A wave of embarrassment washed over Roxanne at the boy’s question. Right as she was about to lean over to hand the flowers to Estella, she recalled that the man was still holding her wrist.
Evidently, that was something the children noticed as well.
Upon her realization, Roxanne began to turn red in her face. Nevertheless, she forced herself to smile calmly at the children as she discreetly flung her wrist to break free of the man’s grasp.
Yet, the man only tightened his grip.
Roxanne frowned and turned to protest.
When Lucian met her eyes, he confessed, “Ms. Jarvis, you’re holding flowers, and I’m afraid you’ll end up soaked again if you can’t see the road well. Don’t worry. Once we’re away from the fountain, I’ll let you go.”
It was a subtle way of telling her that the flowers were meant for her.
When Roxanne heard that and glanced at the hand around her wrist again, the blush on her face slowly spread to her ears. The children were around, so there was nothing much she could say; she could only quietly let the man do as he pleased while she reassured herself that he was only holding her wrist.
Lucky for her, the children did not ask where the flowers came from again.
“Are we going back now?” Archie, the sensible boy he was, asked.
Roxanne inclined her head. Before she could say anything, the man said, “It’s getting late, and your mommy’s drenched. If the temperature lowers later, she might catch a cold.”
A worried look manifested on the children’s faces when they heard that. “Let’s hurry back then!”
Lucian nodded and gestured for the children to follow him as he turned and left.
Roxanne was ill at ease, so she kept turning around to check on the children. Only when she saw that the children were right behind them did she let her heart lower back into her chest.
Hasso was still following Frieda in the crowd with a bitter smile on his face. Even though he could see that her expression was darkening every passing second, he dared not voice a word of protest at all.
They had not even had dinner as they stood outside the hall, waiting.
It took a long while before Roxanne and the others came out. When they finally did, Hasso thought that he and Frieda could finally leave. However, those people began playing at the square.
To him, they seemed happy.
On the other hand, Frieda’s frown only deepened.
She thought the most outrageous thing she would see was Roxanne and Estella wearing matching outfits. Yet, as it turned out, Lucian was treating Roxanne like she was his girlfriend.
The two were far more intimate than Frieda speculated.
As a matter of fact, she was starting to suspect that Roxanne was going to win Lucian’s heart if Aubree did not act soon.
When she thought about how she would have to be respectful toward the pretentious woman in the future because of Lucian, she fumed. Nevertheless, there was no reason for her to make a move, so all she could do was take photos of everything she saw and angrily send them to Aubree.
She refused to believe that Aubree would be unfazed by the photos.
Roxanne had no idea that Frieda had been spying on them the whole day. After entering the car, Roxanne and the children sat back in their original seats. As Roxanne sat in the front passenger seat and hugged the flowers Lucian had bought earlier, a strange feeling entered her heart.
The flowers she received this time were far more ordinary than the roses Lucian used to send her every day. Yet, Roxanne was much more touched by it than previously.
Meanwhile, the children were clearly tired. Not long after they entered the car and chatted, they fell silent. Lucian glanced at them through the rearview mirror and saw that the children were all slumping, asleep in their child car seats.
The woman beside him seemed to be a little in a daze as well. She was leaning against the chair, staring outside. He wondered what she was thinking about.
At that, Lucian slowed down, for he wanted them to sleep better. Roxanne could sense him slowing down the car, and at that moment, she felt that living her life like that was good too.
The incident that happened six years ago was already in the past, and the two children she raised turned out fine. Furthermore, the children’s curiosity about their father was getting stronger and stronger.
In the past, Roxanne was terrified of Lucian snatching the children away from her if he were to find out about the children’s birth circumstances. However, his actions were making her become more and more at ease.
Madilyn’s advice rang in her head repeatedly. Despite Roxanne’s reluctance to admit it, she had to eventually face her wavering stance. It was a silent journey.
After a period of time, the car came to a slow stop outside Roxanne’s house. Lucian then turned to the woman, thinking that she was asleep.
She was not, to his surprise, but she seemed so lost in her thoughts she did not even realize they had reached her home. Lucian’s eyes darkened, and he could not stop himself from asking, “What are you thinking about?”
Roxanne had been daydreaming since she entered the car, and Lucian was curious as to what matter she could possibly think so long about.
The man’s voice snapped Roxanne back to her senses, and she instinctively answered, “Nothing.”
Lucian could hear the hesitance in her voice, and the look in his eyes darkened even more as he gloomily stared at her. “You were thinking about it the entire way back here.”
Only at his reminder did Roxanne realize that the car had stopped. Lucian’s gaze was intense; it felt like he was staring right into her soul. “Am I related to what you’re thinking about?” he guessed as he continued to study her expression.
Right as those words left his mouth, Roxanne’s face paled, and a flash of panic crossed her eyes. It looks like I’ve hit the nail on the head. Realizing that, Lucian softened his grimace, delight thrumming through his veins.
Although he did not know what she was thinking about, at the very least, it was something about him. It meant that his efforts of the past few days had not been for naught.
Lucian showed none of those thoughts on his face and went on, “Ms. Jarvis, have you realized whether or not I’m serious about courting you?”
At that, Roxanne subconsciously turned to look at the children, fearing that they would overhear their conversation and come to another misunderstanding.
“Don’t worry. They’re sound asleep,” Lucian reassured when he sensed her panic. Undeniably, the children showed no signs of waking.
Roxanne let out a sigh of relief before looking at the man. After mentally preparing herself, she said with faked calmness, “Before I answer your question, I think you should tell me about Ms. Pearson.”
Her words made Lucian frown as he grimly gazed at her to study her. If he did not mishear what she said, that meant that Roxanne was starting to waver in her stance.
Roxanne blinked when her eyes met Lucian’s. Then, she averted her gaze with false calmness. A moment later, Lucian’s deep voice sounded out beside her ear. “I’ve never liked her romantically, and I’ll never marry her. That’s why there’s nothing for me to explain to you.”
At that, shock flashed past Roxanne’s eyes. If this were to happen six years ago, she would never expect to hear this from Lucian. He never liked Aubree romantically? How can that be?
She could still remember how Lucian had announced that he would only marry Aubree and no one else six years ago. In fact, he did not even mind resorting to emotional abuse to make her leave. If he’s saying this now, then what about what happened six years ago?
Lucian’s eyes were on her, so he saw all of the emotions that appeared on her face. When he noticed her shock, he frowned. Knowing what she was thinking about, he apologized in a low voice, “What happened six years ago was my fault. You can blame me for it, and I won’t have a word of complaint.”
That only rendered Roxanne even more stunned and speechless. She never thought she would hear Lucian apologizing for what happened six years ago.
“You…” A beat later, Roxanne found her voice again. “You don’t need to do this. I told you that we can think of each other as strangers, and we won’t owe each other anything.”
“But I don’t plan for us to be just strangers,” Lucian interrupted, his forehead creasing.
Roxanne, too, was frowning as she kept her gaze lowered in silence.
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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