“Mommy…”
Archie and Benny pretended to have just awakened as they rubbed their eyes in a daze.
Roxanne smiled at them. “How are you feeling? Do your heads still ache?”
They quickly shook their heads. “Not anymore!”
Hearing that, Roxanne was relieved and said, “I heard from Ms. Lane that you had been sleeping for the whole day and didn’t eat anything. You must be hungry, right? Come on. Let’s get you both downstairs for dinner.”
She wanted to get them out of their beds as she spoke.
Archie and Benny got reminded of the scrapes on their arms, so they refused to get out of their beds in front of Roxanne. “Mommy, we will head downstairs later!”
Roxanne frowned, but she did not think much about that. She only urged them by saying, “Hurry up then.”
The kids nodded obediently in response.
Roxanne did not say anything else and headed downstairs.
Not long after, Archie and Benny slowly ambled down the stairs. They did not want Roxanne to see their injured arms, so they deliberately changed into their pajamas with long sleeves.
Roxanne was waiting for them by the dining table. As Archie and Benny walked up to her, she suddenly felt something was amiss.
She stared at Benny for a long time. Then, she frowned and asked, “Benny, what happened to your hand?” A scrape on Benny’s hand appeared rather unsightly.
Hearing his mom’s question, Benny stiffened up. He followed Roxanne’s gaze and noticed the scrape on his palm. Upon seeing that wound, Benny immediately looked at Archie for help.
Archie knitted his brows tightly. He figured Benny must have injured his palm when the older kids pushed them earlier. Still, he did not expect the scrape on Benny’s palm would be so eye-catching.
Roxanne quickly sensed that her kids were hiding something from her. “Ms. Lane told me you were asleep the whole day. Did you boys sneak out?” She knew her sons better than anyone else.
Aside from sneaking out, Roxanne could not think of any other explanation that could make her sons seem like they had stayed in their room and slept for the whole day.
Lysa stared at Archie and Benny in shock. “No way. Why did I not realize that they snuck out?”
She had been busy doing chores on the first floor the whole day, so she would definitely have noticed if Archie and Benny had snuck out of the mansion.
Hearing that, Archie and Benny lowered their heads in guilt, not daring to say anything.
Taking in their reactions, Roxanne knew she must have guessed it right.
“Come here.”
With her expression darkened, she reached out a hand toward Archie and Benny.
They exchanged a look but still obediently walked over to her.
Roxanne rolled up their sleeves and saw the scratches on their arms.
Those scratches were much more severe than the scrape on Benny’s palm.
She couldn’t believe Archie and Benny would keep quiet when they were so badly injured.
Looking at their scrapes and apologetic faces, Roxanne could not stop her eyes from turning red.
“What happened to you boys? Why are you so badly injured?”
As she spoke, Roxanne rolled up their pants to check if they were injured elsewhere.
Sure enough, there were scrapes on Archie and Benny’s legs too, but those wounds were much lighter than the scrapes on their arms.
Archie did not want to worry his mom, so he said, “We accidentally fell.”
Benny nodded in agreement.
Hearing that, Roxanne changed her expression a little. “Where did you fall?”
They pondered for a long moment before saying guiltily, “We… We were climbing the wall at Essie’s place, and we accidentally fell from there.”
Roxanne helped them dress their wounds. When she heard their explanation, she paused. “I’m a doctor, and I know very well how you could have gotten these injuries. You can’t get such injuries from falling from a high place.”
Archie and Benny exchanged a guilty look after Roxanne exposed their lies so quickly. Still, they dared not tell her that some older kids almost beat them up.
They knew they had angered her enough for sneaking out to find Estella.
If she found out some older kids almost beat them up, she would only be more worried about them.
“Do you think I will not worry about you just because you refuse to tell me the truth?” Roxanne frowned and stared at them.
She had been protecting her sons since they were younger and had never let them suffer even the smallest of injuries, let alone severe ones like these.
Yet, her kids were injured this time without her knowing.
Subconsciously, Archie and Benny raised their gazes at Roxanne.
They noticed Roxanne’s eyes had turned terrifyingly red, as though she was on the verge of breaking down in tears.
“Mommy…” The kids leaned on Roxanne’s knee anxiously as they said, “We’re fine, Mommy! Don’t worry about us.” Roxanne’s expression darkened as she examined the wounds on their arms.
“I know you’re all missing Essie, and I don’t blame you. But take a look at your injuries! Why did you lie to me?” She could tell that the injuries weren’t the result of a simple fall. Furthermore, it was unlikely for both kids to fall at the same time.
Noticing their mother on the verge of tears, Benny glanced at Archie guiltily and muttered in a low voice, “We bumped into a few older kids along the way, and they chased after us.”
He then explained further, “Thank goodness Archie was there to defend me, and we were able to return home!”
Seeing that Benny finally told the truth, Archie decided to shoulder the blame himself. “If anyone is to blame for this, it’s me, Mommy. I was the one who wanted to bring Benny out.”
Roxanne’s gaze darkened. “Why would they chase after you? Were they trying to rob you?”
Just when Archie was about to speak, Benny blurted out, “No. Archie wanted to give them some money, but they declined. They even claimed to have already received their payment…”
Upon hearing those words, Archie quickly shot Benny a look that made the latter shut his mouth meekly.
“I suppose it was just an accident.”
Archie added nonchalantly, “Maybe they mistook us for someone else. We didn’t know them at all.”
Still, Roxanne had already thought of something. Forcing a smile at the boys, she said, “Okay. Come here and let me bandage your wounds. After that, I’ll take you both out to dinner.”
Archie and Benny dared not to say anything further as they let Roxanne dress their wounds.
After she was done, Roxanne reminded the kids to be careful with the injuries before heading upstairs to call Lucian.
Meanwhile, in the Farwell residence, Lucian felt exasperated as he watched Estella, who was having another autistic episode.
In front of him, Sonya patiently held Estella in her arms as she tried to coax her to speak by offering her snacks and toys.
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.