Estella pursed her lips and fell silent for a long moment before slowly shaking her head. I still like Daddy, but…
“Daddy lied. Daddy is a bad person.” A smile finally broke out on James’ face. “You’re angry with your daddy, but your daddy is angry with Ms. Jarvis.”
Estella immediately shook her head. “Daddy cannot be angry with Ms. Jarvis.” James was astonished.
He knew Estella was exceedingly fond of Roxanne, but he did not realize it was to this extent. Lucian must be exasperated.
Seeing that Estella was going to lose her cool again, James uttered hastily, “I’ll punish him for you. He knows he’s in the wrong too.”
Estella calmed down, but she remained sullen. “I want Ms. Jarvis as my mommy. I don’t want anyone else!”
James glanced at the door. He could only agree on Lucian’s behalf. “Okay. Only Ms. Jarvis.”
Estella finally quieted down and lay on James’ shoulder, sniffling occasionally.
James glanced at Estella and gently touched her eyes. “Do you feel awful?”
Estella nodded between her sobs.
Not only did she feel awful, but her eyes also hurt.
James stood up and brought a pocket watch over. He patted Estella’s hair and comforted her, “How about you sleep for a while?”
Estella was reluctant, but she nodded obediently in response.
Soon, James had her under hypnosis, and he watched her drift off.
Lucian did not go far, so he had heard their conversation.
When he no longer heard Estella’s voice after a while, he entered the room, knowing she had fallen asleep.
James was placing Estella on the couch when he heard someone open the door.
Upon seeing Lucian enter the room, he shot him a look, and they left the room one after another.
“How is she?” Lucian inquired.
“She’s asleep. It will take a while before she wakes up. Let’s talk. This is not going to be a long-term solution.”
Lucian nodded.
James poured two cups of coffee for Lucian and himself before sitting on the couch.
“You should know that Essie views Ms. Jarvis as a very important person.”
His words had Lucian frowning slightly. “I know.”
He knew clearly that Roxanne’s position in Estella’s heart had far exceeded his.
James’ brows furrowed. “If you know that, you shouldn’t have used Ms. Jarvis to agitate her since you know her condition.”
Lucian looked away awkwardly as he tried to hide his regret.
He had been hiding from Estella the past two days in fear of agitating her.
However, he did not expect himself to say those careless words during a call.
Although he felt there was nothing out of the ordinary with his statement, it had deeply hurt Estella.
James said softly, “At her age, it is inevitable that she will overthink. Moreover, she never had a mother. She craves maternal love and a sense of security more than anything. But you have avoided women all these years, and Essie has never accepted Aubree. Why are you opposing Essie now that she has found one she likes?”
Lucian felt slightly helpless when he heard James’ words. When did I try to oppose Essie? All this while, he had been trying to get Roxanne back.
However, Roxanne had not been moved by his actions. She even got close to another man. How could he stand that?
Did he not have the right to get angry? James stared at him with a grim expression. “Based on my observations, Ms. Jarvis is a good candidate to be Essie’s mother. She takes good care of Essie. The only shortcoming is that she has two other children.” He took a sip of his coffee. With a meaningful look, he probed, “You wouldn’t care about those two children’s existence given your personality, would you?”
Lucian pursed his lips. “You should know this is not something I can decide.”
In other words, he was telling James it was not him who could not accept the two children. It was Roxanne who wouldn’t accept him.
Surprise flashed across James’ eyes. He did not expect Lucian to encounter this kind of situation, given the latter’s qualifications.
James tried to hide his smile when he saw Lucian’s frustrated expression.
After a moment, he said seriously, “Even if that’s the case, I can see that Ms. Jarvis likes Essie a lot. No matter what happens between you two, I would advise you not to prevent Essie from meeting Ms. Jarvis. I’ve already told you that spending time with Ms. Jarvis is beneficial for her condition.”
Lucian thought of the many calls and messages he had ignored from Roxanne on the way here and frowned slightly. “I understand.”
James nodded. “In order to get Essie out of the car, I lied to her, saying that Ms. Jarvis would arrive soon. She’ll undoubtedly have another tantrum if she wakes up and doesn’t see Ms. Jarvis. Her trust in me will also deteriorate. If it’s possible, ask Ms. Jarvis to come over.”
Lucian’s expression gradually darkened.
He had just ignored Roxanne a while ago, but now he had to actively seek her out.
Roxanne would probably assume she was only a tool used to comfort Estella. When she was not needed, she could be carelessly discarded.
Lucian replied in a deep voice, “I’ll bring Essie to look for her.”
James frowned at that as he was confused.
Isn’t it more convenient for Ms. Jarvis to come here? Why does he have to make it so complicated?
However, James did not ask further, knowing Lucian did not want to explain. Instead, he said, “I’ll go with you, just in case.”
He had wanted Lucian to call Roxanne over because he could still comfort Estella if she woke up before that.
Now that Lucian was planning to bring Estella out, he could only follow them since Estella’s condition had not stabilized.
Lucian nodded. “Thank you.”
James smiled. “You don’t have to be so polite with me. I watched Essie grow up. Even if you aren’t worried about her, I am!”
Just like that, they walked into the room one after another.
Estella was still on the couch, fast asleep. She was no longer crying in her sleep.
Lucian looked at how peaceful Estella was when she was sleeping and contrasted it with how chaotic it had been a moment ago. His heart ached for her.
“Let’s go,” James said softly.
Lucian snapped out of it and carried Estella gently. They left the clinic and drove to Roxanne’s place.
James was the driver, while Lucian sat at the back of the car with Estella. Suddenly, Estella scrunched up her face and muttered something under her breath.
Lucian creased his brows and leaned closer to Estella to hear what she was saying. “Mommy…” Estella mumbled. As she spoke, she even grabbed onto Lucian’s clothes.
Although she was still sleeping, Lucian could see that she had grown attached to Roxanne.
His gaze darkened as he thought about the woman. James had also heard Estella, and he cast a complicated glance at the rearview mirror. Through the rearview mirror, he saw Lucian’s grim expression and sighed soundlessly.
“Essie needs a mother. Until you meet a woman you like, you shouldn’t prevent Essie from seeing Ms. Jarvis regardless of your opinion of her.”
After a long moment, Lucian replied in a deep voice, “I’ll take note of that.”
James stopped talking because he knew it would be pointless to continue since he did not know what Lucian was thinking.
Meanwhile, Roxanne had been waiting outside the Farwell residence for quite some time, as Lucian did not reply to her.
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.