While Lucian had never mentioned that to her, she overheard his conversation with Catalina. Learning that her father had been having trouble sleeping, she had been exceedingly worried.
Subsequently, she seemingly remembered something. She whirled around and gazed at Roxanne expectantly. Roxanne was a tad puzzled upon noticing her gaze.
“Aren’t you an impressive doctor, Ms. Jarvis? Can you please help Daddy?” Estella cautiously grasped the hem of the woman’s shirt. The worried look on the girl’s face made Roxanne’s heart ache.
If he’s suffering from insomnia due to physical reasons, it’s indeed a piece of cake for me to treat him. But then, physical contact will be inevitable during the treatment process.
She felt rather conflicted as she recalled what happened when they were playing in the afternoon. “Daddy’s condition has persisted for several days.” Estella gave Roxanne’s shirt another tug and looked at her with a beseeching look in her eyes.
In the end, Roxanne couldn’t bring herself to turn Estella down. After wavering for a brief moment, she agreed with a smile, “Okay. We’ll eat first and let your daddy sleep for a while. When we’ve finished eating, I’ll check him over.”
Upon receiving her agreement, Estella nodded obediently. “Thank you, Ms. Jarvis.” Beaming, Roxanne stroked her head. Then, she had dinner with the three children while the food was still hot.
Knowing that Lucian was catching up on sleep, the children were particularly thoughtful. They were extra careful as they ate, almost making no noise.
After dinner, they all stared at Roxanne in anticipation, hoping she would treat Lucian as soon as possible. Exasperation flooded Roxanne when she saw the look on their faces. “Go and play first. I can’t concentrate with you all eyeballing me.”
Despite feeling somewhat reluctant, the children still went to the backyard docilely, thinking that it was indeed inappropriate for them to be a hindrance at the side while she was treating Lucian.
Roxanne sighed with relief as she watched the kids leave. Considering her level of expertise, she didn’t really need to concentrate if she was merely treating insomnia.
In truth, she just didn’t want them to see her having any physical contact with the man. With them looking on, she couldn’t help remembering her various intimate interactions with him previously.
Only when the children had gone so far that their voices couldn’t be heard anymore did she stroll over to the couch and look down at the man who was still sleeping soundly.
In the afternoon, they had a row and later played with the children, so Roxanne didn’t pay much attention to Lucian’s countenance. But as she scrutinized his face at that moment, she discovered that his insomnia in the past few days might have been pretty severe, for there were distinct dark circles under his eyes. Besides, it was rare for him to sleep so soundly.
Even during the few times when we slept together six years ago, he had always been a light sleeper, so much so that he’d immediately jolt awake whenever I drew close to him. Then, he’d get off the bed and leave.
Recalling her experience six years ago, she sighed inwardly as she regarded the man sleeping soundly in front of her. “Mr. Farwell?” Roxanne called out to him softly, hoping to wake him up so as to facilitate the treatment process.
Regretfully, there was absolutely no reaction from Lucian. After hesitating for a few seconds, Roxanne gingerly reached out and rested her hand on his wrist, which lay limp at the side.
No sooner had her fingers come into contact with his pulse than she noticed him frowning, as though he was on the verge of waking up.
The instant she saw that, her heart jolted, and she reflexively tightened her fingers around his wrist. In the next heartbeat, she realized what she had done and hastily wanted to retract her hand. Alas, it was already too late.
While sleeping, Lucian groggily sensed someone approaching him. Just when he was about to open his eyes for a look, he felt a hand grasping his wrist. He instinctively grabbed the hand and pulled the person into his arms.
“Uh…” Caught off guard, Roxanne was yanked into his embrace. She groaned unconsciously before reaching out to break free from his hold. “It’s me, Lucian! Let go of me!”
Lucian frowned slightly when he heard that voice, finding it rather familiar.
Lifting his eyes, he was greeted by the sight of Roxanne sitting on his lap uneasily, struggling in a panic.
He was already irritated as he was awakened when he finally managed to fall asleep after having had insomnia for several days in a row.
