Filed to story: Leaving the Country After Divorce Novel (Lucian & Roxanne)
Lucian frowned in frustration as he found the shovel extremely unwieldy.
While struggling with it, he felt Roxanne’s gentle gaze on him and looked up in response.
As their eyes met, Roxanne quickly retracted her gaze and put on a neutral expression.
Lucian frowned when he saw her response, but whatever frustration he had earlier seemed to have vanished completely. He then turned toward a staff and said, “Excuse me, I’m having some difficulty using this. Could you please show me how to use it?”
The staff had been observing him from the side for quite some time. He had wanted to tell Lucian that he was doing it wrong but held himself back when he saw how intimidating Lucian looked.
Seeing as Lucian had asked him for assistance, he quickly stepped forward to perform a quick demonstration.
Even Lucian chuckled in amusement when he saw the staff’s technique and realized how funny he looked earlier.
Having learned the proper way to use a shovel, they were able to speed up the process of filling up the holes significantly.
The five of them then worked together to finish planting the saplings. The three kids would chat with Roxanne
from time to time while Lucian watched
on quietly from the side.
“Are you guys a family?” the staff asked
curiously when he saw them having a great time together.
Both Roxanne and Lucian froze when they heard that.
“Why do you ask?” Lucian asked before Roxanne could say anything.
Not only did he not deny that staff’s statement, but he’d also give the staff the wrong idea with that question of his!
Roxanne frowned in displeasure at the thought of that.
“Well, I just thought you all looked a lot like a family. On top of that, these three kids look just like you two,” the staff replied without giving it much thought.
Whatever displeasure Roxanne felt had turned into uneasiness in an instant.
She really wanted to keep it a secret, but Archie and Benny did look a lot like Lucian. However, the resemblance wasn’t that obvious as they were still very young, so Lucian didn’t notice it at all.
As such, she was afraid that Lucian would pay more attention to Archie and Benny after hearing the staff’s comment and finding out about their true identities.
Lucian arched an eyebrow and stared at the kids in response. While they did look a little similar to each other, he didn’t think much about it.
Since all three of them were Roxanne’s children, it was common for kids to take after their mother’s appearance.
“You guys sure make a lovely family!” the staff exclaimed when he saw that Lucian didn’t deny it.
Surely enough, Lucian wasn’t about to deny that statement either.
Roxanne snapped out of her train of thought and told the staff coldly, “I’m afraid you’ve gotten the wrong idea. We’re not a family. We just happened to be put on the same team because the kids are close friends.”
The staff was shocked by her explanation. “Is that so? My apologies for making such an assumption. I just thought you guys were a family because you were all getting along so well…”
“That’s all right. I just wanted to clear up the misunderstanding. That’s all,” Roxanne said with a forced smile.
The staff nodded profusely in response.
Lucian had a gloomy look in his eyes as he stared at Roxanne from the side.
They had finished planting the second sapling at the time.
As Roxanne got up to hand him the third sapling, a commotion broke out not too far away.
“Ms. Pearson? What are you doing here?” Pippa exclaimed in shock when she saw Aubree at the entrance.
Aubree was wearing a fancy red dress and a pair of expensive sunglasses that complemented her wavy hair.
She walked up to Pippa before taking her sunglasses off and scanning the crowd. “Lucian said the kindergarten has organized a parent-child activity today. I’m worried about Essie, so I came rushing over as quickly as I could. Where are they?”
Pippa pointed in Roxanne’s direction and replied, “Over there with Archie and
Benny. Essie likes them so much that she doesn’t want to be separated from them, not even for this activity.”
The look in Aubree’s eyes turned cold when she heard that. She then thanked Pippa and quickly made her way toward Roxanne.
All the other parents were wearing sports attire to help their kids plant the saplings, so Aubree’s bright red dress drew a lot of attention as she walked past them.
Those who recognized her shifted their gaze toward Roxanne and prepared themselves for a good show.
Roxanne’s expression grew stiff when she saw Aubree storming toward them.
She knew Aubree wouldn’t give up so
easily, especially after hearing what she said on the phone last night. However, she didn’t expect her to show up like that.
“There you are, Lucian!” Aubree greeted him coquettishly while standing next to them.
She then shifted her gaze toward Roxanne as she continued, “Hello there, Ms. Jarvis! Long time no see!”
The awkward tension between them was so intense that everyone watching could feel it.
Roxanne nodded. “Yeah, long time no see.”
“What are you doing here?” Lucian asked with a slight hint of displeasure in his tone.
Using Sonya as an excuse, Aubree said in the most matter-of-fact tone possible, “Mrs. Farwell told me you brought Essie here to attend an event. She said she was worried that Essie would feel uncomfortable with so many people around, and it’d be inconvenient for a guy like you to look after Essie, so she sent me here to take a look.”
Lucian’s frown deepened when he heard her mention Sonya.
Had it not been for my mother insisting that I marry Aubree, I would’ve called off this marriage long ago!
Oblivious to his anger, Aubree bent over to look at Estella, who was playing with
Archie and Benny at the time. “Come here, Essie! Give me a hug!” she said with her arms outstretched.
To her surprise, Estella pouted and moved behind the two boys in response.
I don’t like this evil woman at all! I still remember how she hit me! There’s no way I’d let her hug me!
The look in Aubree’s eyes turned gloomy when she saw Estella pulling away from her, but she maintained a friendly smile on her face as she said apologetically, “Are you still mad at me for what happened last time, Essie? I’m sorry for losing my patience. Will you please forgive me?”
Estella pursed her lips and shook her head without saying anything.
You little b*tch! I’d have taught your ungrateful as a lesson if we weren’t in front of all these people right now!
Aubree thought to herself after getting rejected a second time.
Not wanting to attract attention to herself, Roxanne interrupted coldly. “Since Ms. Pearson is back and Essie’s tree has been planted, I think you should take Essie and go back with Ms. Pearson, Mr. Farwell.”
Hearing that, Aubree shot to her feet and glanced at Lucian with a grin.