Chapter 743 Aversion
Lucian more or less knew what she wanted to say, so he furrowed his eyebrows silently and waited. With a serious expression, Sonya uttered, “I’m still going to say the same thing, Lucian. Aubree has waited for you for six years, and things have been hard for her. No matter what happens, you can’t disappoint her!”
They had had that same conversation many times before, so much so that it gave him a headache every time he heard it. It also made him lose the drive to argue with her.
She continued to speak as he listened silently. Inside the mansion, Estella stared at the woman sitting on the couch and timidly grabbed the edge of Catalina’s shirt while wearing a wary expression.
Upon noticing the girl’s aversion toward her, Aubree felt displeased, but she still pretended to be nice. “Look, I brought you a gift, Essie.” Then she pulled out a doll from her bag. “Do you like it?”
Without hesitation, the girl shook her head. I’m not going to like anything this bad lady gives me!
When Aubree saw the girl shaking her head, the expression on her face froze for a moment before returning to normal. “It’s fine if you don’t like it. I’ll take you out next time to buy whatever you like.” In response, Estella cowered behind Catalina wordlessly.
“Ms. Estella just returned from school, Ms. Pearson. She’s probably tired. You should wait here in the living room while I send Ms. Estella back to her room first.” Catalina watched Estella grow up, so she understood the girl’s emotions very well.
She could tell Estella was afraid, so she immediately stood in front of Estella and shielded the little girl as she spoke to Aubree politely.
The moment she finished speaking, Aubree frowned. “I’ll send Essie upstairs. I have something I want to talk to her about.”
Then, Aubree stood and approached the girl.
Estella grabbed onto the edge of Catalina’s shirt even tighter when she saw Aubree getting close. Defiance was written all over her face.
Catalina was distressed when she saw Estella’s expression. However, due to her identity, she couldn’t say anything. She could only watch as Aubree approached and stretched out her hand toward Estella.
“I’ll send you upstairs, Essie.” Aubree put on her most amicable smile with the intention of changing the girl’s attitude toward her.
To her surprise, Estella still didn’t take her hand even after she waited patiently for a while. Instead, the little girl cowered further behind Catalina.
In response, Aubree’s eyebrows creased imperceptibly as she suppressed the rage in her heart. Patiently, she squatted down and stared into Estella’s eyes apologetically. “I can understand why you don’t like me, Essie. I didn’t know how to deal with children in the past, and I wasn’t patient enough with you. I hope you can forgive me. Let’s learn how to get along with each other, okay?”
Pursing her lips, Estella still shook her head.
Aubree had to dig her nails into her palm in secret to stifle her raging fury. This little b*tch! How dare she reject me when I’m asking her to get along with me nicely! It seems like she has forgotten how I used to punish her! If Catalina weren’t around right now, I would’ve shown her the consequences of disobeying me!
Children were usually sensitive to adults’ emotions. Despite Aubree’s attempt at suppressing her emotions, Estella could still sense her anger. Thus, the girl promptly and cautiously tightened her grip on Catalina’s shirt.
Sensing the girl’s emotions, Catalina could only protect her silently. She didn’t have the nerve to say anything.
“Be a good girl, okay, Essie? I’m going to be your mommy in the future. Don’t you want to get along with your mommy?” Biting the bullet, Aubree used the ace up her sleeve.
She thought that would make the girl cooperate, but to her surprise, the moment she ended her sentence, Estella’s detestation became even more obvious.
