The woman who had accosted Roxanne earlier quickly tamped down her rage when she saw Lucian. She sputtered, “Mr. Farwell.”
Lucian nodded coolly at her before approaching Roxanne.
Softly, he asked, “What happened?” Roxanne’s gaze swept over the contrite woman.
She thought of their conversation earlier and decided not to cause more trouble by telling the truth.
Instead, Roxanne shook her head and said, “Nothing.
She came to say hi, but Essie doesn’t like strangers, so she was scared.”
After hearing her words, Lucian stared at the unfamiliar woman suspiciously and commented, “Essie isn’t usually this timid.” His imposing demeanor unsettled the woman, who lowered her head guiltily and replied, “I just thought Ms.
Estella looked adorable and wanted to stroke her hair.
I didn’t think I would scare her.
Please accept my deepest apologies.” Lucian stared at the young girl in his arms, who was pouting silently while staring straight at Roxanne.
Things obviously were not as simple as the woman had described.
It was also clear that Roxanne would not tell him the truth.
As he thought of how Roxanne was keeping her distance from him, Lucian’s displeasure grew, and it showed in his darkening gaze.
He declared coldly, “I thought the parents of Essie’s classmates should know about her condition.
Since you seem utterly clueless, I hope you stay away from my daughter for the next two days.
Don’t frighten her again.” The woman bit her lip in resentment.
She wanted to use the next two days to grow closer to Lucian and Estella, building a good relationship with the Farwell family.
Lucian’s hostile words had put a swift end to her plan.
Nonetheless, she dared not voice her objections before a frosty-looking Lucian.
Instead, she promised to heed his words before leaving with her child in tow.
Estella sniffled as the nasty woman departed.
She broke free from her father’s arms and walked toward Roxanne, grabbing the latter’s skirt.
Recalling how Estella had rushed forward to protect her earlier, Roxanne was moved, and she stroked the young girl’s head fondly.
Then, she held Estella’s hand and asked, “I still don’t know where the boys are.
Let’s look for them together, okay?” Estella’s eyes lit up when she realized that they could still play hide-and-seek.
She nodded her head in excitement, which brought a smile to Roxanne’s face.
Roxanne led Estella around the botanical garden to look for her sons.
Archie and Benny had been raised overseas, and thanks to Roxanne’s busy lifestyle, the boys had grown up with a lot of freedom.
Thus, they were more daring compared to most children their age and had run off to a much further place to hide.
However, Roxanne was not worried because she knew they would take care of their safety.
Meanwhile, Lucian trailed Roxanne and Estella.
His gaze softened as he watched the two walking hand-in-hand.
“Archie! Benny!” Estella called out as she walked.
It reminded Roxanne of how Estella had replied to her question earlier, and she could not help but smile at the child’s cuteness.
Suddenly, Estella tugged on Roxanne’s hand and said, “Over here!” Roxanne followed Estella through a complicated route and was surprised to see the boys hiding behind a man made hill.
“How did you know Archie and Benny were hiding here, Essie?” asked a surprised Roxanne.
The boys always hid in the most creative places, and Roxanne had always struggled to find them during their hide-and seek sessions.
She never imagined Estella would find them so easily.
Estella tilted her head and replied, “I don’t know.
It was a guess.” Roxanne did not think much of Estella’s response and promptly believed her.
