Roxanne stared at them with amusement. “What secrets were you two talking about?” Calmly, Archie replied, “I was just telling Essie that Benny is very good with computers.”
Estella nodded in cooperation. “Mm-hmm! I’m great at it, too!”
Roxanne turned to the girl, surprised. No one would’ve expected someone as adorable and innocent-looking as her to be skilled at computers. I certainly didn’t. Then again, she is Lucian’s child. In that context, it’s not shocking to learn she has a very high IQ.
“What did you need Benny’s help with, Ms. Jarvis? If he can’t help you, maybe I can give it a try,” Estella offered.
Roxanne glanced at Benny before grinning at the other children. “It’s nothing much. I’m not that familiar with computers, so I asked him to teach me a thing or two about a problem I was having.”
Benny nodded in agreement.
While Estella didn’t think much about her lie, Archie had a good guess why his mother had asked his brother for help. He was slightly worried as he wondered how Benny had answered her questions.
He noticed his little brother’s expression appeared a bit odd. He didn’t spill the beans, did he?
He couldn’t help but panic.
When Benny sat by his side, he asked in a whisper, “Did you let it slip?”
He only relaxed when his brother assured him that didn’t happen.
The brothers played with Estella until very late into the night because she would be leaving the next day. It was only when Roxanne went to the boys’ bedroom to call for Estella that she reluctantly left.
Roxanne wondered what the children talked about when she noticed how spirited Estella appeared upon returning to her bedroom. “Ms. Jarvis,” Estella called out in her piping voice abruptly while Roxanne was helping her take a bath.
Roxanne stopped what she was doing and looked at Estella in confusion. The girl stared at her with wide eyes and asked, “Can you really not be my mommy, Ms. Jarvis?”
Earlier, while she was still crying, she had already asked that question, and Roxanne had already answered no. Roxanne was surprised the girl would ask that again.
Afraid that her answer would cause Estella to cry once more, she contemplated the words she should use.
Estella, however, seemed to have known Roxanne’s answer. She lowered her eyes and said aggrievedly, “I know you don’t like Daddy because he keeps angering you, Ms. Jarvis, and I’m Daddy’s daughter. You will definitely not want to become my mommy.”
“That’s not what I meant. It’s just that… your daddy is already engaged to someone, so he has to marry that person in the future.” The girl’s eyes lit up. “This means you actually like Daddy!”
Hearing that rendered Roxanne speechless for a few moments. The children always have a false dichotomous perspective on everything. Just because I denied the claim that I disliked Lucian, she thought I actually liked him, and I couldn’t be with him solely because of Aubree. If I rebut her again, it’ll be the same as admitting I dislike Lucian and, consequently, her as well.
At that moment, she had no idea how to explain the situation properly to the girl.
Estella scrutinized Roxanne’s expression.
When she saw the troubled look on the woman’s face, a sly glint flashed past her eyes. She recalled the plan she had devised with the boys.
Ms. Jarvis and Daddy had a heated argument that they still haven’t gotten over. We need to come up with a plan to make them reconcile quickly! “It’s Daddy’s fault for pissing you off, Ms. Jarvis. I’ll teach Daddy a lesson on your behalf!”
Roxanne had no rebuttals to offer. It’s like she’s implying Lucian and I are already a thing.
“Essie…” She changed the topic resignedly. “It’s getting late. Let’s hurry so you can rest early.”
Estella beamed, although it was difficult to tell if it was because she had fun talking about the matter or because Roxanne did not deny her conclusion.
In response to Roxanne’s words, the girl nodded obediently.
Roxanne was a little absent-minded as she dried Estella with a towel because her mind was still distracted by the emotions the girl had elicited in her.
“I want to listen to Sleeping Beauty, Ms. Jarvis!” Proactively, Estella crawled up to the bed and stared at the woman with anticipation, as if stars were hiding in her eyes.
Sleeping Beauty… Roxanne’s mind was thrown into further chaos as she inadvertently recalled the play from before.
However, she couldn’t bear to reject the girl’s request when she saw how excited the latter was.
As she narrated the fairy tale, the events that took place during the play repeated in her mind like a movie.
When she reached the kissing scene, she found it hard to continue the story.
Thankfully, the girl had already fallen asleep.
After releasing a sigh of relief, Roxanne lay beside Estella with a complicated feeling.
The next morning, when Roxanne woke up early, Estella was still asleep. She left the bed gently to avoid disturbing the girl and went downstairs to prepare the children’s breakfast.
Because of the messy situation last night, she woke up a little later than usual even though she was awake before the children. She hadn’t even prepared breakfast when the doorbell rang.
Roxanne stopped what she was doing, and her heart sank. Is Lucian that eager to bring Essie back home? The doorbell rang incessantly, which roused the children from their slumber and prompted them to descend the stairs.
“Is Mr. Farwell here, Mommy?” Archie frowned at the entrance. Estella’s gleeful countenance from yesterday had been replaced with a pitiful expression as she stood behind the boys. I want to stay with Archie and Benny longer!
Seeing that the children had arrived downstairs, Roxanne had no choice but to put the things in her hands down and open the door.
“Mr. Fair—” Roxanne cut herself off when she realized the visitor wasn’t who she thought it was. “Why are you here, Mr. Damaris?”
Jack was holding a bouquet of baby’s breath with a warm smile. “I was worried when you didn’t come yesterday or explain why you couldn’t make it, so I decided to visit early in the morning. I didn’t disturb your rest, did I?”
As he spoke, he looked inside the living room and saw three children staring at him warily.
He couldn’t help but be taken aback at the sight of the kids. “They are…”
When the children snapped back to reality, they politely but distantly greeted Jack, “Hello, Mr. Damaris.”
Estella was unfamiliar with Jack, but she still greeted him with the boys.
Jack nodded with a smile. “Good morning to you three.” Then he raised his eyebrow at Roxanne. “The girl is Mr. Farwell’s daughter, isn’t she?”
Roxanne hesitated for a few seconds before inclining her head. “She came here to play with Archie and Benny.”
He’s aware the three of them are in the same class, although I don’t know if he’d believe what I just said. She lowered her eyes guiltily, afraid he would notice anything unusual.
Thankfully, Jack simply nodded meaningfully and sized her up. “I thought you didn’t show up yesterday because you were sick. It seems that my concern is unfounded.”
“Sorry for worrying you, Mr. Damaris.” Roxanne gave a small smile, then looked at the flowers in his hand in puzzlement.
Jack handed the flowers to her after detecting her apparent interest in them. “I thought you were feeling unwell, but I wasn’t sure what to bring when visiting you, so I brought you these flowers. I hope you don’t dislike them.”
Roxanne was slightly stunned, her heart filled with hesitation. It sounds reasonable, but accepting his flowers in front of the children is a little… I’m afraid they’ll misunderstand something.
Just as she wondered what to do, Estella trotted toward her and tugged her shirt. “Ms. Jarvis.”
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.