“I was discharged from the hospital the next morning, and Mr. Farwell told me about it. Thank you for giving me first-aid treatment at the research institute, Mr. Damaris. Otherwise, I might not have recovered so quickly. I apologize for not contacting you timely after being discharged.”
She gazed at the man in front of her with all the sincerity in the world while putting in a good word for Lucian surreptitiously, hoping that the tension between them would ease. Regretfully, neither of them seemed to appreciate it. Lucian snorted disdainfully.
Jack, on the other hand, glanced at Lucian before shifting his gaze to Roxanne with helplessness written all over his face. “It looks. like Mr. Farwell still has some misunderstanding toward me.”
Roxanne’s brows knitted together imperceptibly, and she threw a look at the man. beside her, wishing that he would say something.
After all, Jack was a crucial collaboration partner at the current stage. Hence, she would inevitably have to face him on a daily basis in the near future.
If she were to really get together with Lucian, the man would need to try accepting this collaboration partner of hers. She didn’t want her work to be affected again because of his jealousy after they had made their relationship official.
Sensing her gaze on him, Lucian merely spared. Jack an indifferent look. At his attitude, a pounding headache assailed Roxanne. Oh God, I can already foresee their interaction in the future!
“I came over to inquire about Dr. Galloway’s matter and ascertain your recovery. Now that things have been made clear, I won’t tarry any further. I’ve still got something to handle at Damaris Group, so I’ll be leaving first.”
Subsequently, Jack excused himself. Jolted out of her thoughts, Roxanne nodded smilingly. “See you, Mr. Damaris. I can continue doing research in two days. I’ll contact you then.”
Jack acquiesced noncommittally before speeding away. Roxanne watched as his car disappeared from her line of sight before turning to the man beside her with exasperation etched across her features.
Mild disgruntlement stained Lucian’s face. “Why did he come?” “The experiment Dr. Galloway tampered with was under Damaris Group’s project. Naturally, Mr. Damaris needed to come over and check on the situation,” Roxanne explained patiently.
Right after saying that, she frowned and chided, “Your attitude was horrible. Not only did you misunderstand him for such a long time previously, but you were even hostile with him. earlier. Shouldn’t you have apologized to him?”
Lucian’s expression darkened frightfully, but in her presence, he still kept a leash on his temper. “That’s impossible.” Jack must have some other motive to have come over. It was certainly not as simple as checking on the situation. It’d be more apt to say that he came to provoke me!
Roxanne was entirely oblivious to the silent battle that had ensued between the two men’s gazes earlier. Consequently, she found hist resolute refusal pretty unreasonable.
“Where exactly did your hostility toward Mr. Damaris come from? Back at the hospital, it was because you suspected him of being the culprit who tampered with the experiment. But now, it has been proven that the matter had nothing to do with him. In fact, he was also a victim. Why do you still have such prejudice toward him now?”
When she had finished saying that, something abruptly occurred to her, and she added, “Even if you were rivals with him in the past, it has all ended now. That aside, you won. Why-
Without waiting for her to complete her sentence, Lucian interrupted with a frown, “It has nothing to do with that matter.” Words eluded Roxanne, and she was wholly perplexed.
She racked her brain relentlessly, but there seemed to be only one possible answer. Could it be that… he’s still jealous?
At that thought, she eyed the grim-faced man beside her in disbelief. Lucian’s brows were scrunched together deeply, and he didn’t appear inclined to explain things.
“You think that Mr. Damaris has feelings for me? Roxanne ventured. Lucian met her gaze without answering that, but the look in his eyes affirmed her conjecture.
Unbidden, panic flooded Roxanne. “How could that be? Mr. Damaris and I are only collaboration partners. If he truly has designs on me-”
“Didn’t you fail to perceive Colby’s interest in you?” Lucian was displeased by her adamant defense of Jack. Speaking of that, Roxanne couldn’t help feeling guilty.
Indeed, it’d never crossed my mind at first that Colby would have romantic feelings toward me. But Jack… Well, I can’t think of any reason he’d take a fancy to me.
