Roxanne frowned and finally nodded.
She could not bring herself to let Estella wait all alone down there whenever the scene of the poor girl curling into a human ball in the pit flashed in her mind.
Since the boys had gotten a green light from Roxanne, they went downstairs to bring Estella up.
That was not the first time Estella went to Roxanne’s room. In fact, she had stayed there for a long time before. Yet she still felt nervous.
It had been forever and a day since Estella saw the beautiful woman. Besides, she was ill.
“Ms. Jarvis…” At the sight of Roxanne lying on the bed with a sickly complexion, Estella felt tears welling up in her eyes again.
Estella’s voice made Roxanne’s heart melt. Seeing the little girl come running toward her bedside, she forced a smile. “I’m fine. Don’t worry, Essie.”
Like a pitiful kitten, Estella leaned by the bedside and stared at Roxanne with teary eyes.
Estella’s gaze calmed Roxanne down significantly. “Why are you here alone?” Roxanne asked in a gentle voice.
“Ms. Ward says you’re sick.” Estella was close to tears.
Roxanne nodded and reached out to caress the little girl’s head. “Thank you for caring so much about me, Essie.”
Similarly, Estella also stretched her arm out, intending to touch Roxanne’s forehead.
Roxanne had let them do a fever check by touching her forehead the other time. She could still vividly recall how Roxanne’s forehead was burning then.
When Roxanne realized what Estella was trying to do, she tried to get up from the bed and move her head closer to the young girl. Nevertheless, unable to muster any strength in her arm, she had only propped herself up a little before she fell back onto the bed again.
Worry was written all over Estella’s face.
Roxanne smiled apologetically. “If you’re worried, how about you get on the bed too?”
Estella removed her shoes without hesitation and climbed up onto the bed to touch Roxanne’s forehead lightly.
Panic filled the girl’s eyes when her palm came into contact with Roxanne.
The other time when Ms. Jarvis had a fever, Daddy had to bring her to the hospital. She stayed there for a night before she recovered. But this time, Ms. Jarvis’ forehead feels so much warmer. But she doesn’t like Daddy and doesn’t want Daddy here…
Meanwhile, Lucian was having a meeting in the office when he suddenly received a call from Pippa.
Catching a glimpse of the caller ID, he furrowed his brows. He got his assistant to preside over the meeting in his place and headed outside to answer the call.
“Essie left by herself, Mr. Farwell…” Pippa reported to Lucian anxiously.
The man’s expression abruptly darkened when he heard that news. “What happened?”
Pippa was on tenterhooks. “She got into the Farwell family’s car. I believe she wants to visit Ms. Jarvis. She asked me why Archie and Benny didn’t come to school today. I told her Ms. Jarvis fell sick, and she immediately turned around and got into the car again. She likes Ms. Jarvis a lot…”
She dared not continue her sentence, as that was merely her conjecture. Deep down, she was concerned about Estella’s whereabouts too.
The fact that Estella had gotten in their car made Lucian slightly relieved. However, having learned from Pippa that Roxanne was sick, he frowned. “What happened to Ms. Jarvis?”
Pippa responded, “I heard she’s running a fever. Archie and Benny are taking care of her at home.”
As soon as she finished speaking, Lucian’s deep voice sounded from the other end. “I got it. Please excuse Essie from school today too. Thank you.”
After Pippa agreed to the request, the man concluded the call and called Cayden over. “I’m heading over to Roxanne’s. Help me get Dr. Elswick.”
Sonny Elswick was the family doctor of the Farwell family. He had impressive medical skills but basically only worked for the family.
Cayden knew Lucian’s motive for calling Sonny was to ask the latter to treat Roxanne. He was undoubtedly getting increasingly perplexed about Lucian’s feelings toward Roxanne but still went ahead to agree to the instructions.
Sonny arrived relatively quickly. Lucian had waited for his arrival before heading to Roxanne’s with him.
Having known Roxanne’s attitude toward him lately, he figured she would possibly not let him into the house if he had gone there alone.
Hence, it was more than wise to bring a doctor along.
When the doorbell rang again, Archie and Benny instinctively turned to look at Estella. They quickly stopped Lysa from going downstairs to open the door and did it themselves instead.
Only one person will come to our house at this hour, and he must be the one looking for Essie.
Opening the door, Archie and Benny did not seem surprised at the sight of the man dressed crisply in a suit standing outside. Behind him, there was also a man holding a medical kit. The boys figured from the latter’s appearance that he was a doctor.
“Where’s Essie?” Seeing that it was Archie and Benny, Lucian felt a headache coming.
The boys’ prejudice toward him, though unfathomable, was deep-rooted. I guess I won’t be able to get in there easily today.
And as he had expected, the two boys blocked the entire path and stared at him with full alert. “Why are you here?”
Mommy surely doesn’t want to see him. And now that she is sick, it will only make her more upset if she sees him now. That might even affect her current condition.
Archie’s and Benny’s eyes glistened with conviction.
Lucian could see through Archie’s and Benny’s minds. He scrunched his brows helplessly and uttered, “I heard your mommy is sick, so I brought a doctor along.”
Finishing his words, he stood aside to make way for Sonny to step forward. “This is Dr. Elswick, the family doctor of the Farwell family,” Lucian introduced.
Sonny flashed a warm smile and slightly nodded at Archie and Benny.
The two boys exchanged a look and turned back with a suspicious expression. “How did you find out that Mommy is sick?”
In a deep voice, Lucian responded, “Ms. Ward gave me a call earlier, informing me that Essie came to find your mommy.”
Archie and Benny appeared a little hesitant.
After all, as much as they did not want to let Lucian step inside, he had brought a doctor along with him.
Seeing that Archie and Benny seemed to have relented, the man continued his persuasion by using Roxanne’s condition as an excuse this round. “Your mommy only has you guys to take care of her. I’m sure she hasn’t gone to the hospital yet. Why don’t you let the doctor take a look at her? Perhaps she’ll recover faster too. Dr. Elswick has impressive medical skills.”
The raging emotions in Archie and Benny began to calm down at the mention of Roxanne’s condition.
From morning till now, they had only acted according to Lysa’s instructions to help Roxanne change the towel on her forehead frequently. Yet, there was no sign of the fever subsiding.
Moreover, they had no way of taking Roxanne to the hospital since she had no energy and had been lying in bed all day.
This doctor has a bright smile. He seems to be a friendly and reliable person.
After some hesitation, Archie and Benny decided to put Roxanne’s health first. Though reluctant, they turned and headed upstairs, leaving the door open for Lucian and Sonny.
Heaving a sigh of relief, Lucian led Sonny and followed behind the two boys.
Upstairs, having not seen Archie and Benny return after a while, Roxanne was about to ask Lysa to head downstairs to check on them when they appeared by the door.
Noticing the expression on their faces, Roxanne immediately knew who the visitor was.
Other than Lucian, no one can make the kids pull such a long face. But then again, what made him come here at this hour?
She figured she was running a fever because she was drenched in the rain last night.
And the culprit of her predicament was none other than Lucian.
Wasn’t I clear enough? I hope he can keep his distance from me. Yet now he’s appearing when I’m so weak…
Roxanne could not think of what kind of attitude she should put on in front of Lucian within such a short time. In her heart, she kept praying hard that he was merely there to fetch Estella home.
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.
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