Thus, his gaze darkened when he saw her showing aversion to him. At the same time, his grip on her tightened, rendering her immobile.
“What are you doing?” Roxanne’s brows promptly scrunched together. Sensing a dangerous aura from the man, she wanted to escape, but she was no match for the man’s strength.
Just as she was about to say something else, his strong arms locked onto her shoulders and forced her to turn around.
In an instant, she was faced with the man’s grim expression while sitting on his lap.
“Don’t misunderstand. Essie said you’ve been having insomnia recently and begged me to—” Roxanne attempted to explain things, flustered.
Unexpectedly, Lucian’s frown deepened before she had even finished speaking.
“Keep quiet.” He was suffering from a terrible headache due to insufficient sleep. For that reason, he frowned irritably at the noisy woman before him and reached out to cover her mouth.
Because of his actions, Roxanne’s voice screeched to an abrupt halt. She remained frozen in his arms for a long while, not daring to move a single muscle for fear that he would do something intimate again.
When she fell silent, Lucian’s expression eased considerably. He then closed his eyes for a while before he awakened fully.
As soon as he spotted Roxanne, who remained completely still in his arms, his gaze glinted darkly.
Perhaps because of his inherently devilish nature, her expression had him gripped by the desire to tease her.
That aside, she was seemingly frightened by him and hadn’t yet noticed that he was already fully awake.
As realization dawned upon him, a fleeting smile flashed across his eyes. He slowly leaned toward the woman in his embrace.
Terrified by Lucian’s sudden movement to the point that she didn’t dare move, Roxanne reacted like a petrified cat when the man drew close to her. She desperately tried to break free, but he effortlessly seized her hands and locked them behind her back. No matter how hard she struggled, she couldn’t break free.
“Wake up, Lucian!” Her eyes brimmed with panic as the distance between their lips diminished. Even her voice had grown a touch tense. Unfortunately, Lucian remained unmoved and continued leaning closer to her.
Only when the distance between them was so negligible that they could sense each other’s breathing and Roxanne was so nervous that her heart almost stopped pounding did she sense the man finally drawing to a stop.
Heaving a sigh of relief, she cautiously turned her face and studied his expression to ascertain whether he had awakened. The moment she did so, she met the man’s clear gaze.
“Sorry. I was still half-awake earlier.” Masking the mirth in his eyes, Lucian put on an apologetic expression. As he said that, he released his grip on her hands and allowed her to leave his embrace.
In all honestly, he wanted to continue teasing her. But after seeing her reaction, he felt that he should quit while he was ahead.
Before Roxanne could even lambast him, he had already apologized. For a moment, her expression froze. She couldn’t quite decide between throwing a fit and forgiving him.
She was stunned for some time before she realized that she should leave the man’s arms before all else. With that thought in mind, she bit her lip and lowered her eyes as she got ready to stand up.
Unexpectedly, she had been too apprehensive earlier and didn’t dare budge an inch. Adding to the fact that she had been restrained for too long, her legs had already gone numb by the time she tried to get up.
Before she could regain her feet, she swayed and toppled forward, falling right into Lucian’s arms.
Never having expected such a delightful surprise, Lucian calmly opened his arms and allowed her to fall straight into his embrace.
“How dare you!” Roxanne panickily struggled to pull away and glared at the man who appeared all nonchalant before her. She wanted to reprimand him, but she didn’t know where to start.
After all, she was the one who accidentally fell earlier. Furthermore, she basically deserved it when he restrained her in his arms because she took the initiative to approach him first.
She could already imagine the arguments the man would use to riposte her before she had even started with her accusations.
Thinking about his possible reaction, she lowered her eyes and zipped her mouth in frustration. Getting to her feet while clutching at the back of the couch carefully, she remained standing there for a few seconds to get herself steady. At the same time, her brain whirred at warp speed, hoping to forget the whole blunder just now.
“I hadn’t been sleeping too well in the past two days. I’d finally managed to fall into a deep sleep earlier, so I likely acted on reflex when you touched me without warning. I’m sorry,” Lucian uttered airily.
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.