The children were no longer in the mood to continue playing. Roxanne had left anyway, so there was no need for them to carry on with the game.
At the side, Lucian watched as they dragged their feet over to the carpet and plopped down listlessly. Twitching his lips in amusement, he lifted his eyes and glanced upstairs. Then, he headed up the stairs.
After all, he had to talk to Roxanne about the misunderstanding earlier and clarify things.
The children initially thought their battle plan this time was a total flop, but they spotted Lucian voluntarily going upstairs when they looked over their shoulders.
Without a shadow of a doubt, he was going to look for Roxanne. When they saw that, a spark of hope flared within them. Upstairs, Roxanne shut herself in the bedroom, feeling exceedingly conflicted.
She didn’t know what was wrong with her earlier. Just a while ago, I was irritated by Lucian’s domineering attitude. Yet, I was still bewitched by the tenderness in his eyes during the game.
Recalling her emotions earlier, she couldn’t help feeling scornful of herself.
Perhaps it was because I’d never seen such an expression on him in the many years I’d loved him, so my past feelings for him made an appearance in those few minutes just now…
While she was spacing out, footsteps suddenly rang out outside the door. They clearly didn’t belong to the children, so it could only be Lucian. Upon perceiving that, Roxanne felt all the more conflicted. Why did he come upstairs?
Before she could brace herself mentally, a knock sounded on her bedroom door. On the heels of that, Lucian’s baritone voice penetrated the door. He sounded a touch muffled through the door. “Are you in there? Let’s talk.”
Despite having guessed that the man came upstairs to seek her out, Roxanne was still stunned for a few seconds when she heard him say so in person. She didn’t quite know how to respond to that.
I haven’t yet decided how I should face him…
A few knocks sounded again. “If you’re reluctant to allow me in, we can talk like this.” Right after saying that, the man outside the door started speaking without waiting for her response.
“I was indeed too impulsive earlier, but I think you should understand my feelings. You might not believe me when I say this, but to me, your willingness to accept flowers from another man was no different from accepting another man for real. Thus, I actually planned to remove myself and Essie from your life.”
The instant those words drifted into Roxanne’s ears, her brows creased deeply. Mixed emotions brewed in her eyes. If it were six years ago, she would never believe that he would utter such words.
I never expected that he would comprise time and again for my sake. She was inexorably moved. Lifting her eyes, she stared in the direction of the door blankly.
“Right now, perhaps I feel the same as you did six years ago,” Lucian admitted with a soundless sigh. Undeniably, it was easier to articulate some things with a door between them, since they didn’t need to face each other directly.
At the mention of her past self six years ago, Roxanne’s gaze flickered.
“If you need time to calm down, I don’t mind going home first and leaving Essie here. Please also send her to kindergarten tomorrow. I’ll come and pick her up at night.”
Once again, Lucian’s voice rang out at the door. Frowning slightly, Roxanne got up and walked over to the door. By the time she opened the door, the man had already reached the landing.
“Stay and have dinner together, Mr. Farwell,” she couldn’t help offering as she gazed at him. When her voice fell, even she herself was stunned for a moment.
Lucian, who was standing on the landing, frowned imperceptibly upon hearing that. He turned around and looked at Roxanne by the bedroom door in puzzlement.
Roxanne had her eyes lowered and her brows knitted together slightly as though regretting her offer earlier. Clocking that, Lucian smirked cryptically. “You don’t need to force yourself, Ms. Jarvis. I won’t change my mind because of a meal.”
After he had said that, he tilted his head at her. Then, he spun on his heel and headed down the stairs again.
Roxanne lifted her eyes when she heard movement. Sighing inwardly, she repeated, “Let’s have dinner together. Essie would definitely be sad if you were to leave.”
That remark was meant for both Lucian and herself. Since he mentioned her past self six years ago, she couldn’t help recalling how she felt when she left six years ago at the sight of his lonely figure.
Although her pain then was courtesy of him, she was still soft-hearted and didn’t want others to experience the same sorrow she did at that time.
Hearing her offer, Lucian paused in his tracks. The look in his eyes darkened as his heart clenched painfully. He could surmise the reason she was allowing him to stay, and precisely because of that, he hated his past self more than he already did.
“I’ll consider your feelings for me in all seriousness. But I hope that you can give me a bit more time.” Roxanne relented once more.
When Lucian turned around to face her, his expression had already reverted to its usual indifference. “Thank you.” Roxanne flashed him a smile as mixed feelings surged within her heart. Subsequently, the two of them went downstairs, one after another.
Downstairs, the children were playing with Legos distractedly. As soon as they heard movement from upstairs, they instantly sprang to their feet and sprinted to the landing. They gazed at Lucian and Roxanne eagerly, curious to know the progress of their conversation.
Failing to perceive anything even after a while, Benny snapped and asked candidly, “Are you mad, Mommy?”
Roxanne stilled for a few seconds. As the children’s actions earlier occurred to her, she queried in return, “Did you guys do it on purpose?”
The children’s expressions stiffened for a heartbeat when they heard her question.
Fortunately, they all had exceptional acting skills. Their expressions quickly turned innocent, and they regarded their mother in perplexity. “Did we do something wrong?”
“Did I bump into you by accident just now? I’m sorry, Mommy. I was just too competitive,” Archie confessed without prompting.
Roxanne eyed them suspiciously for several seconds before frowning in exasperation.
Oh well, they’re all smarter than the last. Even if they had really done something, I might not necessarily be able to tell. Besides, they’re all looking as innocent as ever that I can’t even bear to doubt them.
Hence, she had no choice but to put away her suspicions. Patting them on the head, she assured softly, “I’m not mad. I’m just a bit tired.”
The children skeptically shifted their gazes to Lucian at the side.
Lucian nodded at them flippantly.
The children finally breathed a sigh of relief, knowing that the two adults must have made up.
In the blink of an eye, smiles bloomed on their faces once more.
Lucian and Roxanne played with them for a while longer. This time, the kids didn’t dare have any tricks up their sleeves, but they still enjoyed themselves immensely.
When evening fell, Roxanne corralled the trio who were playing madly and had them help her prepare dinner together.
Naturally, the children were all more than glad to do so.
The children weren’t much help in the kitchen, but with them around, Roxanne’s turbulent emotions slowly subsided. When she came out after cooking dinner, she immediately spotted Lucian sitting on the couch.
He seemed to be rather tired, for he had already dozed off while they were preparing dinner. His head tipped slightly to the side, and he half-leaned against the couch. Even while asleep, he was still as elegant as ever.
Seeing that, Roxanne instinctively gentled her movements to not make too much noise and made a shushing gesture at the children.
The children followed her gaze. The instant they laid eyes on the sleeping man, a glimmer of bemusement flashed across Archie and Benny’s faces.
Daddy would usually settle work matters whenever he was free. But today, he actually fell asleep. Has he been too exhausted from work recently?
The brothers looked at Estella in confusion. When Estella’s eyes fell on the man asleep on the couch, the smile on her face gradually faded. Her eyes brimmed with worry.
Meeting the boys’ gazes, she explained softly, “Daddy hasn’t been sleeping well these days. He keeps having insomnia, but he has a lot of work during the day. So, things have been pretty bad.”
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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