Hence, he agreed and said, “Essie will be in your care then.” Aubree’s lips pursed into a thin smile. She wanted to leave after bidding goodbye to Lucian.
However, the little girl refused to let go of Lucian’s shirt. “Essie, we’re going to be late if we don’t leave now,” Aubree egged her on with a strained smile.
The little girl pouted and cast a glance at Lucian stubbornly. Lucian suddenly recalled something and held. Estella’s hand. “Let’s go. I’m sending you.”
The little girl finally relented and followed her father out of the mansion. Aubree heaved a sigh of relief and jogged to: keep up with them..
After sending Estella into the car, Lucian left. Aubree started the engine and slowly drove toward Estella’s kindergarten. On her way there, she tried to tell the girl not to take what she had said the day before to heart.
However, no matter what she said, it was as if Estella could not hear her-the girl just kept fidgeting with her fingers. Aubree gritted her teeth at that. It took her a long time before she managed to stop herself from actually hitting Estella.
After sending Estella to the kindergarten, she dared not linger around, fearing that her urge to hit the girl would reveal itself if she were to stay there a second longer.
On the other side, Roxanne sent Archie and Benny to the kindergarten early in the morning.
She found out that Lucian was not going to send Estella there anymore, so there was no need for her to stay away from the kindergarten anymore.
Furthermore, she knew that the boys were feeling awful lately. If she sends them to kindergarten herself, the boys would be in a better mood.
Upon reaching the entrance, Roxanne suddenly recalled something. In a worried tone, she said to the boys, “You can’t sneak off to look for Essie even if you miss her. If you really want to meet her, you have to tell me about it.”
Roxanne would not know what to do if the boys sneaked off to look for Estella again.
Lucian clearly wanted to cut ties with me based on the way he left. Well, it’s what I wanted all along too. I don’t want Lucian to think that I’m regretting this.
The boys obediently answered, “Got it, Mommy” Roxanne then patted their heads apologetically before asking them to enter with Pippa.
After watching the boys disappear from her line of sight, Roxanne turned and went back into her car. At the same time, she let out a sigh of relief.
She had been wracked with worry since waking up about whether or not the boys were going to ask her what happened after she called Lucian.
Archie and Benny knew her too well, they would figure out her lies swiftly. If they really interrogated her about the matter, Roxanne would not know how to answer them.
Fortunately, it seemed like Archie and Benny had forgotten about the matter after Jack’s appearance the day before.
Even after stopping the car at the research institute’s entrance, Roxanne was still feeling conflicted. That was why it took her a while to register the two minivans parked before the research institute. “Dr. Jarvis.”
Colby was with a few researchers, and he was instructing the workers to transport the medicinal herbs.
His expression changed when he saw Roxanne, but he soon schooled his expression to a neutral look before walking over to her nonchalantly.
Roxanne pursed her lips and smiled at him before casting a confused look at the busying workers. “These are…”
With a smile, Colby explained, “I heard that these are a batch of medicinal herbs given to us by Mr. Damaris. Mr. Damaris said that he has already told you about it.”
Roxanne froze for a second before finally recalling the conversation she had with Jack.
Jack did mention that he was going to send a batch of medicinal herbs to the research institute when he came to deliver me the book about ancient medicine yesterday.
However, Archie and Benny threw a tantrum then, so Roxanne did not manage to find out more about the batch of herbs. I never thought that he would give me such a large batch.
“Dr. Jarvis, our research institute could get enough supply of medicinal herbs all thanks to your good relationship with Mr. Damaris,” Colby politely said when he noticed that Roxanne was in a daze.
As he spoke, his gaze was fixed on her face, seemingly trying to catch her changing her expression.
Hearing that, Roxanne instinctively furrowed her brows as her tone turned indifferent. “Oh, no, no. Mr. Damaris is only a business partner. He has provided us with the medicinal herbs in time to ensure that the research continues according to schedule.”
Colby’s words had reminded Roxanne of her boys, and certain thoughts crossed her mind. How will the boys believe me if even Colby has mistaken my relationship with Jack? Also, I simply can’t think of why others will mistake the nature of my relationship with Jack.
Colby flashed her an unfazed smile. “You don’t need to be in a hurry to deny it, Dr. Jarvis. After all, it’s normal for Mr. Damaris to be impressed by someone as skillful as you, Dr. Jarvis.”
Then, as if fearing Roxanne would not know about what they knew, he beamed and said, “I’m afraid you don’t know about this, but everyone in the research institute has been talking about your relationship with Mr. Damaris.”
Roxanne stiffened. “What are you talking about?”
Colby shrugged. “Mr. Damaris is always by your side when he visits the research institute, and he’s so considerate of our establishment. It will be difficult for us to not assume that the two of you aren’t romantically involved.”
Roxanne parted her lips but soon realized she had no way to refute that. Thus, the only thing she said was, “Dr. Galloway, if you ever hear anyone talking about this again, please explain to them that Mr. Damaris and I are only friends. There isn’t anything else between us.”
Colby inclined his head. “I will.”
Then, he added, “Still, this matter won’t die down just because they hear an explanation or two from me. If you don’t wish for others to mistake your relationship with Mr. Damaris, it’s best to keep a distance from him.”
Roxanne nodded. “Thank you for the reminder. I will pay attention to that.”
After that, Colby said nothing else and led his men to take stock of the medicine. Unbeknownst to Roxanne, a peculiar look flashed across Colby’s eyes.
Jack had been going to the research institute almost every day. Every time he was there, the two of them would take almost half a day to talk about the progression of the research.
Indeed, the other employees at the research institute had been talking about them, but Colby’s earlier words mostly stemmed from his worries about their relationship. Only after hearing Roxanne’s denial did Colby finally feel relieved.
In contrast, Roxanne only felt more and more frustrated after what Colby had said. In the afternoon, Jack came to the research institute as usual to discuss the research’s progress.
“How’s the research? Was the batch of medicinal herbs I sent in the morning enough? If not, I can get another batch,” Jack said to her in front of other researchers.
Roxanne did not know whether it was a trick of his mind or not, but she felt as if everyone around her was watching them right after Jack said that.
However, when she lifted her head to survey her surroundings, she only saw them busying away with the research. At that, Roxanne began jeering at herself.
At the end of the day, she was only worrying about that because she was feeling guilty after hearing Colby’s words. Speaking of which, I’m always by Colby’s side too, so why is Jack the only one they think I’m romantically involved with?
Then, the thought of her two sons popped into her head again, and Roxanne pressed her lips tightly together. “Dr. Jarvis?” Jack called out, puzzled when he noticed her expression. “What are you thinking about?”
Roxanne snapped back to her sense and gave him a quick smile. “Nothing.” “These medicinal herbs…”
Right as Jack was about to say something, Roxanne cut him off by saying, “Why don’t we talk outside? Let’s not disturb the people’s concentration in their experiments.”
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.