Chapter 576 – Her Sudden Departure: A Tale of Love and Redemption (Lucian & Roxanne)

The topic of mother was a sensitive matter to Estella. When she heard the other kids claiming she was abandoned, her face started to turn sour.

“You’re speaking nonsense!” Estella got up from the floor and furiously pushed the kid who had last spoke. Amused at her courage to fight back, the other kids began running their mouths off even more. The girl whom Estella pushed stepped forward and shoved her in return.

“Did I say anything wrong? You’re just a mute! If we hadn’t played with you today, would you have spoken on your own? Adults hate kids who can’t speak, Little Mute!” After saying that, the girl raised her arm in fury and yelled, “How dare you push me! Not even my mommy and daddy have ever hit me.”

Estella was no match for that girl in terms of strength. Not only that, there were lots of kids watching them from the side.

Despite her anger, Estella couldn’t help but feel scared at the sight of the girl lifting her arm. In her helplessness, she glanced at Pamela. If Ms. Ward was here, she would surely come here and help me.

Unfortunately, Pamela was busy dealing with the wailing kid, and she couldn’t see what was going on since Estella was encircled by the children.

As the girl’s hand was about to fall on Estella, the latter closed her eyes out of reflex. At that moment, she missed Archie and Benny dearly. “What are you doing?”

Just as despair filled Estella, Roxanne pushed the classroom door open and strode in. She had been watching from the outside for quite a while and finally realized Estella was being bullied.

She had thought that the teacher would intervene and help Estella, but it seemed that Pamela was unaware of what was going on at all.

Seeing that Estella was about to get hit, Roxanne barged in in a panic and hurried over to the group of children. At the sudden arrival of an adult, the children were shocked.

The girl who had her arm raised stepped backward in fright. She swiftly hid her hand behind her back, glancing at Roxanne nervously. These kids were the best at pretending to be nice and obedient in front of adults.

“Miss, you’ve misunderstood. She pushed me first…” the girl mumbled with an aggrieved expression.

Roxanne was bewildered to see the girl acting so innocently. If she hadn’t witnessed the entire situation earlier, she would have been fooled.

Nevertheless, she wasn’t in the mood to scold the girl. She crouched down instead and pulled Estella into her arms.

Estella was clearly terrified, as she couldn’t stop trembling “Don’t be scared, Essie. You’re okay now,” Roxanne comforted Estella while stroking her head.

Upon hearing her voice, Estella looked up cautiously. Her face crumpled when she saw that it was Roxanne. She sniffled loudly, tears welling up in her big eyes.

Having been triggered by the children’s words earlier, Estella wrapped her arm around Roxanne’s neck and choked out, “Mommy…”

That word made Roxanne’s heart skip a beat, and she subconsciously tightened her holdi around Estella, She knew very well that she did not deserve that title, but she could more or less guess what the children had been talking about earlier from the way their mouths moved.

One of the biggest reasons they bullied Estella was that they thought she didn’t have a mother. That thought pained Roxanne. In the end, she did not refute Estella’s way of addressing her.

The children got more fearful when they heard Estella calling Roxanne “mommy.” On top of that, the latter did not show any rejection. This lady must’ve seen how we bullied Essie just now.

Roxanne patted Estella’s head before lowering her gaze to glance at the surrounding children. “Apologize to Essie!” Her fierce expression made them hang their heads low in guilt.

However, the girl who attacked Essie summoned her courage and feigned innocence. “It’s not like that. It was Essie who pushed me first. That’s why-”

Hearing the little girl lying straight in her face only brought Roxanne’s anger to a new height. “Why would Essie push you out of nowhere?”

When she finished, she suddenly remembered something and reached out to hold Estella’s hand. The moment Roxanne saw the red mark on Estella’s hand, her anger spiked even more. “Did Essie do this to herself, too?”

The children exchanged glances, for they never expected Roxanne to have witnessed them stepping on Estella’s hand.

Now that her actions had been exposed, the girl who attacked Estella flew into a rage out of humiliation. “Hmph! That’s her fault for not talking to us! She was the one who ignored us first!”

Roxanne had thought of letting the children off the hook. They were, after all, just children. However, when she saw the children had no intentions of apologizing and even put the blame on Estella, she slightly regretted not bringing Archie and Benny along with her.

If I had brought them along, they would’ve taught these kids a good lesson. Well, looks like I have no choice but to bully the weak.

