Aubree arrived in Bellridge at noon. On her way there, she called Sonya to find out where Lucian was staying. After getting off the plane, she headed straight. to the hotel..When she arrived and saw the hotel entrance, suspicion filled her mind, and she frowned.Given Lucian’s status, he should be staying at a five-star hotel at the very least whenever he was on business trips. Even though the hotel before her was considered respectable, it did not fit his status.Unless… his reason for coming here was to find that b*tch.Aubree’s heart sank as she thought about this. She quickly walked to the front desk and asked, “Hi, I’m looking for someone. Can I trouble you to help me find out which room Lucian Farwell is staying in?”The receptionist looked at her and was about to ask about her relationship with him when she immediately added, “I’m his fiancée. I called him just now, and he told me his room number.But I don’t have a good memory and forgot what he said. I don’t want to call him
Lucian’s room number was only a digit different from Roxanne’s room number.Aubree tried hard to convince herself that it was only coincidental that the two were staying on the floor.However, she couldn’t accept that they were staying next door to each other now that she saw it with her own eyes.Now, Aubree could no longer persuade herself that this was a coincidence.Back in her room, Roxanne’s expression looked grim as she spaced out on the bed.Roxanne never imagined she would encounter Lucian here. Moreover, she never expected Aubree to come after him.It was beyond Roxanne’s imagination how things would turn out if the three met.A faint scowl appeared on Roxanne’s face. Wasting no time, she stood up and started to pack her luggage.She decided that she would avoid any trouble which she couldn’t bear the consequences.After all, she had nothing left to do in Bellridge. Thus, it didn’t matter when she left.Halfway through packing, she heard a knock on the door.Roxanne stood up
Roxanne must have left in a rush because of Aubree’s unannounced arrival.“This is my room. Of course I’m here. As for you, what are you doing here?” Lucian’s expression turned icy.Aubree looked away with guilt. “Oh, it’s nothing. I have some work to do here in Bellridge, and Mrs. Farwell told me you’re here for a business trip. So I’m here to see you.”“Does Pearson Group have a project here in Bellridge? Why didn’t I know that?” Lucian showed no mercy and exposed her.In recent years, Farwell Group had been acting as the middleman for many projects for Pearson Group. Hence, it was natural for Lucian to know of their businesses.Aubree’s expression changed, and she clenched her fists. She steeled herself and said, “We only started negotiating recently. It’s not a done deal yet. I came here to give it a try.”Aubree was afraid Lucian would continue digging into it, so she immediately changed the topic. “Oh, right, why are you staying in this kind of hotel? Did your partner book this
Why did you leave in a hurry? I didn’t hear you mentioning going back to Horington when we had breakfast.” Lucian’s voice rang from the side, histone unfathomable.Scowling, Roxanne turned over and answered him coldly with another question, “Mr.Farwell, I’m also curious why would you leave your fiancée behind in Bell ridge and go back to Horington by yourself?”— At the mention of his fiancée, Lucian’s gaze darkened.She pretended that she hadn’t noticed the change in his expression as she continued, “Mr.Farwell, you’re going to get married soon.You should spend more time with your fiancée at this critical juncture.”When Lucian was about to reply to her, the woman next to him took out a small blanketand covered herself with it up to her face.She then turned her back to him and lay down.Through the blanket, her muffled voice sounded.“I’m tired.I need to rest.Mr.Farwell, please be quiet.” With that, she closed her eyes, and Lucian could only see the back of her head.In the end,
Roxanne frowned, but she didn’t urge him to move aside.When almost of the people got off the plane, Lucian rose to his feet placidly.The two then got off the plane one after the other.Meanwhile, Larry and Cayden were already waiting for them outside.While they were on the plane just now, Larry saw Lucian sitting next to Roxanne, but the plane had takenoff, so he couldn’t do anything about it.Upon seeing Lucian, Larry merely greeted the former out of courtesy, then turned to look at Roxanne.“You don’t have a car.I’ll send you back.” Roxanne replied with a smile, “Thanks, Larry.”As she spoke, she completely ignored the man beside her and strode over to Larry’s side.Seeing the woman, who had been giving him the cold shoulder, smile at another man, Lucian was naturally displeased and extended hishand to grab her wrist.The smile on Roxanne’s face gradually faded as she turned around to face Lucian.“Mr. Farwell, what else do you want?” Lucian gazed into her eyes, but he couldn’t
“Larry, don’t simply make assumptions without evidence.” Roxanne averted her eyes apprehensively.“No matter what kind of feelings he has for me, we are just friendly strangers now.There’s nothing more than that.Besides, he is about to get engaged to Aubree.” Ever since she met Lucian again, she had several guesses about how Lucian felt about her, but she had never thought of the possibility of him liking her.Besides, she also had a feeling that it was not a romantic interest.After all, she could still how much Lucian liked Aubree six years ago.This is not the way Lucian behaves when he has feelings for the person.Upon seeing her denying the claim, Larry knitted his brows slightly and keep his silence.The car rolled to a stop at Roxanne’s doorstep.Thinking about the little ones at home, Roxanne reluctantly gathered her thoughts, beamed at Larry, and said, “Thanks for the trouble.” He nodded and saw her out of the car.He then said in a deep voice, “Please consider what I have
