Filed to story: Leaving the Country After Divorce Novel (Lucian & Roxanne)
Cayden was driving at a blazing speed, and they arrived at the manor shortly after.
After getting down from the car, Lucian led Roxanne, Archie, and Benny and rushed toward the second floor of the building.
Meanwhile, James was waiting upstairs. Because of Estella’s resistance, he had to keep his distance while monitoring her, fearing that she would harm herself. Hence, he left the door slightly ajar and silently stood at the entrance.
When he saw the four of them, James had his brows slightly knitted before nodding. “Ms. Jarvis.”
Roxanne nodded in reply, and her attention was focused exclusively on Estella. “Where’s Essie? Let me take a look at her.”
James pointed toward the corner of the room.
Roxanne walked in that direction, and she saw Estella curled in the corner with her knees tucked in, and her eyes looked empty like a soulless doll.
Recalling how Estella used to welcome her with a sweet, bright smile, Roxanne’s heart was wrenched in pain, suffocating her.
This morning, Estella grabbed her skirt with a pair of twinkling eyes, but she descended into such a piteous state so unexpectedly.
Roxanne tiptoed into the room and squatted down beside her. With a soft and gentle voice, she called out to her, “Essie, I’m here.”
Estella, however, had no response.
Roxanne was taken aback by Estella’s condition.
Behind Roxanne, James reminded softly, “Ms. Jarvis, Estella is now completely shut off from the outside world. You need to keep talking to her, in order to lure her back into reality. Patience is necessary to achieve that.”
Roxanne calmed herself down and nodded.
She started talking to Estella again, “Essie, look who is here too! Archie and Benny are here! They’re all here!”
Archie and Benny strode over to join Roxanne and Estella. Benny started making faces at Estella. “I’m here to visit you! Don’t you cry!”
Archie frowned and stared at Estella’s eyes. “You can just zone out for a short while, okay? We’re waiting for you to play together. Would you like to join us?”
Previously, when they said this, Estella would burst into laughter.
However, this time, Estella did not respond. She sat motionlessly on the same spot and did not even lift a finger.
The smile on Benny’s face slowly faded, and it quickly turned into a frown. “Hey, we’re talking to you. Are you unhappy that you’re going to school? Archie and I are joining you soon. We can bring you anywhere that you want, and we can do everything together! Doesn’t that sound nice?”
With a sullen expression, Archie threatened, “If you don’t talk to us, we don’t want to play with you anymore!”
Be that as it may, Estella still did not respond.
Archie and Benny took a deep breath and changed their methods. Instead of anticipating a response, they started babbling incessantly about all sorts of topics, even mentioning what happened at Universe Park. They also promised to bring her there once she recovered.
In spite of their relentless attempts to get her to talk, Estella didn’t even blink once.
Their eyes started to well up, and they used Roxanne’s sleeves to wipe their tears. “Mommy, Essie doesn’t seem to be able to hear us. What should we do?”
Their voices started to break.
Roxanne’s eyes were also slightly red. She kept her composure and patted Archie and Benny on the head. “Essie will surely recover. Why don’t the two of you take a break? I will speak to her.”
Archie and Benny struggled to resist crying, at least not in front of Estella. Quietly, they retreated behind Roxanne.
Roxanne extended her hand gently and carried Estella in her arms. Roxanne started talking about everything under the sun, irrespective of whether Estella could hear her.
Estella was also like a doll, leaving herself to the whims and fancies of Roxanne.
That very sight pulled at Lucian’s heartstrings.
He was even more certain that Roxanne did not know that Estella was her daughter.
Otherwise, Roxanne would not have treated Estella that kindly, given that she purportedly abandoned her own daughter.
What went wrong?
For the entire day, Roxanne was there with Estella.
Despite that, Estella never responded.
As darkness fell, Roxanne had to leave, albeit unwillingly.
“I will visit you again tomorrow. You have to get better, okay?” Roxanne hugged Estella tight.
Archie and Benny too, embraced her.
When the three of them were about to leave, Roxanne felt a force pulling the corner of her skirt.
Stunned, she turned around. Estella’s gaze was still fixated somewhere else, without any emotion, but her hand remained gripped on Roxanne’s skirt tightly.
At the door, Lucian and James exchanged glances, shocked.
They thought that Estella completely shut herself off and would not respond to any external stimuli.
Much to their surprise, Estella could feel Roxanne’s presence. On top of that, she didn’t want Roxanne to leave.
Roxanne almost lost her breath. She stood there for a few seconds before gradually walking back to Estella. She squatted down and looked her in the eyes warmly. “Essie, you know I’m here, right?”
Estella’s eyes still looked blank, but her hands remained gripped on Roxanne’s skirt.
Archie and Benny quickly asked, “Mommy, can we bring Essie back with us?”
Bring Essie back with us!
Roxanne was tempted slightly, and she apprehensively looked toward the duo standing at the door.
If Estella was willing to tag along, Roxanne had no hesitation in taking Estella under her wing.
However, Roxanne feared that Estella was not willing to leave her father.
James’ expression stiffened. “I think that’s fine. It’s a huge improvement to even see Essie respond to something. Perhaps her chances of recovery will be significantly higher if she stays with you for a while.”
Finishing his sentence, James turned toward Lucian.
Lucian stared at Estella’s hands, and his heart felt like it was run over by a huge truck. A numbing pain soon consumed him.
Shortly after, he snapped back into his senses and said in a deep voice, “I’ll send you back. But give me a second, I’ll get Catalina to pack some of Essie’s daily essentials.”
Roxanne, Archie, and Benny were shocked and pleased at the same time.
Archie and Benny rushed toward Estella, their faces filled with joy, and hugged her. “We will take really good care of you!”
Later that day, Lucian sent the four of them back.
Estella curled up in Roxanne’s arms like a doll. Even when they got in the car, she clung closely to Roxanne, and her hands subconsciously clutched Roxanne’s skirt.
Archie obediently sat in the passenger seat.
Throughout the journey, Lucian explained in detail the things to pay attention to when taking care of Estella.