Benny frowned. “But Mommy seems to be angrier than before. Could it be that Daddy is faking his illness?”
Maybe Daddy isn’t truly sick and is just trying to trick us. Mommy found out about it, which is why she’s so angry.
However…
Archie shook his head. “Daddy is really sick. Essie wouldn’t lie to us.”
As for what had happened, the two of them were not sure.
Archie and Benny could not come up with an answer no matter how much they thought about it, so they had no choice but to return to their room.
At the same time, Roxanne was lying on the bed, trying to fall asleep. However, her mind was filled with memories of her and Lucian.
After staying up the entire night, Roxanne got up super early the next morning. She wanted to leave as soon as possible for the research institute because Jack was scheduled to deliver the medicinal herbs on time.
Hence, she did not want to keep him waiting. With that thought in mind, Roxanne tried to stay awake. Upon getting dressed, she went downstairs, only to be greeted by two concerned children at the dining table.
Roxanne sat down next to Archie and Benny. Then, she gave them both a peck on the cheek like she always did. When she lifted her head, she noticed faint dark circles under the kids’ eyes.
She frowned immediately and asked, “You two didn’t have a good night’s sleep?” The boys shook their heads, feeling guilty. Benny answered in a piping voice, “I had a nightmare and caused Archie to sleep poorly.”
Though feeling groggy, Roxanne could tell that it was just an excuse. She snapped her brows together and said, “You can come over and look for me the next time you have a bad dream.”
The little boy nodded obediently in response.
Thereafter, Roxanne said nothing as she started eating her breakfast.
She wanted to finish it as fast as she could in order to leave for the research institute.
Just as she finished eating, the doorbell unexpectedly rang.
She froze for a second before standing up to get the door.
When she found out who it was, a deep frown instantly marred her countenance. “Mr. Damaris, why are you here?”
He should be preparing the medicinal herbs at Damaris Group right now.
Jack flashed a smile. “I hope I didn’t disturb your morning.”
Confused, Roxanne shook her head.
Jack explained, “Well, it’s still early, so I’m here to pick you up while my assistant looks after the preparation of the herbs.”
He scanned behind her and added, “Also, I wanted to swing by to see Archie and Benny. You mentioned they were unwell some time back, and I felt really bad for not visiting them for the longest time.”
The boys seemed to have heard him. Within seconds, they dashed out from the dining area.
“Mommy, are Mr. Farwell and Essie here?” They sounded extremely excited.
Roxanne darted a glance at the man standing before her, then at the kids. For a moment, she did not know how to respond.
She recalled the children disliking Jack.
As the kids thought Lucian and Estella were here, they were all beaming happily, but the smiles on their faces froze when they saw who was at the door. They failed to hide their disappointment.
“Hi, how have you been? It’s been ages.” Jack ignored the utter disappointment on the boys’ faces.
Snapping back to their senses, Archie and Benny greeted him courteously, “Hi, Mr. Damaris.”
Benny could not help but ask, “Are you here to drive Mommy to work?”
As far as he could remember, each time Jack appeared, Roxanne would follow him to work.
Jack nodded noncommittally. “You are such a clever boy, Benny! Yes, I’m afraid your mommy has to go soon.”
Just then, Roxanne was ready to leave.
Since the children had guessed it right, she caressed their heads and said gently, “I’m going to work. Ms. Lane will take you both to school in a bit.”
Subsequently, she gave Jack a nod to indicate that she was ready to go.
However, the boys were very reluctant about it.
Mommy and Daddy haven’t patched things up yet, and Mr. Damaris is now in the picture. Will he win Mommy over? What if Mommy doesn’t want Daddy anymore?
The thought of it made Archie and Benny stare at Roxanne with recrimination.
Roxanne was rendered speechless.
As Jack entered the car, she bent down and gave the boys a solemn promise.
“This is nothing but work. Rest assured that I’ll seek your agreement first should I have any plans to find you a daddy.”
At that, the boys had no choice but to let her go.
After receiving her blessings from her children, Roxanne headed toward the garage. Although Jack came all the way to pick her up, she had no intention of being his passenger.
More importantly, she did not want to upset her sons or create any misunderstanding. Jack watched her drive the car out from the garage without saying a word. Smiling, he ignited the engine and led the way.
With that, the two of them set off to the research institute one after another. By the time they arrived, the staff from Damaris Group were offloading the medicinal herbs at the main entrance. Colby was there to welcome them.
When the latter saw the two come in separate cars, his expression darkened. “Thanks for your hard work, Dr. Galloway,” uttered Jack.
He was the first one to get out of his car before striding toward the entrance. Colby recomposed himself and asked nonchalantly, “Mr. Damaris, Dr. Jarvis, you guys…?”
Roxanne’s house was in the opposite direction than heading to the research institute from the Damaris residence. Seeing them both arrive from the same direction made Colby suspect that Jack had gone to visit Roxanne in the morning again.
If that’s really the case, they are getting a tad bit too close. “Oh, I detoured to Ms. Jarvis’ residence. Initially, I intended to drive her here, but…”
Jack arched his brow and dropped the topic. Yet, Colby was able to figure out that Roxanne had declined the former’s good intentions.
When he came to that realization, Colby felt much better.
Roxanne quickly got out of her car and jogged toward the entrance of the institute. “Sorry, I’m late.”
She flashed a smile at Colby, looking apologetic.
The latter was not too fazed by the matter. “There’s nothing much to do besides supervising the delivery of the medicinal herbs. Moreover, these are from the Damaris Group. I can definitely handle this alone.”
As he spoke, he took a casual glance at Jack, who responded with a gentlemanly nod.
The delivery was almost completed by the time Roxanne got there.
It did not take long for the truckload of medicinal herbs to be transferred to the storage area.
Learning from her past experience, Roxanne improved the remaining storage rooms at the research institute by adding fireproof materials to them.
Even so, she could not stop worrying about it. She had to check it personally to be assured that everything was in order.
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.