With that in mind, Roxanne nodded and led him upstairs.As Estella had already fallen asleep, the room was only illuminated by a night lamp at the time. Afraid that she would wake her up, Roxanne made sure to be extra careful and gentle.While standing by the door with his hands in his pockets, Lucian shifted his gaze from Estella to the decoration in the room.Not only did the room look exceptionally neat and tidy, but the dolls that Roxanne’s kids brought over also added a warm and homely feel to it.Looking at the room caused the anger that Lucian was suppressing to vanish completely and filled his heart up with warmth.After applying the ointment, Roxanne made sure that Estella was still fast asleep before getting up. “It’s done.”Her gaze met Lucian’s the moment she turned around, and the two of them locked eyes in silence for a few seconds.Eventually, Lucian snapped out of it and said with a nod, “Thanks.”Roxanne then closed the door behind her and walked him downstairs.After
With that in mind, Roxanne greeted him and waited for Pippa to bring the kids out the door.It wasn’t long before class was over, and the kids walked through the door in a straight line.Archie and Benny could be seen escorting Estella on both sides as they came out.After the five of them got into Lucian’s car, Benny kept tugging at Roxanne’s sleeve with a huge smile on his face.Unsure of why he was grinning from ear to ear, Roxanne flashed him a confused look in response.“Essie seemed to have a bad dream after waking up from our afternoon nap today! She kept crying even though Ms. Ward and the other kids tried to comfort her. In the end, Archie and I were the ones who calmed her down! Do you think she knows us, Mommy?”Roxanne had felt the same way earlier that morning, so hearing about it filled her heart with a warm sensation. “Maybe. I’m really glad that you two are able to look after Essie.”Benny patted himself on the chest confidently as he said in his childish voice, “Don’t
Roxanne was taken aback by how the girl had launched herself into her arms, but after the shock came delight.It was the same action as before. In the past, Estella would jump into Roxanne’s arms whenever she saw the latter.Although the girl was crying, at the very least, she was reacting to her surroundings.At that thought, Roxanne lifted her uninjured arm and gently hugged the girl to her. At the same time, she tentatively asked, “Essie, have you recovered? Do you know who I am now?”The girl gave her a slight nod, but she continued to sniffle.At that, Archie’s and Benny’s eyes lit up. They then walked over to Estella and pointed at themselves. “Then do you know who we are?”However, Estella’s gaze was fixed on Roxanne’s injured arm; she did not look at them at all.The boys were disappointed.Sensing their emotions, Roxanne raised her hand to ruffle Estella’s hair and softly said, “The boys are here too. Do you see them? They’ve been taking care of you the past two days.”It was
Realizing what she was going to do, Lucian said, “I’ve asked Catalina to come. She’ll be taking care of you all for the next two days, so sit down and eat first.”Roxanne halted in her tracks before turning to thank the man, “Thank you.”She was not going to act like she was a stranger to Lucian because of Estella, so she was not going to turn him down on his offer.Lucian nodded.Roxanne turned to the boys. “Come on. You must be hungry too. Dig in while the food is still hot.”It was true that the boys were starving. Upon hearing her words, they jumped down from the couch and walked toward the dining table in a line.Roxanne was squeezed between them. Habitually, she tried to take care of them by taking food for them. However, she only recalled her injury right after she raised her hand. Thus, she had no choice but to use her left hand, but her movements were clumsy because of that.At the sight of the slowness of their mother’s actions, Archie and Benny said to Roxanne, “Mommy, you
It seemed like Estella could see that Roxanne had something on her mind, for the girl buried herself into Roxanne’s arms slowly before looking at the woman with big, concerned eyes.As Roxanne looked at the girl’s clear eyes, she recollected herself and hugged her.Her heart melted when her arms wrapped around the small and soft body. At the same time, she found herself letting go of the niggling question.The identity of Estella’s biological mother and the current relationship between Lucian and Aubree had nothing to do with her at all.She and Lucian should have been strangers. They were only interacting because of Estella. That was all.Overthinking things would only make her feel even more frustrated.In the meantime, at the Farwell residence, Sonya and Elias were about to rest. When they heard the sudden ringing of the doorbell, they hastily opened the door.Instantly, they were greeted by the apologetic faces of Samuel and Gina. Aubree was behind them, her eyes red.“What happen
Sonya could not sleep almost the entire night because of Aubree’s words.Consoling Aubree was not the only reason she had told Aubree that she was not going to let Roxanne into the family. It was also because she genuinely hated that ruthless woman.That ruthless woman was capable of abandoning Lucian and Estella once, so Sonya was sure that she would do it again.I have no idea what my son’s thinking about. I can’t believe he’s actually thinking of having her marry into the family again.The more Sonya thought about it, the angrier she became. That night, she sent men to find out where Roxanne was living, planning to visit her the next day.By the time Roxanne woke the next morning, Catalina had already made breakfast. Just as she was eating breakfast with the three children, someone rang the doorbell.Roxanne then asked Catalina to take care of the children as she went to open the door.Originally, she thought that Lucian had come to pick them up for kindergarten, but she was dumbfo
