Gina and her husband were at a loss for a moment. They initially thought Sonya came to defuse the tension.Seeing Sonya putting up an arrogant look left them unsure of what to do.Gina tested the waters by pleading, “Mrs. Farwell, we will heed your advice and not do stupid things anymore. Please help us!”As soon as she finished speaking, she noticed Sonya’s gaze fall on Samuel, who stood beside her.Gina immediately caught her drift and cleared her throat to get Samuel’s attention.Clearly, Sonya still thought the Pearson family was of use to her, and she wanted them to pledge their loyalty to her.Given that Gina lacked authority in the Pearson family, Sonya hinted at Samuel so he could make the first move.They might have been friends for years, but after all the things the Pearson family had done, Gina knew they were now at Sonya’s mercy. Their friendship had become solely based on interests and more transactional.Of course, Samuel could read Sonya’s mind too, but after much pon
“Be careful!” Roxanne’s cheeks tinged pink when she thought about the accident she had had the last time she was here.The three children waved their hands at her without looking back and dashed toward the waves.Roxanne quickened her pace and kept up with her children.“Mommy, you’re so pretty!”Estella grabbed Roxanne’s hand and snuggled up to her. Her little face lit up in awe.There had been a firework event during their last vacation to the hot spring resort. As a result, the beach was overcrowded with people, and the children didn’t get the chance to experience playing on the beach.It was quiet all around at that moment, save for the sounds of waves crashing against the beach.Despite their young age and high energy levels, the children couldn’t help but want to quiet down and relax in the face of the calming waves.Roxanne patted their heads and said, “There are not many people here, and it’s really quiet. That’s why I come here quite often.” Then she took a glance at the sur
“Because…” Archie and Benny couldn’t just ignore their sister’s pleading look. In the end, Benny made up a reason. “Maybe it’s because Mommy wants to test Mr. Farwell further! After all, they didn’t seem happy when they separated back then.”Estella furrowed her eyebrows, perplexed. I know I don’t know about Daddy and Mommy’s matters as much as they do, but I think that’s the case based on what Daddy said when he proposed to Mommy. What happened when they initially separated? Why did Mommy abandon me?When Benny saw that his answer removed the smile on his sister’s face after he ruined his mother’s mood, he was in full panic mode. “I-It’s going to be fine! As long as Mr. Farwell performs well, Mommy will forgive him eventually and accept his proposal!”Still, Estella remained worried. “But what if Daddy feels he has lost all hope after Mommy rejects him this time? What do we do, then?”I helped Daddy chase after Mommy, so I know he’ll overthink things. He would get angry and stop pur
Roxanne and Estella waited at the beach for some time before Lucian and the boys climbed out of the car. The sight of the boys wearing rainbow-colored T-shirts surprised Roxanne to no end.Lucian preferred wearing plain-colored clothes, so she had a*sumed he’d buy monochrome clothes without any pattern for the boys.She had no idea he’d buy them such vibrant-looking clothes.I wonder when he bought these clothes. They seem to fit the boys well.“When did you buy the clothes?” Roxanne asked when they came over to join her.Recalling Benny’s earlier comment that she was in a foul mood, Lucian regarded her silently for a moment before responding, “I actually bought them on my way here. I’ve been planning to bring you here one day, and I thought it best to be prepared, and it seems I made the right choice as they came in handy.”His words merely served to fuel Roxanne’s suspicion.Never mind if Lucian showed up suddenly. I can’t believe he even prepared clothes for them.She looked down
Lucian watched as she gazed at the sea silently. His eyes grew dark as guilt rose in his heart. She must’ve stood here alone six years ago. What could she be thinking of? Was she blaming me?He slowly approached her, his eyes revealing the guilt and affection that had been building up inside of him for the past six years.Roxanne turned over her shoulder to realize that there was someone standing beside her. She was suddenly transported back in time, and the man’s presence filled the void that had been left in her life.“A penny for your thoughts.” Lucian suddenly spoke when he noticed the change in her expression.Roxanne snapped out of her reverie and flashed a nonchalant smile. “It’s nothing. The ocean looks somewhat different today, that’s all.”That would explain why she felt different when she had been here before.Lucian looked at her silently before suddenly reaching out to pull her into his arms.Behind him, the children were taken aback.They quickly recalled how they had i
It was her first photograph with the three children. More importantly, it was after learning that Estella was the baby whom she had thought died prematurely.“Thank you,” she said gratefully.Looking at her trembling hands, Lucian pulled her into his arms. “If you want to thank me, then reconsider my proposal. I was lying to you. I can’t wait much longer. Six years is long enough. I don’t want to keep waiting.”Roxanne lowered her head without answering. Her eyes brimmed with guilt.Having detected something in her silence, Lucian released her with a sigh and gave her a kind smile. “It’s all right. I can wait a little longer. Besides, I’m sure you wouldn’t bear to keep me waiting too long.”Roxanne looked away, not knowing what to say.Meanwhile, having tired themselves out, the children came running over to the adults.“Mommy, what were you looking at earlier?”Benny could tell that something was wrong between their parents, so he hurriedly tried to change the subject. Clutching Rox
Lucian narrowed his eyes dangerously as he scanned the inside of the restaurant. When the others saw Lucian had gone looking for the man to settle the scores, they retracted their gazes guiltily.Meanwhile, the man was so scared he did not dare breathe loudly in front of Lucian.Truth was, the man had no ill intentions.He had only read the discussion on the internet and gotten curious about their relationship.In fact, when the man saw Roxanne bringing along two sons of unknown origins, he figured Lucian would have some grudge against her.To the man’s astonishment, Lucian seemed to be truly in love with Roxanne.Moreover, Roxanne did not look like a crafty person as described in the rumors.Lucian suddenly thought of something and warned the man, “I don’t care what you think, but you’d better keep your eyes to yourself and not interrupt our meal.” After that, he instructed the waiter to move them to a different private room.“What happened?”Uneasiness swirled within Roxanne’s hear
Aubree’s joy did not last long, for the tables had turned that evening. Farwell Group made an announcement again, clearly stating the reason for the annulment of the engagement between the Farwell and the Pearson family. At the same time, it also contained a warning for the people who contributed to the discussions on the internet.One specific line in the announcement caused an uproar on the internet. It read: The Farwell and the Pearson family have annulled their engagement due to Aubree’s personality that is unfit for the role of Mr. Lucian Farwell’s wife.Someone wrote: The Farwell family must’ve toned down their words. They’re a big family, after all. I bet Aubree has done something disgusting behind their backs. Farwell Group is already sparing her dignity by saying it’s a personality problem.Another wrote: So, who’s the problem now? Aubree or Roxanne?Someone replied: Do you still need to ask that? Didn’t Farwell Group explain everything clearly in the announcement? It’s Aubr
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