His voice brought Roxanne back to her senses. She composed herself and gave him a faint smile. “No. We just have a disagreement on some things.”
After saying that, she threw Lucian a look in hopes that he would keep his composure in front of the children. Fortunately, Lucian cared about the kids enough to soften his expression.
He looked down at Estella and said, “Essie, it’s late. It’s time to go home.” Sensing the chilling aura around her father, Estella pouted and shook her head. “No.”
Lucian knitted his brows. Before he could say anything, Estella announced, “I want to be with Ms. Jarvis! I don’t want to go home!” She had already made up her mind while she was playing with Archie and Benny earlier.
Since Ms. Jarvis, Archie, and Benny can’t stay in our house, I can stay here with them instead! I don’t want to go home and see scary Ms. Pearson. Plus, Daddy looks scary now too. That means he won’t spend much time with me when we’re home.
Estella’s resistance to going home intensified further when she realized that. Upon hearing Estella’s words, Lucian raised his head and looked at the woman before him. The anger in him had yet to dissipate.
Although he knew that Roxanne was the biological mother of his daughter, she had never expressed the intention to return to his house. However, it was clear that Estella liked Roxanne very much. If Roxanne finds out the truth in the future, will she think that I’m being too cruel to Essie?
Roxanne felt somehow puzzled when she felt Lucian’s gaze on her. Nevertheless, she didn’t dare to think too deeply nor ask him about it. Lowering her eyes, she caressed Estella’s head. “Essie, be good. It’s getting late already. Hurry and go home with your daddy.”
In truth, she also wanted Estella to stay, but Lucian clearly had no intention to let the girl do so. She was in no position to make that request either.
When Estella heard Roxanne urging her to go home, she looked up at the latter dejectedly. Roxanne felt her heart ache at Estella’s pitiful face. She glanced at Lucian, only to see his unchanging cold expression.
Because of that, she found it even more difficult to speak up and ask him to let Estella stay.
Estella turned to Roxanne and then to Lucian. In her frustration, she stomped her feet, ran back to the living room, and sat on the floor behind the couch. She seemed determined to stay there unless Lucian forcefully dragged her away.
Looking at Estella’s grumpy figure, Roxanne felt at a loss. She looked at Lucian again, this time with a gentler countenance. Since Lucian was still angry, there was no way he would allow Estella to hang out with her. He simply remained rooted to his spot.
With that, the father and daughter reached an impasse. Roxanne sighed inwardly and decided to approach Estella and comfort her first. Since she couldn’t persuade the adult, who was currently mad at her, she could only make an effort on the little one.
“Mommy.” Right when Roxanne turned around, Archie tugged at the hem of her shirt. Roxanne lowered her eyes in confusion. Archie glanced at Benny before saying earnestly, “Benny and I will talk to Essie. She’s upset now, so she probably won’t listen to you.”
It was then that Roxanne realized she was one of the reasons Estella was upset. Since the boys had offered, Roxanne immediately agreed, “I’ll leave it to you boys, then.”
Archie and Benny nodded obediently, then ran to Estella’s side before looking at the two adults mysteriously. The next second, they disappeared behind the couch.
Roxanne was perplexed about how serious they looked, but she did not disturb them. Instead, she stood in the same spot helplessly and faced Lucian’s look of condemnation.
She had no idea what she had done to make him look at her that way. In the living room, the three children gathered together and whispered among themselves.
“I don’t want to go home.” Estella knew that the two boys were there to persuade her to leave, so she spoke first. Archie and Benny shared a look. Then, Archie said solemnly, “You have to go home with Mr. Farwell.”
Estella was disheartened to hear that. “Do you also not like me anymore? I don’t want to go home. Ms. Pearson is there.” Archie’s and Benny’s hearts softened when they saw how sad Estella looked. However, they had to look at the big picture.
Benny caressed Estella’s hair and told her, “We like you a lot; that’s why we want to be family with you.”
Estella looked at them in puzzlement. She didn’t know what Benny meant by that. “I think Mr. Farwell and Mommy had an argument, but I don’t know why,” Archie remarked, looking at Estella intently.
Estella nodded. She had also noticed that Lucian and Roxanne seemed to have fought, which was why she didn’t want to go home with him.
Archie continued, “You should go home with Mr. Farwell and try to get him to tell you something, while Benny and I will ask our mommy.” At that moment, realization dawned upon Estella.
If I want Ms. Jarvis to become my mommy, I can’t let them continue this silent treatment toward each other. We have to help them reconcile!
With that thought in mind, Estella nodded heavily. “I get it now!” Archie and Benny nodded and each held out a hand to her. “Then let’s go.”
Estella grabbed hold of their hands and stood up. Upon returning to the door, she shyly pulled at Lucian’s shirt to let him know that she wanted to go home with him.
