Then, Archie also stepped forward to shield Estella with his body.
Even though he did not utter a word, his intention was crystal clear.
Instead of saying anything in response, Lucian simply looked silently at Roxanne, who was frowning slightly as soon as she noticed his gaze. The woman also wanted to say something for Estella’s sake, but in the face of Lucian’s attitude, she couldn’t bring herself to say anything. Also, she was well aware she didn’t have a say in the matter.
He probably would’ve listened to me back when he was still pursuing me, but now that he’s already with Aubree… With that thought in mind, Roxanne was quickly filled with nothing but frustration.
“Archie, Benny, you guys go upstairs first and let Mr. Farwell talk to Essie,” Roxanne persuaded the boys, who never expected her to say that.
Estella, on the other hand, thought that Roxanne did not want her around anymore, so she began bawling again while grabbing the woman’s sleeve tightly, refusing to let go.
When the scene descended into chaos once again, Roxanne furrowed her eyebrows helplessly.
Lucian, however, remained standing with a deadpan expression at the door, staring at Estella and waiting for her to come to him.
It took quite a while before Roxanne finally found her voice. “Mr. Farwell…”
Even though Roxanne didn’t have the right to say anything, she could no longer remain silent when Estella was bawling.
As Roxanne spoke, she reciprocated Estella’s grip on her hand and found out that the little girl’s palm was already sweating.
Heartbroken, Roxanne stated, “I know what you guys are thinking, but some things require time, especially considering Essie’s condition.”
Then, Lucian spoke straightforwardly, his words striking the sore spot in Roxanne’s heart. “And who are you to concern yourself with Essie like that?”
The desire in Roxanne to speak up immediately dissipated when she heard Lucian. Her lips parted, but no words came out of her mouth; all she could do was tighten her grip on Estella’s hand to comfort the girl.
Then, Lucian shifted his attention to Estella. “Come home with me. Mr. Lann will be coming over in the evening.”
Since Estella had been so emotionally unstable recently, Lucian decided to summon James for professional help.
However, Estella shook her head vigorously in response and cried so hard that she could barely breathe properly.
“Ms. Jarvis has a lot on her hands, so don’t cause her any more trouble.” Lucian bent down to grab Estella’s unoccupied hand.
Estella’s strength was drained after bawling for a long time, so she let go of Roxanne’s hand the moment Lucian took her in his arms.
The woman instinctively tightened her grip but eventually let the girl go when she remembered the man’s harsh words. With Estella in his arms, Lucian patted her comfortingly on the back before turning around to leave.
“Daddy!” Suddenly, a childish voice cried out from behind and caused Lucian to stop dead in his tracks. Roxanne’s expression changed as she regarded her son.
Benny’s voice was loud when he called Lucian that, and his face had turned bright red, probably due to anxiety. The moment the word left his mouth, Benny regretted his action.
He knew he shouldn’t have done that, but he had no idea how else to stop Lucian from leaving.
At that moment, Benny did not have to lift his head to look at his mother because he could already sense her shocked gaze.
Panicking, the boy then turned to his brother for help.
Archie, knitting his eyebrows, pretended to be calm even though he was flustered as well. “Mr. Farwell, you’re Essie’s father, yet you don’t know what she needs? If a psychologist can actually help her, then why was she mute before she met us?”
Benny quickly chimed in, “If we had a daddy, we wouldn’t like it if he forced us to do things we don’t want to do!”
The boys’ words were enough to make the two adults waver once again, and Lucian began pondering. Benny’s not wrong. If a psychologist were the solution, Essie wouldn’t have refused to talk. However, how can I allow Essie to continue relying on Roxanne since she wanted nothing more than to cut ties with me?
Roxanne, on the other hand, was still feeling apprehensive after Benny called Lucian “Daddy.”
For a moment, she even thought the boy had found out about his true identity already.
The next second, she was filled with intense guilt when she heard what Benny had to say. Lucian is the boys’ father, and he’s standing right in front of them. I just didn’t tell them because I was selfish.
Guilt-ridden, the woman glanced at Lucian because she was worried he would sense something.
However, as soon as she lifted her head, she unexpectedly met Lucian’s stern gaze.
Roxanne wondered if her eyes were playing tricks on her when she noticed resentment in the man’s eyes.
“Even if you need me to…” At that point, Roxanne could not help but speak up again. However, she glanced concernedly at Estella mid-sentence and decided to skip the rest. “We need to be patient with Essie’s condition. If necessary, I’ll cooperate with you, Mr. Farwell.”
Roxanne knew the Farwell family wanted to distance Estella from her, so in order to make the process easier for Estella, she was willing to cooperate with the family to gradually cut down on the time she spent with the girl.
Even though Archie and Benny had no idea what the adults were talking about, they had an uneasy feeling.
Meanwhile, Estella was still crying since she was unsure what would happen to her.
“If possible, let Essie stay for today,” Roxanne lowered her eyes and pleaded without much expectation.
The second Archie and Benny heard that, their eyes lit up.
The boys then stared expectantly at Lucian, whose face remained expressionless.
Only after a while did the man finally speak. “I’ll leave her in your care then. Feel free to call me anytime should you have trouble handling her, and I’ll come over to pick her up.”
Roxanne was dumbfounded since she did not expect Lucian to agree to their request so easily. She finally regained her senses when Estella came running toward her, sobbing after her father set her down on the floor.
“Ms. Jarvis…” The girl quickly wrapped her arms around Roxanne’s thigh. After caressing Estella’s head, Roxanne looked up at Lucian, who then nodded indifferently at her and glanced at the three children before heading to his car.
Only after watching Lucian drive away did Roxanne take the children into the living room. “You two look after Essie. I need to make a phone call,” instructed Roxanne.
Archie and Benny immediately nodded in response and did their best to comfort Estella while Roxanne hurried into a corner to call Jack, who did not take long to answer.
“What’s up, Ms. Jarvis?” inquired Jack.
“Sorry, but I’m afraid I’ll have to take another rain check,” replied Roxanne apologetically.
According to their schedule, the two were supposed to provide medical consultation at a nursing home that afternoon, but because of how upset Estella was, Roxanne could not leave.
In response, Jack chuckled unconcernedly. “It’s okay; we can handle things there without you. What I’m more worried about is you. Are you sick?”
As soon as Jack finished his sentence, he could vaguely hear crying from the other end of the line.
Are the boys the ones who are sick? Jack furrowed his eyebrows confusedly.
“I’m fine. I just… suddenly have a private matter to tend to,” answered Roxanne after glancing at the bawling Estella.
Jack did not overthink the situation and simply assumed that he guessed correctly. “I’ll let you get back to your private matter then.”
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.