“Mhm. If I was earlier, I would’ve had it in the office as usual.” Jonathan turned to look at Madilyn, who was busying away in the yard. Why is she so quiet?
“All right, stay for lunch, then. I’ve made some local dishes of the northwest, so I’m sure you haven’t tried them before,” Lorraine offered. Jonathan nodded.
Madilyn was weeding the garden, but the wild thoughts in her mind were growing out of control. After snapping out of her daze, she realized that Jonathan had agreed to stay for a meal at her place. She couldn’t help but feel excited.
Madilyn’s mother had caught onto her every reaction. Jonathan enjoyed the scrumptious meal as the dishes were particularly to his taste. Over the course of the meal, Lorraine and Jonathan did most of the talking, with Lorraine peppering Jonathan with questions about his family.
Madilyn felt really awkward as she listened to them talk. However, Jonathan didn’t seem bothered by Lorraine’s questions. After he was done, he even praised Lorraine’s cooking. Before Jonathan left, Madilyn called out to him and said slightly sternly, “Did you eat the medicine I gave you on time?”
“Yes, I did. My stomach feels much better lately, and the usual burning sensations are almost gone.” Jonathan smiled and thanked her. In response, Madilyn kept a cool face and asked that he go for another checkup.
Jonathan nodded and bade goodbye to her before leaving for his office. Madilyn’s lips twitched. She wanted to ask Jonathan some questions, but she didn’t quite know where to begin.
She wanted to know if his depression was still acting up. Madilyn had a feeling that Jonathan was actually quite tired, devoting all his energy to work. Can’t Mr. Farwell give him a break?
Then again, Madilyn thought Lucian might not be the reason Jonathan was overworking, as she realized that the man might be overworking to distract himself from depression. After Jonathan got into the car, he suddenly thought of something and got out of the car again.
“Did you leave something behind?” Madilyn asked. Jonathan shook his head and took out a ganoderma. It was a big one.
“A medicinal herb supplier gave this to me just this year. I’m giving you the biggest one. I noticed that you’ve been looking tired recently. You may want to make some soup with this, although I’m not even sure if it helps.” Jonathan smiled sheepishly and handed it over to Madilyn. She remained in a daze long after Jonathan’s car had disappeared from sight.
“Maddy, Maddy…”
Lorraine called out her name a few times, her lips curling into a knowing smile. “Mom, what’s the matter?” Madilyn jolted back to her senses.
Nevertheless, she passed the ganoderma to her mother and said, “I’m not sure if this is really nutritious, but let’s make some soup with it.”
“Maddy, I know what you’re thinking, but it seems like Jonathan doesn’t. So, you can’t just sit and wait for things to happen. You’ve got to take some initiative,” Lorraine said with a chuckle.
When they were having the meal together, Lorraine had practically asked Jonathan everything there was to know about his family and personality. She was certain that he was a perfect match for Madilyn.
Madilyn’s cheeks tinged pink as she hurriedly denied it. “Mom, you don’t know how things actually are between us. Besides, Jonathan might already have a girlfriend!”
“Really? But he didn’t mention anything about that. Moreover, if he really does have a girlfriend, do you think she will allow him to come here and dine with us? He is definitely single, so you do stand a chance!” Lorraine explained.
Madilyn was stumped that even her mother wanted her to be more proactive. However, Madilyn couldn’t be as optimistic as her mother.
“Mom, I don’t want to get into a relationship now. Let’s focus on taking care of your health first.” Madilyn realized that her emotions had been in disarray lately, perhaps the most chaotic they had ever been in her life so far.
At night, when Roxanne came back from the research institute, she was greeted by the sight. of her three children pouting, especially Estella.
The little girl was scowling. “Mommy, you promised to take me to the design expo, but you didn’t make time for me. Daddy was the one who brought me there in the end!”
“Essie, don’t be mad. Mommy is really busy. with her doctor and research institute work.” “That’s right, Essie. Why don’t you let Mommy make it up to you next time?”
Both Archie and Benny tried to comfort Estella as they explained Roxanne’s situation to her. Roxanne felt guilty after listening to Estella. She crouched down to level with the little girl and apologized to her.
“It’s my fault. I forgot about our promise, Essie. This is a serious mistake on my part, and I’m really sorry,” Roxanne said. She reckoned that she had to set a good example for her children to follow by first apologizing when she made a mistake.
Estella was only throwing a minor tantrum and did not expect Roxanne to take her words so seriously. She shook her head and dashed into Roxanne’s embrace.
“It’s all right, Mommy. I forgive you, but could you let me know next time? I got up really early in the morning, changed my clothes, and went to your room to look for you, but you weren’t there,” Estella mumbled indignantly.
Roxanne hurriedly nodded and kissed her little cheeks. “It’s my fault. I will make sure to let you know next time. Okay, you may make two requests, and I promise I’ll fulfill them this time.”
Estella told Roxanne that she needed time to think about it. In the meantime, Lucian got down from the study upstairs and explained the reason their mother had to work overtime that day.
It turned out that she had to save a researcher’s life. Archie, Benny, and Estella finally. understood why their mother had to work all of a sudden.
Estella nodded and said, “Mommy, you’re so great for saving lives. So, I just have one. request. Let’s go visit Aunt Madilyn. I haven’t seen her in a while.”
“That’s right, Mommy. What’s Aunt Madilyn doing these days? Why doesn’t she come by to play with us anymore? We miss her too,” Archiel and Benny chimed in.
Roxanne and Lucian agreed and promised that they would go to Madilyn’s house the next day. Roxanne called Madilyn, who was overjoyed to hear that the children missed her. Looks like I didn’t adore them for nothing.
Madilyn also said she missed the children. After playing with the kids for a while, Roxanne went upstairs to take a bath.
All of a sudden, Elias and Sonya arrived at Lucian’s place, and they asked where Roxanne was right after stepping into the living room and seeing Lucian.
“Mom, Dad, what happened? Why does it seem like you guys are in a rush?” Lucian asked. “Roxanne is in the shower. I’ll ask her to come downstairs later.”
“Of course we’re in a rush. Lucian, the geomancer has picked a lucky date today, but your dad and I just realized that despite us planning every single aspect of the wedding, we have forgotten about the most important people!” Sonya said with furrowed brows.
Lucian was stumped. Elias regained his composure and lamented, “Have you forgotten as well? We’re talking about Roxanne’s parents! Our family owes her a lot, and we have to make things right this time. However, we don’t know much about her family.
How careless of us!”
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.
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