Roxanne studied the children’s expressions. “Do you know who did it, then?”
The children’s faces stiffened.
Pursing their lips, the boys answered, “We may not like Mr. Damaris, but we wouldn’t do something like that.”
Suddenly, they recalled something. Their eyes glinted, and they quietly shielded Estella behind them.
However, Roxanne was only suspicious of her sons and not the girl.
“I don’t like dishonest children. I’ll give you all one more chance. If you don’t tell me the truth, I’ll check the surveillance footage. I’ll be very upset if I discover you have been lying.”
Frowning, Archie grabbed his mother’s shirt. “We really didn’t do it, Mommy. Don’t check the surveillance footage.”
Benny chimed in, “The three of us were together. We didn’t do it!”
“I’m sorry. Please don’t be upset with me, Ms. Jarvis…” Estella piped up right then.
The girl panicked when she heard the last sentence Roxanne uttered because the only thing she was afraid of was getting resented by Roxanne.
Roxanne was stunned as she looked at Estella.
The girl’s cheeks reddened as she teared up. She looked as though she would cry the next moment.
“It’s all my fault. Please don’t be mad at Archie and Benny, Ms. Jarvis,” Estella sobbed. “I sneaked out and did it. They don’t know anything about it. I know what I did wrong now, so please don’t hate me, Ms. Jarvis…”
Roxanne was so astonished that she had no idea what to do. I suspected the boys to be behind this after what Jack told me. After all, they tend to be mischievous. I didn’t at all anticipate Essie to be responsible! My initial plan was to punish whoever was the culprit, but seeing how hard Essie is crying right now, I don’t think I can do it. Besides, I don’t have the right to either way.
“It’s our fault, Mommy. We didn’t keep a close eye on Essie.” The boys had already guessed the truth when their mother questioned them. Even though Estella had admitted to the offense, they still wanted to take the blame for her mistake. Roxanne did not know what to say as she watched the three of them protect each other.
I would’ve been contended to see them caring for each other in another situation, but they’re covering for each other at the wrong time now. What do I do… Moments later, she suppressed her emotions and placed Estella on her thighs. “Tell me the truth, Essie. Did you do this by yourself or with the boys?”
As Estella had learned that Roxanne disliked dishonest children, she, of course, wasn’t going to lie. Besides, she never wanted to drag the brothers down with her either.
“I-I did it by myself…” she choked out. Roxanne nodded and wiped the girl’s tears away. “Why did you do it?” Even though the girl was crying intensely, she still answered the question, “Because I don’t like Mr. Damaris.”
It was the justification Roxanne expected but didn’t want to hear.
“When Mr. Damaris gifted you flowers, you accepted it. But when Daddy did it, you tried to return it to him. Also, you always argue with Daddy and rarely smile at him. Yet, you keep smiling at Mr. Damaris…” Estella listed everything she despised about Jack.
The more Roxanne listened to the girl, the lower her heart sank. I have no clue Essie is capable of such fierce jealousy at a young age, and it’s all because she’s very attached to me…
Estella tugged at Roxanne’s shirt pitifully and added, “I only want you to be with Daddy and become my mommy! Please don’t hate me, Ms. Jarvis!”
Feeling a little dumbstruck, Roxanne patted the girl’s head. She’s too attached to me.
“It’s our fault, Mommy! If we hadn’t spoken badly about Mr. Damaris, Essie wouldn’t have had a prejudice against him!” Archie and Benny pleaded on Estella’s behalf.
Roxanne sighed. “You two did do something wrong, but this has nothing to do with either of you.” The brothers knitted their eyebrows and stared at their mother. They didn’t want Estella to be punished.
Roxanne turned to look at Estella, whose face was wet with tears. “I know what you’re thinking, but this isn’t right. No matter how much you like or dislike someone, you can’t touch their stuff just because you want to. Destroying other people’s property is even worse. Do you understand?”
Estella hiccupped and nodded obediently.
Then Roxanne turned to the boys. “As for you two…”
Archie and Benny straightened up.
“I know you care for Essie, but you can’t always cover for her. You must set good examples for her to follow. Don’t do anything bad, and don’t speak ill of others behind their backs,” Roxanne advised.
The brothers bobbed their heads and said, “We know what we did wrong now. It won’t happen again!”
Roxanne nodded and removed Estella from her embrace. “Now that you three know your mistakes, it’s time to accept your punishments.”
The children stood in line uneasily when they heard the word “punishment.” Solemnly, Roxanne swept her gaze past the three of them and remained quiet for a while. Then she pointed at the wall. “All of you will stand there for fifteen minutes.”
Although the boys were usually well-behaved, they had been punished before. They made their way to a corner and stood facing the wall. Estella moved exceptionally slowly.
When Roxanne saw that, she furrowed her eyebrows. Thinking that Estella still thought herself innocent, she urged, “You’ll need to stand there longer if you walk this slow.”
Upon hearing that, the girl gathered the courage to turn back to Roxanne. Roxanne was puzzled. Is the punishment too severe? Is that why she’s looking at me?
Aggrievedly, Estella asked, “If I accept the punishment, will you still like me, Ms. Jarvis?”
The girl’s question melted Roxanne’s heart into a puddle. “If you learn from your mistake and don’t repeat them, I’ll continue to like you, just as I always did.”
Estella’s eyes lit up as she promised, “Okay, Ms. Jarvis! I’ll definitely behave myself!” She quickened her pace and arrived next to the boys. “I’m sorry. It’s my fault for getting us punished.”
Archie and Benny shook their heads. “We’re best friends, and best friends share the joys and sorrows in life together!”
When she heard that, Roxanne wasn’t sure if she should laugh or cry.
Those in the know would know that they were being punished, but those not in the know would think they had done something incredible.
As Roxanne gazed at Estella’s back, she fell into deep thought. The punishment was something I came up with after careful deliberations. While I don’t think Lucian will consider my punishment a little too much, I still feel uncertain about it since I don’t technically have the right to educate his child. This is the best harmless solution I could conjure. When he arrives, I still need to explain the situation to him.
Essie does tend to go to extremes. I wonder if it’s because it’s her nature or a symptom of her autism. She’ll require a psychologist’s intervention if it’s the latter.
Fifteen minutes later, the children’s punishment was over.
Upon glancing at the time, Roxanne realized it was almost noon, yet Lucian still hadn’t shown up. When is he going to pick up Essie?
The children were similarly nervous.
Archie turned to Estella, looking serious. “Since Mr. Farwell hasn’t arrived, let’s play hide and seek!”
Her desire to play that game didn’t slip his mind.
When she heard that, she lowered her head apologetically at him. “I’m sorry for lying to you earlier, Archie. I just wanted to…”
She had only used that excuse to hide her wrongdoing.
But after being lectured by Roxanne, she knew what she had done wrong
It was then Archie realized what she meant. Upon glancing at Roxanne, who was busying about in the kitchen, he turned back to Benny and Estella. “We still need to keep Mr. Damaris away from Mommy, but we can’t act rashly.”
The other two nodded in agreement.
At noon, Roxanne had just finished preparing lunch when the doorbell rang. After two warnings from Jack that morning, Roxanne and the kids were now immune to the sound of the doorbell even though they knew it was most probably Lucian this time.
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.