Filed to story: Leaving the Country After Divorce Novel (Lucian & Roxanne)
After staying silent for a few seconds, Lucian uttered, “Are you planning to find a father for Archie and Benny in a place like that? Do you think you can find a reliable man there?”
Roxanne let out a chuckle. “I’ll only know if the man is reliable once we get to know each other. Of course, I can’t find out if the man is reliable if you keep interrupting us like what you did earlier. Mr. Farwell, if you’re so worried, why don’t you introduce someone to me?”
“Roxanne!” A flash of anger passed through Lucian’s eyes.
Roxanne averted her gaze in disappointment. “Mr. Farwell, since you don’t plan to do that, you should mind your own business from now on.”
With that, she opened the car door and helped Madilyn out of the car.
Through the rearview mirror, Lucian saw that Roxanne was struggling to walk while supporting Madilyn. Frowning, he got out of the car and wanted to give Roxanne a hand.
Sensing Lucian’s intention, Roxanne immediately turned sideways to avoid him. Looking at the man, who was standing close to her, she said indifferently, “Mr. Farwell, you’re right to say that people should be careful while choosing a partner. I’m not interested in a married man. Since you already have a fiancée, you should keep your distance from me.”
Lucian’s expression changed when he heard her remarks.
Roxanne continued coldly, “Mr. Farwell, if Ms. Pearson and Estella misunderstand the situation, it might ruin the happy life in your family. I don’t know how to make amends for that.”
According to Aubree, Roxanne was the homewrecker six years ago. Hence, she did not want to come between them again.
Lucian’s expression darkened like a raging storm when he saw her indifferent attitude. The atmosphere around him was filled with tension.
Nevertheless, Roxanne helped Madilyn inside as though she did not see his expression.
Roxanne did not know how to face Estella due to her unpleasant encounters with Lucian.
She would even avoid talking about Estella whenever Archie and Benny brought her up.
It did not take long for the two sensitive boys to notice Roxanne’s strange attitude toward Estella. Even though they were not avoiding Estella in school, their attitude toward the latter had become colder.
Estella hardly spoke since she had just learned to talk. She would only speak a few words when others brought up a topic that she was interested in. Estella’s condition gradually returned to its original state when Archie and Benny did not take the initiative to talk to her. Furthermore, she had not seen Roxanne for a few days.
Lucian was the only one who noticed the changes in Estella.
A few days ago, Lucian could still hear Estella speak up occasionally after bringing her home. Nevertheless, Estella had been unwilling to talk for the past two days.
Lucian was worried that Estella might suffer a relapse. However, the only person who could improve Estella’s condition had made it clear that she wanted to keep her distance from Lucian.
The man felt conflicted whenever he thought of Roxanne.
After picking Estella up from school in the evening, Lucian wanted to guide her into speaking by following James’ method. “Essie, how are you doing in the last two days? Are you in a bad mood?”
That kind of one-sided conversation had been going on for several days. Nevertheless, Estella remained silent.
Lucian thought it would be the same that day. Surprisingly, the moment he finished speaking, a sweet but pitiful voice sounded in the car.
Pouting, Estella said dejectedly, “I didn’t see…”
“What didn’t you see?” Lucian probed, feeling confused.
Estella mumbled, “Ms. Jarvis.”
Then, she carefully counted on her fingers before stretching out four fingers. “Four days.”
I haven’t seen Ms. Jarvis for four days. It was Ms. Lane who picked up Archie and Benny every day. Even though Ms. Lane was also kind to me, I still miss Ms. Jarvis dearly.
Waves of emotions surged within Lucian, knowing fully well that Estella could not see Roxanne because the latter was avoiding him on purpose.
Nevertheless, he did not know how to explain the situation to Estella.
Lucian had not seen Roxanne since their argument when he sent her home from the bar that night.
As Roxanne said, the two of us are merely strangers right now.
As that thought occurred to him, Lucian felt an inexplicable sense of displeasure deep down.
After a while, he slowly broke out of his reverie.
Seeing how sullen Estella was next to him, Lucian suddenly felt that something was amiss.
Wait. Didn’t she talk with me just now?
Realizing that, Lucian knitted his brows in amazement.
As if nothing had happened, he tried to get Estella to talk again. “Essie, what did you just say? I didn’t hear it earlier. Can you repeat it for me?”
Estella simply kept her head low, revealing the round back of her head and her puffed cheeks. She turned a blind ear to his question.
Despite the lack of response, Lucian patiently patted Estella’s head before trying to guide her again. “You said Ms. Jarvis didn’t pick up the boys from school. Then, who was the one who fetched them these last two days?”
As soon as he mentioned Roxanne, Estella slowly raised her head to look at him.
Lucian’s heart raced. He was expecting Estella to finally reply to him.
Much to his surprise, Estella merely glanced at him before shaking her head silently. Then, she lowered her head again as if she refused to communicate with him.
Lucian furrowed his brows. He could not help thinking of Roxanne.
How did she manage to make Essie speak gradually?
He was at his wit’s end while facing the same problem.
Noticing that Estella only seemed to respond to the mention of Roxanne’s name, Lucian inquired again, “Essie, did you want to see Ms. Jarvis that much?”
Estella nodded vigorously and gazed at Lucian expectantly. She seemed to think that he had a way to let her meet Roxanne.
When Lucian saw Estella’s hopeful expression, his gaze darkened slightly. He silently averted his gaze. “She likes you very much, Essie. Maybe she’s been busy with work lately. Hence, she didn’t have time to pick up the boys. Don’t worry.”
Not receiving the answer she had hoped for, Estella cast her eyes downward dejectedly. She nodded weakly in response.
No matter what Lucian said, Estella only responded by either nodding or shaking her head. She also fumbled around her bag for a notebook, intending to write down her reply for him.
Only the mention of Roxanne could evoke a more noticeable reaction from Estella.
The more Lucian tried to persuade her into talking, the more helpless he felt.
A while later, Lucian could not hold himself back from asking Estella. “Can you tell me why you’re willing to talk at Ms. Jarvis’ house? How did she teach you to speak up?”
That question could not be answered with a nod nor a shake of the head. Estella frowned, feeling troubled.
Estella became even more distraught at the thought of her time at Roxanne’s house.
I want to stay with Ms. Jarvis a little longer.
Taking out a pen and paper, Lucian handed the items to Estella. “If you don’t want to talk, you can write it down for me.”
Lucian did not want to let Estella stay silent for long. With his current relationship with Roxanne, he could not send Estella to her. Therefore, he wanted to see if he could learn from Roxanne’s method.
Accepting the pen and paper, Estella wrote slowly: Archie and Benny will ignore me if I don’t speak up.
A surprised look flashed across Lucian’s face when he read Estella’s reply.
So, the two boys are the reasons why Essie started speaking?
At first, Lucian thought that Estella would only relax when she was around Roxanne due to her affection for the woman. Therefore, Estella slowly began to talk.
However, he never expected that Archie and Benny would play such big roles in improving Estella’s condition.