Glaring at the children who showed no remorse, Roxanne fumed, “Just because Essie doesn’t talk to you doesn’t mean you can bully her. Are you going to attack me to make yourselves feel better now that I’m criticizing you like this? And does that mean I can bully you since you talked back to me?”

Roxanne’s words shocked the girl, and she took a step back timidly. “You’re an adult. Adults can’t-”

“Can’t bully the weak? What gives you the right to gang up on others, then? Is that what your parents taught you?” Roxanne cut the girl off expressionlessly. She caressed Estella’s head and asked in a gentler tone, “Essie, how did they bully you just now?”

Knowing she was standing up for her, Estella wrapped her arms around Roxanne’s neck and said, “T-They said Mommy doesn’t want me. They called me Little Mute and even stepped on my hand…”

As soon as Roxanne heard that, her temper flared and the surrounding air grew colder. When Estella finished recounting the incident, Roxanne’s gaze drifted to the children again.

Meeting her eyes, the children tensed up, and fear flooded their hearts. After placing Estella aside, Roxanne stepped forward to the children who bullied Estella earlier. “M-Miss…”

The children sounded frightened. Just as those words left their mouths, Roxanne shoved them to the ground. Although she exerted little strength, it was enough to teach them a lesson.

“That’s how you bullied Essie earlier. I’ll give you another chance. Are you going to apologize to Essie?” She articulated each word clearly. Roxanne was very close to the children as she spoke, and her tone was laced with oppression.

The children had been pampered since they were little and had never been threatened like that. They were frightened out of their wits when Roxanne shoved them to the ground unreasonably and looked as if she planned to continue teaching them a lesson.

“Y-Yes. We’ll apologize…” A girl spoke up first, sounding as if she was on the verge of tears. Immediately after that, the sound of the children apologizing filled the air.

Only then did Roxanne sigh helplessly and carry Estella into her arms again. Never did Roxanne expect such spitefulness from a group of children, let alone see them gang up to bully the weak.

Meanwhile, Pamela, who had just finished comforting the crying child, got to her feet, only to find the other side in total chaos.

“What’s going on? Miss, who are you? Parents aren’t allowed to enter during class.” Pamela walked over in annoyance and stood between Roxanne and the children. The moment Pamela noticed Estella was in Roxanne’s arms, her heart sank.

After all, Estella was like a princess in the class who could never be bullied. Yet, she was currently being carried by a stranger. I can’t bear the consequences if something happens.

“Please put the child down. I’m the teacher of this class. You can talk to me if something’s the matter.” Pamela gave Roxanne a cautious glance.

Roxanne frowned, feeling a little displeased with Pamela. Estella was bullied so terribly, yet this teacher didn’t notice anything. She’s only here now to show her concern.

Sensing Roxanne’s dissatisfaction and extraordinary temperament, Pamela felt as if she had accidentally offended a mighty being. She said carefully, “Uh… Are you Essie’s relative?”

Hearing that, Roxanne froze and glanced at Estella, who was in her arms. Estella was shocked by Roxanne’s fierceness earlier and had not recovered from it. She hugged Roxanne’s arm and said nothing Seeing that, Roxanne shifted her gaze to the children in front of her again.

Earlier, she had given a tacit confirmation that she was Estella’s mother. It was inappropriate for her to deny it now. At that thought, Roxanne decided to continue with the act. “I’m Essie’s mother.”

A suspicious look crept onto Pamela’s face when she heard those words.

Even so, Roxanne did not give Pamela the chance to voice her doubts in front of the children. She said, “I’d like to talk to you about what happened just now. Let’s talk outside.”

Pamela hesitated for a few seconds, but she still agreed and asked the teaching assistant to watch over the children before exiting the classroom with Roxanne.

“Essie doesn’t have a mother, so who exactly are you?” Pamela knew Roxanne was lying. She was on high alert. “Ms. Pearson has always been the one dropping Essie off, and she’s Essie’s future stepmother. Who on earth are you?”

Roxanne never expected Pamela to know so much, so she had no idea what to say in response. Her silence only made Pamela more suspicious.

Pamela subconsciously eyed Estella, who was in Roxanne’s arms, only to find the girl looking pale and on the verge of tears from the shock she had experienced earlier.

Not daring to delay the situation anymore, Pamela warned, “I’m going to call the police if you don’t explain yourself.” She took out her phone, about to make the call.

Roxanne knitted her brows and steeled herself to say, “I’m Essie’s aunt.” Pamela immediately stopped what she was doing and scrutinized Roxanne.

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