Immediately, her eyes lit up. She darted past Aubree and sought refuge in Lucian, wrapping her small arms around his thigh. Lucian looked down at the child clinging to him and thought of Aubree’s apologetic words earlier.
“It won’t take just one night for Essie to forgive you, so there’s no need for you to resort to such desperate measures,” he uttered while staring grimly at Aubree, who was still crouching on the floor.
In response, Aubree pretended to smile bitterly. She said in dejection, “I’m sorry. I was impatient again. I’m just—”
Before she could finish her words, Lucian cut her off, “It’s getting late. Come downstairs and have dinner with us.” Aubree paused and looked in Lucian’s direction in disbelief.
By then, he was already heading downstairs hand in hand with Estella. For a while, Aubree stared at their figures from the back dazedly.
If it weren’t for Estella’s existence, Aubree would have thought they had time-traveled back to six or seven years ago when Lucian still despised Roxanne and wanted to marry her.
However, no one came upstairs to get her even after a long time.
It was then that Aubree returned to her senses and accepted reality. She got to her feet and slowly descended the stairs.
In the dining room, Lucian and Estella were already seated by the table.
From the looks of it, Lucian wouldn’t have asked anyone to go and bring Aubree down if she hadn’t come down on her own.
Nevertheless, the extra set of cutleries on the table was enough to prove that Aubree was not hearing things earlier.
She clenched her fist and recomposed herself. With a smile, she sat down beside the father-daughter duo.
“What does Essie like to eat? I can learn to make them.”
Hearing Aubree’s voice, Estella moved closer to Lucian quietly.
A look of displeasure fleeted across Aubree’s eyes, but she quickly concealed it. “Essie, I’m really good at cooking. I’m sure you’ll love the food I make!”
Lucian frowned slightly. “Essie, Ms. Pearson is talking to you.”
Only then did Estella raise her head and glance at Aubree. “No.”
Her voice was so soft that Aubree did not hear her clearly. “What did you say, Essie?”
“I don’t want to eat your food!” Estella protested, resistance evident in her widened eyes. She turned around and grabbed the hem of Lucian’s shirt pitifully. “I want to eat the food made by Ms. Jarvis.”
The sudden mention of Roxanne caused the two adults’ expressions to change.
Aubree gritted her teeth secretly, coldness gleaming in her eyes. Then she glanced at Lucian cautiously.
She knew Lucian had always had a soft spot for Estella.
I waited so long until Lucian finally gave up on Roxanne. Yet now, this little brat is going to change his mind with just one statement!
Fortunately, Lucian remained indifferent. Even his voice was cold as he said, “Ms. Jarvis is not around anymore. From now on, Ms. Pearson will treat you better than Ms. Jarvis did.”
Aubree heaved a silent sigh of relief before chiming in, “Your daddy is right. Essie, if there’s anything you want, just tell me and I’ll get them for you. If you get sick, let me know as well, and I’ll take care of you. Let’s not think about Ms. Jarvis anymore, okay?”
“No!” Estella was livid to see her father going along with the mean lady. Furiously, she threw her fork away, jumped off her chair, and dashed up the stairs.
At the sight of the girl’s tantrum, Aubree was enraged, but she had to keep up with her act. “Essie!” she yelled, quickly putting down her fork and going to run after the girl.
Right as she stood up, Lucian stopped her. “Let her be.” Aubree pretended to look troubled. “But Essie, she—”
Lucian was unfazed. “It’s good for her to calm down by herself too. I spoiled her too much by letting her get anything she wanted in the past.”
On his journey back, Lucian had mulled over the matter of Estella destroying Jack’s tire.
Even though he could understand why she had done that, those were actions that he could not just let go of since she was already getting better with her condition.
It was time for him to correct the way she expressed herself.
Roxanne’s matter was an opportunity for him to do that.
Glee filled Aubree’s mind, but she put on a look of guilt on her face. “This is all because of me. I know Essie doesn’t like me, and I know I can’t rush her into liking me, but I still insisted on staying for the meal. It’s my fault Essie didn’t get to eat her food properly.”
Lucian lifted his head to glance at her. “This has nothing to do with you. She has to face this fact eventually.” With that, he nonchalantly returned to his meal. “Let’s continue eating.”
A trace of delight danced across Aubree’s eyes when she heard him say that, and she sat back down in her seat.
After dinner, Aubree suggested with faked concern that she wanted to check on Estella upstairs.
Unsurprisingly, Lucian rejected her suggestion and told her that Estella needed to calm down first.
Aubree did not insist after that. “I’ll go back first, then. Don’t worry and focus on your work. I’ll be visiting Essie as often as I can.”
Lucian nodded. “You know what kind of girl Essie is. If you want her to accept you, you’ll have to be patient.”
Aubree did not expect him to give her a tip.
“I will. Even if Essie keeps ignoring me, I’ll still take good care of her!”
Lucian said nothing else and told Catalina to send her off.
After exiting the Farwell residence, Aubree could no longer hide the joy on her face.
“Aubree, what took you so long?” was the question Gina asked her when she finally returned to the Pearson residence. “Dinner’s already cold. I’ll get someone to heat it up again. Wash up and come back downstairs for dinner.”
Aubree halted in her tracks and smiled. “I’ve already had dinner.”
Confused, Gina asked, “Where?”
The thought of how she had had dinner with Lucian earlier brought a satisfied smile to Aubree’s lips. “With Lucian.”
Gina sat upright instantly, and a nervous look appeared on her face. “What did Lucian say? Did he talk to you about the engagement again?”
Ever since Roxanne came back to the country, Lucian had never bothered to contact Aubree himself.
There were a few times when Aubree had gone to him, but he had just gone on and on about breaking off the engagement.
Gina assumed that was what Lucian had talked to Aubree about again.
However, the look on her daughter’s face made the flame of hope burn in her chest. “Or has he decided to keep the engagement as it is?”
Aubree nodded in affirmation before conveying to her mother what Lucian had said to her.
After listening to what had happened, Gina nodded fervently. “That’s unimportant. These are all not important as long as he cuts ties with Roxanne and keeps his engagement to you…”
When Aubree took in the satisfied look on her mother’s face, a sense of annoyance bloomed in her chest. “Since Lucian no longer loves that b*tch, I have to become Mrs. Farwell. Not only do I want to be the lady of the family, but I also want to have his heart!”
She wanted Lucian to treat her the same way he did six years ago. Gina bobbed her head in agreement. She was not too concerned about that as long as the marriage union between the Farwell family and the Pearson family remained.
Aubree was upset to see her mother’s unfazed expression, but she soon thought about Estella. Everything she had said to Lucian was only to get his sympathy. It was a fact that she had little experience with a child.
On the other hand, her mother, Gina, had raised her. Aubree guessed that Gina had to be more experienced in childcare than her.
With that thought in mind, Aubree smiled and .pulled her mother to the couch. “Mom, there’s something I want to ask you.” “What is it?”
Pursing her lips and frowning, Aubree asked, “How do interact with a kid? You know Essie has the last say in this marriage. If she doesn’t like me, Lucian will surely break off the engagement eventually.”
That was something the Pearsons knew well. Lucian had not married Aubree in the past six years because Estella had been rejecting Aubree the entire time.
However, ever since they found out the root of the problem, they had been trying many ways to make Estella accept Aubree.
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.