“Oh, come on. Did you honestly think Dr. Jarvis had Archie and Benny with another man?” Colby said, clearly amused by Lucian’s reaction. Of course, Colby had hit the nail on the head, and the latter’s face instantly darkened.
The next second, Colby frowned and glanced at the man. “I’m suddenly regretting my decision… How did Dr. Jarvis agree to be with you when you still refuse to believe in her?”
After six long years, I know better than anyone else how Roxanne rejects other men. I can even confidently say that she wouldn’t bother interacting with us if it weren’t for our work in the medical field. However, Lucian is still under the impression that she bore children with another man! What a joke!
Even though Colby hadn’t said anything, the silence was enough of a statement. By then, Lucian’s expression had gotten event gloomier.
For some reason, he could begin to see the facial similarities between him and the boys, but then again, could that merely be the power of suggestion?
Thankfully, Colby decided to face reality and tell Lucian the truth. “Those two boys are your children with Dr. Jarvis. Why else do you think they’re so close to you? However, judging by your reaction, I suppose she hasn’t broken the news to you. As for why she hasn’t done so, I assume she still doesn’t trust you enough. It’s just like how you don’t fully trust her…”
With that, Colby let out a derisive snort. “Ha! You aren’t all that impressive after all, Mr. Farwell!” The veins in Lucian’s forehead bulged as he remained in shock. “Do you have evidence that Archie and Benny are my sons?”
I remember Roxanne mentioning that Archie and Benny are a year younger than Essie! Wait… Has she been lying to me since then?
“I’ve been working with Dr. Jarvis since the first year she went abroad. When it comes to the timing of her pregnancy or the men she had had contact with, I’m the one who knows best! There’s no doubt that you’re the boys’ father!” Colby snapped. Those words hit Lucian like a bolt of lightning, and for a moment, he was stupefied.
Archie and Benny are mine, huh? My goodness. Should I feel happy or sad? I’m overjoyed that Roxanne has never hooked up with other men and that the two boys are my sons. At the same time, I can’t believe she’s been hiding such a massive secret from me!
Am I that unreliable to her? Why else would she want to hide the boys’ parentage from me? I can understand if she hid it from me when we weren’t together, but our relationship has progressed so much. Why didn’t she tell me the truth?
Unfortunately, Colby took Lucian’s silence as a sign that the latter still had doubts. He said coldly, “If you don’t believe me, you can always do a paternity test, Mr. Farwell. In any case, I don’t have a reason to lie to you. What good would I get out of it? I can’t believe you’re so paranoid… No wonder Dr. Jarvis doesn’t want to tell you the truth!”
Upon hearing that, Lucian finally snapped out of his daze and tucked his complicated ball of emotions away. His voice, however, still gave away how anxious he was.
“Thank you for your concern, Dr. Galloway, but I think I’ll confirm it with Roxanne. For now, it’d be best for everyone if you concentrated on her illness instead. After all, none of us knows how much longer she can wait.”
Colby’s gaze flickered as he was reminded of Roxanne’s condition. Having lost his mood to fight, he lowered his head and fell silent. With that, Lucian shot him an unfathomable look and strode off.
After leaving the prison, Lucian returned to his car with a heavy heart. Roxanne’s condition had already left him feeling suffocated, and his conversation with Colby didn’t help either. In fact, he was even more dumbfounded than ever.
Now that I think of it, Roxanne probably distanced herself from me on several occasions because I was getting too close to the boys. Was she afraid that I’d find out about their background? Or was she worried I’d marry Aubree and fight for custody of the kids? Argh! What is it exactly…
Lucian’s mind was a tangled mess, and no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t figure out why Roxanne did what she did. Eventually, he had no choice but to set the matter aside.
If I want to know her reasons, I can always ask her when she’s awake. The top priority now is to get her out of the coma! Back at Damaris Group, Jack returned to his office after getting someone to send Hector away.
Surprisingly, Lucian’s hardball tactics from that afternoon had worked their magic. Even though Jack’s expression remained impassive, he quickly instructed his assistant, Kevin, to prepare a list of Farwell Group’s subsidiaries.
Come to think of it, Farwell Group’s subsidiaries do have more room for development than the research institute and pharmaceuticals. Why shouldn’t I consider Lucian’s offer when the main thing I’m after is money?
