She asked tentatively, “Do you want Mr. Damaris to be your daddy?”
Archie and Benny were dumbfounded.
Since Mommy didn’t deny it outright, it means that there’s still a possibility… If that’s the case, Daddy’s in danger.
However, to prevent Roxanne from suspecting that they knew about their identities, Archie and Benny deliberately revealed an innocent smile. “We’ll listen to you, Mommy! You’ll definitely find a great Daddy for us!”
Roxanne stared at Archie and Benny for a while but could not detect anything strange about them. Still having her doubts, she nodded and forgot to explain about her relationship with Jack to them.
While the children mulled over Roxanne’s replies over the meal, they could not help but feel worried for their father.
Roxanne found it strange when she noticed how unenthusiastic they were. However, she could not put a finger on it.
“Mommy, we’re full! We’ll head upstairs first!” After shoving some food into their mouths, they jumped down from their chairs.
Roxanne felt even more puzzled.
Archie and Benny don’t usually eat so little. What’s wrong with them today?
Realizing that they had acted overly nervous, they quickly came up with an excuse. “We didn’t sleep well last night. We’re tired.”
Archie and Benny looked dazed as they spoke.
Recalling the fiasco from the night before, Roxanne nodded in agreement without giving it much thought.
However, looking at how briskly they climbed the stairs, Roxanne thought they did not seem exhausted at all.
Archie and Benny dashed to their room after they headed upstairs. “Archie, Mommy’s meeting Mr. Damaris tomorrow. Should we tell Daddy about it?” asked Benny with slight hesitation.
Upon deliberation, Archie said, “We have to tell him.” They had kept it a secret earlier because they wanted Lucian to feel stressed about Roxanne’s relationship with Jack.
However, Roxanne’s attitude earlier made them feel terrified. What if Mommy really chose Mr. Damaris?
At that thought, the children no longer dared to hide it from Lucian. Benny asked gloomily, “But how should we tell Daddy about it?”
They could not contact Lucian as they did not have a phone. Roxanne would be leaving tomorrow night and they did not know if Lucian would visit that day.
Archie and Benny looked troubled as they thought hard about this tough question. After a while, Archie whispered something next to Benny’s ear with a frown, and the latter responded with a firm nod.
Then they washed up quickly and lay on the bed although it was still early. Before going to bed, Roxanne checked on the children and saw that they were sleeping soundly. Looks like they really did not have a good rest last night. Her suspicions gradually faded.
Little did she know that Archie and Benny were merely pretending to sleep. With their eyes still closed, they listened to the movements outside the door quietly.
Only when they could barely hear Roxanne’s footstep did they sneak out of bed. While listening intently for any sounds outside, they stared at the clock.
They waited until it was just before midnight when Roxanne would have probably fallen asleep before tiptoeing out of their room and down the stairs.
After walking to the corded landline telephone, they cast a careful glance at Roxanne’s room.
When they saw that the lights in her room were turned off, they put their guard down and dialed Lucian’s number.
Although they did not have phones of their own, they had already memorized Lucian’s number, thanks to their exceptional memory.
Before dialing the number, Archie and Benny had been worried that Lucian would not pick up the call as it was so late.
But to their surprise, Lucian answered the call mere seconds after they called him.
“What happened?” Lucian was working in the study when he suddenly saw Roxanne’s call. The thought that she might be in trouble made his heart sink.
Unexpectedly, Archie’s and Benny’s mysterious voices sounded from the other end of the line. “Mr. Farwell, we have a secret to tell you.”
Lucian frowned. “What secret?”
The children said straightforwardly, “Mommy says she’s attending a contract signing ceremony with Mr. Damaris tomorrow night.”
A grim look spread across Lucian’s face when he heard that.
Even though Roxanne had explained to him numerous times what her relationship with Jack was, he was still bothered about it.
Besides, something bad was bound to happen every time she went out with him.
First, she was pestered by Jessica. Then, she became the center of public opinion.
“Did you hear what we said, Mr. Farwell?” Archie and Benny asked when Lucian did not respond.
Lucian was jolted back to his senses. Knowing that the children must be secretly sharing this intel with him, he replied solemnly, “Got it. Thank you.”
The children did not dare to say anything else and quickly ended the call.
Benny erased the call history before they snuck back to their room.
The following night, after getting ready, Roxanne headed downstairs and prepared to leave to meet Jack. The moment she descended the stairs, however, Archie and Benny stopped her. “Mommy, isn’t Mr. Damaris picking you up?”
Despite waiting for a long while, they saw no signs of Lucian. They had no choice but to think of ways to stall for time. Roxanne was confused when she heard their question. “Mr. Damaris wants to meet our collaborators early, so I’m going there by myself. What’s wrong?”
Unable to think of a response on the spot, Archie and Benny exchanged a look, then flashed a grin and shamelessly blocked Roxanne’s path. “What’s up with you two?” Roxanne bent down and stared into their eyes.
Archie and Benny fell silent again. “But Mommy, Aunt Madilyn hasn’t arrived yet,” Archie said in piping voice. Roxanne glanced at the time. Madilyn should have left work by now.
Although they had agreed in the morning that Madilyn would come right after work, she was still nowhere to be seen. Since it was already nighttime, Roxanne was in fact worried about leaving Archie and Benny alone.
“Let me give her a call.” Roxanne took out her phone and called Madilyn, who answered the call immediately. Before Roxanne could utter a single word, Madilyn’s voice rang out. “Give me ten more minutes! I was stuck in a traffic jam. Ugh!”
Just when Roxanne was about to respond, Madilyn mumbled, “The car in front looks so familiar…”
Roxanne could not help but feel worried when she heard that. “What’s wrong? Is it someone we know?”
The more Madilyn stared at the car ahead, the more familiar it seemed. “Looks like it’s heading toward our residential area. He’s probably a resident here.”
Even after staring at the car for a long while, she still could not figure out who the owner was.
Roxanne did not think too much about it as she said, “Be careful on the road. I’ll leave once you arrive.”
“Okay,” Madilyn said before hanging up.
Upon reaching the entrance of the residential area, Madilyn watched as the car drove in and headed in the same direction as her.
Where have I seen this car before?
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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