Estella had lived with them for a period of time.She had seen a variety of figurines in their rooms, so she knew how much they would like the gift.Yet it seemed to take them forever to receive the gift.She nudged them and urged, “You like these, don’t you?” They tried putting up a stern face to deny her statement, but looking at the figurines, they just couldn’t say it out loud.Eventually, they relented and said, “It’s too expensive.Mommy won’t let us take it.” Estella didn’t expect them to reject her.They also brought up their mother.She pouted, lowered her eyes and stood pitifully before them, looking as if she would start crying at any moment.Seeing that, they exchanged a look and said hastily, “Since it is from Essie, we will take it.Please help us thank Uncle Lucian.” Only then did Estella start to smile again.Roxanne continued her work at the research institute the second day after she returned from Bellridge.When she was away for the past two days, she asked Colby to
After dinner, Roxanne and Colby went separate ways, returning to their own homes.When Roxanne arrived home, Lysa had fetched the two kids back.They were playing with Legos on the carpet.Archive and Benny immediately surrounded Roxanne when they saw her enter.Roxanne patted their heads and asked concernedly, “Have you two taken your meals?”They nodded obediently and blinked their eyes at her.“Mommy, Ms.Ward said she’s bringing us to plant trees this weekend.” Roxanne was slightly taken aback at the mention of that matter.She gazed downward and beamed at her children.“Yes.I know that.” With that, she pretended to be nonchalant and entered the living room.Archie and Benny trailed behind their mother and followed her to the side of thecarpet.She crouched down and fiddled with the partially-built Lego pieces as a conflicted look spread across her face.She pondered the whole journey on her way back.In the end, she was left with the same conclusion.She might run into Lucian or
Elias knitted his brows when he saw his wife acting in that way. “I don’t remember any conflicts between the two of you six years ago. Why are you so biased against her?” “Are you saying that I’m unreasonable?” Sonya snapped, turning around to glare at him.The resignation on Elias’ face deepened. “I’m only stating facts. Why are you taking this so personally?”“Then we’ll go to her place to check it out right now! We’ll see if the kid really is hurt! Didn’t she ask us to pick Essie up from her house? We’ll go right now!”Elias knew that she was only saying that because she was furious, so he just drove them back to the Farwell main residence.Sonya was even more irked when she realized where they were heading, and she kept grumbling on their way back.Elias pretended not to hear anything she said.He was already relenting much by accompanying her to pick Estella up from the kindergarten.As Farwell Group’s chairman, he simply could not do something ludicrous like kicking up a fuss i
Roxanne’s heart was lodged in her throat as she made her way to the hospital. She floored the accelerator, on the verge of breaking the speed limit. Archie and Benny might be independent since young, but it was the first time one of them had gotten hurt.Roxanne felt a surge of anxiety wash over her.Upon arrival, Roxanne parked her car hastily and strode into the hospital.Pippa was considerate enough to text her the ward number after Benny was admitted to the hospital.Thus, Roxanne found them without any difficulty.“Mommy!”Archie firmly grasped her hand, squeezing it with such force that it caused her pain.Estella also clutched at the corner of her shirt.Roxanne patted their heads comfortingly before turning to Pippa. “Ms. Ward, what happened?”Pippa answered apologetically, “We’re not sure yet. The doctor at the infirmary said it might be a bruised cartilage. Benny is taking an X-ray inside.”Roxanne felt a stab of pain in her heart after she heard the news.“Ms. Jarvis, we’r
The next game was hopping on one foot. The kids filed to the equipment room to change into their sneakers. After changing into his shoes, Benny felt slightly uncomfortable. He a*sumed that it was probably because he had not worn these types of shoes in quite some time and wasn’t used to the fit. Nonetheless, he didn’t give it too much thought and kept going.Archie and Estella were urging him to hurry up, so he pushed aside the thought of his uncomfortable shoes and hurried over to them, beaming happily.This was an individual game, and Benny’s turn wasn’t until later.After Archie and Estella finished their turns, they stood aside to watch Benny play.“Remember to be careful. Safety comes first,” Pippa told them repeatedly.Ophelia stood aside and acted like she was ready to spring into action and protect the children at any moment.The three children had done a good job in the previous games, so when it was Benny’s turn, their friends cheered him on and watched him expectantly.Ben
