Filed to story: Leaving the Country After Divorce Novel (Lucian & Roxanne)
Realizing what she was going to do, Lucian said, “I’ve asked Catalina to come. She’ll be taking care of you all for the next two days, so sit down and eat first.”
Roxanne halted in her tracks before turning to thank the man, “Thank you.”
She was not going to act like she was a stranger to Lucian because of Estella, so she was not going to turn him down on his offer.
Lucian nodded.
Roxanne turned to the boys. “Come on. You must be hungry too. Dig in while the food is still hot.”
It was true that the boys were starving. Upon hearing her words, they jumped down from the couch and walked toward the dining table in a line.
Roxanne was squeezed between them. Habitually, she tried to take care of them by taking food for them. However, she only recalled her injury right after she raised her hand. Thus, she had no choice but to use her left hand, but her movements were clumsy because of that.
At the sight of the slowness of their mother’s actions, Archie and Benny said to Roxanne, “Mommy, you don’t need to take care of us. Let us take care of you instead!”
With that said, they both stood up to take the food that Roxanne liked for her.
A tender look appeared in Roxanne’s eyes as she watched the sensible boys work away. Touched, she then said, “Thank you, my darlings.”
When Estella saw the boys bring food for Roxanne, she, too, mimicked them and took a little of her favorite food for Roxanne.
Once she put the food on Roxanne’s plate, she stared at Roxanne with bright eyes, enthusiastically waiting for the woman to eat it.
At that, Roxanne lifted the food into her mouth. Smiling, she patted Estella’s head and said, “Thank you, Essie. It’s delicious!”
Hearing that, Estella beamed, and she began giving Roxanne more food.
For a moment, the three children kept putting more and more food onto Roxanne’s plate as if it was a competition.
Roxanne was starting to feel too full, but when she thought about how that was the children’s kind gestures, she forced herself to slowly polish off her plate.
“That’s enough. Kids, focus on your own food instead,” Lucian intervened, unsure if he should laugh or sigh at the scene.
He did not know if he should praise them for being sensible or chide Roxanne for being too soft-hearted.
Roxanne could barely straighten her back from the overeating by then. Thus, when she heard his intervention, she lifted her head to cast him a grateful look.
Fortunately, the children did not dare to go against Lucian’s words, so the food on Roxanne’s plate did not increase further.
After dinner, Catalina arrived.
Roxanne helped tidy up the table a little, and just as she was about to offer more help, Catalina convinced her to stop. “Ms. Jarvis, you’re still injured, so do head out to keep the children company instead.”
Roxanne had no choice but to agree to that. She then stepped out to the living room to seek out the children.
Just as she entered the living room, she spotted Estella and Lucian standing by the doorway. The man had already put on his jacket, and it seemed like he was ready to leave.
Roxanne walked over in puzzlement.
“Daddy’s leaving first. Stay with Ms. Jarvis and the boys. Be good, and don’t trouble Ms. Jarvis. Catalina will be taking care of you for the next few days here,” Lucian said to Estella in a gentle tone.
Estella bobbed her head obediently.
Even though she was reluctant to let her father leave, she quite liked living in Roxanne’s place.
When Lucian saw Roxanne walking over, he straightened up and looked at her. “Something has cropped up at my company, so I have to leave first. Essie’s just recovered, and her condition is still a little unstable. I was thinking of having her live with you for two more days. Catalina will be here to take care of her. If this troubles you, you can ask Catalina to bring her back after she’s done cleaning up the table.”
Roxanne stood transfixed for a moment before she patted the girl’s head. “It’s all right. Let her stay here.”
That night, after Roxanne asked Archie and Benny to head to bed, she went back to the room to take care of Estella.
Once Catalina learned that Estella had recovered, she stuck to the girl’s side like glue.
In fact, the two women even showered Estella together.
Catalina’s heart ached when she saw the bruise on Estella’s bottom. Instantly, she could not help but complain, “Who did this? Ms. Estella has always been in poor health, and Mr. Farwell can’t even bring himself to be stern with her…”
Hearing that, Estella blinked at Catalina. Nevertheless, when she thought about Aubree’s warning, she clamped her mouth shut.
All of a sudden, Roxanne recalled what Lucian had said back at the haunted house.
The mystery of Estella’s mother’s identity kept swirling in her head.
Upon thinking about how Catalina had been working in the Farwell residence for all those years and about how she might know something, Roxanne asked in a nonchalant tone, “Catalina, why didn’t Essie’s mother come and visit her despite how bad her episode was? Did some other emergency happen?”
Hearing that, Catalina visibly stiffened before looking at Roxanne in shock.
She thought Roxanne had known that Estella was her child all along. After all, she gave birth to Estella.
That was why the question startled her that much.
Ms. Jarvis is subtly asking me who’s Essie’s biological mother? How am I supposed to answer that?
A moment of hesitation later, Catalina asked, “Did… Mr. Farwell not talk to you about this before?”
Roxanne thought that her response was strange, but she could not fathom why. Hence, she replied, “He only told me that Essie’s biological mother isn’t Aubree.”
So Mr. Farwell knows about this as well, but he didn’t tell Ms. Jarvis about it.
Catalina came to a conclusion at that. She then smiled at Roxanne and said, “Did you think that it was Ms. Pearson all along? Ms. Estella looks nothing like her. I’m not sure why you thought that.”
Roxanne chuckled. “Then can you tell me who’s Essie’s biological mother?”
Catalina shook her head. “This is Mr. Farwell’s personal matter. I wouldn’t dare to tell anyone about it. It’s best for you to wait until Mr. Farwell tells you about it himself.”
With that said, Catalina threw herself back into her work. She dared not continue the topic any longer, for she was afraid that she might let something slip.
When Roxanne noticed how Catalina was avoiding the topic, she stopped prodding for more information.
Still, a trace of suspicion lingered in her mind.
After all, she had seen for herself how obsessed Lucian was with Aubree all those years ago.
In fact, the man had even declared that Aubree was the only one worthy of being his wife.
How did he end up having a child with another woman then? What kind of feelings does he have toward Aubree? Could it be that their feelings for each other are fading after six years?
Roxanne simply could not seem to find an answer no matter how hard she tried. Instead, she only made herself frustrated.
After bathing Estella, Roxanne brought the girl to bed. Even then, she continued to wonder about the subject.