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
Estella lowered her head and muttered aggrievedly, “Ms.Jarvis…”She yearned to meet with Roxanne.Hearing Estella’s words, Lucian’s face darkened instantaneously.He had been too occupied lately, so he had not considered Roxanne would also participate in that activity.However, at the thought of how Roxanne was evading him, Lucian highly doubted she would personally bring Archie and Benny to join the event.He figured Roxanne might even disallow them to go altogether.The screen of his phone lighted up.Pippa sent a message in the WhatsApp group: No guardian has texted me in private thus far, so I assume everyone will be coming.This activity will enhance the bond between children and their parents.I’ll take this opportunity to wish everyone a great time in advance.The screen slowly dimmed afterward.Lucian’s resolution wavered.He patted Estella’s head and croaked, “I got it.It was weekend soon. Roxanne brought the kids to the kindergarten early in the morning.That was the first
Lucian strode over through the crowd without Roxanne realizing it.Standing in front of her, Lucian gazed down at her with an unfathomable look on his face.“Essie, Ms.Jarvis has to take care of Archie and Benny.Let’s not bother her,” Lucian uttered in a hoarse voice after a few moments and bent down to hold Estella’s hand.Feeling reluctant to leave, Estella turned sideways to avoid her father’s hand.Then, she inched closer to Roxanne and said stubbornly, “I want to stay with Ms.Jarvis.” Lucian and Roxanne’s expressions froze after seeing Estella’s reaction.Many people around them had been keeping an eye on Lucian’s every movement.As a result, they were all staring in Roxanne’s direction.Panic surged within her like vomit.When she made the decision to join the activity with Archie and Benny, Roxanne had actually anticipated something like that would happen.Still, she did not know how to react when she was stuck in that awkward situation.According to her plan, she should have
After taking Estella, Roxanne now had to carry two children on her lap.Hence, her seat was getting a little cramped.Furrowing his brows, Lucian said softly, “Let me take Archie.” Roxanne was taken aback upon hearing that.Thinking of Archie’s relationship with Lucian, she felt conflicted.Moreover, she had noted how her son resented Lucian and didn’t think Archie would agree, especially since Archie was usually cold and indifferent.But to her surprise, the boy in her arms actually stretched his arms toward Lucian.Roxanne’s and Lucian’s expressions shifted as soon as they saw Archie’s response.S A hint of surprise flashed across Lucian’s eyes as he had not expected Archie to agree to his offer.Then, he reached out and carried the boy over.As for Roxanne, she lowered her gaze as an inexplicable sense of fear rose within her.Archie only did that because he did not want Roxanne to tire herself out.Although he had stretched his arms toward Lucian, his expression was tense.And onc
By the time they settled in their room, it was already nighttime. Pippa led the parents to the restaurant the botanical garden had arranged for them.Roxanne took Archie and Benny to get their food.There were far more employees of the botanical garden at the restaurant than when they first got off the bus, and Estella did not like that.She followed closely behind Roxanne, never taking her eyes off the latter.Roxanne turned around when she sensed Estella’s gaze, and a pained look appeared in her eyes upon noticing the girl’s timid expression.She immediately let Archie and Benny hold hands, thus allowing her to free one hand to take Estella’s.Seeing Roxanne reach her hand out toward her, Estella took it without hesitation, her eyes crinkling as she beamed.All signs of timidness had vanished from her face without a trace.Lucian was still worried about Estella, so he followed her.Then, he saw Roxanne and Estella holding hands, and mixed feelings surged within him as he walked behi
Mr.Farwell only interacts with you for the sake of his child.Don’t have any ideas about weaseling your way into the Farwell family.”Roxanne’s head pounded inadvertently at the woman’s words.knew running into Lucian here was catnip for unsavory comments.I just didn’t think it would come so soon.“You must be mistaken about the situation…” Roxanne tried to explain.Alas, the woman cut her off disgustedly and retorted, “Mistaken? Everyone knows how much time you’re spending with Mr.Farwell these days.Know your place, Ms. Jarvis! Mr. Farwell’s fiancée is Ms.Pearson, and their relationship is stronger than ever.I hope you don’t humiliate yourself in this hopeless scheme to win Mr.The mention of Lucian and Aubree’s impending wedding caused Roxanne to lower her gaze. She swallowed the retort on the tip of her tongue and replied to the nasty woman, “Thank you for your advice.I’ll be more mindful in the future.” The woman took Roxanne’s meekness as a sign of her victory.She made a ment
Suddenly, Estella tugged on Roxanne’s hand and said, “Over here!” Roxanne followed Estella through a complicated route and was surprised to see the boys hiding behind a man made hill.“How did you know Archie and Benny were hiding here, Essie?” asked a surprised Roxanne.The boys always hid in the most creative places, and Roxanne had always struggled to find them during their hide-and seek sessions.She never imagined Estella would find them so easily.Estella tilted her head and replied, “I don’t know.It was a guess.” Roxanne did not think much of Estella’s response and promptly believed her.By the time Lucian, Roxanne, and the children returned to their rooms, it was already nine at night. Archie and Benny were dripping in sweat from playing hide-and-seek earlier.Roxanne quickly ushered the boys into the bathroom to shower them once they got back.Their playful chatter drifted out of the bathroom from time to time.From where she sat on the bed, Estella stared at the bathroom do
The tree-planting activity started very early the next morning.After waiting for the parents and children to finish breakfast, Pippa led them to the venue of the event.The kindergarten had collaborated with a botanical garden to provide the kids with an empty spot to plant some trees.There was quite a lot of staff standing by when they arrived.As the kids were all born with silver spoons in their mouths, the staff made sure they were extra friendly with them.Pippa then introduced the parents to the staff, split them into groups, and had them follow the staff to collect their saplings.Estella stared reluctantly at Roxanne when she heard they would be split into groups.She refused to budge even when the teacher called her name.Lucian frowned when he saw that and shifted his gaze toward Roxanne, who was standing nearby.After hearing the conversation between Lucian and Aubree last night, Roxanne instinctively tried to keep her distance from them.She then took Archie and Benny by
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