She thought she could spend more time playing with Roxanne, Archie, and Benny that day, but unexpectedly, Roxanne appeared anxious to chase her away right after she woke up.
Lucian and Roxanne frowned at the same time after hearing Estella’s words. However, the thoughts that flashed across their minds were entirely different.
Before last night, she would have allowed Estella to stay at her place without hesitation.
Yet, after her conversation with Lucian the night before, Roxanne had to consider Estella’s biological mother.
In her opinion, Estella was overly-attached to her because the little girl could acquire motherly affection from her. Having said that, Roxanne knew she was not Estella’s mother after all. I cannot let Essie continue to think of me as her mother because sooner or later, her real mother will return.
On the other hand, Lucian was displeased because he sensed Roxanne’s hesitation.
“Essie…” Roxanne opened her mouth and only managed to call out Estella’s name as she did not know how to refuse the little girl.
A hint of mockery laced Lucian’s deep voice as he said, “Ms. Jarvis, according to what you’ve said, my house should still be contaminated with bacteria. If that’s the case, I’m afraid it’ll be inconvenient for me to bring Essie home. Since you’re unavailable to look after her, I’ll have no choice but to send her to the company.”
He was implying that he would leave Estella at the office and return home by himself to handle the sanitization of his house.
Roxanne looked up and glanced at him in bewilderment after hearing that. She had the urge to question whether he could really bring himself to do that when Estella had just recovered from her illness.
However, before she could say anything, Roxanne suddenly realized Lucian’s suggestion was no different from what she was doing. If I let Essie stay, he won’t have to leave her alone at the office.
“I don’t want to go to the office!” Estella tugged at the hem of Roxanne’s clothes pitifully.
Roxanne looked down and met with the little girl’s large, watery eyes. In the end, she conceded. “Why don’t you stay here and hang out with Archie and Benny, Essie?”
With that, she turned around to gaze at Lucian and said resolutely, “The disinfection process should not be delayed any longer. You should hurry up and go back, Mr. Farwell.”
He stared at her for a few moments before nodding in response. Then, he spun on his heels and left the kids’ room.
Roxanne loaded the remaining bottle of sprays in his car and reminded him in detail about the proper way to disinfect the house.
“Feel free to tag along with me if you’re worried, Ms. Jarvis,” Lucian teased while arching his eyebrow.
She fell silent immediately after hearing that and moved to one side. Soon, she watched as his car sped away and finally disappeared from her vision.
Only then did she return to the mansion with a heavy heart.
Although what Lucian did last night was over the line, Roxanne’s strong sense of responsibility and professional ethics as a doctor caused her to feel a little worried still. She was afraid he would contract the disease again during the disinfection process.
Meanwhile, at the Farwell residence, Catalina had not slept for almost the entire night. Last night, ever since Lucian brought Estella away, Catalina’s body began to feel itchy. However, she did not overthink the condition and planned to continue sleeping.
Unexpectedly, after some time, the itchiness worsened, rendering her unable to fall asleep. She endured the discomfort until the following day. Upon waking up, Catalina noticed her body was covered with red spots similar to Estella’s.
A few other housekeepers who were more closely acquainted with Catalina came over and checked on her. A short while later, their bodies started to itch too.
Catalina swiftly realized the illness was contagious. She immediately instructed everyone not to establish physical contact with one another and arranged for those uninfected people to stay in the courtyard.
Only after coming up with a simple plan to sort out the predicament at home did she remember to contact Lucian to report the circumstances to him.
Just as she took out her phone, Catalina saw his car driving into the house’s compound.
Everyone stepped backward and watched while Lucian parked and got out of the vehicle.
“Mr. Farwell, Ms. Estella’s disease is contagious. You…” Catalina moved forward and expressed her concern to Lucian while putting up with her body’s discomfort.
She had served the Farwell family for many years and was considered one of the few to witness Lucian and Estella’s growth. She had long since regarded them as her family.
Seeing how Lucian carried Estella in his arms when they left the house last night, Catalina assumed he would be infected too. To her surprise, he seemed completely fine.
Lucian sized her up while wearing a solemn expression. “How many people have contracted the disease?”
She regained her senses and recalled the number of infected personnel before reporting, “Approximately four to five people. I’ve asked them to remain inside the house. Those staying in the courtyard are the unaffected group.”
Lucian nodded. Then, he returned to his car to retrieve the spray bottles and handed one to Catalina. “Use this bottle to spray those who have been infected and the remaining bottles to sanitize the house.”
Catalina bobbed her head in acknowledgment and immediately turned around to delegate the tasks.
Soon, all the housekeepers began to carry out their duties.
Lucian walked to the living room and scanned the area. Nevertheless, Aubree was nowhere to be seen.
A rustling sound came from upstairs when the housekeepers were almost done disinfecting the residence.
Aubree felt delighted for successfully punishing Estella last night. As a result, she was able to get a good night’s sleep. By the time she woke up, the time was already close to nine o’clock in the morning.
That little b*tch should suffer from severe symptoms after being infected with the disease, so I reckon Lucian won’t be home so soon.
With that thought in her mind, Aubree ambled down the stairs.
Upon arriving at the living room, she saw a few housekeepers still engaged in the sanitizing work. She asked with a frown, “What’s going on?”
Right after she was done talking, one of the housekeepers sprayed her with a bottle of an unknown substance.
Aubree scrunched up her face in utter displeasure instantaneously. “What are you doing!”
“Mr. Farwell said there is a highly contagious bacteria in the house, so he asked us to sanitize the whole place,” the housekeeper replied calmly.
Aubree’s expression froze after she heard the housekeeper’s explanation. “Are you saying that Lucian is back?” How is this possible? Frieda told me the bacteria could induce a very potent sensitivity reaction, and the condition cannot be easily cured. Logically, that little b*tch should still be sick. Why is Lucian back so soon?
She looked up in perplexity and swept her gaze around the living room.
Aubree’s heart jumped into her throat, and her facial expression stiffened indistinctively when she caught sight of Lucian standing in front of the couch. He’s really back. Does that mean that little b*tch has recovered?
Aubree was stunned for a few seconds. Suppressing the panic in her heart, she approached him with concern written all over her face and pretended not to know anything about what had happened yesterday. “Lucian, what’s going on?”
Lucian looked at the person in front of him expressionlessly and interrogatively. Things had been chaotic last night. He had only heard Roxanne say that Estella’s symptoms were due to a bacterial allergy.
As for where the bacterium came from, he hadn’t had the time to think about it until he carefully recalled what had happened when he was on the way back.
Everything had been fine before Aubree arrived at the manor. However, the bacterium had shown up the same time as her.
Lucian couldn’t help but suspect the woman in front of him.
Aubree’s heart clenched when he glanced at her. She pinched her palm to calm herself down, then asked innocently, “I heard from the housekeepers that there’s a bacterium in the house. It can’t be true, can it? The house is cleaned daily, so where did the bacterium come from?”
Lucian furrowed his brows. I don’t notice anything odd by observing her face. Then again, I’ve never noticed how she has been treating Essie behind my back or even in front of me for six years.
At that thought, he looked away instead of investigating further. If she’s the one who did it, I’ll find out sooner or later.
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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