There was no movement inside.
Lucian glanced at Catalina with a furrow between his eyebrows.
Anxiety crossed Catalina’s face. “It’s been like this for a while now. I think you should get the key for the door, Mr. Farwell.”
Perhaps Estella heard Catalina’s suggestion as something hit the door hard right after.
Obviously, Estella didn’t want them entering her room.
Catalina was worried and felt sorry for Estella. “Ms. Estella, please calm down and talk it out with Mr. Farwell. He has always loved you very much.”
Another thud sounded at the door.
Lucian frowned at her tantrum and silently left to grab the keys in his study.
The second he cracked the door open, a doll flew toward him.
Lucian moved to the side, letting the doll fly over his shoulder and out the door, finally landing by Catalina’s feet.
Catalina looked down at the doll on the floor, and distress filled her eyes.
It was Estella’s favorite doll when she was younger. She had never thrown it before when she was ill, even during her worst fits of anger.
Comprehension dawned on Catalina that Estella was beyond furious.
Lucian walked into the room and saw that Estella had curled herself up in the corner of her bed.
Seeing that Lucian had entered, Estella buried her head between her knees in anger. She didn’t want Lucian to see her expression.
At a glance, Lucian felt as if time had turned back to Estella’s autistic days.
His heart sank, but it didn’t stop him from approaching her. He crossed the room slowly to sit down beside her.
“I know you’re mad at me for not listening to you, but I’m indeed busy these days. Can you forgive me?”
Estella shook her head silently.
Not only did Daddy not listen to me, he even went back on his word during the call earlier! He promised me he would make Ms. Jarvis my mommy, but now he’s saying my mommy won’t necessarily be Ms. Jarvis! Bad Daddy!
Lucian felt helpless upon seeing how unperturbed Estella was by what he said. Ever since the little girl got close to Roxanne, she had been practicing double standards and treating her better than him.
What Roxanne did last night was too much, but Essie still decided to forgive her. Yet, Essie is mad at me for not paying attention to all the good things she said about that woman. She isn’t even listening to me anymore.
Had Lucian not learned that Roxanne was Estella’s biological mother, he might have had difficulty accepting the double standards.
After a short while, Lucian suppressed his grievance and comforted the little girl, “Didn’t you say you have something to tell me? I’m all ears now.”
Estella lifted her head and glanced at him. Lucian’s eyes darkened, and his heart sank when he saw the expression on her face. He thought she did not give him any response because she was upset.
However, when she lifted her head, he realized her cheeks were stained with tears. “Bad Daddy…” Estella said in between sobs, feeling utterly aggrieved.
Lucian was stunned by her reaction. Instead of upsetting the little girl further, he nodded and tried pacifying her. “Yes, it’s all my fault.”
He wanted to go near Estella to wipe off her tears, but she took a few steps back as if she was avoiding a monster.
The man’s hand was left hanging mid-air. Her reaction now instantly reminded him again of the time when she was autistic.
Estella might have started conversing with people, but at that moment, she was acting like how she did in the past.
“I don’t want Daddy!” The little girl burst into tears. “I want Ms. Jarvis…”
Lucian’s eyes darkened.
Seeing Estella crying nonstop, Catalina immediately looked at Lucian and suggested, “Mr. Farwell, why don’t you give Mrs. Farwell a call?”
She thought it might be helpful for Estella to listen to Roxanne’s voice.
Lucian’s gaze turned even darker when he heard how Catalina addressed Roxanne, but he knew he had to do something to calm Estella down.
After remaining silent for a few seconds, Lucian took out his phone and dialed Roxanne’s number.
Meanwhile, Roxanne had arrived at the entrance of Herbscape Group.
Before this, Jack had informed Dean they were coming. By the time they arrived, Dean was already waiting for them in the lobby.
“Hello, Mr. Damaris. Nice to see you, Dr. Jarvis,” Dean greeted them respectfully.
Roxanne could not help but feel ironic when she noticed the change in his attitude.
The last time when they met at the agreement signing ceremony between Herbscape Group and Damaris Group, Roxanne remembered Dean was still all high and mighty.
At that time, Dean viewed himself as the equal partner of Damaris Group.
Yet, everything seemed to have changed in the blink of an eye after yesterday’s incident.
Jack responded to his greeting with a gentle nod. Then, in an icy voice, he asked, “Are we ready?”
Their interaction at the entrance could have easily misled people into believing Jack was Dean’s superior.
Dean, who did not seem to be bothered by Jack’s attitude, played along. “Yes, everything’s ready. You can collect the items after signing the document.” With a grateful look, he added, “Mr. Damaris, I want to thank you for what you did last night. And don’t worry. As long as Herbscape Group can overcome this crisis, we’ll follow your commands and do everything as you say!”
A corner of Jack’s lips quirked up. The one billion and two hundred million I forked out last night do make a big difference. He was not surprised by Dean’s humble behavior that day.
Oblivious to what had happened between the two men last night, Roxanne kept mum and stood behind Jack. The moment they stepped into Herbscape Group, Roxanne’s phone rang.
The two men stopped walking and turned around to look at her. Roxanne responded with an apologetic smile before fishing out her phone from her pocket. Her expression stiffened when she saw the caller’s name on the screen.
“What’s wrong? Are the kids not feeling well?” Jack expressed his concern.
Roxanne froze for a bit upon hearing that. After regaining her composure, she hung up the phone and smiled. “It’s not an urgent matter. Let’s sign the papers first, shall we?”
Jack and Dean did not think much. They turned around and continued walking. However, Roxanne’s phone rang again after she took a few steps.
Her heart sank when she saw the name on the screen. This time, she apologized to Jack and Dean. “I’m sorry. I have to take this call. Please proceed without me. I’ll catch up with you shortly.”
After bobbing her head at the men, Roxanne turned around, walked to the entrance, and answered the call. Before she could speak, she heard Estella wailing from the other end of the phone.
“What’s wrong? What happened to Essie?” Roxanne was worried about the little girl.
Lucian suppressed his displeasure and answered in a deep voice, “She wants to see you. If you’re available, please do me another favor.”
He could not help but brood over how quickly Roxanne had ended the first call he made. I don’t know what she’s thinking, but I believe she’s throwing a tantrum.
At the thought of that possibility, Lucian could not help but smirk. She was at fault, yet she had the audacity to hang up on me!
After a short pause, Roxanne responded hesitantly, “But I’m a little busy right now…”
The issuance of closure would take effect in less than thirty minutes. They had to work fast because any delay would cause all the items in Herbscape Group to be discarded.
Lucian’s expression turned grim immediately. He did not take the rejection well.
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.