Beneath the articles, all the comments praised how well Lucian treated Roxanne. There were also a lot of comments saying they looked very compatible.The children were slowly wavering.After reading through the articles, Archie and Benny could not help but carry their laptops and run to their mother for answers. “Mommy, are you getting together with Mr. Farwell?”Roxanne took a look at the articles on the screen. She couldn’t help but frown.She was worried Archie and Benny would misunderstand. That was why she didn’t want Lysa to say too much during dinner. Unexpectedly, the two children decided to investigate the matter themselves.Archie and Benny looked at Roxanne with their eyes wide.“No. His fiancée is Aubree Pearson. You guys have met her. The news reports are wrong.” After a moment of silence, Roxanne forced herself to suppress her discomfort and give the two children an explanation.Hearing that, Archie and Benny exchanged a glance with each other. Archie nodded his head obe
Six years ago, Lucian himself had said that the only woman he intended to marry was Aubree.Roxanne still remembered that very clearly.“Six years ago, you came in between Lucian and me. We missed out on so much time together because of you.”Aubree’s face tensed. “Now, everyone in Horington knows about the engagement between Lucian and me. Since you know about it, I hope you take better care of your reputation and stay away from him. Six years ago, you were the other woman. I hope you don’t repeat that mistake. We are both women, but I feel ashamed for you!”Roxanne frowned. “Instead of spending your time criticizing me, why don’t you use that time on Mr. Farwell?”Six years ago, it was her ignorance that made her fall for Lucian.However, Lucian was the one who kept trying to get closer to her at the moment.Seeing that she was still in denial, Aubree’s tone lowered. “I am here to warn you out of kindness. Six years ago, you might not have cared about your reputation. Now, you have
“Are you in a bad mood, Mommy?” Archie and Benny looked at her with concern.Roxanne was taken aback. She thought she had hidden her emotions well in front of her kids, but they saw right through her ruse.“Why did you ask?” she asked nonchalantly, glancing at them in the rearview mirror.Archie’s face creased in bewilderment. “You ignored Essie just now. Did Mr. Farwell annoy you?”The slightly unsettled feeling gnawed at the pit of her stomach at the mention of Lucian.She must have been really close with him during that period of time for Archie to have misunderstood.Benny added, “Essie almost cried.”Roxanne drew her brows together in a frown, and her heart wrenched as she could only imagine Estella’s pitiable face without seeing it for herself.She wished she could apologize to Estella.Aubree’s words further solidified her inclination to cut all ties with Lucian.She didn’t want to interfere with the kids’ friendship, but she really wanted to limit her contact with Lucian.Roxa
Roxanne frowned slightly and was about to reject Hugo Reynolds. Meanwhile, escaping from the crowd on the dance floor, Madilyn sat beside her directly and started to give Hugo a once-over.Hugo had an elegant appearance. His chiseled facial features remained obvious under the bar’s dim light. Although Hugo lacked a fit body, he was not too skinny. Besides, judging from his attire, Madilyn could tell that his outfit cost about one hundred thousand.Hmm. I guess I can give him an eight out of ten?After rating him inwardly, Madilyn agreed before Roxanne could decline him, “Sure! Do you have any friends? Ask them to come over!”Hugo’s table was right next to theirs. In fact, he had noticed them earlier when both of them danced together. Hence, he knew that they came together. Hearing Madilyn’s agreement, Hugo did not hesitate and asked his friends to join their table. His friends were good-looking, and all of them dressed in expensive clothes. As they approached the table, they brought a
Roxanne strenuously helped her up while politely bidding goodbye to everyone.“Let me help you girls.” Hugo stood up and continued, “You seem to be struggling. Let me help you get her into the car.”Roxanne hesitated for a few seconds. Looking at the tipsy Madilyn, she agreed eventually, “Thank you for your help!”After interacting with Hugo that night, she had a pretty good impression of him. Besides, Roxanne could not support Madilyn alone after having a few glasses of wine.Seeing that she had agreed, Hugo went up to them and was about to lend Roxanne a hand. It was at that moment he heard a deep voice coming from behind. The tone of the man sounded displeased.“I appreciate your kindness, but I’ll send the girls back. Thank you, Mr. Reynolds.”Several people were stunned to hear that voice.Roxanne’s body instinctively stiffened at once.She knew Lucian too well. By listening to his voice alone, she could imagine his frosty expression at that moment.Moreover, Roxanne did not know
