Roxanne wavered upon hearing that Benny’s stomach was still aching. Benny has been sick for the entire afternoon. Now that he’s finally feeling better, it won’t be worth it if we travel on the bumpy mountain road and make him ill again.
Bearing that thought in mind, she gave up on her initial decision and changed her mind. “If that’s the case, we shall rest here for the night.”
Upon gaining her agreement, the children shifted their gazes to Lucian at the side.
Naturally, Lucian prioritized the children’s health and agreed to the suggestion nonchalantly.
Then, the two adults settled the three children in the tent.
Looking at the space that had just been emptied, a hint of hesitation appeared on Roxanne’s face. Besides the tent, there seemed to be no other areas suitable for resting.
Yet, when she imagined Lucian sleeping next to her and the children, she felt slightly weirded out by the thought. That will make us look like an actual family…
While she was contemplating what to do, Lucian’s deep voice sounded beside her ears. “You should get some rest. I’ll go sleep in the car.” With that, he got up and left the tent.
Archie, Benny, and Estella stared at Lucian’s retreating back before exchanging a look. All three of them felt exceedingly reluctant to see him leave.
We plotted and schemed to have them agree to stay the night here so that an opportunity for them to spend time together could be created. But if Daddy were to leave for real now, our efforts would’ve been in vain! Besides, he’s tall, and the car is cramped, so it’d be an utter torment for him to sleep in the car!
Their brains whirred at warp speed as they tried to come up with an idea that would have Lucian change his mind.
At the same time, Roxanne’s eyes flickered as she watched the man’s figure fade into the distance.
“Let’s just squeeze a little and make do with the space.”
Ultimately, she couldn’t help saying that when he had almost disappeared from her line of sight.
The instant her words rang out, Lucian halted in his tracks and glanced back over his shoulder.
Roxanne dipped her eyes. “You can’t stretch your limbs out in the car, so you’ll definitely end up horribly sore after spending a night there. There’s room in the tent anyway, and it’s far more comfortable than the car. If you don’t mind, Mr. Farwell, we can just make do for a night.”
Although she didn’t want to face him, she knew he would undoubtedly suffer if he were to sleep in the car, considering his height.
On top of that, she was at fault for the situation then. He merely came over to help, and it made no sense for her to deprive him of having a good night’s sleep.
Never had it crossed the children’s mind that she would take the initiative and ask him to stay. They were stunned for a few seconds before they hastily seconded Roxanne.
“I want to sleep with you, Daddy!” Estella whined, stretching her arms out at Lucian.
Likewise, Archie and Benny urged in juvenile voices, “Sleep with us, Mr. Farwell! We’re a bit scared.”
Lucian’s gaze swept over the few of them, only to stop on Roxanne’s face in the end.
In all honesty, he hadn’t expected her to propose that he stay either.
When Roxanne sensed his gaze, her eyelashes quivered. She raised her eyes and flashed him an airy smile to convey her sincerity.
Seeing that she hadn’t made that offer out of courtesy, Lucian frowned slightly. He spun around and walked into the tent, plopping down on the other side of the children.
At his return, a glimmer of craftiness glinted in the children’s eyes.
Soon, Roxanne’s gentle voice drifted into their ears. “It’s late, so hurry up and sleep.”
Upon hearing that, the children closed their eyes in contentment.
A while later, Estella opened her eyes and cast her gaze in Roxanne’s direction pitifully.
“I can’t sleep. Will you tell me a story, Ms. Jarvis?”
At that moment, Roxanne was lying on her side next to the children, waiting for them to doze off before she did so herself.
Thus, she agreed to Estella’s request without any hesitation and started narrating a fairytale softly.
In that instant, it was utterly silent in the tent, with only her melodic voice drifting into the air.
A small night light was turned on in the tent, but the lighting was dim.
Sitting on the other side of the tent, Lucian enigmatically fixated his eyes on the children in front of him and the woman telling them a story under the subdued lighting.
The children were adorable and well-behaved, whereas Roxanne’s voice was gentle and warm.
Anyone who witnessed such a scene would unequivocally find it incredibly heart-warming, Lucian included.
As the story drew to an end, his gaze visibly turned tender.
An indeterminate time passed before the three children slowly fell asleep.
Listening to the sound of their even breathing, Roxanne carefully lay down.
Alas, sleep didn’t come even after a long while had passed.
Despite the children acting as a barrier between her and Lucian, she still couldn’t ignore the man’s presence.
In fact, regret crept into her. Ugh! I shouldn’t have asked him to stay when he wanted to leave earlier!
After Archie, Benny, and Estella had dozed off, Roxanne turned off the small night light in the tent. Consequently, the tent was pitch-dark right then, and she had no idea whether Lucian was asleep on the other side.
Well, I didn’t hear any movement in a long time, so he has probably gone to sleep. At that thought, Roxanne quietly got up and left the tent. She sat outside under the moonlight alone and stared blankly into space.
The weather had been great for the past two days. The moon shone brightly, but there weren’t many stars in the sky.
For safety reasons, Lucian had the headlights turned on, illuminating the tent’s surroundings and rendering it like daylight.
As Roxanne looked at the scenery around her, her mind gradually began drifting. Too many things had happened that day.
At first, the children suddenly contracted a bacterial infection. Then, she inexplicably ended up in the same space as Lucian. Both of the incidents had her emotions turn into a jumbled mess.
While she was distracted, movement abruptly sounded behind her. Jumping in fright, she reflexively jerked her head back. Her entire body was tense, and she was ready to defend herself anytime.
When she made out the person behind her, she gradually relaxed her guard.
“What are you thinking about out here instead of sleeping at this hour?”
Lucian stepped out of the tent and regarded the woman before him with a frown.
In truth, the same could be said of him.
Earlier, he unexpectedly heard rustling sounds that signaled someone leaving from the other side of the tent and thought that Roxanne would be back shortly.
To his surprise, he didn’t hear any movement after waiting for some time.
Worried, he came out to check on her.
Little did he expect that he would be greeted by the sight of her sitting under the moonlight and zoning out no sooner had he left the tent.
Roxanne was dumfounded for several seconds.
She left the tent precisely because she wanted to avoid him, so that question left her at a loss for words.
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.