Filed to story: Leaving the Country After Divorce Novel (Lucian & Roxanne)
Lucian was perplexed and dumbfounded.
It was only after a long time that Lucian managed to recollect his thoughts. He held on to her slender wrist, lowered his voice, and uttered word-by-word in precise clarity, “Since when did I say that Estella is Aubree’s child?”
Roxanne’s wrist started to hurt, but she was distracted by his mind-blowing statement. Shock and suspicion filled her heart.
Estella is not Aubree’s child!
No wonder Aubree was not there that day when Estella was sick.
However, from what she knew, no one else got together with Lucian besides Aubree.
Who can it be? Who’s Estella’s mother?
The thoughts started to overwhelm Roxanne, and she struggled to resist popping the question.
“Mommy!” two familiar voices called out to Roxanne. “We finally found you! Are you okay?”
The children ran frantically toward Roxanne, whose wrist was clutched tightly by Lucian.
Archie and Benny exchanged glances before scrambling toward Roxanne.
“Mommy, don’t be worried. We will protect you!” Benny extended his arm and stood in front of Roxanne. He looked up, and he finally saw Lucian’s face clearly.
Archie, too, walked to Roxanne’s side and held on to her arm. With a deadly stare, he looked Lucian ferociously in the eye.
Realizing that it was Lucian, Archie’s face tensed as he pursed his lips. He then stormed furiously toward Lucian, mustered all his strength, and pushed Lucian away forcefully. “Let go of my Mommy! What do you want to do to her?”
Lucian frowned before releasing his grip. He quickly explained, “I’m just asking your Mommy for help. I’m not going to harm her.”
Archie nonetheless continued to stare at him warily.
Benny turned backward and held on to Roxanne’s hand. He shook her hand gently and said, “Mommy, are you okay? Did he bully you? Archie and I will protect you!”
Roxanne, however, had yet to recover from her discovery about Estella’s background. In response, she shook her head mindlessly. “Don’t worry.”
Looking at her troubled expression, Benny became even more worried. Enraged, he glared in response at Lucian.
Stupid Daddy! It’s one thing to bully us, but now he’s bullying Mommy when we’re not around!
When I grow up, I will teach him a lesson!
All of a sudden, the atmosphere became tangibly stiff.
While Madilyn was displeased with Lucian, she managed to keep her cool. Understanding that it was not an appropriate place for a conversation, Madilyn walked up and pulled them over. “Maybe you should take this conversation outside.”
After that, she tapped lightly on Roxanne’s shoulder. “If you’re afraid, then we should pass on the haunted house. Let’s head out.”
Roxanne finally came back to her senses. She nodded and followed Madilyn out, ignoring Lucian in the process.
Benny gripped Roxanne’s hand tightly, worried that she would be frightened. Like a knight in shining armor, he protected Roxanne while she walked.
Lucian followed right behind.
The exit was not difficult to locate. However, Roxanne was lost because she was frightened by the sophisticated gimmicks, causing her to panic.
After calming herself down, she managed to find her way out of the haunted house in a short time.
The sunlight shone on her face, dazzling Roxanne a little.
Lucian, who was right behind Roxanne, couldn’t take his eyes of her.
At this point, both of them had different thoughts running through their minds.
Noticing that the atmosphere was tense, Madilyn pulled Roxanne to a side and whispered softly, “What’s going on? What is he asking for?”
Roxanne snapped back into her senses. She gazed at Lucian, only to notice his anxious and worried look.
The next second, she recalled what Lucian said in the haunted house.
It didn’t seem like he was lying.
With that thought in mind, Roxanne started to feel worried about Estella.
Before this, she had always thought that Estella was Lucian and Aubree’s child. After knowing that Aubree was not involved, Roxanne couldn’t help but like Estella even more.
“Nothing, just some personal matters.” Roxanne smiled.
Madilyn, however, was in doubt.
What personal matter did they have to discuss between them anyway? Even baffling was the fact that Lucian came here all the way.
Just as Madilyn wanted to pry further, she realized that Roxanne had already left her and was walking toward Lucian.
Madilyn’s doubts intensified.
Lucian saw Roxanne walking toward him. He furrowed his brow and wanted to continue asking her for help.
Roxanne, nonetheless, spoke first. “Let’s take a stroll.”
Lucian immediately heaved a sigh of relief. He thanked her profusely, saying, “I truly appreciate this.”
After deciding to pay a visit to Estella, Roxanne took over Archie and Benny from Madilyn and said, “I think you may head back first. We’re going with him.”
She knew that Estella was reliant on Archie and Benny. With the two of them around, it could aid in her recovery.
Madilyn decided not to pester Roxanne further. Quietly, she stared at the four of them leaving, behaving no differently from any other adoring family.
After coming out of Universe Park, Roxanne, together with Archie and Bernie, got into Lucian’s car, leaving behind Madilyn and the car that they came with.
Cayden was already waiting in the car. He revved up the engine and sped toward the Farwell residence.
While on the way, Lucian briefly explained Estella’s condition to Roxanne and her history of medical treatments.
Roxanne was disheartened to find out about the mental illness and hardships that Estella faced at such a young age.
It appeared that Estella’s condition had deteriorated.
Holding that thought, Roxanne began to feel some guilt.
If she knew that Estella’s condition was that severe, she would not have said those things in front of her.
Archie and Benny sat quietly beside Roxanne. They listened attentively to Lucian, and their hatred toward him was slowly replaced by heartache.
Estella was about the same age as they were, but she had to endure such horrific grievances in life. Even in kindergarten, she was ostracized by the others.
We must protect Essie!