Chapter 1111

Leaving The Country After Divorce Chapter 1111--“Let’s not talk about it.” Frieda took a sip of water irritably as she threw her purse aside. Aubree raised her eyebrows with a smile. “Let me guess. Did you quarrel with your brother?”

Frieda’s expression shifted slightly in silent admission. Aubree’s smile became wider at the sight. She produced an exquisite box from her purse.

“Don’t waste your energy on him. Take a look at this.” Frieda froze for a moment, puzzled, before receiving the box from her and opening it for a glimpse.

The box contained a necklace by her favorite designer that haunted her dreams. “Aubree, I…” Frieda gazed in shock at the person before her.

Aubree surveyed the other with her chin in her hand. “It’s a thank-you gift. The idea you gave me worked out well.”

Frieda’s gloom was swept away in an instant. Putting the box away, she asked about Aubree’s situation, “How are things between you and Essie?”

Aubree was all smiles upon recollecting the incident that morning. “Not bad. The kid isn’t ignoring me anymore.”

She shrugged with a chuckle before continuing. “It would have been better for her if she had behaved this sooner don’t you think? I might have been nicer to her.”

Frieda did not dare ask how she used to treat  Estella, so she merely said with a smile, “As long as your relationship with Lucian has improved.”

“The most important thing is Lucian has acknowledged the improvement in my relationship with Essie,” Aubree said, casually mentioning the most important news.

Frieda was surprised at those words. “Why did you say that?”

Aubree recounted the exchange with Lucian over the phone earlier that morning. Frieda nodded eagerly. “If that’s the case, your marriage with Lucian is secured.”

Aubree nodded impassively. “So, you need not be angry anymore. When I marry Lucian, I’ll put in a good word to Old Mr. Queen for you, and he will bring you back to power.”

Frieda smiled and raised her glass of water. “In the absence of wine, this will have to do. Congratulations in advance, Aubree.” The pair clinked their glasses, then their breakfast in high spirits.

In the meantime, Archie and Benny climbed out of bed early that morning, though without the same fervent excitement as they used to at the thought of returning to school.

With Daddy and Mommy’s quarrel in such a state, Daddy will no longer let Essie come to our kindergarten. At that thought, the boys descended the stairs in low spirits.

Upon arriving downstairs, they noticed their mother was already seated at the table. “You’re up, boys. I was just about to come up and wake you.”

Roxanne smiled at the children and began to set the table. The children’s mood improved somewhat at the sight of their mother.

“Must we stay in this school, Mommy?” Benny asked instinctively after taking his seat at the dining table.

Roxanne’s hands froze at those words as she smiled helplessly at the child. “Are you not doing well at your current kindergarten?” Benny lowered his head. “We want to be with Essie.”

Roxanne’s heart twinged bitterly. She understood how the children felt. When Lucian came earlier, she wondered if she

could convince him to have Estella transfer back to her old school. Unexpectedly, her intention backfired.

Not only had she failed to have the child return, but she had also incurred Lucian’s ire to such an extent that he took her away.

Leaving The Country After Divorce Chapter 1112--“…I’ll send you guys to school later.” Roxanne spoke up hesitantly while they were having their meal. “Mommy, are you done with work?” Archie and Benny’s eyes lit up when they heard that.

Although Estella was no longer in the same kindergarten as theirs, they were still delighted that Roxanne could send them to school.

Roxanne had been avoiding Lucian and Estella lately, so Lysa was the one who sent them to school.

Archie and Benny were envious when they saw the other parents send their children to school. Faced with her boys’ questions, Roxanne couldn’t help but feel a little guilty. “Yeah. It’s almost done.”

The two little ones cheered and ate their breakfast obediently. After breakfast, they carried their backpacks and waited at the door without having to be reminded by Roxanne.

Roxanne, however, was a little hesitant.

She still had some work to handle that morning, but as much as she didn’t want to admit it, she wanted to try her luck and see if Lucian would change his mind and send Estella back to the kindergarten.

Even if the chance was slim, she didn’t want to miss it. “Mommy, we’re going to be late,” Archie and Benny couldn’t help but urge after waiting for some time.

Only then did Roxanne return to her senses and smile at them apologetically. “Let’s go.”

