Upon noticing the change in his facial expression, Catalina instinctively took a step back.
“Essie has been crying the whole morning.” Lucian was on the verge of exploding, but he still tried to contain his anger.
Estella bawled more loudly when she realized Roxanne was reluctant to visit her.
Hearing the little girl squeal over the phone broke Roxanne’s heart.
Nevertheless, she had no choice but to turn him down. “I’m sorry. I’m caught up with work right now. Can you give me an hour? I’ll rush over once I’m done here!”
Right after she spoke, Lucian responded icily, “You don’t have to if you’re busy. Essie is just throwing a tantrum. You don’t have to worry about her since you’re not related to her anyway!”
Roxanne knitted her brows upon hearing that. “That’s not what I meant. I—”
Before she could defend herself, Lucian interrupted, “Sorry for disturbing you. I’ll handle Essie myself. Have a nice day.”
The man then hung up right away.
Roxanne stared at the black screen, feeling anxious.
While Roxanne was in two minds over whether or not to hurry to the Farwell residence, Jack strode out with a document in his hand and called out, “Ms. Jarvis.”
She had no choice but to suppress the worry in her heart and quickly walked toward him. “What’s this?”
“You didn’t come in after some time, so I thought I’d bring out the document you needed to go through. You can take a look and sign it if there are no issues.”
Hearing that, she murmured her assent and checked the document carefully. A moment later, she looked up at Jack and nodded. “Everything looks fine.”
“Excellent,” he said with a smile. “You look a little upset. Did something happen?”
Recalling the sound of Estella’s cries, Roxanne fell into a slight daze.
Jack was puzzled when he saw that she did not respond after a long time. “Ms. Jarvis?”
Roxanne jolted to her senses and shot him an apologetic smile. “These are the medicinal herbs we need. Is there anything else you need my help with?”
Jack shook his head.
Seeing that, Roxanne took her leave immediately. “I’ll have to trouble you to take care of the rest, then. I have to attend to some urgent business, so I’ll head off now.”
Observing the expression on her face, Jack agreed in a non-committal way, “Since it’s something urgent, you should get going.”
Roxanne nodded at him gratefully before turning and hurrying away.
Jack watched her leave with a deeply perplexed look in his eyes.
I wonder what happened to make her so worried. Archie and Benny didn’t look so well when we left her house this morning. However, based on my experience after practicing medicine for years, they’re most likely faking it. I couldn’t be bothered to figure out the reason for it, but from the looks of it now, it appears as though I made an error in judgment. What else could get her that worked up apart from her children and work?
As that thought crossed his mind, he laughed at himself.
I can’t believe there’d come a time when I’d make an error in judgment…
“Mr. Damaris, do you have any other instructions for us?” Dean asked as he walked out of the building a moment later. Puzzled to see Jack all alone, he inquired, “Where’s Ms. Jarvis?”
Jack snapped out of his thoughts and glanced at Dean expressionlessly. He handed the list he was holding to the latter and said, “Prepare the medicinal herbs listed here.”
Not daring to probe further, Dean immediately acceded. Then, he went back into the building with the list to instruct the staff to complete the task as soon as possible.
Over at the Farwell residence, Estella watched her father hang up the phone, her eyes wet with tears.
When Lucian met her gaze, a pang shot through his heart, and he felt annoyed at Roxanne.
Essie has been crying her heart out and even heard Roxanne say she couldn’t come over immediately. Even so, there’s still a glimmer of hope in her eyes. If Roxanne saw the expression on Essie’s face now, I wonder what she’d think. Would she feel guilty?
“W-When is Ms. Jarvis coming over?”
Estella stretched her arms toward Lucian pitifully, sobbing so bitterly that she could hardly breathe.
Lucian’s heart ached as he drew the girl into his embrace. He was unsure of what to say.
Even if Roxanne does come, she’ll only get here an hour later. She may be fine with letting Essie cry for one hour, but I don’t have the heart to do so.
“Daddy…” Estella urged while shedding tears.
Lucian stroked her head comfortingly and sidestepped the question. “There, there. I’ll take you to go look for Mr. Lann.”
At this point, the only other person apart from Roxanne who can stop her from crying is probably James.
Roxanne left Herbscape Group and drove straight to the Farwell residence. Less than twenty minutes later, her Mercedes-Benz slowly rolled to a stop in front of the manor entrance.
She rang the doorbell frantically, and it was not long before Catalina answered the intercom. “Mrs.—” Catalina began without thinking when she saw the person on the screen. However, she quickly caught herself and changed what she was saying. “Ms. Jarvis.”
Too worried about Estella crying, Roxanne had no time to pay attention to the little details. “Hurry up and let me in, Catalina. How’s Essie?”
Catalina sighed inwardly when she saw how anxious Roxanne looked. “You’re too late. Mr. Lucian has taken Ms. Estella out.” Roxanne’s expression froze when she heard that reply.
I thought Lucian only said that in a fit of anger. I can’t believe he’d actually be so cruel. Since Essie hasn’t seen me, she must still be bawling her eyes out.
The thought of that brought Roxanne to her senses, and she asked in a low voice, “Do you know where he took her?”
Catalina hesitated for a split second. However, the recollection of Lucian’s parting instruction made her shake her head. The light in Roxanne’s eyes went out, and a wave of regret washed over her. If only I’d arrived a little earlier…
“Why don’t you give Mr. Farwell a call?” Catalina could not stop herself from suggesting. Although she felt bad for Estella when Roxanne did not promise to come over immediately, she could not bear to see the look on Roxanne’s face.
Indeed, Roxanne was so anxious that she had forgotten she could do so. Thanks to Catalina’s reminder, she suddenly realized that was what she should do.
“Thank you. I’ll call him right away!” With that, she fished out her phone from her bag, pulled up Lucian’s number, and made the call. However, as soon as the call connected, it was declined just as it started ringing.
Then, the sound of a female computer-generated voice rang out. She tried calling again immediately, but the same thing happened several times.
He’s evidently angry at me. I’m afraid he probably won’t pick up my calls for now. As the realization dawned on her, guilt welled within her. All I can do is try my luck and send Lucian a message. I wonder how Estella is…
Meanwhile, Estella’s cries grew louder and pierced the air whenever the phone rang as they made their way to James’ clinic. “Ms. Jarvis!”
Nonetheless, Lucian remained unmoved and did not hesitate to decline the calls as soon as his phone rang. Despite hearing Estella’s sobs, he denied that the calls were from Roxanne in a chilly tone, “No, it’s not Ms. Jarvis. She’s still busy working.”
Estella’s wails soon grew weaker again and gradually turned into whimpers.
Lucian glanced at her through the rearview mirror and saw that although her cries were much softer, tears continued streaming down her cheeks.
The sight of that caused his gaze to darken. Spotting the message notification that popped up on his phone screen, he frowned and swiftly dismissed it. Then, he called to ask James to spare some time for him.
Upon learning that Estella was unwell, James agreed at once. After ending the call, Lucian could stop himself from tapping on the message Roxanne had sent.
Roxanne: Sorry for being late. Where are you and Essie? I’ll rush over there immediately. A scornful look flashed in his eyes after he read the message. Then he closed the message interface.
Soon, Lucian stopped his car in front of James’ psychiatric clinic. As Lucian had made the call while he was on the way, James was already waiting at the door.
After getting out of the car, Lucian walked over to the other side to carry Estella, who was still crying. Upon seeing his outstretched hands, she dodged to the side.
“Let me do it,” James offered as he stepped forward. He reached out to Estella and said gently, “Essie, good girl. Let me carry you.”
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.