“As long as I find a method effective, it isn’t considered despicable,” Lucian riposted coldly after a while, putting away the scrutiny in his eyes. Her eyes flickering, Roxanne nodded self-deprecatingly. “Oh well, I’m not far-sighted enough.”Lucian stared at her thoughtfully.Out of the blue, he offered in a much gentler tone than earlier, “If it’s to your liking, I can retain you as the technical advisor of Herbscape Group.”Upon hearing that, Roxanne snapped her head around with a frown, meeting his gaze in puzzlement.He was absolutely livid just now, but he’s now extending me an olive branch in the blink of an eye. Is this considered… a chance for me to salvage things?At that thought, mirth bubbled within her.Meanwhile, Lucian’s hand tightened around her wrist when he received no answer from her even after a long time had pa*sed.“Farwell Group can likewise give you the same resources as Damaris Group.”Roxanne could sense that the surrounding temperature was gradually droppi
Lifting her eyes, Roxanne glanced at Archie and Benny. Sensing her stare, Archie and Benny raised their eyes guiltily and flashed her a smile before averting their gazes nonchalantly.A strange feeling welled within Roxanne. Gradually, realization dawned upon her.No wonder Lucian asked me such a question earlier. It turned out that they used my name to come and visit Essie.That understanding had a sense of exasperation inundating her. But ultimately, she didn’t say anything.Well, they only did so because they really wanted to come here and visit Essie. Besides, I’m pretty sure Essie’s mood only lifted because they came.“Are you still feeling unwell anywhere now?” Roxanne regarded Estella in concern.In response, Estella shook her head docilely and replied in a cute voice, “Archie and Benny played with me!”At that, Roxanne knew that her conjecture was right. Relief suffused her.“Why did you come so late, Ms. Jarvis? Have you just finished your work?” Estella inquired, concerned
Roxanne didn’t want to tarry after dinner, so she took her leave with Archie and Benny. “Can’t you play with me for a while longer, Ms. Jarvis?”Estella clutched at the hem of her shirt with all the reluctance in the world.Leaning down, Roxanne stroked her head and cajoled gently, “It’s late, so I’ve got to go home.”After saying that, she added in a moment of weakness at the sight of Estella’s reluctant expression, “I’ll come and keep you company another day.”She merely wanted to comfort the little girl, but the latter unexpectedly took it seriously.“When will that be?” Estella gazed at her pitifully with solemnity written all over her face.Upon hearing that, Roxanne was inexorably stunned for a while.When will that be?On instinct, she lifted her eyes and glanced at the man across from her, telling him with her eyes that she didn’t really mean it.In the past, Lucian would speak up and help her diffuse the situation. But this time, he acted as though he didn’t notice her predi
Roxanne could tell that the children were getting anxious, so she did her best to suppress her emotions. “I’m not mad. In fact, I want to thank you for comforting Essie.” Even though the kids’ actions did cause a misunderstanding with Lucian, Roxanne knew Estella’s mood would not have improved had it not been for them.The children breathed a sigh of relief after hearing their mother but remained somewhat cautious.“Sorry, Mommy. We won’t run off by ourselves again,” promised Archie after crawling into her embrace.Despite how dim the light in the car was, the exhaustion on Roxanne’s face was plain to see.The boy was convinced that he did not do anything wrong before, but at that moment, he was filled with guilt.Benny, too, crawled into his mother’s arms and apologized.Then, Roxanne gave her children a big hug before patting them on the head. “I know you were just worried about Essie.”In response, the kids nodded in agreement because they were indeed concerned about Estella.Howe
After confirming that the fire was put out and getting the green light from the firemen, Roxanne was finally able to get near the research institute that was engulfed in an inferno. Her heart sank the moment she managed to get a closer look.She had been worried sick all morning, overcome by the apprehension that the medicinal herbs that she had just retrieved the day before were all gone.Alas, her worst nightmare came true. The very store that caught on fire was the one where the medicinal herbs were stored.Not only were the medicinal herbs the batch that they had just retrieved the day before destroyed, but the other medicinal herbs they previously stocked up were also burned to ashes.Fortunately, Colby had managed to call for help in time and managed to stop the fire from spreading to other areas.“This…” Standing beside Roxanne, Colby found himself to be at a loss for words as he stared at the shambles before them.Roxanne let out a soft sigh. “Well, luckily no one was hurt, a
In the research area, the researchers had just regained their composure from the fire incident earlier and got back to work. When they saw two people walking in, they stopped what they were doing in unison.With a grim expression, Roxanne swept a glance at everyone and asked, “Did anyone come to the research institute yesterday afternoon?”Coincidentally, the surveillance cameras were down, so Roxanne could only a*sume that someone had gone over at that time.As soon as those words fell, everyone exchanged glances with each other silently. Yesterday was a Sunday. It was such a good opportunity to rest at home. So why would anyone come to the research institute without a reason? Besides, she’s asking questions that has something to do with the fire. Even if someone was here, why would they admit it?Suddenly, Roxanne was exuding a fearsome aura as she threw a cold glance at everyone. “I have no desire to suspect anyone here, nor can I think of a reason why an employee at the research
Jason was regretting what he did dearly. In fact, he regretted it the moment he did it the day before. However, Colby had already locked the research institute up, so he couldn’t salvage the situation, even if he wanted to.That morning, he made the effort to arrive at the research institute to see if there was anything he could do to fix it.However, he was wrong when he thought he had arrived early enough. By the time he arrived at the entrance, the firefighters were already at the scene.Jason couldn’t help but slap himself twice across the face when he recalled the burnt storage and what Roxanne had said.“This is my fault, Dr. Jarvis. I’m so stupid!” Utterly embarra*sed, he asked, “Since I’ve come forward on my own, c-could you please let the matter slide? My son is still in the hospital…”Roxanne dug her fingers into her palms to force herself to stay calm. “That’s not up to me, Dr. Coleman.”“This matter is being investigated by the police. Jason, how could you be so foolish?”