Having said that, she suppressed the hesitation in her heart, picked up her bag, and walked over to the boys.

When they arrived at the kindergarten’s entrance, Roxanne alighted from the car and walked Archie and Benny to Pippa. “Ms. Jarvis, it’s been a while,” Pippa greeted Roxanne with a smile.

Then, she lowered her head to look at Archie and Benny. The sight of the two boys caused sorrow to fill her heart. She had gotten used to seeing them with Estella.

Recently, the sight of the boys would remind Pippa of Estella, and she couldn’t help wondering how Estella was doing in a new environment.

Roxanne hummed gently in response. “I’ve been busy with work lately. Thank you for taking good care of Archie and Benny, Ms. Ward.”

Both the ladies were a little distracted and didn’t chat for long. Pippa then brought Archie and Benny into the school.

On the other hand, Roxanne remained standing at the school entrance for a long time. Judging from the look on Ms. Ward’s face just now, I can tell Essie didn’t come.

To avoid missing out on the opportunity to meet Estella, Roxanne continued to wait in front of the school. However, there was still no sign of Estella even until the school’s gate closed.

Only then did she give up and return to the car in disappointment. Just then, Colby called her and urged, “Dr. Jarvis, when will you arrive?

Roxanne had been doing research on the medicinal herbs from Herbscape Group all by herself. Thus, no one dared to touch the medicinal herbs without her guidance.

Ignoring the disappointment in her heart, Roxanne replied, “Sorry, Something came up just now. I’ll be there soon.”

Colby sensed something off from her tone and felt a little worried. “What’s wrong? Do you need help?”

“No, thank you. It was already settled,” Roxanne answered, her voice sounding dejected. Colby could tell she was unwilling to speak further, so he stopped pursuing the matter and hung up tactfully.

Roxanne glanced around the school once again. Still, there was no sign of Estella.

A few moments later, she withdrew her gaze, laughed self-deprecatingly, and started the car engine to head to the research institute.

She had forgotten the fact that Lucian had always been famous for his decisiveness and determination. Since he had decided to cut ties with her, there was no way he would go against his words.

Leaving The Country After Divorce Chapter 1113--In the kindergarten, Archie and Benny sat in their seats quietly while the other children were playing games with Pippa. They could sense something was off when Roxanne said she would send them to school that morning.

It wasn’t until Roxanne handed them over to Pippa that they noticed Roxanne glancing at the crowd from time to time as if she was looking for someone.

When Pippa led them into the school, they looked back and saw Roxanne still looking around. Although Archie and Benny said nothing, they knew Roxanne was looking for Lucian and Estella.

Mommy must feel terrible after the fight with Daddy that day. At the thought of Roxanne’s sadness and disappointment, Archie and Benny’s moods. were gloomy, too. “Archie, Benny, what’s wrong?”

Seeing the listless look on the boys’ faces, Pippa walked over to comfort them, “Are you missing Estella?”

At the mention of Estella, Archie and Benny’s faces immediately fell. I wonder how Essie is doing…

“Don’t worry. Mr. Farwell will take good care of her.” Naturally, Pippa didn’t have the guts to call and ask Lucian. Thus, she could only reassure the two little ones as best as she could.

Knowing Pippa was comforting them, Archie and Benny flashed her a smile. “Don’t worry about us, Ms. Ward. We’re fine. Just leave us alone for a while.”

Pippa didn’t know what else she could do besides comforting them by caressing their heads. Then, she got up and returned to the other children.

The sight of the children playing happily only served to worsen Benny’s already foul mood. “Archie, what do you think Essie is doing now? Daddy should have sent her to school, right?”

Archie, pressing his lips together, had the same concern as Benny He still remembered how Estella was bullied by her classmates when they had just joined the kindergarten.

Back then, she was still having trouble getting along with the other children despite the fact. that she had been studying in the kindergarten for some time, After she had finally adapted to the environment, however, Lucian transferred her to another kindergarten.

Archie was worried that the kids in the new school would bully Estella. What should we do if Essie is bullied again? We’re no longer by her side now…

Benny knitted his brows and suggested with a straight face, “Why don’t we go look for Essie secretly? We have to at least find out how she’s doing at her new school.”

Archie was worried about Estella, too. However, upon contemplation, he put on a solemn expression and shook his head. “No. We can’t do that again.”

