“If there’s nothing else, I’m hanging up now.” Lucian waited for a moment before preparing to end the call when the two boys did not speak.
“Mr. Farwell, wait a minute!” The boys hurried to stop Lucian after hearing his words. Lucian paused, complying with their request.
Cautiously, Benny glanced over at his mother while holding onto Archie’s watch. He said, “Mr. Farwell, are you busy at work? If so, you can send Essie to us. We’ll take good care of Essie together with Mommy.”
After uttering the words, Benny waited with bated breath for Lucian’s reply. After all, Lucian had rejected their request to go visit Estella just moments ago. Hence, it would not be a surprise if this request was rejected as well.
In fact, he’s quite likely to reject it. Still, it was worth a try. Maybe Daddy will even agree to it!
Roxanne had not expected the boys to come out with their request so suddenly, leaving her feeling anxious.
A few moments later, Lucian’s voice sounded from the phone. “There’s no need. I will stay home and take care of Essie.”
Without waiting for them to speak, Lucian hung up right away.
The boys’ mouths were agape for a moment before awkwardly shutting. Then, they turned to look at their mother with woeful expressions.
As she was filled with frustration, the light in Roxanne’s eyes slowly dimmed.
However, she forced herself to smile and gently pat their heads when she saw their crestfallen expressions.
“Thank you, my darlings. Don’t worry. At least we found out that Essie’s all right.”
The two boys nodded obediently in response.
Although they were still worried, they knew if they wore their hearts on their sleeves, their mother would only become sadder.
“Anyway, why do you guys have Lucian’s phone number?” Roxanne looked at Archie and Benny in confusion.
Not only did they somehow have Lucian’s phone number, but the latter also did not inquire who the caller was and clearly called out to Archie after picking up the phone.
This meant that the three of them had contacted each other before.
However, Roxanne had no recollection of Archie ever using his smartwatch to call Lucian. Thus, she concluded that they must have done it behind her back.
Suspicion surged within her as the realization hit her.
Right then, guilt flashed across their eyes as Archie and Benny realized their mother had caught wind of what they had been up to.
Steeling himself, Archie said, “Mr. Farwell gave us his number the day you got drunk. He told us to call him anytime if we needed anything.”
Roxanne furrowed her brows, trying to recall the time she had gotten drunk and had to be sent home by Lucian.
It makes sense if the boys had gotten Lucian’s phone number back then.
She leaned forward and tousled their hair, chiding them, “Don’t disturb him too much.”
Nodding demurely, Archie and Benny let out sighs of relief inwardly when Roxanne did not pry into the matter further.
Roxanne sat with the children in the living room for some time before leaving to prepare their afternoon meal when lunchtime drew near.
In the living room, Archie and Benny whispered among themselves.
“Archie, is Essie really okay?” Benny asked as he fiddled with his fingers to distract himself.
Pressing his lips together, Archie replied solemnly, “I don’t know either.”
Judging from Daddy’s tone, Essie didn’t seem to be okay.
Even if Lucian did not explicitly spell it out for them, they could guess the reason. Estella had likely fallen asleep after wearing herself out with the crying.
Thinking of that, the boys felt sorry for Estella. “Alas, Daddy doesn’t allow us to visit her,” Benny grumbled in a piping voice.
Yet, his brother refuted almost immediately, “No. It’s not that he doesn’t allow us to see her.” Benny looked at his brother in puzzlement upon hearing that.
After glancing in the direction of the kitchen, Archie expounded dejectedly, “Daddy just doesn’t want Mommy to visit Essie.”
His words left Benny stunned for a moment. As realization dawned on the latter, his expression instantly changed.
I wonder what happened to Daddy and Mommy. Is he still angry about what happened yesterday? But that’s just a trivial matter… Even Essie has forgiven Mommy.
Meanwhile, Roxanne, who was in the kitchen, felt uneasy as well.
Earlier, when she was on the phone with Lucian, she overheard the sound of Estella’s sobs.
Estella was wailing miserably, and Roxanne even heard the little one uttering her name.
At that moment, Roxanne was racked with guilt and full of remorse for the decision she had made.
If I had known this beforehand, I would’ve rushed to her and stayed by her side. I wouldn’t even hesitate. Alas, I didn’t know Lucian would stop me from seeing Essie. She matters more to me than anything else in the world. Those medicines are nothing compared to her…
“Mommy, what’s that smell?” Archie and Benny asked as they walked toward Roxanne.
The boys were puzzled to detect a strange smell in the air.
As the unpleasant smell seemed to be wafting from a pot, the boys stood on their tiptoes to take a look.
However, they were too short to look into the pot.
As the boys’ voices pulled Roxanne out of her stupor, she lowered her gaze to check the ingredients in the pot.
Unfortunately, everything in the pot was fully blackened and burnt. Even the air was permeated with the odor of burnt food.
Gosh! I’ve been thinking about Essie all this while and forgotten that I’m cooking!
Roxanne hurriedly turned off the stove. She looked apologetic as she looked downward at Archie and Benny. “Sorry, Mommy was lost in thought, and the food got burned. We shall head out for lunch.”
After that, she turned around and took off her apron.
Eventually, the three of them went to a restaurant nearby their house.
As the trio was still worried about Estella, they did not have much appetite. They had something light for lunch and returned home right after.
“Mommy, are you tired?” Archie and Benny asked as they noticed how absent-minded their mother was.
“Why don’t you go upstairs to get some rest?” one of the boys suggested with great concern.
Roxanne knitted her brows when she heard that. Although she was indeed tired, she could not help but worry about leaving the children all by themselves.
“Don’t worry, Mommy. We’ll take good care of ourselves!” the boys reassured with a loveable smile.
As Roxanne massaged the bridge of her nose, she uttered softly, “All right. Mommy will head upstairs to get some rest. Be good, and stay right here, okay?”
In truth, she felt totally exhausted after what had happened.
After the boys nodded obediently at her in response, she turned around and went upstairs.
Her mind was mired in chaos as she locked herself in the bedroom.
As she did not feel sleepy, she stared blankly into space while sitting on the bed.
However, it wasn’t long before she got up and strode toward the study. She thought staying busy with work could keep her out of her inner turmoil.
Meanwhile, the little ones downstairs kept quiet until there was no rustling sound coming from upstairs.
“Archie, let’s head to Daddy’s house,” Benny suggested in a low voice.
The little boy looked immensely serious, and his eyes sparkled with anticipation as he spoke.
Mommy couldn’t even concentrate while cooking. She was also absent-minded when we were eating just now. I’m sure Mommy is very worried about Essie. Since Daddy won’t allow Mommy to visit her, the two of us can go, no? We can tell Mommy about Essie’s condition after the visit!
After giving it some thought, Archie looked toward the room on the second floor with a frown.
As usual, the elder child had more to consider before deciding.
Mommy is upset and worried about Essie. We shouldn’t go out without her knowledge. She’ll fly into a panic!
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.