He stared at her with a smoldering look in his eyes. “I gave you a chance!”
Right after saying that, he leaned toward her.
Having no retreat left, Roxanne could only watch helplessly as the man’s face drew closer to her.
The instant their noses collided, she unconsciously trembled.
Before she could gather her wits about her, a warm sensation grazed her lips.
Struggling wildly, she wanted to protest, but Lucian shot a hand out and grasped her chin. She was forced to open her mouth, yet she couldn’t utter a complete sentence.
As the man’s kiss grew increasingly intense, his breath brushing against her face turned all the hotter.
Tensed and panicked, Roxanne bit his lip hard.
In the next moment, Lucian grunted. Clapping a hand over the corner of his mouth, he backed away from her.
They looked at each other in silence for a long while, different emotions brewing in their eyes.
Lucian stared at Roxanne with a hand over his bleeding lip, his gaze scorching and tinged with a hint of darkness that had yet to fade.
On the contrary, Roxanne dug her nails into her palms to force herself to calm down.
“I’ll go and pick Archie and Benny up.” An indeterminate time passed before Roxanne lowered her eyes and murmured that in feigned calmness.
She really had no idea how to face the man in front of her, so she could only pretend as though nothing had happened earlier.
At the sight of her blasé look, Lucian quirked his lips, deliberately baring the wound at the corner of his mouth.
Out of her peripheral vision, Roxanne glimpsed the corner of the man’s mouth. Her expression turned awkward.
Lucian proceeded to dab at the corner of his mouth. By then, his gaze had already cooled. In a deep voice, he offered, “I’ll bring you upstairs.”
Argh! I was again irritated by her just now and lost hold of my self-control for a moment. And now, she has aversion etched across her features.
Fury and annoyance simmered within him, but in the end, they all turned into indifference.
Reaching a tacit consensus, neither of them mentioned a single word about the incident just now.
Lucian spun on his heel and headed upstairs. Similarly, Roxanne followed behind him without a word.
Neither said anything until they arrived in front of Estella’s bedroom door.
In the room, the three children had gotten somewhat tired from playing and were sitting in a circle, munching on snacks.
“I need to go downstairs to prepare dinner.”
Catalina felt exceedingly gratified after watching them play the entire afternoon. Since it was almost time for dinner, she planned to go downstairs.
Upon hearing that, Archie and Benny exchanged a glance. They both felt a touch perplexed.
Why isn’t Mommy here yet when a long time has passed? Don’t tell me she hasn’t realized that we’re at Daddy’s place! If she didn’t look at the GPS position, she must be in a total panic right now!
While unease haunted them, Catalina turned around and opened the room door. At once, she caught sight of the two people standing by the door.
“Mr. Farwell.” Then, she shifted her gaze to the woman beside Lucian. A pause ensued before she greeted, “Ms. Jarvis.”
Forcing a smile, Roxanne inclined her head at Catalina. “I’m here to pick Archie and Benny up.”
When Catalina’s gaze swept over the couple’s lips, shock flittered across her eyes. But still, she quickly retracted her gaze nonchalantly and shifted her body sideways to make way for them to enter the room.
“They’re in the room.”
Nodding slightly, Roxanne lifted her eyes and cast her gaze into the room.
Archie and Benny had scrambled up and sprinted to the door as soon as Catalina’s voice had rung out. Right then, they were both staring at the couple intently.
The instant they glimpsed the mark on the corners of both adults’ lips, understanding dawned upon them, and they rejoiced inwardly.
No wonder Mommy took such a long time to come upstairs. This is why…
Sensing their gazes, Roxanne couldn’t help feeling guilty.
Just when she was about to explain herself, Estella’s juvenile voice split the air. “Ms. Jarvis!”
In the next second, the little girl threw herself into her arms.
Roxanne instinctively caught her.
She had been worrying about Estella for the entire day, so she naturally had to check the latter over carefully when she was right in front of her then.
At that thought, she cautiously crouched and looked straight into Estella’s eyes.
Meanwhile, Estella had waited for Roxanne for the entire day, even bracing herself for the possibility of not getting to see her.
Thus, she was over the moon to see Roxanne there all of a sudden. There were no signs of sorrow on her face. Instead, she beamed from ear to ear.
Yet, Roxanne noticed the redness and swelling that hadn’t abated around her eyes. Immediately, a stab of pain assailed her.
“Sorry, I’m late.” She caressed Estella’s head remorsefully.
In response, Estella shook her head hard with innocence written all over her face. “You had Archie and Benny visit me instead!”
Behind her, Archie and Benny hung their heads low and furtively inched closer to each other when they heard that.
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 about her instead.
Hearing that, Roxanne abruptly recalled Lucian’s question when they were downstairs just now.
For a moment, she didn’t quite know how to answer Estella.
Fortunately, Estella didn’t really need an answer from her. She merely urged thoughtfully, “Don’t tire yourself out, Ms. Jarvis. You’ve got to take good care of yourself!”
Touched by her innocence, Roxanne nodded emotionally and her eyes moved.
“Okay, I will. Won’t you allow me to check you over?”
Following that, Estella obediently stretched her hand out.
Taking her wrist, Roxanne took her pulse.
While she couldn’t diagnose Estella’s mental condition, she could still check her physical condition. Only then, she would be at ease.
After checking the little girl over and ascertaining that everything was fine, she breathed a sigh of relief.
“It’s late, so I’ve got to bring Archie and Benny home. We’ll come and visit you again another day, okay?”
Roxanne stroked Estella’s head before she slowly straightened up.
She couldn’t bear to part with the latter, but she was all the more averse to facing the man behind her, especially after the incident a while ago.
At that remark, Estella, who was still smiling a minute earlier, promptly withered. She gazed at Roxanne pitifully.
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.