Seeing how quickly Estella changed her mind, Roxanne looked at her sons in surprise. What did they tell Essie?
Archie and Benny remained nonchalant. They even waved at Estella. “Bye, Essie!” Roxanne turned to Estella, feeling astonished. The latter waved back at the two boys before looking up and waving at her.
It seemed that the girl was no longer upset. Roxanne nodded at her with a smile, but she couldn’t help sighing inwardly. Even the kids can communicate better than us adults.
After seeing Lucian and Estella off, Roxanne returned inside the mansion with Archie and Benny and started preparing for dinner. “Mommy.” The two boys followed her into the kitchen. Roxanne stopped what she was doing and asked, “What is it?”
“Why did you fight with Mr. Farwell?” Archie and Benny looked at her intently. Their question caught her off guard. “I didn’t—”
She was about to deny the fact that they fought, but she was interrupted by her kids. “We saw everything. You can’t lie to children!” Roxanne was at a loss for words. What’s going on with them today?
She had had countless disagreements with Lucian, and Archie and Benny had always been on her side without asking her what had happened. “Did Mr. Farwell make you upset?”
Roxanne began to ponder who was at fault in her conflict with Lucian, but she couldn’t figure it out even after some time.
In the end, she could only shake her head and explain evasively, “No. I was just talking to Mr. Farwell about Essie, and I started to sound impatient as we spoke.”
Suspicion was written all over Archie’s and Benny’s faces. Roxanne stroked their heads and said, “All right, that’s enough. Don’t worry about the adults. You boys head on out now. I have to prepare dinner.”
“Archie and I are better than adults in some aspects!” Benny argued. Roxanne knew what they meant. They could help her with her problems, but it wasn’t appropriate to let them know about her relationship issues.
She pushed them out of the kitchen and said, “I know you two are the best, but you should refrain from causing trouble in the kitchen!”
Without giving them any chance to retort, she walked back into the kitchen. Archie and Benny were crestfallen as they looked at her back.
It seemed that they had failed in their mission, and they could only hope that Estella could extract some useful information from Lucian.
As Lucian drove back to the Farwell residence with deeply furrowed brows, he noticed through the rearview mirror that Estella had been staring at him in the backseat. “What is it?” he asked.
Estella tilted her head and asked in a piping voice, “Daddy, did you fight with Ms. Jarvis earlier?”
A dark look fleeted across Lucian’s eyes. “Why did you fight with Ms. Jarvis?” Estella continued to question. “What if Ms. Jarvis starts ignoring us because she’s mad?”
Lucian grimaced helplessly when he noticed Estella putting the blame on him. “I’m very mad, too.” Estella widened her eyes and stared at him fiercely. “Daddy, you shouldn’t be mad!”
Lucian was already feeling frustrated because of Roxanne in the first place. When he heard Estella, he almost laughed in exasperation. Not only is Essie on Roxanne’s side, she even thinks I have no right to be mad.
Estella seemed righteously indignant about what Lucian did to Roxanne. Since Daddy wants to court Ms. Jarvis, he can’t be mad at her, much less make her angry!
“Why shouldn’t I?” Lucian asked after a moment of silence. “Because you’re courting Ms. Jarvis! So you have to make her happy!” Estella replied matter-of-factly.
Lucian furrowed his brows at her answer, and his gaze darkened. Even Essie knows that. How could I have forgotten about it?
At the thought of Roxanne’s angry face, Lucian chuckled to himself self-deprecatingly. No wonder there is no progress between us even though I’ve been pursuing her for so long.
Coming back to his senses, he apologized to Estella, “Sorry, I was wrong.” Estella hummed in satisfaction. Then, she crossed her arms and demanded, “What did you do wrong, Daddy?”
Lucian glimpsed at her again through the rearview mirror and answered, “I shouldn’t have made Ms. Jarvis angry. I was too reckless.”
Estella was contented to hear her father admit his fault. She nodded before probing, “Why did you argue with Ms. Jarvis?”
Upon hearing that, Lucian shook his head in amusement.
This little brat! I already admitted to my mistake, yet she still wants to get to the bottom of the matter! Well, since she asked, I don’t mind telling her. I will need lots of help from her in the future, after all.
With that thought in mind, Lucian confessed, “There is some misunderstanding between us. I’m sure you’ve seen all the things I’ve been doing for Ms. Jarvis recently, but she just won’t accept me. So I felt anxious and wanted an explanation from her.”
All right, that’s all I will tell her. There’s no need to tell her about my rival. A child doesn’t need to know so much.
Estella got a bit worked up when she heard Lucian’s words, but she remained on Roxanne’s side. “You can ask me for help if you’re anxious. Don’t ever get mad at Ms. Jarvis again!”
Lucian nodded. “Okay.”
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.
Leave a Reply