However, Sonya seemed unfazed by that. “Sonya has told me about this already. Essie was the one who had not been obedient, and Aubree only punished her in that way in her panic. She has already apologized to me. Essie is at fault too. Aubree will be her stepmother in the future, but she’s still kicking up fusses like these.”Hearing that, Catalina realized she could not say anything else. All she could do was cast a pitying look at Estella.The girl had just walked out of her own world recently. After this crying session, Catalina was afraid that she might revert to her state from the day before.After Archie and Benny heard their conversation, they guessed that the unfamiliar woman was Estella’s grandmother. Nevertheless, they did not hold themselves back as they refuted, “Essie didn’t kick up a fuss. That bad woman is in the wrong to have hurt a kid! Why would you listen to an outsider and scold Essie? She’s been badly hit, but you don’t feel upset for her at all? If not for my momm
Lucian was filled with hatred at the mention of Aubree. “Do you know why Essie resents her?”Stunned, Sonya explained at once, “Is it because of what Aubree did to Essie? Didn’t she explain it to us already? She didn’t do it on purpose and was only worried about Essie’s safety. It only happened under desperate circumstances. Moreover, she regrets her action and has apologized to us about it.”Just as she finished, she turned the tables on him. “As for you, you have gone overboard with your recent behavior toward her!”Sonya’s intentions were clear. She still hoped that Lucian would marry Aubree.Over the last six years, she had pestered him many times about it.Lucian cocked a brow in annoyance. “I know what I’m doing. There’s no need for you to interfere.”Sonya was upset. “You know what you’re doing? Are you really planning on canceling the engagement?”Before Lucian could reply, Sonya’s expression drastically changed while the resolve in her voice hardened. “No matter what, you per
Roxanne was dog-tired. She would doze off almost immediately after getting into her bed for the past couple of nights. That night, however, she couldn’t fall asleep even after being in bed for quite a long while.Instead of feeling sleepy, all she could think about was Lucian’s desire-filled gaze.Roxanne couldn’t help but feel nervous when she knew that Lucian was still downstairs.She only heaved a sigh of relief inwardly when she heard the sound of the door closing coming from downstairs.After that, she went to the window and saw Lucian getting into his car. The car stayed motionless for a while before leaving the compound slowly.Roxanne watched Lucian’s car disappear from her sight before returning to bed and dozing off within seconds.She didn’t know whether Lucian’s ma*sage was the reason or not, but she felt more energized when she woke up in the morning.Since it was a Sunday, Roxanne stayed home with the kids instead of going to the research institute. At the same time, sh
The two of them didn’t continue talking after that, and Lucian had moved from ma*saging her temples to ma*saging her shoulders. When he was moving his hands, he either intentionally or accidentally brushed his thumbs across her neck.Roxanne was caught off guard, and her body froze when she suddenly felt as though an electric current had coursed through her.In the next second, Lucian was already ma*saging her shoulders. “How are you feeling? Am I pressing too hard?” he asked softly.Roxanne turned around to meet Lucian’s gentle gaze. She was startled, so she immediately retracted her eyes and nodded. “It’s fine.”Little did she know Lucian wasn’t planning to let go of her just yet. “I don’t know which acupuncture point can help you relax. How about you teach me?”As he was talking, he loosened his grips.In a flash, the atmosphere became ambiguous.Roxanne feigned calmness and cleared her throat. “Why would you want to know that? It’s not like you can ma*sage yourself.”In a natural
When the four of them arrived home, Roxanne was already done preparing dinner, and she was resting on the couch. Upon hearing noises at the door, she woke up immediately and went to open the door.“Mommy!”The kids rushed toward her and hugged her legs.Roxanne lowered her gaze and patted their heads with a smile on her face. “Did you guys have fun today?”Benny nodded fervently before turning back to look at Lucian with his pair of bright eyes. “Yes! Daddy brought us to the amusement park, and we watched a movie!”Roxanne smiled when she heard the joy in Benny’s voice.She only realized how Benny had addressed Lucian a few seconds later. When she did, the smile on her face froze.Instead of asking Benny what was going on, she gave Lucian an inquisitive glance.Noticing that, Lucian explained matter-of-factly, “I told them to address me so when we’re in the public. After all, I’ve already made it known to the public. If others were to hear them addressing me another way, it would be