After staying silent for a few seconds, Lucian uttered, “Are you planning to find a father for Archie and Benny in a place like that? Do you think you can find a reliable man there?”Roxanne let out a chuckle. “I’ll only know if the man is reliable once we get to know each other. Of course, I can’t find out if the man is reliable if you keep interrupting us like what you did earlier. Mr. Farwell, if you’re so worried, why don’t you introduce someone to me?”“Roxanne!” A flash of anger passed through Lucian’s eyes.Roxanne averted her gaze in disappointment. “Mr. Farwell, since you don’t plan to do that, you should mind your own business from now on.”With that, she opened the car door and helped Madilyn out of the car.Through the rearview mirror, Lucian saw that Roxanne was struggling to walk while supporting Madilyn. Frowning, he got out of the car and wanted to give Roxanne a hand.Sensing Lucian’s intention, Roxanne immediately turned sideways to avoid him. Looking at the man, who
Arching his brows, Lucian asked, “Do you like Archie and Benny very much?”Estella nodded firmly in response.Archie and Benny have been nice to me ever since our first meeting. They also protected me in kindergarten. With the two of them around, the other kids didn’t dare to bully me anymore. I feel like a princess of kindergarten now!Estella’s eyes gleamed whenever Lucian mentioned the two boys.He felt conflicted upon seeing Estella’s hopeful expression.Still, it’s easier to let Estella interact more with Archie and Benny than to send her to recover at Roxanne’s house.Thinking of that, Lucian felt relieved. “Since you like Archie and Benny so much, you can ask Catalina to prepare more snacks before going to school in the future. Then, you can share with the boys,” he suggested.Estella tilted her head, unable to comprehend Lucian’s words for a moment.Stroking Estella’s head, Lucian added, “You should be nice to Archie and Benny and play more with them since they have been treat
Roxanne halted her steps, unsure what he was trying to say.Looking at the woman standing beside her, Lucian pursed his lips indifferently. “If I remember correctly, you once said that the children are innocent and should not get involved in our matters. However, does this only apply to Archie and Benny?”Upon hearing that, Roxanne turned around and met his gaze. “What do you mean?”Lucian raised an eyebrow. “You know that Essie likes you and would feel sad if she doesn’t see you. However, you refused to meet her multiple times, knowing that this might cause her condition to worsen. Isn’t Essie innocent in this matter? I don’t mind if it’s me you want to avoid, but there’s no need to do the same thing on her as well.”Roxanne was promptly taken aback when she heard that.Although she had considered if Estella would feel upset for not seeing her, Roxanne dismissed the thought as she had never seen herself as someone important. Besides, Lucian would definitely take good care of Estella.
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
Due to Benny’s injury, the three kids didn’t attend their cla*ses at the kindergarten for the time being. As a result, Ophelia didn’t 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.“Aubree, there’s nothing I can do either. Who would’ve expected that b*tch to stop the other two kids from attending school after that little b*stard got hurt!” 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. “That b*tch!”The two women grimaced, stumped at the development.While vexed, Ophelia carefully observed the changes in Aubree’s countenance, fearing the latter might get sick and tired of her.After a lon
Because of Benny’s 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! Who’d 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*stard’s injury was pretty bad…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 latter’s number.Fortunately, the call got through after just a few rings.“How did it go? Did you succeed?” Aubree asked urgently.Argh. Life has been incredibly tough on me lately. I need some good news to cheer me up!“I greased the shoes of that Benny boy, and he fell really hard!” Ophelia said with a smug chortle. “Mr. Bauer even made a big fuss out of it when he returned, so I’m sure t
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