At the side, Roxanne had also heard Bennyās screams, but by the time she turned, it was too late. The boy had already sought refuge behind Lucian. The sight of the smile on that manās face while the two of them were together left Roxanne with mixed feelings.As much as she had done for the children, certain forms of security were something only a father could provide.Oblivious to her sentiments, the boy excitedly tugged at her as he wanted her to admire the fish alongside him.Out of nowhere, a mermaid dove from above and waved at them through the gla*s.Wide-eyed, the boys asked Roxanne, āIs this real, Mommy?āAmused by their innocence, Roxanne patted them on the head. āOf course not, but she does look pretty, though.āāCould you dress up like a mermaid too, Mommy?ā Benny looked at Roxanne in anticipation.Taken by surprise at first, Roxanne then went on to explain smilingly, āWell, I could, but I think thatād be a paid program.āWhen the children heard her saying that she could, t
After dinner, the lot of them headed directly to the beach to await the commencement of the fireworks display. Illuminated by the light of the moon, the ripples upon the surface of the sea sparkled like glitterāa picture of perfect tranquility.Although the beach was quite packed, there was not much noise.Immersed in such a setting, the ma*ses sat around and indulged themselves in infrequent bits of quiet conversations.With one hand holding Estella and the other on Benny, Roxanne weaved her way through the crowd while Lucian followed behind them.Being surrounded by so many bodies, Roxanne could not help but worry about the little ones and was hoping to find a more secluded spot where they could stay.As the beach grew increasingly populated, it drew a frown from Lucian who called out to the quartet ahead of him. āCome to Daddy, Essie.āHe was wary of Roxanneās way of herding the children and was afraid that Benny, who was occupying the fringes, would get lost in the crowd.Estella
Meanwhile, Roxanne was getting impatient after waiting for a long time with Archie and Estella. However, she had no choice but to wait in distress because she was worried about Archie and Estella whenever she recalled Lucianās words.Suddenly, her phone vibrated.Roxanne frowned and instantly picked up the call without hesitation.āWe found Benny. Heās watching the bandās performance. Iāve already instructed someone to keep an eye on him. Come over.ā Lucianās deep voice sounded.Roxanne felt relieved after hearing that. She immediately expressed her gratitude. āThank you. Iāll be there immediately.āOn the other end of the line, Lucian grunted in response before hanging up the call and hurrying to Bennyās location first.āHave they found Benny?ā Archie asked carefully after taking in his motherās expression.Roxanne nodded slightly and flashed a rea*suring smile at him.Archie appeared more agitated than his mother. āLetās hurry up and find Benny! Heās alone. He must be scared out of
Archie sensed Roxanneās remorse. He grabbed her hand and comforted her, āWeāll come here again and watch the fireworks next time. Iām very happy that we can find Benny this time.āWith that, he curved his lips and beamed at his mother as if to prove that he was truly fine.Roxanneās feelings of guilt intensified.āCome here. Iāll carry you.ā Lucianās deep voice sounded from atop.Archie subconsciously gazed up and met Lucianās eyes, which were brimming with tenderness.Seeing that, Archie hesitated and turned to look at Roxanne to ask for her opinion.Roxanne frowned and scrupled for a few moments before taking a step back to make way for Lucian. āThank you, Mr. Farwell.āShe had caused Archie and Benny to be left out from indulging in fatherly affection for so many years. Although they had yet to realize their relationship with Lucian, Roxanne could not bring herself to deprive Archie and Benny of the opportunity to enjoy paternal love anymore.Archieās eyes gleamed when he saw his m
āIām sorry, Benny,ā Archie apologized to his brother when the crowd shifted their attention away from them. āIt was my fault for not holding your hand tightly enough that you got lost in the crowd.ā Benny gazed at his brother and said casually, āIt wasnāt your fault, Archie; itās too crowded here. Besides, I wasnāt lost, and it was fun playing the drums, anyway!āArchie frowned for several seconds before nodding slowly. āI will hold your hand tightly next time,ā he promised, āand never allow something like this to happen again.āBenny nodded vigorously as he squeezed his brotherās hand.Estella came over to join the fun. āMe too! Iāll hold both your hands!āThe little girl clutched Bennyās hand as she spoke.Touched to see the three children walking hand in hand with similarly solemn expressions, Roxanne smiled gratefully. āCome, Benny,ā she said gently. āThank Mr. Farwell.āBenny appeared to be surprised by her words.āMr. Farwell was the one who found you,ā Roxanne said.The boy gl