“Why? Aren’t you worried about Essie?” Benny was confused. Archie regarded his brother seriously and asked, “Have you forgotten what Grandma said about us last time?”

Sonya had pointed at Archie and Benny and scolded them for taking Estella away the other day. Her tone was harsh; her words insulting. Most importantly, Roxanne was dragged into the mess because of what they had done.

At the thought of what had happened that day. Benny was dispirited. He sprawled on the table languidly. “Then what should we do? What if someone bullies Essie?”

Archie patted Benny on his shoulder and reassured him, “Essie has promised us that she will try her best to make Daddy reconcile with Mommy, so her emotions should be stable for now. If someone bullies her, I believe she will tell Daddy about it.”

After finishing his sentence, the little boy narrowed his eyes and said viciously, “Worse comes to worst, we will seek revenge for her in the future.”

Leaving The Country After Divorce Chapter 1114--Feeling a lot better after hearing what Archie said, Benny nodded profusely in response. The two of them then went silent after that. The silence was broken when an adorable voice called out to them from behind, “Archie! Benny!”

Upon turning around, they saw a little girl with pigtails leaning against their desk. “When will Essie come back?” she asked nervously.

Although she and Estella were pretty close, she knew nothing about Estella transferring to another school. Since Estella was often seen being around Archie and Benny, she figured she would try asking them about it.

Her question made Archie and Benny, whose mood had just improved, feel depressed again.

Even so, they couldn’t bring themselves to burst the little girl’s bubble when they saw the expectant look in her eyes. “She should be back soon,” they replied.

The girl’s eyes instantly lit up with joy. “I knew Essie would come back! Ms. Ward said Essie wouldn’t be coming back anymore, but I didn’t believe her! I’m so smart!”

The little girl then happily returned to the crowd while Archie and Benny exchanged glances.

“We need to have Mommy and Daddy get back together as soon as possible!” Archie said with a serious look on his face.

Of course, Benny understood what they had to do. “What did Daddy tell Mommy the other day? She looked really upset! As for Daddy, he…”

Benny felt his heart ache as he recalled Lucian’s expression when he left the other day.

It’s like Daddy won’t be coming to see us anymore! Mommy and Daddy have gotten into fights in the past, but things have never gotten this bad before!

Archie shook his head as he didn’t understand the situation either.

We tried asking Mommy many times about what happened that day, but our efforts were all in vain. Even though Mommy answered all of our questions, it was obvious that she was lying to us. What happened? What is Mommy so afraid to tell us about?

“Is this about Mommy punishing Essie?” Benny suggested. “No,” Archie replied with a frown. Mommy wouldn’t have kept it from us if it were that simple. Come on, think! What could it be?

Neither Archie nor Benny had any idea what the reason was.

Suddenly, Benny thought of something and sat up straight in his chair. “C-Could it be about Mr. Damaris?”

Daddy had gotten into several fights with Mommy because of Mr. Damaris. Mommy and Mr. Damaris have gotten a lot closer ever since. Maybe Daddy is angry at Mommy because of this. Yeah, that has got to be it!

Archie’s eyes lit up when he heard that. Hmm… Benny does make a good point! “Let’s go talk to Mommy about this! We’ll tell her to stay away from Mr. Damaris because we don’t like him!”

Benny’s suggestion reflected his pure way of thinking.

Archie, on the other hand, was able to see things from Roxanne’s perspective. “But Mommy is only in contact with Mr. Damaris because of work.”

He then turned toward Benny as he continued with a frown, “We both saw how hard Mommy worked to secure this job opportunity.”

Asking Mommy to give up on this job opportunity simply because we don’t like Mr. Damaris would be unfair to her.

Benny felt his heart clench when he recalled how busy Roxanne had been back then. “But it’s possible that Daddy and Mommy are fighting because of Mr. Damaris!”

Benny was still on the fence about this. He couldn’t choose between Roxanne’s career and Lucian.

Leaving The Country After Divorce Chapter 1115--The two of them continued discussing that matter throughout the rest of the day. Being the more emotional of the two, Benny simply wanted Jack to leave so Roxanne and Lucian would get back together.

