Filed to story: Leaving the Country After Divorce Novel (Lucian & Roxanne)
It seemed like Estella could see that Roxanne had something on her mind, for the girl buried herself into Roxanne’s arms slowly before looking at the woman with big, concerned eyes.
As Roxanne looked at the girl’s clear eyes, she recollected herself and hugged her.
Her heart melted when her arms wrapped around the small and soft body. At the same time, she found herself letting go of the niggling question.
The identity of Estella’s biological mother and the current relationship between Lucian and Aubree had nothing to do with her at all.
She and Lucian should have been strangers. They were only interacting because of Estella. That was all.
Overthinking things would only make her feel even more frustrated.
In the meantime, at the Farwell residence, Sonya and Elias were about to rest. When they heard the sudden ringing of the doorbell, they hastily opened the door.
Instantly, they were greeted by the apologetic faces of Samuel and Gina. Aubree was behind them, her eyes red.
“What happened?” Sonya asked in confusion when she registered the trio’s expressions.
Gina turned to shoot Aubree a glare.
Aubree’s eyes were bloodshot, and remorse was written all over her face. Even her voice was a little hoarse as she said, “Mrs. Farwell, I’ve come to apologize.”
Sonya became even more puzzled by that response. She then led the three to the couch and had the maid pour them cups of tea before asking, “What happened? Why are you apologizing to me?”
Aubree kept her head low, not daring to look at Sonya at all. “You convinced Essie to get into my car yesterday morning, so I thought she’d be quiet while I bring her to the kindergarten. However, she began kicking up a fuss and insisting on getting down from the car midway. She even tried to open the door despite how dangerous it was. I tried to stop her, but she refused to listen to me. In the end, I got too anxious and hit her a few times after I stopped the car.”
The moment Sonya and Elias heard that Sonya had laid a finger on Estella, their expressions darkened.
Aubree continued in a miserable tone, “I really didn’t mean it. I know it’s my fault; I shouldn’t have done anything to a kid. Estella’s so cute, and she’s your precious princess. Even now, I feel like slapping myself for having done that. If only I was more patient at that time.”
At the sight of her remorseful demeanor, Sonya’s dark expression lightened up a little. “If you know that you’ve done wrong, you should know that it’s pointless to come to us. You should be apologizing to Essie instead. You can’t do this anymore in the future.”
A conflicted look crossed Aubree’s face. “Mrs. Farwell, that’s what I thought too, but Lucian found out about this matter. He’s furious…”
“It’s normal for him to be mad. Have a good talk with him.” A line appeared between Sonya’s brows. She felt that Lucian had gone a little overboard with his response.
Just as she said that, she saw Aubree turn even paler.
“I don’t mind doing anything as long as Lucian forgives me, but…” the younger woman trailed off.
Gina, who was beside her, then said, “Sonya, you have no idea how severe things are. Lucian’s absolutely livid. It was as if he had lost his mind last night. He even attacked Aubree. Look.”
She then lifted Aubree’s hair from behind her back to show Sonya the mark on Aubree’s neck.
Both Sonya and Elias froze when they saw the bruise on Aubree’s neck. They never thought that Lucian would be so rough with her.
Once they recomposed themselves, Sonya asked, “How’s… your bruise? Is it bad?”
Aubree pursed her lips and shook her head. “It’s nothing. As long as Lucian forgives me, this injury is nothing.”
The upset Sonya felt toward Aubree withered quite a bit when she saw the regretful look and bad bruise that Aubree had.
After all, they had witnessed with their own two eyes what Aubree had done all those years.
Furthermore, it was true that Estella was rather aloof and stubborn. It would be quite challenging for outsiders to take care of her.
Therefore, Sonya could understand why Aubree had hit Estella.
“Lucian’s just caught up in his anger. I apologize to you on behalf of him. Don’t take this incident to heart,” Sonya apologized to Aubree.
However, tears fell from Aubree’s eyes. “I’m fine, but… I might not be able to be with Lucian anymore. I can’t even take care of Essie. I’ve betrayed the trust you’ve given to me. If Lucian chooses Roxanne, I’ll definitely give them my blessings.”
At that, Sonya frowned. “Aubree, what are you talking about? It’s impossible for Lucian to be with Roxanne anymore. I’ve asked him about this before, and he told me that he’s not thinking of getting back together with her, so don’t overthink it.”
Still, Aubree continued to sob. “But Essie is with Roxanne all day long now. In fact, she’s living at Roxanne’s place. Essie likes her so much. If Lucian isn’t planning to be with her anymore, why would he have her take care of Essie?”
Although Lucian had berated her about it, she still kept sending people to spy on Roxanne.
The moment she found out that Estella was staying at Roxanne’s place, Aubree panicked. That was why she told her parents everything. After getting scolded by them, she was then brought over to apologize to Sonya and Elias.
Then, when she heard Sonya forgiving her, she could not help but complain to her.
Sonya never thought that Lucian would let that woman take care of Estella. She instantly fumed, “This is ridiculous! Who told him to do this?”
Then, she forced her anger aside and consoled Aubree. “Don’t worry. There’s no way they’ll be together again. Even if Lucian wants to do that, I won’t let that woman come back here!”
Aubree shifted her doe eyes to Sonya to make sure that Sonya was serious about her words.
Sonya uttered grimly, “That woman gave up on Essie herself back then. There’s no way I’m going to let her take care of Essie again!”
A tiny sliver of confidence finally crept into Aubree’s heart at her promise.
The few of them then chatted for a while longer before Gina led Aubree away.
They had gotten Sonya’s promise, so they had achieved what they had come for.
All that was needed was a few drops of tears from Aubree. Not only did Sonya not blame her for hitting the child, but she even felt that she had wronged Aubree. In addition to that, she even promised not to let Roxanne into the family.
In other words, they had hit two birds with one stone.