Estella maintained her curious look at him.
Meeting her eyes, Lucian explained casually, “It belongs to Ms. Jarvis.”
His explanation jolted Estella awake. She tugged at Lucian’s sleeve and asked anxiously, “Did Ms. Jarvis drink a lot? Daddy, why aren’t you taking care of her at her place?”
Lucian sighed inwardly in resignation, for he had almost forgotten how much Estella cared about Roxanne.
“I came home after tucking Ms. Jarvis in. She’s already asleep.”
Still, Estella wasn’t satisfied with his answer. “But what if she doesn’t feel well when she wakes up? Daddy, you should have waited until she wakes up tomorrow morning before coming home.”
Lucian simply chuckled and shook his head without commenting any further.
It’s not like I don’t want to, but if she sees me tomorrow morning, she’ll remember that she stripped herself naked in front of me. When that happens, I’m afraid she will fly into a rage out of embarrassment. I might as well let her think that whatever happened was nothing but a dream.
Faced with his silence, Estella began complaining about how bad he was at courting Roxanne. Soon, her rambling voice began drifting away, and her eyes could no longer stay open.
Until she fell asleep, Lucian didn’t explain a thing.
The next morning, Roxanne woke up feeling disorientated and was gripped by a splitting headache. The room reeked of alcohol.
When memories of the night before gradually returned to her, she could only recall drinking a lot at the celebration party Jack had organized and Jack offering to send her home. However, that was where her memories ended.
Logically speaking, the room should be in a mess after I drank so much. But now, it looks spick and span instead. If it wasn’t for the stench of alcohol, I wouldn’t have believed that I was drunk last night.
As Roxanne stepped out of bed in bafflement, she accidentally stepped on something. Lowering her head, she was greeted by the sight of her clothes strewn all over the floor.
She furrowed her brows at the sight of them and felt as if she had forgotten something important. Despite racking her brain for a long time, she couldn’t remember anything and felt her headache worsen instead.
Finally, she gave up trying to recall the previous night’s events and went to take a shower. Upon emerging from the bathroom, she heard a series of careful knocks on the door.
She opened the door and was greeted by Archie and Benny, who looked extremely concerned. “Mommy, how are you feeling?” The children looked at her anxiously.
Roxanne smiled and reassured them, “I’m fine. I just have a light headache.”
Then, struck by a sudden thought, she asked, “How did I come home last night?”
After exchanging a quick glance, the boys responded in their piping voices, “Mr. Farwell brought you home.”
Lucian?
A hint of surprise flashed across Roxanne’s eyes.
I only remember Jack offering to send me home. How did Lucian end up doing so?
“When did he leave?” Roxanne probed further when she failed to recall the events after the effects of the alcohol took over.
Remembering their father’s instructions, the boys replied reluctantly, “Um, he left after sending you back to your room.”
Only then did Roxanne heave a sigh of relief.
Thank God. At the very least, he didn’t see me at my worst. It’s just that…
“Did someone watch over me last night?” Roxanne remained unconvinced.
The question ignited a sparkle in the boys’ eyes. Thinking that their mother had remembered something, they gave her a wide-eye stare while waiting for her to guess.
Contrary to their expectations, Roxanne scratched her nose and speculated, “Was it your Aunt Madilyn who stayed back?”
Archie’s and Benny’s eyes darkened. They shook their heads and begrudgingly took credit for it. “We gave you some water and something for the hangover.”
Are they saying no one took care of me last night?
Roxanne was just as puzzled as before.
The room is so clean. Did I clean it out of my subconscious obsession with cleanliness despite my drunken state?
She wondered if she was just imagining things because she couldn’t help but notice the awkward expression on the children’s faces.
“Mommy, do you still remember how you met Mr. Farwell?” Desperately maintaining their cool, the boys changed the topic by getting the burning question off their chests.
Throughout the night, they had been itching to know how Lucian had found Roxanne.
However, Roxanne was just as clueless as they were. All she could manage was an awkward smile. “I… I can’t remember too.”
Roxanne was utterly embarrassed by the fact that she was unaware of how she was brought home despite being an adult.
I must check with Jack the next time I see him.
Lucky for her, the boys didn’t probe further. They expressed concern for her well-being instead.
Roxanne chatted with her sons as they descended the stairs together. In the middle of breakfast, they heard the sudden ring of the doorbell.
The boys looked up, their eyes filled with anticipation. Thinking it was their father who had come to see their mother, they snuck a glance at the door. Roxanne, baffled by the boys’ sudden delight, got up to open the door.
“Roxanne.” Standing at the door was Madilyn, who craned her neck to peek inside as if she was looking for someone when the door opened.
Roxanne was about to check with Madilyn about last night when the boys hurried over and looked up smilingly at their godmother. “Aunt Madilyn, have you had breakfast? Do you want to join us?”
Madilyn had wanted to ask when Lucian left, but the boys interrupted her. She bent down to tousle their hair and declined with a smile, “I’ll pass. I need to go to work. You boys enjoy yourself.”
She then turned her attention to her best friend. “How do you feel? Are you having a bad hangover? I saw you drinking a lot last night.”
Roxanne reassured her, “I’m fine, other than a minor headache. Anyway, it should be easily cured with a day’s worth of rest.”
Hearing that, Madilyn nodded with relief and did not ask any further question.
Truth be told, she had to work an additional shift that day. With the hospital calling incessantly to pester her, she could only drop by briefly on her way to work.
Upon learning that Roxanne was fine, she said a short goodbye before driving away.
Once their godmother was out of sight, both the boys heaved a sigh of relief.
That was close. Aunt Madilyn almost let it slip.
Even though Lucian’s actions didn’t make sense to them, the boys believed that their father must have had his reasons.
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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