Archie, on the other hand, was more rational and didn’t want to affect Roxanne’s career. However, neither of them was able to arrive at a conclusion even when school was over.

“Archie! Benny! Look who’s there!” Pippa spotted Roxanne waiting at the front gate the moment they stepped out the classroom door.

Archie and Benny were so absorbed in their thoughts that they didn’t even notice Roxanne standing there until Pippa mentioned it.

As they glanced at the gate, they saw that Roxanne looked absent-minded as well. The look on Roxanne’s face made Archie and Benny more determined to help Lucian and Roxanne get back together.

“Mommy!” Benny called out to Roxanne while running toward her.

Having been snapped out of her train of thought, Roxanne patted him on the head before instinctively scanning the crowd.

Despite having confirmed Lucian’s feelings toward her earlier that morning, Roxanne still found herself coming over when school was over that evening.

She refused to give up, but sure enough, she still saw no sign of Estella anywhere. As Archie was walking a little slower, he clearly saw Roxanne searching the crowd for Estella.

Huh… I don’t get it… Why would Mommy keep fighting with Daddy if she cares about Essie so much?

“Let’s go home, Mommy!” Benny said softly when Archie walked up to them. Roxanne flashed him a smile and nodded in response, but her legs refused to move. Maybe I should wait just a little while longer…

Realizing her hesitation, Archie reached out to hold her hand and said, “Essie didn’t come to school today, Mommy.”

Naturally, that meant no one would be coming to pick her up. Roxanne froze in surprise when she realized Archie had seen right through her thoughts.

“Come on, let’s go home!” Archie added while giving her hand a light tug.

Having accepted reality for what it was, Roxanne replied with a wry smile, “All right, let’s go.”

She then walked hand in hand with Archie and Benny as they made their way toward her car. It wasn’t until they entered the car that Benny realized Roxanne was looking for Estella earlier.

After discussing it with Archie the entire day and witnessing Roxanne searching for Estella, Benny couldn’t help but ask, “Mommy, could you give Mr. Farwell a call and ask him how Essie is doing?”

That question caught Roxanne completely off guard and caused her to tighten her grip on the steering wheel. “Mommy?”

Roxanne had wanted to tell them that it wasn’t convenient for her to call Lucian, but she couldn’t bring herself to say that when she saw how worried they were about Estella.

After hesitating for a bit, Roxanne replied, “I’ll give him a call tonight and tell you boys about it tomorrow.”

“Okay!” Seeing how Roxanne had agreed to it so easily, Benny assumed the conflict between her and Lucian wasn’t that serious.

As he leaned back against his seat, however, Archie jabbed at his arm and gave him a look. Because of how well they knew each other, that look was all Benny needed to understand what Archie was trying to say.

Mommy’s lying! She’s not going to actually make that phone call! Benny pursed his lips in disappointment when the sudden realization dawned upon him.

He then remained silent throughout the rest of the ride home.

Leaving The Country After Divorce Chapter 1116--Roxanne and the kids had just entered the mansion when she saw Jack sitting in the living room. “Ah, you’re all home!” Jack greeted them with a smile.

“Mr. Damaris came over this afternoon. I had him wait in the living room since he’s a friend of yours, Ms. Jarvis,” Lysa said as she came out of the kitchen.

Roxanne nodded in response and motioned for Archie and Benny to go and wash their hands. However, they refused to budge and stood there staring at Jack.

We were just talking about Mr. Damaris today! Who would’ve thought we’d bump into him so soon?

Benny’s eyes were filled with resentment as he glared at Jack. Naturally, Jack was well aware of Benny’s hostility, but he pretended to not notice it.

“What brings you here today, Mr. Damaris?” Roxanne asked in confusion. Jack lifted his chin slightly and gestured at her to look at the single-seater couch on the right.

Roxanne saw a medium-sized basket on the couch, but she couldn’t make out what was inside. “What is this?” she asked with a frown.

Jack arched an eyebrow as he replied, “I told you about this before, didn’t I? Our family would grant you access to our ancient medicine books if you become our business partner. My grandfather had me bring these over. Said they might be of help to you, Dr. Jarvis.”

Roxanne’s eyes lit up when she heard that those were the Damaris family’s ancient medicine books. She quickly walked up to the couch and opened the basket.

