Chapter 305 – Her Sudden Departure: A Tale of Love and Redemption (Lucian & Roxanne)

When she heard him calling her name, a satisfied smile broke out on her face.

Lucian’s heart wrenched again the moment he saw her smile. He would rather she looked at him indifferently as she always did because her affection only reminded him of how things had been between them six years ago.

Back then, he had been her world, yet he had taken her for granted. He did not appreciate her and had killed her love for him instead when she left in brokenness in the end.

Their intimacy reminded him that things had ended up as they were because of him. At that thought, Lucian smiled ruefully and averted his gaze. “Have some water. It’ll make you feel better.”

Roxanne did not respond for a long while.  Just as he was about to check on her again, he felt a weight on his chest.

“Lucian… The play… Was it really an accident?” she asked, her voice fading away as she fell back asleep.

Lucian loosened his arms when he realized she had dozed off. He hesitated for a while and put the glass of water on the table.

He figured Roxanne might end up not sleeping well if he kept waking her up, so he tucked her and Estella in before going out of the room quietly.

Back at the bar counter downstairs, Lucian sat down in front of the half emptied bottle of red wine that Roxanne had opened.

I wonder how she felt when she quaffed all this.

Lucian recalled the question she had asked back in the room, and a sense of self-pity rose in his heart.

He knew better than anyone else if what had happened during the play was an accident.

It was just that he could not control himself when he saw her sleeping deeply.

But what bothered him was the fact that he did not have the courage to come clean with her.

Lucian could not believe that there were actually things that he did not dare to admit.

When Roxanne woke up the next morning, she felt a stabbing pain in her head.

She turned her head and saw the glass of water and hangover pills on the table. Then, memories of what had happened the night before came flooding back, and her eyes widened like saucers.

I couldn’t sleep, so I went downstairs to have some wine, and… I ended up drunk. Then he carried me upstairs. I even said some nonsense to him before he left, and he said… No. Stop. I’m not going there.

Roxanne wondered if Lucian would be bothered by her action, just as he had been six years ago.

A self-mocking smile touched her lips when she thought of that.

When Estella saw Roxanne sitting beside her in the bed, she snuggled into her embrace and mumbled her name as she woke up. “Ms. Jarvis…”

“Morning,” Roxanne greeted gently, looking at the girl in her arms.

“I dreamed that Daddy came yesterday,” she said, still not fully awake.

Roxanne’s body stiffened. Well… He really came.

Roxanne hoped Estella did not hear what she had blurted out to Lucian the night before because if Estella did, Roxanne would not know how to face the girl anymore.

“What else did you dream about?” Roxanne asked tentatively, trying to elicit more information.

Estella frowned and thought hard until she finally shook her head. “Hmm…. nothing else. It’s weird. It was a super short dream.”

Roxanne heaved a silent sigh of relief.

Estella remained in Roxanne’s arms for a while. When she was finally awake, she pulled herself from Roxanne’s embrace and looked up. Estella frowned when she noticed that Roxanne looked pale. “Ms. Jarvis, are you

okay? You don’t look so good.” Roxanne touched her face surprisedly. wondering what the girl spotted. As she had not looked at herself in the mirror since she woke up, she had no idea how bad she looked at that moment.

Ah, I drank a lot yesterday, and I even slept late. There’s no way I look refreshed after so little sleep. Before Roxanne could reply, the girl wrinkled her nose and sniffed the air. “Why do I smell alcohol?”

Roxanne smiled at her. “I went down to have some wine yesterday because I couldn’t sleep. That’s probably why I look tired. I’m actually having a slight headache too.”

Upon hearing this, Estella reached out and touched her forehead carefully. The smile on Roxanne’s face grew wider when she saw how much the child cared for her.

After some time, Estella slowly retracted her hand and glanced at the water and medication on the nightstand. Although she had no idea what those were for, she passed them to Roxanne nonetheless.

An inexplicable feeling rose in Roxanne’s heart when she saw that glass of water. It reminded her of what she had said to Lucian the night before.

Seeing that Roxanne did not take the water from her, Estella held it out closer to her. But the woman pushed it away because she did not feel like having it.

Her rejection confused the girl, who then tilted her head.

“It’s cold. I’d like some warm water. Besides, I don’t need that medication anymore,” Roxanne said, forcing a smile.

Since Roxanne had said so, Estella simply nodded quietly and put the pills back. Then she grabbed the glass carefully and got off the bed to get some warm water for Roxanne.

When she returned, Roxanne took the glass from her, had two sips, and then brought the girl to wash up in the bathroom.

By the time they came out, Archie and Benny were already waiting for them in the room.

“Mommy, did you drink yesterday?” the boys asked. They smelled alcohol the moment they entered the room, and the pills on the nightstand confirmed their thought.

Roxanne nodded. There was no point trying to hide it from the boys. “I couldn’t sleep because of the bed, so I went down to have some wine.”

The boys exchanged doubtful glances upon hearing her answer.

She’s never had trouble sleeping despite the amount of traveling she does. She slept very well even after we returned to the country. It’s true that we live in the city, but it’s not like we’ve never been to the countryside before. There’s no way she can’t sleep because of a change in the environment.

Archie and Benny took Roxanne’s reply with a pinch of salt because there were better explanations for her insomnia..

Benny pursed his lips and walked over.

“Mommy, are you still frightened because I went missing yesterday?”

Roxanne was surprised. The truth was, she never expected the boy to be that sensitive to her emotions.

“I promise I’ll always stay by your side, Mommy. I won’t do anything to worry you again.” he continued, looking her in the eyes.

The children knew how difficult it was for Roxanne to take care of them by herself since they grew up without a father figure, so they had always tried their best not to burden her.

They thought that even without a father, the three of them could live happily without Roxanne ever worrying about them, yet they were proven wrong after what had happened the previous day.

Despite Benny’s effort to return to her, he still gave her a scare in the end.

“I know you didn’t mean it. I just need some time to recover from the shock,” Roxanne comforted Benny with a smile. The boy gazed at her doubtfully for some time. When he was finally convinced that

she meant what she said, he nodded slowly, pursed his lips, and gave her a hug “Let’s have breakfast. It’s getting late,” Roxanne said, caressing his head.

All the children nodded, and the four of them went downstairs together.

A five-person breakfast was ready on the table by the time they got down. It seemed that Lucian had taken the food in and laid them out on the dining table.

He was scrolling his phone on the couch when they came down. His sleeves were rolled up, revealing a pair of lean and muscular forearms.

When Roxanne saw that he was working, she held the children’s hands and asked them to walk silently, but the man still noticed them in the end.

He looked up at Roxanne, and their gazes met. What had happened the previous night instantly came back to Roxanne’s mind.

She hoped she could find traces of his thoughts on his face. But even after seconds of staring at him, she found no sign of any emotions in his eyes.

It was as if his nonchalant gaze was telling her that everything that had happened the night before was but a dream.

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