Despite her being overwhelmed by fear on the plane, all she could think of were Archie and Benny. Little does she know that Essie is her daughter too.
Holding that thought, Lucian stroked Estella‘s head bitterly.
“Ms. Jarvis,” Estella called out all of a sudden.
Stunned, Lucian met her gaze with a frown and gradually retracted his hand.
Estella, with her lips pursed and looking upset, reached out to grab his hand and commented in a piping voice, “The smell on your hand… It belongs to Ms. Jarvis.”
Lucian lowered his head to look at his hand.
Roxanne had held his hand throughout the entire journey on the plane just now.
Wrinkling her nose to take a sniff, Estella walked up to Lucian slowly and stated earnestly, “Daddy, you smell like Ms. Jarvis too.”
Having said that, she pouted unhappily.
Since Daddy is carrying Ms. Jarvis‘ scent, they must have met each other. I have not seen her in a very long time.
Estella gave her father an angry look before storming back upstairs without a word.
Puzzled by her sudden anger, Lucian hurried after her.
Fuming, Estella hugged her knees as she sat on the carpet in the room. Upon hearing footsteps at the door, she quickly looked up before recovering her gaze just as swiftly.
“Are you angry?” Lucian asked in a deep voice.
Estella threw him a glance, then turned her head in the opposite direction in resentment.
Ms. Jarvis has been avoiding me because of Daddy. But now that she has met with Daddy, she‘s still unwilling to see me.
As Estella‘s father, Lucian could more or less guess what was on her mind. “You don‘t want Ms. Tarvis to leave, no? I, too, am racking my brains to get her to stay. That‘s why I met up with her. I have her scent on me because she wasn‘t feeling well after coming back. So I sent her back after that.”
Estella, who was giving Lucian a dubious look, was filled with concern the moment she heard Roxanne was unwell. “What happened to Ms. Jarvis?”
Worried that she would be traumatized by the events on the plane, Lucian said, “It‘s nothing, really. She‘s just feeling under the weather.”
Estella, with her lips pursed, looked at Lucian in disbelief. “I want to visit Ms. Jarvis!” , too, want to see Ms. Jarvis!
Lucian cocked a brow in response.
Considering Roxanne‘s stance, I‘m afraid she doesn‘t want to see me again. It‘s just that she has a soft spot for Essie. If I take Essie along, then perhaps…
Lucian curled his lips mysteriously and agreed to Estella‘s request. “Fine. I‘ll take you there tomorrow.”
Estella was dumbstruck. He did not expect him to agree readily.
“Rest early now. You still have school tomorrow. We‘ll go over in the morning.” Lucian tousled her hair.
Only then did Estella regain her senses. Looking forward to seeing Roxanne the next day, she nodded obediently.
Roxanne felt a lot better when she woke up the next morning. Recalling that she was to send the children to the kindergarten, she got up and washed up before opening the door to head downstairs.
Just as she did, she was greeted by the sight of the two boys at the door.
Looking forward to their mother sending them to kindergarten, the excited Archie and Benny had woken up early to wait at Roxanne’s door.
Their initial plan was to knock and wake her up, but they decided against it, as she wasn’t feeling well. Not wanting to disturb her rest, they resigned themselves to waiting outside.
When Roxanne came out of her room, the boys’ eyes lit up. “Mommy!”
Roxanne stroked their heads. “Come along now. Let’s have breakfast before I send you to the kindergarten.”
Both of them nodded as they held Roxanne’s hand, one on each side of her.
Every now and then, they would look up at her to ascertain if she had fully recovered.
When they arrived downstairs, Lysa had already prepared breakfast. Madilyn, too, was already seated at the table.
At the sight of them, Madilyn got to her feet and looked at Roxanne. “How are you feeling?”
“A lot better.” Roxanne smiled. “I’ll send them to the kindergarten later.”
Madilyn nodded in relief. “I’ll head out first, then.”
She had dropped by first thing in the morning because of her concern for Roxanne’s health.
Roxanne was about to invite her to stay for breakfast when Madilyn said, “I’ve already eaten. You guys enjoy your breakfast. I’ll take my leave now.”
Roxanne didn’t insist upon hearing Madilyn’s words.
After bidding the boys goodbye, Madilyn turned and left.
Subsequently, Roxanne seated the children at the dining table before attempting to serve them food.
However, the two boys beat her to it by serving her breakfast and urged her in their squeaky voices, “Mommy, please dig in.”