Sure enough, it was filled with all the ancient medicine books that she had wanted really badly before. “Thank you very much, Mr. Damaris! These are just what I needed!” Roxanne said in a cheerful tone.

Jack flashed her a faint smile in response. “It’s my grandfather you should be thanking. Of course, you can thank me tomorrow if you’d like.”

Noticing the confused look on Roxanne’s face, he continued, “Your research institute is running out of medicinal herbs, right? I just purchased a new batch. They should be arriving tomorrow.”

The smile on Roxanne’s face faded slightly when she heard that. “You’re being far too kind, Mr. Damaris. I don’t know how I’ll ever be able to repay you.”

Jack was about to say something when Benny called out to Roxanne from the bathroom, “Mommy! We’ve run out of soap!”

Archie and Benny had been listening in on the conversation from outside the bathroom. Roxanne was still upset about Essie on the way home, but she suddenly sounded all happy after seeing Jack.

Given how quickly her mood had changed because of Jack, it was only natural that Archie and Benny would get the wrong idea.

Benny got so upset that he had to interrupt their conversation. Of course, Roxanne didn’t give it much thought at the time. She flashed Jack a polite smile and excused herself to fetch the kids a bar of soap. Upon entering the bathroom, however, she saw a brand new bar of soap on the sink.

Roxanne froze and stared at her two sons in confusion. Benny reached out and tugged at the hem of Roxanne’s shirt, silently telling his mother that

he wanted her to stop talking to Jack. Roxanne was overjoyed to receive the books and the herbs, so she got carried away talking to Jack.

It wasn’t until she saw Benny’s actions that she recalled how much they disliked Jack.

“Mr. Damaris is only here to give me something. He’ll be leaving very soon. I can’t kick him out now because that would be rude,” she said with an awkward look on her face.

Benny tugged even harder on her shirt and shook his head profusely. “No!”

Roxanne didn’t have time to comfort him any further, so she just gave him a pat on the head and said, “Mr. Damaris is still waiting for me outside, so I need to get back to him now. Behave yourselves, okay?”

She then stepped out of the bathroom and made her way back to the living room.

Leaving The Country After Divorce Chapter 1117--Archie and Benny stayed in the bathroom for a little while longer before heading out. Roxanne was still chatting with Jack at the time.

She had wanted to get him to leave as soon as possible, but Jack started talking about the ancient medicine books halfway through the conversation.

Due to Roxanne’s incredible passion for medicine, she couldn’t help but get carried away talking about it again. It wasn’t until Lysa told them dinner was ready that she snapped out of it.

“Would you like to stay for dinner, Mr. Damaris?” Roxanne asked out of courtesy. Jack arched an eyebrow when he saw Archie and Benny standing next to the kitchen.

They were both glaring daggers at him and looked like they would tear him to pieces if he accepted her invitation. Because they were still kids, they just looked adorable no matter how fierce their expressions were.

Jack couldn’t help but smile in amusement as he drawled suspensefully, “Thank you for the invitation, Ms. Jarvis. I-”

He was halfway through his sentence when Benny cut him off, “I don’t feel like eating anymore, Mommy! I want to give Daddy a call!”

Instead of finishing his sentence, Jack deliberately paused and gave Roxanne a confused look. Roxanne was caught completely off guard by Benny’s words and began to panic.

After taking a few seconds to regain her composure, she said apologetically, “I’m sorry, I Jack nodded understandingly and interrupted

her, “It’s all right. I think the kids might be feeling unwell. You should go take a look at them.” Roxanne flashed him a grateful smile before walking toward Archie and Benny.

“Are you boys feeling unwell? Come on, let’s go upstairs so I can have a look at you,” she said while leading them up the stairs.

As they trailed behind their mother, Archie and Benny turned around and shot Jack another cautious glance.

Jack simply responded by glancing back at them with a nonchalant smile. The smile on Roxanne’s face faded the moment they got upstairs

She then stared at Archie and Benny with a stern expression, only to let out a helpless sigh when she saw the defiant looks on their faces.

“Archie, Benny, Mr. Damaris is a guest, remember? You two need to be polite to him.”

“But you said Mr. Damaris was going to leave soon! Why did you have him stay for dinner?” Benny asked with a displeased frown. I’ve never seen Mommy treat Daddy this well before!