As it turned out, Farwell Group had almost a hundred subsidiaries, but Kevin did an excellent job sorting them out and listing all the details. With that, Jack began reading through and making a careful selection.
After three long hours, he finally settled on the most promising companies and turned to Kevin, looking very proud of himself. “Take a look. What do you think of these ten companies?”
Kevin couldn’t help but wonder if he had misheard the number, but upon going through the document, he was shocked to see that his boss wasn’t lying about the ten companies.
Oh my! B-But… These are ten of the most profitable subsidiaries of Farwell Group! Any one of them will be enough to support Damaris Group’s expenses, yet Mr. Damaris is asking for ten!
By then, Kevin could feel his hands shaking. “M- Mr. Damaris, isn’t this a little too much? Mr. Farwell is no pushover. There’s no way he’d agree to such an unreasonable demand.” For all we know, this might even piss Mr. Farwell off. When that happens, Damaris Group will be doomed…
Jack instantly shot his assistant a glare. “How short-sighted! You’re still young, for goodness’ sake. Why do you have the same view as that old geezer?” After hearing how rudely Jack referred to Hector, Kevin lowered his head in fear, not daring to answer.
“If we want to expand Damaris Group, we’d need large sums of capital. Since Roxanne’s life is now in my hands, Lucian will pay any amount of money for me to save her! I’m only asking for ten companies. Is that such a big deal to the powerful Farwell Group?” Jack bellowed, his eyes burning with desire. That assurance, however, did little to allay Kevin’s fears.
So… Mr. Damaris wants to play mind games with Mr. Farwell. Then again, Mr. Farwell is not one to be underestimated. After all, he single-handedly developed Farwell Group to its current state. Can Mr. Damaris really beat him?
“Other than these ten companies, Roxanne’s research institute and all the new medicines developed by it will also be mine!” Jack exclaimed, “As for Roxanne…”
Kevin’s heart skipped a beat. “If I can’t have her, why should anyone else be able to?” Jack continued, his face cold and unfeeling. “I want them to know the consequences of going against me!”
There was no knowing what was on Jack’s mind. Nevertheless, his spine-chilling smile frightened Kevin so much that the latter looked away in fear.
Seconds later, Jack’s gaze darkened as he turned to his assistant. “Call Lucian and arrange a meeting with him tonight!”
Kevin nodded without hesitation, grateful that he could finally leave the scary atmosphere in the office to make the call. However, just as Kevin was about to take his leave, Jack’s voice boomed out. “Stop right there! You can make the call here!”
I want to hear Lucian giving in to my demands! With his head still hung low, Kevin shuddered and hastily fished out his phone to call Lucian. Fortunately, the call got through after just a few rings.
“Hello, Mr. Farwell. I’m Mr. Damaris’ assistant,” Kevin greeted. On the other end, an inscrutable Lucian stopped the car by the road and held the phone to his ear. “Has Jack Damaris made a decision?”
Kevin had put his phone on speaker so Jack could hear the conversation clearly in the silent office. Alas, the latter’s expression turned grim when he heard Lucian addressing him by his full name.
Kevin tensed up at the sight of his boss’ reaction and knew he’d have to proceed with caution. “Mr. Damaris would like to meet up with you tonight. I’ll text you the time and location in a bit. Is that okay?”
“Sure,” Lucian replied without hesitation. Hmm. I thought Jack would try to stall this as much as possible, but now that he wishes to hold the discussion, I’m more than happy to abide! Furthermore, I’m also curious why he has dragged this out for so long. What does he want exactly?
Kevin ended the call at Jack’s instruction and quickly booked a hotel’s private dining room for the meeting. With that, he texted the details to Lucian as promised. Instead of replying to the text, Lucian started his engine and drove straight to the hotel. At nine o’clock that night, the two men appeared at the hotel entrance almost simultaneously.
“You sure are punctual, Mr. Farwell!” Jack said smilingly and almost with a hint of flattery. Lucian, on the contrary, maintained his icy-cold expression and strode into the hotel without a word. Jack glowered at the man’s retreating figure, but within seconds, a smile was back on his face.
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.
Leave a Reply