Benny opened the door, and Lucian immediately saw the three children waiting to greet him at the door. “Daddy!”“Mr. Farwell!”They sounded aggrieved and gazed at him as though he was their savior.Lucian could not resist ruffling their hair affectionately at the sight of their adorable pouting faces. Then he looked up and cast his gaze around the living room. “Where’s your mommy?”It’s the weekend, so she should be home.“Mommy’s working overtime. She has already been working late the past few days. We’ve had to stay home alone, and it’s so boring!” Benny whined, and Archie and Estella nodded in agreement.Lucian’s brows drew together slightly when he heard their complaints. No wonder she sounded so tired whenever I called her the last two days. I thought she was exhausted from looking after these three little tykes and purposely came over to take them out for a treat. However, it turns out it’s because she has been working.Seeing how dispirited the children looked, he suggested, “
Meanwhile, in the Farwell residence, Sonya felt nauseous upon seeing the photo being shared all over the internet. In the past, Aubree had told Sonya time and time again that she was in love with Lucian.It had only been a few days since the two families had called off the engagement. Sonya was surprised and disgusted when she saw that Aubree had already checked into a room with another man.Aubree even went as far as making love with him as if nothing has happened! She must have done so willingly! This time, someone took a photo and made it viral. Who knows whether or not she had been unfaithful during all those years of her engagement with Lucian? Her so-called “love” for Lucian was nothing but a lie!At the thought of herself being tricked by Aubree, Sonya could not help but feel humiliated.All of a sudden, the support Sonya had shown Aubree all those years seemed like a waste of time.If she had allowed someone like Aubree to be married into the Farwell family, people would have
“B*tch!” Meanwhile, in the mansion in the suburb, Aubree was reading the comments all over the internet. A crazed look was on her face as she shrieked, “B*stards! I will never, ever, let you guys get away with this!”I was wrong about that man! He said he knew me, so I thought he had nothing to do with Roxanne.But in hindsight, who else besides Roxanne would do something so wretched? Besides that b*tch, who else would benefit from me becoming a joke? Roxanne must be taking her revenge on me! It has to be her!Aubree wanted to kill Roxanne. Her gaze hardened with unparalleled hatred.Anger clouded Aubree’s mind as she grabbed her handbag and stormed toward the door. The only thing on her mind was take revenge against Roxanne.Just as she flung the door open, she was halted by her father.Samuel’s venomous glare burned into her skin. “Have you no shame? How dare you still think about going out at a time like this? Do you think it’s not embarra*sing enough?”With each word he spoke, Sa
“Fiancée?” Kai shot back a question with a meaningful look. “Which fiancée are you talking about? During your absence, a lot of things have happened in Mr. Farwell’s life!” Shawn’s heart sank slightly when he heard that. “What do you mean? Isn’t Aubree Pearson his fiancée?”Kai laughed out loud when he heard that. “That was eight hundred years ago! Back then, I noticed that Lucian had been treating Aubree with indifference. I found it strange that the Farwell and Pearson families have managed to hold on to the engagement for many years.”Shawn did not respond. Instead, he continued to listen to his friend’s rambling.“The Farwell family called off the engagement two years ago. Lucian even implied that Aubree has a poor character. It turns out that his ex-wife is back in the country with two children. Right now, the Pearson family is being made bankrupt by the Farwell family, and Lucian is getting it on with his ex-wife again!”Kai was very animated when he was gossiping. It was as if
“I would say I’m pretty easy on the eyes. Getting to sleep with me isn’t that much of a loss for you.” He tucked a finger under her chin and lifted it so that she was looking right at him. “You truly are a delicacy. I hope you won’t forget me anytime soon.” As he spoke, his hand began to slide down Aubree’s neck, and he started to bend down until he was hovering right over her.She snapped back to her senses and pushed his hand away with a scowl on her face. “Get out! Don’t make me repeat myself!”The man chuckled amusedly at her angry look and actually began to walk out.Soon enough, Aubree was left alone in the hotel roomShe began to look around her, trying to recall what had happened last night.No matter how much she tried to make sense of her surroundings, she just couldn’t remember what happened.She had a*sumed that someone had been hired to a*sault her.However, that man didn’t look like someone who could be hired. In fact, he looked more like the one who would be doing the
Cory’s face was clouded over with disdain. “Obviously, I’m 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?” 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 couldn’t help but shudder at his demeanor.“Have you gone insane? The Pearson family is already in ruins. How are you still not satisfied yet?”Cory snickered. “I won’t be satisfied until she truly gets what she deserves. Besides, she did this to herself!”He narrowed his eyes and began scrutinizing the people in front of him.“You don’t have to play pretend around me, Ms. Queen. Don’t you want to shut her up for good too? In fact, you’re probably still getting threatened by her, right?”Frieda’s eyelids quivered as she forced herself to look away. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”She might have done her best t