“I only did that out of basic courtesy. Besides, you two heard our conversation. We were just talking about medicine, that’s all,” Roxanne replied.

She knew that Archie and Benny disliked Jack, but she wasn’t expecting them to make it that obvious. Roxanne felt her head ache at the mere thought of what Benny said earlier.

“Also, I only promised you two to call Mr. Farwell. I didn’t say anything about him being your daddy, so don’t go making stuff up now.”

While Jack wouldn’t associate those words with Lucian, things could get problematic if these two say it in front of Lucian, especially considering the current state of our relationship!

Benny threw a tantrum when he saw Roxanne defending Jack. “I don’t care! I want Mr. Farwell to be my daddy!”

Leaving The Country After Divorce Chapter 1118--Roxanne froze in shock when she heard that. She was well aware of how much Archie and Benny liked Lucian. Similarly, they also knew that she hadn’t been seeing Lucian ever since things went south between them.

As such, Roxanne was surprised to see them being so stubborn about this. For a moment there, she even wondered if it would be better to let Archie and Benny go with Lucian instead.

However, she was quick to suppress that thought. I’ve been working so hard all these years so l could live a comfortable life with Archie and Benny! All that hard work would be for nothing if I were to lose them!

After taking some time to think about it, Roxanne bent over and patted Benny on the head.

“Don’t say such things ever again, okay? Mr. Farwell is Essie’s daddy. As for you two… Well, you’ll get to have your own daddy someday.” she said with an apologetic look on her face.

Benny frowned and looked like he was about to say something in protest.

“I know you two don’t like Mr. Damaris. Don’t worry, he and I are strictly business partners. I won’t make you two call him ‘Daddy’ or anything,” Roxanne added with a smile. But I only want my daddy!

Before Benny could voice his thought, however, Archie cut him off, “Understood, Mommy. One of our classmates came to us and asked about Essie today. Benny’s just in a bad mood because he’s worried about Essie. Just give us some time to ourselves, and we’ll be all right after a while.”

Archie then shot Benny a warning glance, prompting the latter to keep quiet.

The look in Roxanne’s eyes turned gloomy when she heard him mention Estella. “Mr. Farwell will take good care of Essie, so you two don’t have to worry about her at all.”

Archie nodded obediently in response. “I’ll be sure to talk to him about this. You should head back downstairs, Mommy. Mr. Damaris is still waiting for you.”

Had it not been for Archie’s reminder, Roxanne would have completely forgotten about Jack. “All right. You two stay here, okay? We’ll have dinner together once Mr. Damaris leaves.”

She then patted them on their heads before rushing downstairs. Jack was casually reading one of the ancient medicine books on the couch.

He looked up when he heard her footsteps and asked, “How are the kids?”

Roxanne felt a little nervous as she replied, “N- Nothing much, really. They were just throwing a tantrum because they got into a fight with some kids at the kindergarten today.”

Jack nodded and pretended to be unaware of their hostility toward him. “Yeah, kids are like that sometimes. You just have to be more attentive toward their emotions.”

Roxanne forced a smile at him and said with a nod, “Thank you for the kind reminder, Mr. Damaris. I’ll try to keep that in mind.”

She was about to invite him to stay for dinner, but the words were stuck in her throat when she looked at the dishes on the table. Of course, Jack noticed the subtle changes in her expression.

“Anyway, it’s getting late. It’s not often that my parents would come over to stay for a while, so I need to head back and have dinner with them. I’m afraid I won’t be able to keep you company this time,” he said with an ambiguous look in his eyes.

Roxanne was just inviting him to stay for dinner out of courtesy, but he made it sound like she wanted his companionship. However, Roxanne’s mind was in such a mess that she didn’t realize how intimate his words sounded.

In fact, she even felt a little relieved as she said, “Oh, that’s all right! There’s nothing more important than spending time with your family, after all. You should get going, Mr. Damaris. Wouldn’t want to keep your parents waiting now, would you?”

Leaving The Country After Divorce Chapter 1119--Jack smilingly agreed, “I’ll take my leave first. Look through these medical books and contact me anytime if you have questions.” Gratitude filled Roxanne’s eyes. “I will.”

