Sensing the strange ambiance, Lucian lowered his head and saw the boys glaring at him as though he were a ferocious beast.
The boys pouted when they realized he was looking at them. “Mr. Farwell, you brought Essie here to deliver the medicine to Mommy. The medicine is here, and Essie has applied it to Mommy’s wound. Is that all?”
Lucian’s brows snapped together as he let out a noncommittal grunt.
“Please leave now!” Archie and Benny lifted their heads to look at Lucian, as he was taller than them. Despite their young age, they looked intimidating.
That was the first time Lucian had ever been asked to leave by the kids. His brows twitched, but he said nothing.
I could be imagining it, but the boys seem incredibly hostile today, even though they are usually hostile to me.
Hearing their rude demand, Roxanne turned at her shoulder and told them, “Archie, Benny, don’t be rude.”
The boys huffed, “We’re being polite! We said, please.”
Roxanne felt her head throbbing, as she didn’t know they would retort her words.
Lucian asked, “Are you kicking me out?”
Archie and Benny nodded vehemently.
Instead of flying into a rage, Lucian added patiently, “Can I know why?”
The boys were taken aback by his question.
They shared a look before Archie answered, “Because you’re going to marry another woman soon. If you spend too much time with Mommy, it may cause an unwanted misunderstanding. We don’t want Mommy to suffer anymore.”
Silence ensued in the living room following his words.
Lucian swept his gaze over Archie and Benny before his gaze landed on Roxanne, who was sitting on the couch.
Something must’ve happened without my knowledge for the boys to say that to me. Did Aubree cause trouble for her? Why are the boys this emotional about my marriage?
Sensing his gaze, Roxanne looked down to hide the anxiety in her eyes.
She had no idea why Archie and Benny resented Lucian this much. Their reaction was bigger than hers when they learned of Lucian and Aubree’s marriage.
Is it because he’s their father? Is this why he is this important to them?
“You guys are right. All right, then. I’ll get going first. See you all,” Lucian said after a pause, pursing his lips.
Since he had unilaterally called off his engagement with Aubree, and the news was not made public yet, Lucian thought he should only let them know later.
Archie and Benny were surprised and disappointed when Lucian actually agreed so readily.
So, he’s really getting married to that woman. Does this mean he doesn’t want us anymore?
The disgruntlement evoked by this thought was apparent on the children’s faces, and they replied curtly, “Goodbye, Mr. Farwell.”
Lucian was puzzled by their sudden change of attitude. The man wondered if he had done anything wrong to upset them, aside from his engagement with Aubree.
Earlier on, he had found Archie and Benny strangely distant, so he had decided to leave them alone. Yet when he actually did so, the two boys suddenly seemed disturbed by his departure.
Seriously… What’s the matter? I can’t think of a reason for their behavior.
Lucian eventually gave up on trying to explain their shift in attitude and reached for Estella’s hand instead. But when the girl saw Lucian nearing, she frowned and leaped to the ground from the couch.
The girl had been listening to their conversation all that while, so she knew Lucian was about to bring her home.
The man looked at his daughter, who had just dashed off about three meters away from him, in resignation.
I should’ve expected that. Essie is so clingy to Roxanne, so there’s no way she wants to leave. Besides, she’s still traumatized by what happened. I bet sending the medication here today is just an excuse for her to come see Roxanne.
“Come on, Essie. It’s time to go home. We’ll come to see Ms. Jarvis some other day,” Lucian coaxed with his gaze still pinned on the girl.
He had learned from the incident yesterday that he should not be too hard on her, or else she might end up doing something rash again. Yet despite his gentle entreaties, the girl still refused to go with him.
“No!” she cried out stubbornly.
I want to stay with Ms. Jarvis! She’s the best.
To the little girl, Roxanne was the person she could depend on because the woman had saved her from the pit when she was crying in desperation.
If I have to have a mommy, it must be Ms. Jarvis! I don’t want anyone else to be my mommy!
As Lucian guessed, it was all because of Roxanne.
Ever since Estella met Roxanne, she had constantly reminded Lucian of Roxanne’s importance in her heart.
In fact, it seemed to him that Roxanne meant much more to the girl compared to himself—her very own father who had taken care of her for so many years.
When Archie and Benny saw this, they felt sorry for Estella. They knew she was behaving like that because of what had happened the other day. Yet the brothers could not invite her to stay because Roxanne had yet to utter a word.
It was then that they regretted chasing Lucian off. If they had not rushed him off, Estella could have stayed longer.
For a moment, the ambiance in the quiet living room became awkwardly tense, with Lucian and Estella reaching an impasse.
“Essie, I still have to go to work tomorrow. What about I send you to Grandpa and Grandma?” Lucian suggested tenderly, rubbing his brows.
Again, his proposal was met with an outright rejection as Estella ran over to Roxanne and clung to her hand. She was trying to show with her actions that she wanted to stay with her.
Her sudden embrace softened Roxanne’s heart. Yet when Roxanne looked back at Lucian again, she told herself she had to let the girl go.
As Archie and Benny said, he will be engaged to another woman soon. I should stay away from him. It’s time we have a clean break.
“No! I want Ms. Jarvis!” the girl implored, staring at Roxanne with her eyes wide open before glaring at Lucian.
Judging from how intractable the girl was, Lucian was certain that she would not follow him home. So he eventually gave in and turned to Roxanne instead.
When Roxanne met his eyes, a frown stitched on her brows for she knew what he was about to say.
“You see, Essie really likes being around you. To be honest, she is much better when she’s with you. Her condition deteriorated because of what happened yesterday, so I was wondering if you could take care of her for a while since she wants to stay by your side,” he asked earnestly with his gaze directed at the woman on the couch.
His words lit up Estella’s eyes. When she heard that her father had relented, she gazed at Roxanne with anticipation glistering in her eyes as she waited for her answer. But the excitement in her eyes slowly faded when she spotted the reluctance on Roxanne’s face after a few seconds of silence.
Her heart sank, yet she still looked at Roxanne importunately.
She refused to believe Roxanne would turn her down.
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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