Roxanne was about to bring the two boys up upon arriving back at the hotel when she felt a pair of resentful eyes on her back. Frowning, Roxanne glanced behind her and saw Estella hesitantly shuffling after her three paces behind.The child stopped in her tracks when she noticed her quarry had turned her head. Her little face was alight with anticipation.Not far away, Lucian pretended not to see them as he busied himself with pouring a gla*s of water from the bar.Roxanne walked toward the child. āDo you want to sleep with me, Essie?āThe child nodded vigorously before asking cautiously, āIs that okay?āRoxanneās heart softened at the childās tentativeness. āGo ask your Daddy,ā she said softly as she gazed at the man in the vicinity. āIf he says yes, Iāll take you upstairs.āThe childās eyes brightened. She strode to Lucianās side with her stubby legs, but the man ignored the childās approach.Knowing that her father would agree, Estella tugged the hem of his shirt fearlessly. āCan
Lucianās face fell slightly. āIāll leave you to your work, Mr. Farwell. Iām just here for a drink. Donāt feel the need to entertain me.āRoxanne inclined her head at him before turning to head to the bar.The bar was filled with expensive wine, as they were in a presidential suite worthy of the name. Some bottles were even vintage.Roxanne did not know much about wine other than red wine was a sleeping aid. After perusing the selection, she opened a bottle at random.When Lucian heard the sound of a bottle opening, he turned around to glance at Roxanneās back. Although he could not see which bottle she had opened, he reminded her, āRed wine will cause a ma*sive hangover. Donāt drink too much.āRoxanne grunted nonchalantly in response.The sound of Roxanne pouring herself wine was the only thing audible in the ensuing silence of the suite.Lucianās attention was so focused on her that the contents of his email did not register to him.Roxanne quickly finished a gla*s of wine, but she
He had never once expected her to behave so intimately toward him ever since they met one another again.Although he was fully aware that he should keep a distance because she was only acting like that because she was drunk, he still wanted to keep her close.In fact, if it were not for the fear of disturbing her sleep, he would have hugged her tighter.This is ridiculous. Lucian could not believe he just caught himself wanting more.Over the years, he had never treated anyone that way, not until he met Roxanne.āLucianā¦ā the woman mumbled sadly in her sleep beside his ear.His arms tensed up when her voice called him back to reality. He wanted to tell her that he was right beside her.Feeling his embrace, Roxanne looked up at him in a stupor and murmured, āWhy are you so cruel? Am I still not good enough for you? I love you so much, but youāve never liked me the slightest bit.āHer words pierced his heart like a knife over and over again.It pained him beyond words when he thought of
Coryās face was clouded over with disdain. āObviously, Iām taking a picture of my lovely ex-boss. Aubree was the one who made me who I am today. How can I possibly forgive her so easily?ā As he spoke, an ominous aura radiated from him as if he were a devil from hell. There was an imminent chill in the air that seemed to come from his sheer hatred toward Aubree.Frieda couldnāt help but shudder at his demeanor.āHave you gone insane? The Pearson family is already in ruins. How are you still not satisfied yet?āCory snickered. āI wonāt be satisfied until she truly gets what she deserves. Besides, she did this to herself!āHe narrowed his eyes and began scrutinizing the people in front of him.āYou donāt have to play pretend around me, Ms. Queen. Donāt you want to shut her up for good too? In fact, youāre probably still getting threatened by her, right?āFriedaās eyelids quivered as she forced herself to look away. āI donāt know what youāre talking about.āShe might have done her best t
Due to Bennyās injury, the three kids didnāt attend their cla*ses at the kindergarten for the time being. As a result, Ophelia didnāt have the chance to make her move.Aubree repeatedly received disappointing updates from Ophelia when she contacted the latter on multiple occasions.Exasperated, Aubree invited Ophelia out once more.āAubree, thereās nothing I can do either. Who wouldāve expected that b*tch to stop the other two kids from attending school after that little b*stard got hurt!ā Ophelia uttered helplessly.She thought she could still target Archie and Estella while Benny recuperated at home due to his injury.To her surprise, she received news that all three children had applied for leave the following day.Aubree clenched her fists. Hatred filled her eyes as she spoke. āThat b*tch!āThe two women grimaced, stumped at the development.While vexed, Ophelia carefully observed the changes in Aubreeās countenance, fearing the latter might get sick and tired of her.After a lon
