonathan, and by then, he was already out of his mind.His only reaction to Aubree’s voice was a small nod and a slight furrow of his brows.“Aubree, you should bring Lucian back first. Leave my brother to me,” Frieda suggested.Aubree agreed to it with no hesitance. Nonetheless, she had troubl
Just as those words went past Jonathan’s lips, Lucian tightened his grip on his gla*s. Six years ago…“You must have treated Dr. Jarvis far worse six years ago than how Dr. Jarvis is treating you now,” Jonathan went on. “Back then, I wondered about what she would feel about you focusing on work and Aubree only. I thought she would have left in no time, but to my surprise, she actually lived with you for so many years and even gave birth to your children.”At that moment, a thought seemed to have popped up in Jonathan’s head. “It looks like Dr. Jarvis was deeply in love with you back then. You say you’re a persevering man, but you’re giving up on her in mere months just because she’s a little more serious about her work. In contrast, Dr. Jarvis had stayed by your side for years.”Jonathan even felt bad for Roxanne when he thought about the things she had to go through during those years. Once he was done saying his piece, he clicked his tongue and shook his head.Lucian’s expression d