I can’t answer him candidly and say I only came out because I couldn’t sleep due to his presence in the tent, can I?
During the time when she wavered over how she should respond to that, Lucian had already sat down beside her.
Roxanne stiffened imperceptibly, but she promptly forced herself to relax.
“I was wondering where the bacteria in the kids’ water came from.”
A brief moment later, she nonchalantly gave the man a reasonable answer.
Indeed, that was also one of the reasons that contributed to her quandary.
Lucian arched his brows a fraction, a hint of solemnity entering his eyes. “Perhaps the water accidentally got contaminated by some plant or the like. There are a lot of bacteria in the wild in the first place.”
However, Roxanne shook her head in negation. “That’s impossible. I’m familiar with that kind of bacteria. It doesn’t exist naturally and is created artificially. Generally, it’s only used in labs and would never appear in the wild.”
Following her comment, Lucian’s gaze darkened. “You mean to say that—”
“It goes without question that it’s a deliberate act of sabotage. Otherwise, such a bacteria would never appear in the wild and even happen to fall into our water!” Roxanne asserted firmly.
Initially, she merely wanted to find an excuse for her evasion, but she inevitably turned somber when speaking of the bacterial infection.
“Even an adult wouldn’t be able to withstand the symptoms from such a bacterium, much less two kids. If it weren’t for you delivering the medicine over in time, I don’t know how much longer Benny and Essie could’ve held out.”
The scene of Benny and Estella in the throes of agony flashed across her mind, and her eyes blazed with fury.
Who exactly was ruthless enough to have done such a cruel thing to a few kids?
Understanding of the entire incident dawned upon Lucian. His face went as black as thunder, and his voice turned icy.
“If that’s really the case, Farwell Group will ferret out the culprit who added the bacteria even if it meant turning over every stone in the world!”
Roxanne wasn’t at all surprised by Lucian’s statement. After all, the culprit who added the bacteria into the children’s water put Estella through great agony.
Considering her importance to the man, it was only natural that he was determined to punish the culprit. “Are you still not planning on changing your mind despite the incident this time?” Lucian queried out of the blue, making little sense.
Roxanne’s thoughts were still on the culprit who added the bacteria, so she was somewhat perplexed when she heard that question.
Without bothering to wait for her reply, Lucian added, “Benny instinctively called out for his father while in a semi-conscious state. If I remember correctly, the same thing happened previously.”
Back then, they were all infected by the bacteria on Estella. Archie and Benny first itched all over before running a high fever.
When Benny was semi-conscious, he also asked for his father in a mutter.
At the mention of that matter, Roxanne’s heart clenched. Biting the bullet, she countered, “He has been lacking fatherly love for a long time now, so that’s nothing out of the ordinary.”
Despite knowing that Benny was merely talking in his sleep, she still couldn’t help feeling guilty.
She instinctually thought that the man only put that question to her all of a sudden because he discovered her secret.
But then, the next words out of his mouth caught her completely off guard.
“That’s precisely why I’m talking about this. You can also see how much they yearn for fatherly love, yet you still plan to continue depriving them of it?”
While saying that, Lucian stared at her meaningfully.
Without needing him to spell it out further, Roxanne instantly caught his drift.
In other words, he was telling her in a roundabout way that he was willing to be Archie and Benny’s father, thus seeking her opinion on the matter.
He had asked a similar question countless times, but she was still panicked as usual.
Her eyes alighted on the man beside her briefly before she hurriedly averted her gaze.
“I’m not the only one with the final say in this matter. I’ll respect their opinions.”
After saying that, Roxanne got to her feet in feigned calmness. “I’m a tad sleepy, so I’m going in to rest first.”
Not even daring to turn back, she went back into the tent to avoid the man behind her once more.
Meanwhile, Lucian studied her retreating back, his gaze dark and unfathomable.
Naturally, he could tell that she was avoiding him.
In fact, he could already imagine that she would react in such a manner when he voiced that utterance just now.
Nonetheless, he was still inexorably frustrated to personally witness her evasion of him.
Verily, he didn’t know how much longer such a cat-and-mouse relationship between them could last.
In the tent, Roxanne gingerly returned to her spot earlier.
Before lying down, she meticulously checked on the children. Only when she had ascertained that she didn’t awaken them did she lie down with peace of mind.
As she listened to their even breathing, turmoil brewed within her. Needless to say, she wasn’t sleepy at all. Even as she lay in the tent then, she didn’t feel a hint of drowsiness.
She simply didn’t know how to face that question by Lucian and made an excuse at random, ending up back in the tent to avoid him. Before, she left the tent to avoid him.
Yet, she went back in right then for the same reason. Thinking of that, she couldn’t help finding her actions hilarious.
On second thought, Lucian has probably figured out why I went in and out of the tent. I wonder what he’s thinking right now…
At the possibility that he might enter the tent again, her heart lodged in her throat. Surprisingly, there was no movement from outside, even after she had waited for an indeterminate time.
Drowsiness finally hit her, and she groggily fell asleep.
By the time Roxanne woke up, the sun was already high in the sky. As soon as she opened her eyes, she saw Archie, Benny, and Estella eyeballing her earnestly in a file. “Mommy!”
“Ms. Jarvis!” Seeing that she had awakened, the children greeted her in unison and threw themselves at her while giggling away.
At the sight of the three soothing countenances, Roxanne’s heart melted in a flash. She reached out and stroked their heads before slowly sitting up.
Since she had just awoken, she was still a tad disorientated. She couldn’t shake off the feeling that she had seemingly forgotten something.
Be that as it may, the three children in front of her gave her no time to ponder upon that. “How are you guys feeling?” Roxanne scrutinized them in concern.
Last night, she thought they would have recovered after ingesting the medicine. Unexpectedly, Benny still felt unwell. That was the only reason she agreed to let them stay overnight.
I wonder how much they’ve have recovered now. At her question, Benny flashed her a guilty smile. “I’m fine now. I’m feeling much better after a good night’s sleep!”
Still worried, Roxanne checked the children over again and ascertained that there were no problems before dropping the matter.
Just when she let go of their hands, Estella’s stomach started growling all of a sudden. It wasn’t until then that she remembered that they hadn’t eaten much when they took ill last night.
But I never expected us to spend the night here and neglected to prepare sufficient food. There’s still food left from yesterday, but it isn’t fresh anymore. On top of that, I don’t dare to feed them anything I brought after the incident last night.
Following that line of thought, she got up without hesitation. “Let’s go back.”
While saying that, she took the lead and walked out of the tent.
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.