Chapter 453 – Her Sudden Departure: A Tale of Love and Redemption (Lucian & Roxanne)

I have no chance of competing with them unless I can be like them and be more outstanding than Roxanne! I must be as good as her at the very least!

Roxanne was also spacing out, feeling conflicted about Lucian and Estella.

“Ms. Jarvis, watch out!”

Just when she was lost in her thoughts, Jack’s voice sounded behind her, pulling her back to reality.

Roxanne stopped in her tracks, but it was too late.

As her mind was filled with thoughts about Lucian and Estella, she didn’t notice where she was walking, resulting in her losing her footing.

Then she felt herself leaning forward.

Roxanne’s heart clenched, and she didn’t even have time to scream. She only hugged the medicine tight against her chest.

It wasn’t easy for them to obtain the herbs, so it would be a huge loss if they were damaged.

She slipped down a few flights of stairs, and just when she was about to slam into the ground, a pair of strong arms grabbed her waist and steadied her.

Roxanne finally caught her balance and took a few deep breaths, holding on to those arms before calming down.

“Are you okay?” Jack asked as he helped her stand straight.

Realizing how close they were, Roxanne was startled for a moment and the color rose on her cheeks. “Thank you, Mr. Damaris.”

Jack narrowed his eyes and scrutinized her. “Something seems to be on your mind, Ms. Jarvis.”

Roxanne shook her head, trying to appear calm. “It’s nothing. I was just careless just now,” she said before lowering her head to check the medicinal herbs in her arms. “Thank goodness nothing happened to the herbs.” She sighed in relief.

“It’s just a few bottles of medicinal herbs. You should be more concerned about your own safety if such incidents happen in the future. It’s not like the Damaris family can’t afford the medicinal herbs. Besides, compared to the herbs, a person like you is more precious,” Jack said with a frown.

Roxanne flashed him a small smile. “Thank you. I will be more careful next time.”

Then, she gave Jack a slight nod before entering the storage room with the medicinal herbs.

Colby was a few steps behind them. When he reached the door to the storage room, he coincidentally saw the scene where Jack held Roxanne up.

Immediately, he froze in his tracks when he saw their intimate pose, and his face clouded over.

I wonder what Roxanne’s reaction would be if it was me holding her up!

With the efforts of the four people, all the medicinal herbs were quickly transferred to the storage room. After moving the last bottle of medicinal herbs, Roxanne walked to a corner and looked at her phone.

There was nothing on her screen. There were no missed calls, much less a reply from Lucian.

She stared at her blank screen for a few seconds and stubbornly wondered if she should call Archie and Benny and ask about it.

Just then, she heard the sound of footsteps behind her and turned to look. Jack and Colby were walking over together while chatting.

Meeting her eyes, they stopped talking and smiled at her.

Roxanne frowned. She kept her phone and made her way to them.

“What are you two doing here?” she asked in confusion.

“You disappeared in a flash after we finished moving the medicinal herbs, so we had to find you,” Jack replied.

“Sorry, I was busy with something, so I left first and forgot to tell you. Sorry for making you worry.”

Jack nodded nonchalantly. “It’s all right. I’m glad you’re fine.”

Colby’s eyes darkened for a moment before quickly returning to normal as he looked at Roxanne.

“Dr. Jarvis, since we’re all here, why don’t we check out the equipment we were talking about two days ago?” Colby suggested after a while.

As the research institute needed some new medical equipment, Roxanne and Colby had been speaking at length about this matter.

Unfortunately, Roxanne had been busy with Damaris Group’s project and hadn’t had the time to see the equipment.

Now, hearing Colby’s suggestion, she felt a little hesitant.

I promised Archie and Benny that I would return as soon as possible, plus I’m not in the mood to work anymore. Even if I go to see the equipment, I may not be able to concentrate.

Just when she was wondering how to reject Colby, Jack’s voice rang out.

“I almost forgot, but Archie and Benny are not feeling well, so Ms. Jarvis must be worried. If it’s not urgent, she can take a look at it another day. I can also accompany you two,” he said considerately with a smile as he sauntered toward Roxanne.

A grateful look appeared on Roxanne’s face when she heard that.

She didn’t know why Jack had helped her find an excuse, but she went along with it. “Sorry, Dr. Galloway, but I’m not free today.”

“It’s all my fault. I knew Archie and Benny were sick, yet I still got you to help me with this. They must resent me for this,” Jack chimed in.

Roxanne immediately shook her head. “They won’t. They’re very understanding.” Then she turned to Colby. “Getting new equipment for the research institute is not that urgent, so we can check it out in a few days. If you’re in a hurry, you can take a look first, and if there’s a company you like, we can check it out together at a later date.”

There was a note of finality in her voice.

Since Archie and Benny were sick, Colby had no reason to refuse and could only relent while pretending to be thoughtful.

“I see. I sensed there was something off with you today. Turns out Archie and Benny are not feeling well. Please send them my regards. I’ll visit them when I’m free.”

“I will,” Roxanne replied, smiling appreciatively.

She then waved them goodbye before striding out of the research institute and hailing a taxi.

After watching as Roxanne got into the taxi, Jack turned around and glanced at the man beside him with a frown.

Judging by their interactions earlier, Jack could tell that the man seemed to be interested in Roxanne. However, his identity was slightly concerning.

Jack took a sidelong glance at Colby with a hint of mockery flashing across his eyes.

It was not until the taxi disappeared from his eyesight that Colby finally withdrew his gaze and met Jack’s.

“Mr. Damaris.” A rather unusual feeling surged within Colby at that moment, but he quickly suppressed it.

Jack calmly withdrew his gaze and nodded in response.

“Mr. Damaris, you seem to know what is bothering Dr. Jarvis,” Colby started.

Otherwise, he would not have stepped in and helped Roxanne out of the situation before she could say anything. Besides, the two were clearly together before arriving at the research institute.

Jack merely ached a brow in response. “Dr. Galloway, what are you trying to say?”

Colby could hear the hidden hint of disdain in Jack’s tone. Anger swelled in him, but he forced himself to suppress it.

After a few seconds, he said calmly, “I think Dr. Jarvis might be troubled with something related to Mr. Farwell. Earlier, Dr. Jarvis’ expression turned slightly grim when I talked about Herbscape Group with her.”

Jack scrutinized him without agreeing or disagreeing with what he said. Instead, he acted surprised and cocked a brow. “Is that so? I don’t think I paid attention to that.”

In other words, Jack was mocking Colby for putting all his attention on Roxanne.

Colby intended to stir up conflict between Jack and Lucian so that he could take advantage of the rivalry and win Roxanne over. However, he did not expect Jack to beat him to it by mocking him for what he just said.

He frowned and stared at Jack warily. “Mr. Damaris, what do you mean by that?”

Jack raised his brows. “Nothing. I’m just curious. Dr. Galloway, you seem to understand a lot about Ms. Jarvis.”

Despite not knowing much about Roxanne’s past, Colby refused to show weakness in front of Jack.

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