A brief moment of silence later, Colby nodded calmly in response to that.
Jack curled his lips into a meaningful smile. “Really? Dr. Galloway, I always thought you were only colleagues with Ms. Jarvis.” Then, he deliberately put on an apologetic look. “After hearing what you said, I finally realized I’d misunderstood your relationship all this while. But then, what is going on between Ms. Jarvis and Mr. Farwell? Dr. Galloway, why did you make it sound as though they got into a fight?”
Colby frowned at that. He knew there must be something going on between Roxanne and Lucian. Otherwise, Lucian would not have shown up at her place in the middle of the night and stood forward to help her when she was targeted by the public.
Colby believed Lucian must be pursuing Roxanne. However, judging from Jack’s tone, he reckoned there must be more beyond his understanding of the two.
He could not help thinking there was something more behind Roxanne and Lucian’s relationship.
When he came to that realization, his face fell.
Jack stared at him in amusement. “Dr. Galloway, what’s wrong? Well, you can choose not to tell me if it’s something you don’t feel comfortable sharing.”
Jack had spent much effort to finally find out more about Lucian and Roxanne’s relationship. Roxanne and the Farwell family had been keeping their relationship a secret from everyone else. Only a few individuals were aware of it.
Jack was confident that Colby was not among the few individuals who knew about their relationship. Colby had only played along with what Jack had said because he suspected Jack’s relationship with Roxanne. He intended to make Jack feel jealous of Lucian. If a fight broke out between Jack and Lucian over this, Colby could benefit from the rivalry, as he would surely have one lesser love rival.
Colby’s expression changed again and again. After a long moment, he finally said awkwardly, “This is Dr. Jarvis’ privacy. Mr. Damaris, I only brought it up to you because I thought you knew about it. But it seems to me now that you aren’t aware of it, so let’s drop that topic.”
Jack raised his brows and glanced at Colby. The dubious look in his eyes was enough to tell what he was thinking at that moment.
Colby was startled for a few seconds, feeling embarrassed. However, on second thought, he knew he would have to get in the Damaris family’s good book if he wanted to soar to a career height on par with Roxanne’s.
Suppressing the unpleasant emotions in his heart, he started sharing his history with Roxanne. “I met Dr. Jarvis when she was living abroad, and we worked together multiple times after that. After returning to the country, I thought I would lose contact with Dr. Jarvis. But surprisingly, she returned to the country shortly after I did. She even started operating this research institute with me.” As he spoke, he casually took in Jack’s expression. “Although it hasn’t been long since Dr. Jarvis returned to the country, she and I have worked and solved many issues together.”
He made it clear that he was very close with Roxanne. On one hand, he wanted to use his connections with Roxanne to get closer to the Damaris family. On the other hand, he wanted to instill more convincing points in what he had said earlier to salvage his dignity.
Jack maintained a neutral expression and listened to everything Colby said. Then he smiled. “So, Dr. Galloway, I guess it’s safe for me to assume you’re pretty close with Ms. Jarvis.”
Colby smiled in response to that but said nothing.
Jack went on, “But then, your relationship seems strictly business. You don’t seem to interact much with her beyond your work.”
Colby stiffened up at that.
It was true that he did not interact much with Roxanne out of work, and that was what had been troubling Colby all this while.
Technically speaking, Colby had known Roxanne for a time frame not shorter than Jack knew Roxanne, but Colby had only gone to her place once to give her medicine when she needed it. Even then, he had only stood in her courtyard instead of being invited inside.
As for Roxanne’s children, he had also only met them a few times when Roxanne brought them to the research institute while living abroad. He hadn’t seen them ever since returning to the country.
On the other hand, Jack seemed pretty close with the kids despite not knowing them for too long. He even knew when the kids had fallen sick.
Colby could not help thinking about how close Jack was with Roxanne, and jealousy started brewing wildly within him.
“It’s getting late now. Dr. Galloway, I should get going if you have nothing else.” Jack could not be bothered by Colby’s inner thoughts. He bade goodbye to him, turned around, and got into his car.
Although the Damaris family was prominent in the medical field, Jack was more of a businessman. He could effortlessly read Colby’s emotions by just observing his expression.
Seeing that Jack had gotten inside his car, Colby snapped back to his senses. His eyes were filled with fury as he watched Jack drive away.
He refused to think Jack did not understand his intention after he told him so many things. He believed Jack understood his message but decided not to interfere.
Even so, Jack could have changed the topic or cut him off directly, but he did not do that. Instead, he had allowed Colby to keep talking as he watched him in amusement.
Thinking back on how Jack had inadvertently led him to continue telling him more, Colby angrily slammed his fist on the research institute wall.
Meanwhile, on the way back home, the images of Lucian and Estella kept appearing in Roxanne’s mind.
After feeling troubled for a long while, Roxanne clenched her fist to calm herself down.
Before things at Herbscape Group are finalized, there’s no evidence pointing to Lucian as the person responsible. There’s certainly nothing to prove that Lucian did that for me, so there’s no need for me to feel guilty.
After trying very hard to convince herself, Roxanne finally let the matter go.
All that was left was Estella.
She wondered how the little one was doing and if she was still crying.
More so, she also wondered if Lucian had brought Estella to look for her.
Roxanne checked her phone every now and then to see if she had any missed calls or unread messages.
After a few rounds of checking, there was still nothing showing on the screen.
“Sir, please drive a little faster.” Roxanne could not help but rush the driver, feeling disappointed.
The driver acknowledged and sped up.
Twenty minutes later, they arrived at Roxanne’s home.
She quickly got out of the car and strode into the mansion.
At the same time, both Archie and Benny rushed to the door when they heard sounds from outside. They thought that Lucian had brought Estella there.
Since the time Roxanne left, both the boys had been waiting patiently on the couch so that they would not miss it when Lucian knocked on the door.
When the door opened and they saw who it was, the boys’ anticipation turned to worry.
“Mommy, are you done with your work?”
They noticed that Roxanne’s face was grimmer than before she left.
She swept her glance across the living room and saw no one except her sons.
Roxanne was crestfallen and felt a little lost. “Didn’t Essie come?”
Archie and Benny exchanged glances. They could not bear to tell their mother the truth.
Roxanne had always been more worried about Estella than the boys.
“Maybe Mr. Farwell is occupied at the moment, and they will come later!”
Archie was quick to come up with something to console his mother.
Roxanne mustered a smile at the boys, but she was still devastated and worried about Estella.
Archie and Benny eyed their mother with concern. They had been standing at the doorway for quite a while now, but Roxanne did not look as if she wanted to come in.
The boys had no idea if she had forgotten or if there were some other reasons.
“Mommy, let’s go in first,” said Benny in a piping voice.
It was only then Roxanne returned to her senses. With a hint of hesitation in her eyes, she declined in the end. “I’ll go to Mr. Farwell’s house and take a look. Stay at home and wait for me.”
When Archie and Benny heard that, they exchanged looks before saying in unison, “We want to go with you!”
The boys were equally anxious about Estella’s situation. Given Roxanne’s current condition, they did not think she could drive on her own.
Roxanne knew that her sons were worried about her, so she comforted them with a smile, “Both of you stay here. You can tell me if Essie comes.”
Archie and Benny hesitated for a while and nodded when they heard that.
Roxanne stroked their heads and got into her car once she saw the boys shut the door. She then made her way to the Farwell residence.
Along the way there, Roxanne felt very uneasy.
She had no idea if Estella was at home and if she would be denied entry.
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.