Naturally, Archie and Benny also knew Estella wouldn’t be thrilled to attend a new school. Nevertheless, they decided not to push that matter further when they saw Roxanne’s reddened eyes.
“We got it, Mommy.” Roxanne forced a smile at her kids. “Let’s finish our meals and get rested earlier.” The boys nodded obediently. Subsequently, the trio had their dinner absentmindedly.
They returned to their rooms after taking a few bites of their food. Roxanne lay on her bed, looking at the conch shell Estella gave her, with complicated emotions churning within her.
She had just been listening to Archie and Benny giving her an account of their fun time hanging out with Estella the day before. Unexpectedly, Lucian had transferred Estella to another school that day.
She could easily imagine how hard Estella would’ve cried when the latter was informed of that matter. Nonetheless, she was no longer in a position fit to comfort the little girl.
Roxanne didn’t even have the courage to ask how Estella was doing.
At the thought of Estella’s tear-stricken face, Roxanne felt heart-wrenching pain in her chest.
Meanwhile, inside Archie and Benny’s bedroom, the two boys huddled together on the same bed.
“Don’t cry. Don’t soil my bed with your snot.”
Archie regarded his little brother, who was sniffling continuously, with a tense expression.
Tears brimmed in Benny’s eyes. Under Archie’s watchful gaze, he tried his best to suppress his urge to cry.
“Essie must be crying her eyes out,” Benny uttered in an undertone.
Archie knitted his brows and nodded. “That’s why we must hurry up and go comfort her.”
Hearing that, Benny gradually calmed himself. “But Mommy forbids us from meeting with Essie.”
“In that case, we’ll go there secretly.” Archie had already come up with a plan.
Benny’s eyes lit up instantaneously.
They sat up on the bed and discussed their escape plan in hushed tones.
“Mommy is busy with work these days, so she won’t pay attention to us when we’re at school. We’ll apply for a leave of absence from Ms. Ward to meet with Essie.”
Despite his youthful voice, Archie wore a mature expression, looking like a little adult.
Benny nodded firmly. Then, he seemed to have thought of something. “But what if Mommy finds out…”
Archie glanced at Benny with his brows furrowed. “Mommy won’t find out. We’ll put our watches at home. Mommy will then think we are home because we feel under the weather. We’ll already be back home when she returns at night.”
Archie’s plan sounded flawless.
This time, Benny bobbed his head in agreement instead of asking more questions. “It’ll be even better if we can run into Daddy.”
Even if they managed to cheer Estella up, Archie and Benny would still be powerless to change anything if Lucian was adamant about moving her to a different school.
The best outcome would be for us to meet with Daddy and ask him not to transfer Essie to another school.
Benny pondered naively.
Naturally, Archie was well aware of the thoughts going through Benny’s mind because he shared that sentiment.
“I really hope Daddy and Mommy will reconcile.”
Benny turned sorrowful again.
Archie hugged his little brother and comforted him confidently, “They will. If we encounter Daddy tomorrow, we’ll convince him not to transfer Essie to a new school and to quit fighting with Mommy.”
Benny nodded vigorously. “Okay!”
The two boys conversed under their breath while looking forward to meeting with Lucian the next day.
Soon, they drifted off to sleep on the same small bed.
Lysa went to wake Archie and Benny up the next morning. Tender feelings formed within her the moment she opened the door and saw them asleep in the same bed.
They woke up on their own before she said anything. However, their countenances were pale. “Ms. Lane, my head hurts…”
Having sobbed for some time and fallen asleep late last night, their voices were still hoarse, and their faces were a little pale. Lysa’s heart sank upon hearing that. She quickly checked their temperature, but they showed no signs of having a fever.
“Hold on. I’m going to fetch your mother.” With that, Lysa left to get Roxanne. Roxanne had been busy with research those past few days. By then, she was all prepared and ready to leave.
When she heard Lysa mention that the kids weren’t feeling well, she put her bag down and hurried to their room upstairs. “What’s wrong? Ms. Lane told me you aren’t feeling well.”
Benny threw himself into Roxanne’s arms. “Mommy, my head hurts.” Roxanne frowned and reached out to check on him, only to find that he showed no symptoms.
Archie yawned beside them. “Benny kept snatching my blanket, so I hadn’t slept well.” Roxanne surmised upon hearing what they said, “You might have caught a cold while snatching the blanket from each other.”
Both the boys had bitter looks on their faces. As soon as Roxanne let go of Benny, he flopped onto the bed lifelessly.
Roxanne furrowed her brows upon noticing how unwell they seemed to be. “I’ll let you take a day off from school so you can get some rest at home.”
The boys nodded and agreed with that. After that, Roxanne immediately informed Pippa of the boys’ absence that day.
“I have important work to do today, so I can’t take care of you at home.Go back to your beds and get some sleep. You’ll be fine after you wake up.
”
It would be to their benefit that she left them alone at home, so they nodded meekly after hearing that. “Ms. Lane will take good care of us!” Archie answered in an adorable voice.
Roxanne nodded and turned to give Lysa some instructions before standing up to leave. When they figured that Roxanne would have gone some distance by then, they turned to look at Lysa.
“What is it? Are you hungry?” Lysa looked at them with concern. They shook their heads. Lysa was slightly confused as she continued guessing, “Then… Are you missing your mother? She has an important job—”
“Our heads hurt, Ms. Lane. We’re also feeling tired and want to sleep,” they cut her off before she could finish her sentence.
Benny held his head with a pitiful expression on his face.
Upon hearing that, Lysa stopped mid-sentence and changed the topic. “Then get some rest. I’ll get you when it’s time for lunch.”
Archie added, “We might be sleeping in until the afternoon. You don’t need to wake us if we don’t get up when you knock on our door.”
Lysa mulled over what Roxanne had said to her before leaving. In the end, she nodded in acquiescence.
After Lysa left the room, Archie and Benny scrambled up from bed. They seemed to be fine enough, given how lively they were.
They tip-toed out of their room and took a peek downstairs.
Lysa was busy with chores in the kitchen.
Upon seeing that, they crept down the stairs from the second floor and made their way to the foyer.
They snuck out of the building one after the other after Archie unlocked the door of the mansion discreetly.
Lysa seemed to have noticed the sounds at the door while working in the kitchen. The door was shut tight when she checked on the living room.
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.