Chapter 292 A Clean Break
“You guys are right. All right, then. I’ll get going first. See you all,” Lucian said after a pause, pursing his lips.
Since he had unilaterally called off his engagement with Aubree, and the news was not made public yet, Lucian thought he should only let them know later.
Archie and Benny were surprised and disappointed when Lucian actually agreed so readily.
So, he’s really getting married to that woman. Does this mean he doesn’t want us anymore?
The disgruntlement evoked by this thought was apparent on the children’s faces, and they replied curtly, “Goodbye, Mr. Farwell.”
Lucian was puzzled by their sudden change of attitude. The man wondered if he had done anything wrong to upset them, aside from his engagement with Aubree.
Earlier on, he had found Archie and Benny strangely distant, so he had decided to leave them alone. Yet when he actually did so, the two boys suddenly seemed disturbed by his departure.
Seriously… What’s the matter? I can’t think of a reason for their behavior.
Lucian eventually gave up on trying to explain their shift in attitude and reached for Estella’s hand instead. But when the girl saw Lucian nearing, she frowned and leaped to the ground from the couch.
The girl had been listening to their conversation all that while, so she knew Lucian was about to bring her home.
The man looked at his daughter, who had just dashed off about three meters away from him, in resignation.
I should’ve expected that. Essie is so clingy to Roxanne, so there’s no way she wants to leave. Besides, she’s still traumatized by what happened. I bet sending the medication here today is just an excuse for her to come see Roxanne.
“Come on, Essie. It’s time to go home. We’ll come to see Ms. Jarvis some other day,” Lucian coaxed with his gaze still pinned on the girl.
He had learned from the incident yesterday that he should not be too hard on her, or else she might end up doing something rash again. Yet despite his gentle entreaties, the girl still refused to go with him.
“No!” she cried out stubbornly.
I want to stay with Ms. Jarvis! She’s the best.
To the little girl, Roxanne was the person she could depend on because the woman had saved her from the pit when she was crying in desperation.
If I have to have a mommy, it must be Ms. Jarvis! I don’t want anyone else to be my mommy!
As Lucian guessed, it was all because of Roxanne.
Ever since Estella met Roxanne, she had constantly reminded Lucian of Roxanne’s importance in her heart.
In fact, it seemed to him that Roxanne meant much more to the girl compared to himself—her very own father who had taken care of her for so many years.
When Archie and Benny saw this, they felt sorry for Estella. They knew she was behaving like that because of what had happened the other day. Yet the brothers could not invite her to stay because Roxanne had yet to utter a word.
It was then that they regretted chasing Lucian off. If they had not rushed him off, Estella could have stayed longer.
For a moment, the ambiance in the quiet living room became awkwardly tense, with Lucian and Estella reaching an impasse.
“Essie, I still have to go to work tomorrow. What about I send you to Grandpa and Grandma?” Lucian suggested tenderly, rubbing his brows.
Again, his proposal was met with an outright rejection as Estella ran over to Roxanne and clung to her hand. She was trying to show with her actions that she wanted to stay with her.
Her sudden embrace softened Roxanne’s heart. Yet when Roxanne looked back at Lucian again, she told herself she had to let the girl go.
As Archie and Benny said, he will be engaged to another woman soon. I should stay away from him. It’s time we have a clean break.
