Aubree shut her eyes and pretended to sleep.
After a while, she vaguely heard Sonya’s voice, engaged in a conversation on the phone, coming from outside the ward.
“Find out what Roxanne has been up to after returning to the country.”
The person on the other end must have found something in their investigations and was making a report to Sonya.
“I see,” Sonya replied. “If that’s the case, notify all the medicinal herb suppliers in Horington that it is now an act of rebellion against Farwell Group to provide medicinal herb supplies to Roxanne.”
The person on the other end hurriedly assured her.
At the sound of Sonya’s footsteps fast approaching, Aubree quickly adjusted her expression to appear that she was fast asleep.
Sonya stood beside the bed. Her eyes blazed with tenderness and guilt upon noticing how weary Aubree looked.
Roxanne shouldn’t have come back after walking out six years ago! I will have her disappear from our sight for good this time, no matter what it takes. My son should not let a good girl like Aubree down.
Aubree was beginning to feel uneasy under Sonya’s scrutiny. Pretending to be startled awake from her slumber, she appeared surprised at the sight of the older woman standing by her bed. “What time is it, Mrs. Farwell? Why are you still here?”
Her act was flawless. Even her hoarse voice upon waking was impeccable.
Sonya smiled as if nothing had happened. “It’s all right. I’m just staying here to keep you company.”
Aubree frowned. “You should be getting back. It isn’t ideal for you to spend the night here. I will feel so guilty if you fall ill tomorrow.”
It was only then that Sonya agreed reluctantly.
“I’ll walk you out.” Aubree made to sit up.
Sonya hurriedly pressed her shoulders firmly back against the bed. “You rest. I’ll see myself out. The driver is waiting downstairs.”
Aubree did not force her. Instead, she nodded docilely. “Have a safe trip home.”
Sonya assured her that she would before adding, “The caretaker Lucian arranged for will arrive tomorrow. You can give me a call if you need anything.”
Sonya only felt at ease to leave the ward after extracting Aubree’s promise. She then turned off the light in the ward along her way out.
Shrouded by the darkness, Aubree scoffed disdainfully after hearing the room door click shut.
So what if Lucian’s little b*tch doesn’t like me? So what if they prefer Roxanne? They’ll have to choose me if Sonya’s plan succeeds! As for that b*tch Roxanne, she had stolen Lucian from me once six years ago. I will not allow the same thing to happen again six years later! That b*tch should just go back to where she came from! I am the only woman Lucian is permitted to have by his side!
In the meantime, Roxanne was ignorant of the schemes of the two women.
Her tale to Estella of taking up residence abroad was merely a last-minute concoction to appease the child.
Upon further consideration, Roxanne felt that going abroad may not necessarily be a bad idea if she wanted to throw the Farwells and Aubree off her back once and for all.
At the very least, she would be able to lead a stable life as she did once before.
However, the decision was a little rushed as many preparations were to be made. She also had to have a serious discussion with her professor.
Roxanne pulled an all-nighter to send Harvey a message to express her thoughts.
Harvey’s reply was prompt as it was daytime on his end. “That’s according to you. However, you must first resolve the outstanding matters in the research institute if you wish to return.”
With a smile of relief, Roxanne promised him.
It was already dawn when her discussion with Harvey ended. After drawing up a simple to-do list for herself, Roxanne tidied up and fell asleep.
As she had fallen asleep late the night before, Roxanne slept deeply but was awoken by her phone ringing early the following morning.
Unable to marshal her thoughts into coherence immediately upon waking up, she reached out blindly around her pillow for a long time before locating the source of the noise.
Upon obtaining her phone and squinting at the screen, Roxanne answered groggily.
Colby sounded very anxious on the other end. “Something’s happened, Dr. Jarvis.”
Wide awake suddenly, Roxanne sat bolt upright. “What is it?” she asked hoarsely.
“A shipment of medicinal herb supplies we expected to receive this morning is still nowhere to be seen.” Colby looked grave.
The medicinal herb supplier the research institute partnered with was usually very punctual in delivering their supply.
If a morning delivery had been promised, the research institute would have received the goods at the beginning of office hours. The shipment was delayed particularly long that day.
If the medicinal herb supplies were not delivered on time, many projects would be shelved in less than two days. Their progress would, as a result, be interrupted, and the research institute would suffer a hefty loss.
Roxanne froze. “Have you given our business partners a call?”
As she spoke, she turned on speaker mode and swiftly washed up while she listened to Colby’s report.
“I did,” Colby answered despairingly at the mention of the problem. “Some of them didn’t even pick up. Those who did were vague and refused to offer a decisive answer.”
He preferred it if they had just told him they did not want to be partners anymore. Their beating around the bush was so discouraging that he did not even dare seek other suppliers to order the medicinal herb supplies.
Roxanne’s heart sank as she scrambled to get dressed. “Noted,” she replied. “I’m coming over right now.”
Without another word, she hung up.
The children were already seated at the dining table when she came downstairs.
Benny had recovered sufficiently to attend kindergarten that day, and Archie and Benny could not wait to see Estella at school.
The boys looked expectantly at Roxanne when she came down the stairs as they wanted her to give them a ride to school.
Roxanne noticed the boys’ expectant looks. “Something happened at the research institute,” she said apologetically. “I must hurry over. Ms. Lane will send you.”
Though crestfallen, the boys were used to their mother’s hectic schedule. “Drive safely, Mommy,” they chorused with understanding nods.
Roxanne assured them hastily and hurried out the door without waiting for their reply.
She had planned the night before to hand her work over to Colby before taking the children abroad.
Her work at the research institute would have made Harvey proud as she had resolved many issues for the research institute upon her return and had also taught the researchers in the institute a lot of modern techniques.
She did not expect such an incident to destabilize everything she had planned.
Roxanne sped the whole way.
When she arrived at the research institute, Colby was already waiting at the entrance.
“Do the researchers know?” Roxanne asked at once as she arrived briskly before him.
Colby shook his head. “I haven’t said anything to them. I don’t want them to panic.”
Roxanne heaved a small sigh of relief at his words. “Let’s keep it to ourselves for now. We’ll try our best to think of something. Run me through the problem.”
Colby agreed.
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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