Only after hearing Colby’s response did Roxanne relax slightly. “I see. I’ll leave it to you, then. Feel free to come to me if you need anything,” she said.Colby agreed.Roxanne couldn’t help adding emotionally, “If you can find those medicinal herbs again, you’ll solve a huge problem for me.”Finally, Colby felt chirpy upon hearing Roxanne’s tone.Ever since Roxanne went to the research institute, she had been solving all kinds of problems on her own.She would only let him, the person in charge of the research institute, help her with trivial matters.Therefore, Colby knew that despite her praises, she had always only regarded him as an ordinary researcher at the research institute.After all, he was nothing compared to the men she had by her side.This time around, he was rather surprised at the fact that it didn’t take much to trick Roxanne into holding him in high regard.No one would’ve expected him to do so much just to create a distance between Roxanne and other men. It’ll b
Roxanne was dog-tired. She would doze off almost immediately after getting into her bed for the past couple of nights. That night, however, she couldn’t fall asleep even after being in bed for quite a long while.Instead of feeling sleepy, all she could think about was Lucian’s desire-filled gaze.Roxanne couldn’t help but feel nervous when she knew that Lucian was still downstairs.She only heaved a sigh of relief inwardly when she heard the sound of the door closing coming from downstairs.After that, she went to the window and saw Lucian getting into his car. The car stayed motionless for a while before leaving the compound slowly.Roxanne watched Lucian’s car disappear from her sight before returning to bed and dozing off within seconds.She didn’t know whether Lucian’s ma*sage was the reason or not, but she felt more energized when she woke up in the morning.Since it was a Sunday, Roxanne stayed home with the kids instead of going to the research institute. At the same time, sh
The two of them didn’t continue talking after that, and Lucian had moved from ma*saging her temples to ma*saging her shoulders. When he was moving his hands, he either intentionally or accidentally brushed his thumbs across her neck.Roxanne was caught off guard, and her body froze when she suddenly felt as though an electric current had coursed through her.In the next second, Lucian was already ma*saging her shoulders. “How are you feeling? Am I pressing too hard?” he asked softly.Roxanne turned around to meet Lucian’s gentle gaze. She was startled, so she immediately retracted her eyes and nodded. “It’s fine.”Little did she know Lucian wasn’t planning to let go of her just yet. “I don’t know which acupuncture point can help you relax. How about you teach me?”As he was talking, he loosened his grips.In a flash, the atmosphere became ambiguous.Roxanne feigned calmness and cleared her throat. “Why would you want to know that? It’s not like you can ma*sage yourself.”In a natural
When the four of them arrived home, Roxanne was already done preparing dinner, and she was resting on the couch. Upon hearing noises at the door, she woke up immediately and went to open the door.“Mommy!”The kids rushed toward her and hugged her legs.Roxanne lowered her gaze and patted their heads with a smile on her face. “Did you guys have fun today?”Benny nodded fervently before turning back to look at Lucian with his pair of bright eyes. “Yes! Daddy brought us to the amusement park, and we watched a movie!”Roxanne smiled when she heard the joy in Benny’s voice.She only realized how Benny had addressed Lucian a few seconds later. When she did, the smile on her face froze.Instead of asking Benny what was going on, she gave Lucian an inquisitive glance.Noticing that, Lucian explained matter-of-factly, “I told them to address me so when we’re in the public. After all, I’ve already made it known to the public. If others were to hear them addressing me another way, it would be
Benny opened the door, and Lucian immediately saw the three children waiting to greet him at the door. “Daddy!”“Mr. Farwell!”They sounded aggrieved and gazed at him as though he was their savior.Lucian could not resist ruffling their hair affectionately at the sight of their adorable pouting faces. Then he looked up and cast his gaze around the living room. “Where’s your mommy?”It’s the weekend, so she should be home.“Mommy’s working overtime. She has already been working late the past few days. We’ve had to stay home alone, and it’s so boring!” Benny whined, and Archie and Estella nodded in agreement.Lucian’s brows drew together slightly when he heard their complaints. No wonder she sounded so tired whenever I called her the last two days. I thought she was exhausted from looking after these three little tykes and purposely came over to take them out for a treat. However, it turns out it’s because she has been working.Seeing how dispirited the children looked, he suggested, “
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