As they went up the stairs, Cayden accidentally staggered a little, and Aubree reprimanded him immediately. “Watch it!” Knowing that it was his fault, he did not say anything.
Meanwhile, Estella was wide awake and waiting inside her room as she hoped to talk to her father.
When she heard Aubree’s voice, she seemed to sense something as though she was telepathic. She went to open the bedroom door and peeked out cautiously.
As soon as she did so, she saw Lucian being helped up the stairs by Cayden. She ran over worriedly and tugged at Lucian’s sleeve cautiously. “Daddy?”
Aubree was in buoyant spirits after what happened in the car.
Seeing how concerned the little girl looked, she smiled and said reassuringly, “Your daddy had too much to drink, but you don’t have to worry. I’ll take good care of him.”
However, Estella did not even bother to spare her a glance. Instead, she fixed her gaze on Cayden, waiting for him to explain..
The smile on Aubree’s face froze as she followed Estella’s gaze and looked toward Cayden. He felt a sense of helplessness with both of them staring at him.
In the end, however, he was considerate of Estella’s feelings and smiled as he repeated what Aubree had said. “Ms. Estella, Mr. Farwell just had too much to drink. He’ll be as right as rain after a good night’s rest. It’s getting late, so you should quickly go to bed.”
Estella pressed her lips together and shook her head, stubbornly following close behind them.
The last time Daddy got sick, he didn’t allow me to take care of him. This time, I’ll look after him no matter what they say!
Watching the little girl follow them into Lucian’s bedroom, Aubree’s brows drew together almost imperceptibly. She said to Cayden, “I’ll stay here. You can take her to her room.”
He seemed somewhat hesitant upon hearing that.
Mr. Farwell was the one who told me to come over. If she does something to him while I’m gone, how will I explain it to him tomorrow?
Estella was also uncooperative. She held onto the hem of Lucian’s shirt tightly and uttered a firm refusal in her piping voice. “I don’t want to! I want to stay with Daddy!”
Aubree clenched her jaw upon seeing that neither of them would do as she said. However, she quickly shifted her expression and crouched in front of Estella with a bright smile.
“Be a good girl, Essie. Your daddy is already asleep, so there’s nothing you can do here. You should go and rest.”
Raising her gaze and looking at Lucian, Estella saw that the latter was fast asleep indeed. Here, Cayden piped up, “Ms. Estella, it’s getting late. I’ll take you to your room.”
Although Estella still felt reluctant to do so after hearing that, she still nodded obediently.
As she left, she turned around and glanced at Lucian every couple of steps to check that he had not woken up before slowly following Cayden back to her room.
Finally, only Lucian and Aubree were left in the former’s bedroom. Her gaze reflected the myriad of thoughts in her mind as she looked at the person sleeping soundly on the bed.
We’re the only ones in the room now. That’s a rare opportunity. As long as I play my cards right, the position of Mrs. Farwell will be mine by tomorrow morning. Regardless of how unwilling Lucian will be, he’ll have no choice but to give in. It’s just that I’ll have to take some risks if I want to do that. If he wakes up midway, my plan will backfire.
Aubree weighed the pros and cons of the matter for a long time. In the end, she could not withstand the temptation of being Lucian’s wife and slowly approached the side of the bed.
“Lucian, it must feel uncomfortable to sleep like this. Let me help to wipe you down.”
Naturally, Lucian could not hear her voice, and Aubree only said it once. After she spoke, she went to get a towel, dampened it, then used it to wipe his face.
Despite being as careful as she could, she was not as gentle in her ministrations as she had never done something like that before. Lucian knitted his brows in discomfort and subconsciously moved to avoid her hand.
Seeing that, she stopped what she was doing and leaned close to his ear. She whispered, “It also doesn’t feel nice sleeping in those clothes,
right? I’ll help you take them off.” After saying that, she stretched out her hands carefully and undid the buttons on his shirt, one after another. When she reached the third button, he frowned and grabbed her wrist.
Her heart skipped a beat, and her eyes gleamed with anticipation. She thought that something was about to happen between them.
To her dismay, Lucian pushed her hand away in displeasure and mumbled, “Don’t touch me!” Then, he released her hand and turned on his side with his back toward her.
The look on Aubree’s face changed instantly.
Nonetheless, she forced herself to calm down and reached out tentatively to nudge Lucian lightly. “Lucian, are you awake? Lucian?”
However, he had fallen back into a deep slumber and did not respond. Even so, she dared not resume her attempt to undress him.
After pondering for a moment, she mustered her courage and walked to the other side to stand before him. She lifted his arm, intending to lie down next to him and create the false impression that he had pulled her into his arms.
Just as she did that, the sound of footsteps came from the direction of the door, and she froze abruptly.
Cayden had not closed the door when he left earlier. Hence, he saw Aubree pulling Lucian’s arm as soon as he walked to the door. He had no idea what she was trying to do.
Upon a closer look, he also noticed that someone appeared to have unbuttoned Lucian’s shirt. He furrowed his brows and looked at Aubree warily. “Ms. Pearson, why are you still here?”
She was momentarily overcome with guilt.
However, she quickly composed herself and let go of Lucian’s hand. With a smile, she explained, “I was worried there’d be no one to take care of him if everyone left.”
“What were you doing just now?” Cayden pressed suspiciously.
A faint flush crept across her cheeks as she suppressed the guilt within her. “Lucian didn’t look like he was sleeping comfortably. That’s why I wanted to help him turn to the other side. Now that you’re here, you can do it.”
Cayden stepped forward with a neutral expression and helped Lucian turn over.
However, as soon as he did that, Lucian shifted back to his original position. Clearly, he had turned over by himself earlier and was not sleeping in an awkward position as she had claimed.
Cayden shot Aubree a puzzled look, and the latter smiled sheepishly. “I’ll take care of Mr. Farwell. You can go and get some rest first,” he said, politely hinting for her to leave.
Needless to say, she was reluctant to give in just like that. “Lucian called and asked me to come over, so how can I abandon him like this? I think it’s best if I take care of him.”
Hearing that, Cayden’s gaze flitted toward Lucian, who was still fast asleep. He could guess the latter’s thoughts on the situation.
Mr. Farwell did indeed ask her to come over. However, now that I think about it, he only just broke up with Roxanne and probably doesn’t plan on progressing his relationship with Aubree so quickly, right?
With that thought in mind, he added, “Mr. Farwell needs to get changed and wash up. Since you can’t help with those, I should take over. You can rest in the guest room. I’ll inform you once he’s awake.”
His response annoyed Aubree. If it wasn’t for Cayden, things might have. progressed to the point of no return tonight. What a nuisance he is!
Nonetheless, she could not argue with him and had no choice but to agree coldly. “I’ll go and rest in the guest room, then. Remember to let me know when Lucian wakes up.”
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.