Because of Bennyās injury, Roxanne took a leave of absence for all three of her children and stayed at home to take care of Benny for the time being. Fortunately, the ointment she had developed was very effective, and when she applied it to Benny, his wound healed up rather quickly.In the past two days, Lucian would often come to visit the kids.While Roxanne was busy taking care of Benny, she was also worrying about the projects at the research institute.In the end, she found out that, except for the project with the Damaris family, all the other projects were progressing smoothly.Due to the previous incident, the project with the Damaris family had to be handled by Roxanne and Roxanne only. As such, the project was stalled the moment she left.Since she was preoccupied with taking care of Benny, it took Roxanne a few days to realize that she had forgotten to give Jack a heads-up on the situation.Just when she was about to make a call to Jack to apologize, the man himself called
Meanwhile, Ophelia stepped out of the kindergarten with a grim expression. Thank goodness I handled the matter fast enough! Whoād have thought Mr. Bauer would launch an investigation as soon as he returned? Gosh. I almost blew my cover! Then again, this must mean that little b*stardās injury was pretty badā¦With that thought in mind, Ophelia curled her lips into a smirk.That b*tch Roxanne has ruined my chances of a happy and comfortable life! She deserves this little payback from me. Ha!Naturally, Ophelia needed to inform Aubree about the incident, so she quickly got into her car and dialed the latterās number.Fortunately, the call got through after just a few rings.āHow did it go? Did you succeed?ā Aubree asked urgently.Argh. Life has been incredibly tough on me lately. I need some good news to cheer me up!āI greased the shoes of that Benny boy, and he fell really hard!ā Ophelia said with a smug chortle. āMr. Bauer even made a big fuss out of it when he returned, so Iām sure t
Elias knitted his brows when he saw his wife acting in that way. āI donāt remember any conflicts between the two of you six years ago. Why are you so biased against her?ā āAre you saying that Iām unreasonable?ā Sonya snapped, turning around to glare at him.The resignation on Eliasā face deepened. āIām only stating facts. Why are you taking this so personally?āāThen weāll go to her place to check it out right now! Weāll see if the kid really is hurt! Didnāt she ask us to pick Essie up from her house? Weāll go right now!āElias 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 Groupās chairman, he simply could not do something ludicrous like kicking up a fuss i
Roxanneās 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.āMommy!āArchie 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. āMs. Ward, what happened?āPippa answered apologetically, āWeāre not sure yet. The doctor at the infirmary said it might be a bruised cartilage. Benny is taking an X-ray inside.āRoxanne felt a stab of pain in her heart after she heard the news.āMs. Jarvis, weār
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 wasnāt used to the fit. Nonetheless, he didnāt 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 Bennyās turn wasnāt until later.After Archie and Estella finished their turns, they stood aside to watch Benny play.āRemember to be careful. Safety comes first,ā 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 Bennyās turn, their friends cheered him on and watched him expectantly.Ben
Upon seeing that Roxanne was still in a daze, Lucian couldnāt resist lifting his hand and caressing her face. āYouā¦āRoxanne 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 didnāt do anything. Why did he simply kiss me?Innocence was written all over Lucianās face. āSorry, I lost control.āAt that answer, Roxanneās eyes went wide in fury. However, she couldnāt 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 didnāt 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, āThe food is ready, Mr. Farwell.āLucian halted in his steps for a fleeting second. āGo on and eat. Iām not having dinner at home.āHaving said that, he left in huge strides without waiting for a response from her.Catalina stared at the manās back, bewildered for a moment. In the next heartbeat, understanding dawned upon her.Aha! Who else could induce such an expression on Mr. Farwellās face? He must be on his way out to visit Ms. Jarvis once more. Thus, heās also likely having dinner there!Roxanne had just finished cooking dinner and led the three children to the dining table. They h