Glimpsing her skepticism, Lucian elaborated solemnly, “He treated you to meals and even gave you flowers. Additionally, he tried to win Archie and Benny over.”
He methodically recounted everything Jack had done. All that left Roxanne without a retort. Indeed, Jack did all that. But then, they can be justified.
Still, she tried to convince herself otherwise. Unfortunately, Lucian gave her no chance of doing so, continuing, “If I remember correctly, you accepted all the flowers he gave you.”
When his words drifted into Roxanne’s ears, she hadn’t yet dispelled all her doubts. A sense of guilt inexplicably rose within her.
Lucian didn’t stop there, his voice persisting. “Contrarily, you were exceedingly reluctant to accept the flowers I gave you. Was it because you didn’t like them?”
At his repeated questioning, Roxanne could only bite the bullet and nod in response, pretending that she disliked roses. She relented because the man seemingly wanted to speak further, and she was afraid that he would give her flowers every day as before.
“Never mind if you don’t want to apologize to Mr. Damaris. There’s nothing between us, so don’t overthink things.” Only then did Lucian cease talking about that subject. Roxanne secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
Meanwhile, Aubree recuperated at the hospital for two whole days before the condition of her arm finally took a turn for the better. Learning that her daughter had been injured, Gina rushed to the hospital early in the morning.
“What’s going on here? How’s your injury? Are you feeling better? And why didn’t you tell me earlier?” At the sight of Aubree in a hospital gown, anguish marred Gina’s features.
Aubree shook her head woodenly, her voice hoarse. “I’m fine. My injury has already healed, so it wouldn’t do me any good to tell you.”
In the past two days, she had been helpless to do anything because of her injured arm. When she was awake, she spent most of the time in tears. It was precisely for that reason that she didn’t want her parents to come over.
Only when Gina heard her voice did she notice. that her daughter had seemingly been crying. On a closer look, she saw that Aubree’s face was horribly puffy.
In a flash, her heart sank. “What happened? Why did you cry so much? And who picked on you?” At the mention of that, tears inexorably welled up in Aubree’s eyes once more.
Before her mother, the grievances within her surged to the forefront. “Hey, what happened that you can’t tell me? Don’t bottle it up!” Gina anxiously sat down beside the hospital bed.
At long last, Aubree snapped and threw herself into her mother’s arms, wailing, “Mom, Lucian… Lucian wants to call off our engagement!” The instant Gina heard that, her expression
froze. She gaped at her daughter in her arms. “What did you just say?” In a choked voice, Aubree repeated her utterance. It wasn’t until then that Gina believed her ears. Sheer shock deluged her.
Huh, Lucian wants to call off the engagement? That makes no sense! No matter how opposed he is to this marriage agreement, it still lasted for six whole years! Why would he cancel it at this juncture?
All of a sudden, a light bulb went off in her head. She stared down at Aubree. “Answer me honestly. How exactly did you get injured? Did you go and pick trouble with Roxanne again?”
Aubree merely sobbed without saying anything. However, Gina had already gotten the answer. Her brows creased at once. “How foolish of you!”
Lucian had already permitted her to take care of Essie, and she was only a step away from being the mistress of the Farwell family! Why couldn’t she put up with that woman? She just had to go and pick trouble with her at this time!
“She’s a total b*tch! Lucian stayed at the hospital the whole night to take care of her. That aside, he even sent Essie over to her place again! If I hadn’t gone over to seek her out, he might have just married her behind our backs!”
Aubree’s voice brimmed with recrimination. Following that revelation, another wave of shock crashed over Gina. What? He actually hasn’t given up on that woman?
In her arms, Aubree continued crying her heart out. Ultimately, Gina couldn’t bear to lecture her. Patting her on the back, she coaxed, “Don’t cry anymore. As long as news of it hasn’t yet spread, there’s still hope.”
Upon hearing that, Aubree lifted her head with tears pouring down her face, a glimmer of hope in her eyes. “But… you didn’t see Lucian’s attitude. What else can I do?”
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.