Seeing how bland his expression is now, I think it would be strange if I react too strongly or kick up a fuss. After some deliberation, Roxanne smiled at the kids and said, “All right then!”
Seeing that Roxanne was on board, the kids looked expectantly at Lucian. Lucian also nodded wordlessly. The children then let out triumphant cheers. “Yay! Let’s all bake together!”
In their haste and excitement, the children barely finished their breakfast. They took another two cursory bites before eagerly jumping off their chairs and looking at both adults.
Although Roxanne had agreed, she still felt awkward at the prospect of being in such close contact with Lucian. Subconsciously, she felt the urge to delay the activity.
Under the watchful and expectant eyes of all the children, Roxanne felt herself squirm in her seat. Finally, all she could do was get up and clear the table.
The kitchen was too small to accommodate so many people. After some thought, Roxanne decided to use the dining table instead.
The children graciously offered to help her with the dishes. When that was done, they eagerly went to the dining table and waited to start baking.
Roxanne brought out the utensils that were needed and laid them out neatly on the now-clean table.
Estella soon began to take charge as she divided the tasks between everyone present. “Daddy and Ms. Jarvis will make the actual cake. The rest of us will help to decorate it.”
Naturally, Roxanne had no objections. She soon began to work.
Lucian, on the other hand, knew nothing about baking. All he could do was stand in a corner, frowning while he watched Roxanne busy herself with the process.
“Daddy, go on! Help Ms. Jarvis!” Estella tugged at the hem of Lucian’s sleeve with disapproval written all over her face.
Lucian merely arched a brow at Estella, silently imploring that he tell her what to do.
With a deep, dramatic sigh, Estella pointed at the eggs inside the bowl, indicating that he should help Roxanne crack the eggs.
Lucian nodded in understanding, reaching out to lend a hand.
Roxanne was blissfully unaware of the interaction between Lucian and Estella. However, she had coincidentally reached the stage where they had to add eggs to the mixture. As she reached out to grab an egg from the bowl, her hand accidentally brushed against Lucian’s hand.
For a moment, the two of them froze.
A few seconds later, Roxanne quickly snapped back to her senses. She retracted her hand as if she’d felt an electric shock and forced herself to calm down. Struggling to stay calm, she said, “Go ahead.”
Lucian was aware that Roxanne was avoiding him. The look in his eyes darkened, and he continued with what he set out to do without saying another word.
Very quickly, the ingredients were mixed in the mixing bowl. All that was left now was to beat the mixture.
This was going to take some time.
Roxanne used the whisk for a while but soon noticed that her arm began to ache from the beating. She then slowed down, thinking of resting for a bit.
“I’ll do it,” came Lucian’s voice from behind her.
Roxanne was briefly startled. Before she had the time to react, Lucian had already taken the whisk from her.
She could only let go and take a few steps back while Lucian continued with the whisking.
Lucian’s sleeves were rolled up high to reveal his thin and strong forearms. His well-defined brows were furrowed in a slight frown, and his lips were pursed because he had not done this before. However, he did seem quite committed.
Roxanne fell into a slight daze when she saw Lucian’s demeanor.
That being said, this must have been the first time she had seen Lucian do something with such earnestness.
Without the two adults realizing it, the children had gathered in a circle to watch Lucian. Ever since Archie and Benny accepted Lucian as their father, they had grown more fond of him with every passing day.
Seeing how serious he was, the children looked at each other with admiration in their eyes, wondering if they were going to be as handsome and cool as their father when they grew up.
Archie and Benny then turned to look at Estella. They were not sure if they were seeing things, but Estella’s side profile bore a striking resemblance to their mother.
For a time, the atmosphere in the room was light-hearted and fun. Suddenly, the sound of Roxanne’s phone ringing broke the silence. The few of them looked inquiringly in Roxanne’s direction.
Roxanne merely smiled apologetically at the children, but the caller ID on the screen caught her eye. I wonder what Jack wants.
“I need to take this call,” said Roxanne to the children. Subconsciously, she glanced at the man who was still busy mixing the batter before walking toward the living room.
The children looked warily at Roxanne’s retreating form, wondering who it was that would call her on a weekend morning.
In the living room, Roxanne promptly picked up the phone. “Mr. Damaris? What seems to be the matter?”
The distance between the dining room and the living room was not too vast, and Roxanne did not care to lower her voice. As such, everyone in the dining room could hear every word she said.
The children then turned to look at Lucian, curious about what his reaction was going to be.
Lucian stopped stirring, and his brows knitted into a mild frown.
At the same time, Jack’s soft voice could be heard from the other end of the line. “Are you free today, Ms. Jarvis?”
Roxanne subconsciously directed her gaze at the dining room. When she realized what she was thinking about, she immediately turned away with a frown and asked, “Is it urgent? If so, I can make time.”
“Actually, Grandpa said he has not seen you in a while. Regarding the previous issue, he wishes to give you an apology in person. On top of that, he wants to visit your research institute. However, if you are busy, we can do this another day,” said Jack calmly.
Hearing that it was Hector who wanted to meet her, Roxanne naturally had no objections and agreed promptly. “All right, then we’ll meet at the research institute in a bit.”
Jack hummed in agreement.
After deciding on a time, the two of them hung up.
Roxanne turned to go back to the dining room. Looking at Estella apologetically, she said, “I’m sorry, Essie. I may need to go out for a short while.”
Estella had already overheard the conversation from earlier, but hearing Roxanne say this to her in person still made her quite disappointed. There was a prominent look of displeasure on her face as her mouth formed a little pout. “Ms. Jarvis, aren’t you going to eat the cake we’ve made?”
She had put in so much hard work and time throughout the week so that Roxanne could taste the cake she learned how to bake.
Roxanne’s heart sank when she saw how disappointed the little girl was, but she could not afford to be late. After all, it was not just Jack who was waiting for her, but Hector as well.
Thus, Roxanne could only caress Estella’s head apologetically as she suggested, “I’ll eat it when I get back, okay?”
However, Estella still looked quite reluctant.
Archie and Benny, who had met Jack before and heard that Roxanne had been out drinking with him the last time, were not happy either when they found out that the man wanted to take up their mother’s free time on a weekend.
“Mommy, the cake is halfway made. Why don’t we finish baking first?”
Archie and Benny then surrounded Roxanne, looking at her with pleading looks in their eyes.
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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