Roxanne was briefly stunned, but quickly, she broke into a warm smile. “Thank you, Darlings.”
Suddenly, the doorbell rang while they were having their breakfast.
Thinking that it was Madilyn who had come back, Roxanne told the boys to continue eating while she went to get the door.
The moment she saw who it was, Roxanne was stunned.
Lucian, dressed sharply in a suit with his hair combed meticulously, was standing at the door. He was holding Estella’s hand and staring at Roxanne meaningfully.
As for Estella, she was looking at Roxanne blankly, her eyes filled with concern.
The father and daughter stood motionless at the door.
It took Roxanne a while to regain her senses. She furrowed her brows at Lucian and said, “Mr. Farwell, what are you doing here so early in the morning?”
Unable to bring herself to glower at Estella, she could only confront Lucian.
No sooner had she spoken than she felt her sleeve being tugged by Estella.
She looked down and could see the concern brimming in Estella’s eyes.
When they made eye contact, Estella asked carefully, “Ms. Jarvis, are you feeling better?”
Roxanne was stunned by the question. She had no idea what Estella was asking about.
Noticing the confusion on Roxanne’s face, Lucian explained in a deep voice, “When I came home yesterday, Essie caught your scent on me and asked about what happened. I had no choice but to tell her you weren’t feeling well.”
Roxanne frowned slightly. “I’m fine. Why did you have to tell her?”
She only didn’t want Estella to worry, but the latter pouted aggrievedly, thinking that Roxanne didn’t want to see her.
Roxanne’s words caused Lucian to cock his brow as he looked down at Estella, whose hand he was holding.
Estella, visibly nervous, was hanging her head in dejection as she tightened her grip on his hand.
Trailing his gaze and noticing the disappointment on Estella’s face, Roxanne felt her heart melt.
In the past, Estella would have jumped with joy at the sight of her. But on that day, she looked apprehensive and was wary of getting close.
It must be because I told her to keep her distance before I went overseas the last time. Archie and Benny have been talking about her when they are home. She must be missing me.
Roxanne sighed in her heart. She leaned closer to stroke Estella’s hair before consoling her, “I’m all right. I just didn’t want you to worry. Look, don’t I look fine to you?”
Estella, feeling the warmth from Roxanne’s palm, briefly hesitated before pursing her lips and raising her head to stare at the latter.
The moment their eyes met, Roxanne’s tender smile brimmed with affection.
Only then did Estella gradually curl her lips, albeit lacking in courage to approach Roxanne still.
Seeing that Roxanne didn’t return after a long while, the curious Archie and Benny went to the door to check.
When they saw the two visitors at the door, both of them exchange hesitant. glances.
They were delighted to see Essie but were reluctant to let Lucian come in.
They felt conflicted and didn’t know how to face the visitors.
“Mommy.” After a moment’s hesitation, they finally came up to Roxanne.
She threw both of them a glance. “Have you finished your breakfast?”
Nodding obediently, they flashed Estella a smile before giving Lucian a wary look. “Mr. Farwell, what are you doing here?”
With a slight frown, Lucian replied earnestly, “It’s not me. It’s Essie.”
Estella nodded in acknowledgment, giving the brothers a pitiful stare.
She could sense their hostility toward Lucian, and she didn’t like it. She hoped they would like both Roxanne and Lucian, just like her.
Meeting Estella’s sad eyes, the brothers knitted their brows in silence.
Roxanne turned her attention to Estella. “Essie, have you had breakfast? Why don’t you come in and join us?”
Delighted by the invitation, Estella gave Roxanne a fervent nod.
Roxanne stroked Estella’s hair while smiling before extending her hand to the latter.
With a glint in his eyes, Lucian released Estella’s hand without a word and followed them into the living room.
As the brothers were done with their breakfast, they sat in the living room and waited for Roxanne and Estella to finish theirs while keeping an eye on Lucian.
Even though Lucian felt helpless underneath the brothers’ watchful eyes, he didn’t react in any way and allowed them to continue monitoring him.
In the dining room, Estella, who had actually had her breakfast before coming, simply wanted to spend more time with Roxanne.
During the meal, she would check on Roxanne every now and then. When she saw that the latter still looked pale, she would serve her more food out of concern.
Having been cared for by the children for the entire morning, Roxanne felt touched but guilty at the same time. Despite Estella’s affection for her, she had no choice but to stay away from her because of Lucian.
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.
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