Upon seeing that Roxanne was still in a daze, Lucian couldn’t resist lifting his hand and caressing her face. “You…”Roxanne was stupefied for several seconds before she belatedly snapped back to her senses. Mild embarra*sment showed in her eyes.While the man had sneaked up on her countless times when they were in Miralaea, she could more or less postulate the reason after the fact.But this time, I didn’t do anything. Why did he simply kiss me?Innocence was written all over Lucian’s face. “Sorry, I lost control.”At that answer, Roxanne’s eyes went wide in fury. However, she couldn’t really censure him either. All she could do was turn around as though nothing had happened and put the washed tableware aside.The two of them spent some time doing the dishes. When they exited the kitchen, Archie, Benny, and Estella pestered Lucian to play with them for a while.Only when it was rather late did Lucian drive home.Needless to say, Roxanne saw him off with the three children.When they
Lucian didn’t expect his father to be in such a hurry to go and pick Estella up. After hanging up the phone, he glanced at the time. Seeing that it was still relatively early, he wanted to phone Roxanne to inform her about the situation. But on second thought, he snagged his jacket and went downstairs.Downstairs, Catalina had just prepared dinner. When she saw her employer coming down, she hollered, “The food is ready, Mr. Farwell.”Lucian halted in his steps for a fleeting second. “Go on and eat. I’m not having dinner at home.”Having said that, he left in huge strides without waiting for a response from her.Catalina stared at the man’s back, bewildered for a moment. In the next heartbeat, understanding dawned upon her.Aha! Who else could induce such an expression on Mr. Farwell’s face? He must be on his way out to visit Ms. Jarvis once more. Thus, he’s also likely having dinner there!Roxanne had just finished cooking dinner and led the three children to the dining table. They h
Elias frowned, and when he spoke, his voice was tinged with a hint of exasperation. “I’ve long since told you to let Lucian make the decisions himself when it comes to his marriage. Everyone is free to live their own lives. Why must we meddle so much?”Disapproval was written all over Sonya’s face. “How could I possibly allow that? Is Lucian’s marriage his business alone? Never mind if he wants to marry some other woman, but why must it be that woman?”Why must it be Roxanne? Worse still, she comes with two little bastards!Seeing that she was still dissatisfied with Roxanne, Elias patiently cajoled, “No matter who he wants to be with, that’s his business. He matured into an adult ages ago. We can’t interfere in everything.”But still, Sonya remained obstinate and griped, “If he had finalized his marriage with Aubree earlier, all this wouldn’t have happened.”After saying that, she shot the man beside her a chagrined look. “You’re no better. It’s because you allowed him free rein in
Roxanne’s life was soon back on the right track while Lucian’s was still in chaos. Lucian considered going to Roxanne’s place in the evening after handling all the accumulated work in Farwell Group. However, he received a phone call from his mother, who asked him to return home as soon as possible.Lucian furrowed his brows at his mother’s annoyed tone. Nevertheless, he still drove back to the manor.As soon as he stepped into the house, he was greeted by the sight of Sonya sitting on the couch.“Why are you here?” he questioned with a frown.Sonya turned to look at him and said unhappily, “If I hadn’t come here, I wouldn’t even know you were back!”He had not mentioned to anyone about him going overseas with Roxanne.Sonya had come over every day to ask her son for an explanation but always ended up empty-handed.When she called him and mentioned Roxanne and the kids, he would always give a half-hearted response before hanging up.Hence, Sonya had nowhere to vent her anger.Since th
Roxanne was moved by his words but remained hesitant. “Perhaps, but I lack enough knowledge of cancer to support the research on an anti-cancer medicine.” Over the past few years, she had been more focused on researching how to treat patients through acupuncture. She simply didn’t know enough about medicinal herbs to be confident in developing an anti-cancer medicine.Sensing her worries, Jack said, “I won’t lie. Only a few medical books kept in the Damaris residence touch on this research. However, the reason the research in those books was halted was due to technical issues at the time. It was also these books that inspired me.”Roxanne’s eyes glinted upon hearing that. If I can take a look at those books, perhaps I’ll get some inspiration, too. Then again, those books are properties of the Damaris family. I don’t know if he’s willing to lend them to an outsider.“The books about traditional medicine I lent you in the past were a part of that collection. If you’re interested, I can
While the reporters’ photos depicted a woman standing at the helicopter door, Jack knew Lucian was behind it. He thought the matter had ended when the celebrity scandals dominated the public consciousness that afternoon. Thus, the next day, he planned to meet up with Roxanne by using the project as an excuse.To his surprise, her a*sistant told him she wasn’t in the research institute.In fact, he received the same answer over the next few days.By then, no matter how stupid Jack was, he could still realize what was happening.He knew Roxanne had left with Lucian, so he wondered how long it would take them to return.To his surprise, it was a whole week, and that enraged him.Jack was still upset as he spoke. “Even though the development of our project was about to begin, the person in charge of the research institute was nowhere to be found. What do you think I should say about that, Ms. Jarvis?”When he brought up the project, Roxanne felt guilty and apologized further. “I’m really