“Did I say anything wrong? I’m more than happy to help pick Archie and Benny up and look after them if you can’t make it. Do you not want my help?” Lucian replied in the most matter-of-fact tone possible. He then eyed Roxanne from head to toe as he continued, “If you don’t want me to do that, I can have Cayden—”Roxanne knew just how persistent he could get, so she quickly cut him off, “All right, I’ll pick Essie up if you’re too busy.”Satisfied with her answer, Lucian nodded slowly in response.Looking at the time on her watch, Roxanne said, “Anyway, I need to get to work now. See you later in the evening.”She was worried about the research institute, as it had been without a leader for two days straight.Roxanne was about to leave when Lucian called out to her with a displeased frown, “That’s it? Are you just going to leave like that?”She paused in her tracks and let out a helpless sigh in response.Lucian seemed to have changed completely ever since I agreed to let him court me
Pippa chuckled and shook her head when she saw how excited the kids were. They are rarely this happy, so why not let them have some fun?She flashed a smile and watched them from the side, lest they get into any accidents.Another teaching a*sistant from the same cla*s approached her and whispered, “Ms. Ward, how is Mr. Farwell related to Archie and Benny’s mother?”Pippa froze in surprise. She recalled Lucian’s words earlier and how Estella had addressed Roxanne this morning.It was evident that there was more to their relationship than either of them was letting on although they had not been explicit about it.In the event that a member of the Farwell family wished to pick up Estella, Lucian would need to be notified by phone, whereas Roxanne could collect her without prior authorization.It could be said that Roxanne was much more important to Lucian than his family.However, she wasn’t sure if they were ready to go public with their relationship.Pippa gave the teaching a*sistant
Not long after, the car rolled to a stop before a beach. Roxanne felt her heart relax at the sight of the vast ocean.It had been some time since she had last come to the beach.Six years ago, before their separation, she would visit the beach alone to find solace whenever Lucian hurt her feelings.After giving birth to Archie and Benny, Roxanne would relax by spending time playing with them.Every time she spent time playing with the children, she would eventually feel rejuvenated.To her surprise, she felt the same way today at the sight of the endless sea before her.“I recall you used to come to the beach frequently in the past.” Lucian’s voice echoed in her ear as he reminisced about old times. “After you left, I’d also come to the beach whenever I felt tired. It was a great feeling.”With that, he clasped her hand and led her to the beach.It was a weekday, so there was no one in sight.Roxanne hesitated briefly and allowed him to lead her to the beach.They strolled along the
Lucian said nothing and merely stared at her darkly. Suddenly, he bent down and swooped her up.Shocked, Roxanne instinctively clung to his neck, afraid she would fall to the ground.Her actions happened to play in Lucian’s favor. The violence in his gaze faded a little as he strode to the shore.Roxanne’s cheeks were flushed as she said, “Put me down. I can walk by myself now.”She knew she had scared him. He scooped her up in his arms because he was fearful that something similar would happen once more.Ignoring her protests, Lucian carried her to his car and helped her settle into the pa*senger seat. He retrieved his suit jacket from the backseat and draped it over her shoulders before taking his place behind the wheel.Noticing he was still mad at her, Roxanne felt utterly helpless. “Didn’t we come here to relax? That was just a tiny accident.”Lucian’s brows were still knitted together. Deep down, she let out a sigh and said coyly, “You promised to give me a handmade shell brace
Once Cory shook off his tail, he messaged Aubree while driving. Cory: Our cooperation is over. I’m going to get money from Mr. Farwell now. Good luck, Ms. Pearson.With that sent, he switched off his phone.Given how fearful Aubree was of Lucian, Cory had no doubt she was going to call him fervently.All Cory wanted was money; he would not waste his time playing games with Aubree.When Aubree received Cory’s message, she cursed at her subordinates as she tried to dial Cory’s number again and again.Lucian had already told her that he was going to call off the engagement. If he were to find out what she had done previously, she would be dead meat.Aubree was gripped with regret. She realized she should have given Cory that fifty million.Alas, Cory seemed to have figured out that Aubree would regret her decision, as his phone remained switched off the entire time.Her failed attempts stoked the anger in her, and she threw her phone onto the ground. Then, a wave of terror crashed into
Lucian took it with a neutral look. Cory did not intend to hide anything from Lucian. What he had given to Lucian was the camera he had used when he was working on Aubree’s case. Not only was there the evidence in it, but there were also the photos Aubree had asked him to take of Roxanne.After handing the camera to Lucian, Cory began waiting fearfully.Lucian went through the photos.The first photo was the photo Cory had deliberately selected for him—the photo where Aubree was putting the bacteria into the children’s drink.The background of the photo was the field where Roxanne had brought the children.Even though there were only a few photos, Lucian could see the ruthlessness and caution in Aubree’s eyes.Lucian narrowed his eyes. He guessed that Aubree had to have done more things than what these photos showed.He went through the other photos.Most of the photos were photos of Roxanne with Jack, as well as photos of him and Roxanne.Even though Roxanne had accepted him, and ev
Gina panicked at the sight of her daughter’s demeanor. She instinctively turned to look at Samuel. Samuel remained relatively rational, but he was wearing a grimace. “What did you do?”Hearing her father’s question, Aubree lowered her gaze guiltily, her eyelids twitching uncontrollably.Even as the situation progressed to that stage, she was still trying to figure out ways to describe her doings with reduced severity.After contemplating for a few moments, she uttered warily, “I-I contaminated the water Essie drank with bacteria.”Samuel’s and Gina’s faces darkened as soon as they heard that.They had always known Aubree despised Estella and had been mistreating her.However, since Lucian didn’t find out about that, they turned a blind eye to Aubree’s misconduct.Unexpectedly, Aubree’s foolishness knew no boundaries.Noticing the changes in her parents’ mood, Aubree quickly added, “I didn’t do that on purpose. I was just trying to teach the b*tch, Roxanne, a lesson. I wanted those tw
When their appeal fell on deaf ears, the Pearsons were filled with despair. Sonya gave them the side-eye. “How dare you lie to me all these years? And now, you still have the cheek to beg for my forgiveness?”The three of them hung their heads, not daring to utter a single word.After a brief yet deathly silence, Sonya turned to leave. “You guys better pray hard!”Samuel finally got back up to his feet a long while later. As he stared at his daughter, who was still kneeling, a pained look flashed across his eyes. “You should leave the country.”Aubree raised her head the moment she heard those words.“That’s the only way out.” Samuel let out a long sigh. “You can save yourself by leaving. Otherwise, we’ll lose both you and our wealth!”A look of hesitation filled Aubree’s eyes.Leave the country… Would Lucian really let me off? More importantly, would he even give me the chance?As concerns filled her mind, Aubree just couldn’t agree to her father’s proposal.In the blink of an eye,
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
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