It’ll look great to hang on Essie’s bag. Delight filled Roxanne’s eyes at the thought of Estella walking around carrying a bag with the sea shell keychain.
The next second, Estella’s voice rang again. “This is for you!”
The smile on Roxanne’s face stiffened for a while before casting a look of disbelief at the little girl.
I remembered how happy Estella was when she picked up the seashell. Yet, she’s willing to part with something she loves so much as a present to me. So she was distressed earlier about what to give me.
A hint of guilt surged within Roxanne at the realization.
I don’t know what’s so good about me that makes her like me so much.
Estella thought Roxanne didn’t like her present when Roxanne didn’t respond. Her shoulders slumped, looking crestfallen. “You don’t like it, Ms. Jarvis?”
But I did it exactly as Ms. Jarvis told me. Estella’s voice pulled Roxanne’s thoughts back. More guilt surged within her when she caught the sad look on Estella’s face.
“No. I… I love it. Thank you, Essie.” Roxanne suppressed the guilt in her heart and reached for the keychain in Estella’s grip with a smile.
Seeing Roxanne accepting her present, a smile returned to her face.
Roxanne carefully kept the keychain in her purse, then reached for the bracelet she made. When she held onto Estella’s wrist, Estella was confused but still lifted her wrist nonetheless.
Soon after, she watched as Roxanne clasped an exquisite seashell bracelet over her wrist. Estella’s eyes sparkled seeing the accessory.
Roxanne compared Estella’s wrist with the length of the bracelet and let out a breath of relief when they fit. “I have a present for you too. Do you like it?” she asked with a smile..
Estella nodded her head with her gaze glued to the bracelet and applied the words she learned from Lucian. “I love everything Ms. Jarvis gives me!”
Roxanne laughed at her words. She only learned how to speak recently, yet she already knew how to make me happy with sweet words.
Estella was earnest, though. She looked down at the bracelet on her wrist, unwilling to tear her gaze away.
Seeing how much Estella loved the bracelet, Roxanne felt guilty about having to give her cold shoulders in the future.
She turned her attention to the boys and noticed that they were still busy. They were working so hard that there was even a thin sheen of sweat on their foreheads.
Roxanne’s curiosity piqued at what the boys were making that deserved their utmost attention.
“Archie, Benny, what are you guys making?” Roxanne asked after watching them for a while.
Maybe she was reading too much into things, but she saw the boys peek at Lucian after she asked them. The boys didn’t let Roxanne think further when they chorused, “It’s a secret!”
Puzzlement flashed across Roxanne’s eyes at the boys’ answer. It was the first in all the years that they kept a secret from her. Roxanne’s curiosity heightened at their final product.
She started losing track of the time when the boys finally finished their crafts. A glimpse at their finished craft and Roxanne was sure about her earlier assumption about the boys stealthily glancing at Lucian.
Even Lucian felt their gazes and frowned with confusion. Archie and Benny sneakily hid their crafts in their hands and ran around the workshop, searching for something. They stopped in front of a white shell with a fluorescent glow and were relieved when their craft could fit into it after opening it.
The shell was for sale, so the boys dug into their pockets for money. After paying for the shell, they cautiously walked over to Lucian.
Seeing the boys standing in front of him. the creases on Lucian’s forehead deepened. He wondered if the boys were planning to gift him their handicraft.
However, he dashed away that thought instantly when he recalled the boys’ attitude toward him.
Right after he dismissed the idea, the boys shyly lifted the shell in their hands to him. “This is for you, Mr. Farwell.”
Lucian and Roxanne were stunned at the scene.
Lucian was confused. Don’t the boys always consider me their enemy? Did last night’s incident change their mind? So their perception of me changed just because of that? Lucian silently pondered the reason for the change in their attitude.
The boys’ arms were still outstretched with the shell in their hands.
They wanted to give Lucian a present, but their expression seemed nervous.
After a long while, Roxanne reminded. “Mr. Farwell, please accept it, seeing that it’s the boys’ sweet thought.”
Roxanne cast a complex gaze at the boys.
She was beginning to suspect if the boys had found out about their identities. Lucian finally snapped out of his thoughts and took the shell from the boy’s hand at Roxanne’s reminder.
He opened the shell and saw a pair of exquisite-looking cuff links made of tiny shells sitting in the middle.
So they worked so hard earlier to make this pair of cuff links for me? A pang hit Lucian’s heart, and he asked, “Why would you give me a present?”
The boys exchanged a glance, and Benny dropped his head shyly while Archie answered, “This is our gratitude for your help in finding Benny yesterday and stopping him from doing something dangerous on the yacht today.”
Understanding dawned on Lucian, and a smile tugged at the corners of his lips. “I’ll accept this gift, then. Thank you.”
Archie and Benny exhaled a breath of relief when Lucian accepted their gift. Something indescribable rose within Roxanne at the boys’ answer.
She admitted that Lucian had helped them a lot in the past two days and the boys should be grateful to him, but their change in attitude was a complete hundred eighty.
Roxanne was worried that they would grow closer to Lucian, and he would soon find out about their identities.
It would be hard for her to reject him if Lucian wanted to take them away from her. Fear crept up her out at the thought.
“It’s getting late. Roxanne kept the dread in check as she walked up to the boys. “Let’s head back.” She acted as though nothing was wrong when she reached for the boys’ hands and tugged them away from Lucian’s side.
The boys didn’t notice the change in their mother’s mood and simply nodded their heads obediently. However, Lucian caught her retreating steps after she took the boys’ hands. His expression darkened at the sight.
Her intention is obvious. She’s worried about the boys getting too close to me.So was she part of the reason for the boys’ resentment toward me? Does she hate me so much?
Roxanne gave him a nod, then tugged the boys over to the counter to settle the bill. She hurriedly led them out of the workshop after, forgetting that Estella was still inside.
Estella sat at her station dazed, confused about what had happened. I just exchanged my present with Ms. Jarvis a while ago, then she already took Archie and Benny away in a blink of an eye, leaving Daddy and me here.
Slowly, she turned to her father with an assessing gaze, wondering if he made Roxanne angry again.
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.