After Archie found Estella, he summoned Benny. “Let’s head inside and listen to what Mommy is talking about with Mr. Damaris.”Upon hearing that suggestion, the other two agreed.They opened the door carefully and saw Roxanne sitting on the single-seat couch and chatting with Jack. Both adults had a smile on their faces.The alarm bells in the children’s minds rang loudly the instant they noticed the faint smile on Roxanne’s face.Estella acted against her usual behavior and sprinted straight to Roxanne’s side.“Essie?” It was only then Roxanne noticed the children had returned.Jack gave Roxanne and Estella the once-over and said half-intentionally, “I can see the resemblance even clearer like this.”That sent Roxanne into a panic.Innocently, Estella asked Roxanne, “What resemblance, Ms. Jarvis?”Roxanne patted her head, shot a look at Jack, and said, “It’s nothing. It’s just a random comment from Mr. Damaris.” Then she stood up and faced Jack. “Is there anything else, Mr. Damaris?
“It’s our fault, Mommy. We didn’t keep a close eye on Essie.” The boys had already guessed the truth when their mother questioned them. Even though Estella had admitted to the offense, they still wanted to take the blame for her mistake.Roxanne did not know what to say as she watched the three of them protect each other.I would’ve been contended to see them caring for each other in another situation, but they’re covering for each other at the wrong time now. What do I do… Moments later, she suppressed her emotions and placed Estella on her thighs. “Tell me the truth, Essie. Did you do this by yourself or with the boys?”As Estella had learned that Roxanne disliked dishonest children, she, of course, wasn’t going to lie.Besides, she never wanted to drag the brothers down with her either.“I-I did it by myself…” she choked out.Roxanne nodded and wiped the girl’s tears away. “Why did you do it?”Even though the girl was crying intensely, she still answered the question, “Because I d
Roxanne felt extremely uncomfortable under Lucian’s penetrating gaze despite her valiant attempts to ignore him. When she heard his answer, she heaved a silent sigh of relief and put her fork down.“Let’s talk upstairs.”Turning to the children, she instructed, “Finish your lunch before you go off to play.”Archie and Benny nodded vigorously.Roxanne rose to her feet and shot Lucian a look. Getting her hint, he complied by getting up and following her up the stairs.They both came to a stop at the balcony on the second floor, one after another.Roxanne said nothing as she was wondering how she should start the conversation.Even after Estella had admitted to her mistake and apologized, she still couldn’t believe that the little girl was capable of committing such an action.Naturally, Lucian would not believe her, as he loved Estella dearly.If she were to reveal the truth bluntly, Lucian would most probably think she was trying to blame Estella for something the little girl didn’t d
“No longer related?” The sarcasm in Lucian’s eyes intensified. “This is all wishful thinking on your part.” Roxanne’s frown deepened. I’m stating the facts! Why is that wishful thinking? It was Lucian who used me all the while, and now he’s with Aubree. How are we related to each other now?As though reading her mind, Lucian said icily, “You may be right, but do you think Essie will give up on you when you treat her this well?”Roxanne was left speechless.Lucian concluded, “You are responsible for giving her false hope, which led to her committing that act, and you don’t even know that.”Hearing that, Roxanne couldn’t stop doubting herself.He’s right. I keep saying I want to sever ties with him, but when Essie cries, I can’t help but feel guilty and give in and shower my love on her. When she’s around, Lucian and I will inevitably have to interact. According to Lucian, Essie committed that act because of me…A while later, Roxanne finally found her voice. “If that’s the case, I’ll
“Why are you upset? Did I say something wrong?” Roxanne forced herself to stay calm and looked at him.She did want to break off ties with the Farwell family, but this wasn’t how she expected it to happen.If I do nothing to stop him from bringing Essie away, no one knows what he’ll tell her back home.Seeing that she didn’t seem to know her mistake, Lucian frowned angrily. “How are you wrong? Didn’t Essie make it clear? It was my fault.”With that, he turned to leave.Roxanne gritted her teeth.It was obvious he said that out of anger, so she couldn’t let him leave in this state.Lucian was already downstairs when Roxanne finally made up her mind. She quickened her steps and grabbed his sleeves.As she approached, Estella’s cries grew quieter.Lucian glanced at her hand gripping his sleeve with his dark and inscrutable gaze.I wonder what she will say.Roxanne’s instincts acted faster than her mind. She stopped him but could not find the words to make him stay.“If you have nothing
Upon hearing her father’s words, Estella pursed her lips tightly as she desperately held back her tears. I can’t cry! If Daddy and Ms. Jarvis have fallen out with each other, I will definitely not be able to see her anymore. It’s up to me alone to help them reconcile.In that instant, Estella remembered the boys’ advice to her—strive to grow stronger.Throughout the journey home, Estella did not shed a single tear.When Lucian carried her out of the car upon their arrival, he was surprised by the look on her face.Despite looking as if she would burst into tears any second, she was tenaciously holding them back.Lucian wondered what had caused such a big change in her.When he tried to hold her hand, expecting her to refuse, Estella obediently let him hold it.Filled with complicated emotions, Lucian led Estella back into the mansion.The moment they entered, they saw Sonya, whose face was contorted, seated on the couch.“If you had come back any later, I would’ve gone to pick Essie
Catalina didn’t close the door when she went down. Aubree saw Lucian standing in his study upon making her way up. “Lucian, I’m here.”Aubree entered after knocking on the door.Inside the study, Lucian had already heard her footsteps, but he only turned around upon hearing her voice.By then, Aubree had already put on a gentle smile on her face.Even though he had decided to accept her, Lucian still couldn’t help but feel that something wasn’t right every time he saw her. He remained silent for a long while.Aubree didn’t dare enter the study on her own accord. All she could do was repeat herself, “Is there something you want to see me for?”Jolted back to his senses, Lucian suppressed his inner thoughts as he replied in a deep voice, “Come in and have a seat.”Pursing her lips into a smile, Aubree walked in and settled down on the couch in the center of the room.Lucian sat down in an armchair with a conflicted look in his eyes. He could still feel the hesitance in his heart.In th
Estella shook her head repeatedly with a helpless expression. Just as she was at a loss about what to do, she heard Lucian’s firm footsteps approaching.Immediately, her eyes lit up. She darted past Aubree and sought refuge in Lucian, wrapping her small arms around his thigh.Lucian looked down at the child clinging to him and thought of Aubree’s apologetic words earlier.“It won’t take just one night for Essie to forgive you, so there’s no need for you to resort to such desperate measures,” he uttered while staring grimly at Aubree, who was still crouching on the floor.In response, Aubree pretended to smile bitterly. She said in dejection, “I’m sorry. I was impatient again. I’m just—”Before she could finish her words, Lucian cut her off, “It’s getting late. Come downstairs and have dinner with us.”Aubree paused and looked in Lucian’s direction in disbelief.By then, he was already heading downstairs hand in hand with Estella.For a while, Aubree stared at their figures from the b
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