Just like that, they walked toward the door one after another. Before getting into the car, Jack whipped his head back and cast Roxanne a mysterious glance.

Noticing the man’s gaze, Roxanne scrunched her brows in puzzlement. “It’s truly a pity to miss the opportunity to dine with you tonight, Ms. Jarvis.” Jack’s face was plastered with disappointment.

Roxanne was visibly stunned for a brief moment but politely replied, “There’ll be opportunities in the future. Besides, I still have to thank you for providing medicines for our research institute, Mr. Damaris.”

Jack arched an eyebrow. “If you want to thank me, how about you personally whip up a meal for me, Ms. Jarvis?”

Without waiting for Roxanne’s reply, Jack added, “I’m sick of those restaurants out there, and I thought you probably have impressive cooking skills. I wonder if I have the privilege to taste the dishes you make.”

Roxanne couldn’t say no since the man had put it that way. Thus, she could only agree. “If you wish, Mr. Damaris, I can cook for you. But I hope you won’t be disappointed.”

Jack raised his brows and chuckled. “I won’t be disappointed as long as you’re the cook.”

As his words fell, he turned and got into the car. “It’s a deal then. You’ll cook me a meal next time. It’s late today; I’ll head back first.” Roxanne nodded absentmindedly.

Is it just me, or does his attitude seem a little weird just now? We have always been nothing more than business partners. Why would he suddenly request for me to cook him a meal? Isn’t that a bit too intimate?

After watching the car depart, Roxanne headed back into the mansion, overwhelmed with mixed feelings. Meanwhile, Archie and Benny came downstairs after hearing the commotion.

Thinking about her promise to Jack just now, Roxanne could not help but feel a hint of guilt surge within her as she was aware of how repulsive the boys were toward Jack.

“The food’s getting cold. Quick, come and eat.”

She was attempting to divert the kids’ attention. Benny wore a sullen expression. “Mommy, how long more do you have to work with Mr. Damaris?”

Roxanne frowned in frustration. “That isn’t something I can decide on.”

Benny had wanted to say something more, but Roxanne quickly scooped some food for him and said, “That’s enough. Hurry up and eat.”

Knowing that Roxanne did not want to harp on the subject anymore, the boy reluctantly zipped his mouth.

As much as Archie had tried to explain the situation to him and told him how his actions would put Roxanne in a tight spot, Benny still could not control himself.

Mommy hasn’t had any contact with Daddy recently. In contrast, she meets Mr. Damaris almost every day. If this goes on, who knows if Mommy will feel something for Mr. Damaris?

While those thoughts were running through Benny’s mind, Roxanne was totally clueless about it. For some reason, she was especially troubled that day.

For one, she was worried about Estella. And two, she felt something odd about Jack’s behavior earlier. That was why she was not in the mood to care about Archie and Benny’s feelings.

As Roxanne finished the meal restlessly, she inevitably felt an unnerving feeling rise within her again as she recalled her promise to the boys that she would call Lucian to check on Estella’s condition.

Fortunately, it seemed like Archie and Benny had forgotten about the matter after Jack’s sudden appearance and thus did not urge her about it.

Roxanne secretly heaved a sigh of relief, pretended nothing had happened, and watched the boys fall asleep before returning to her room.

Leaving The Country After Divorce Chapter 1120--Aubree called Lucian when it was almost Estella’s dismissal time and requested to pick the little girl up from school. Lucian did not give it too much thought and assented to it as he thought there wouldn’t be a problem since the two were getting along fine earlier that morning.

Ever since Estella got spooked out in class the other time, her classmates started to see her as a weirdo. For the entire day, many of her classmates shot her a look of disgust.

Because of that, Estella did not want to play with them too. The arduous day at school made her miss Archie and Benny even more, and she was extra dejected after school.

When the little girl followed behind the teacher and saw the person waiting for her at the entrance, her face immediately fell.

“Essie!” Aubree, not noticing the expression on the little girl’s face, went up to her warmly.

Pamela politely greeted Aubree and took the initiative to share Estella’s performance in school. “Essie is a good girl in class today. It’s just that she’s not very familiar with the other children and so she isn’t very enthusiastic during games. But I’m sure she’ll do better after a few days.”

Hearing that, Aubree bobbed her head in acknowledgment. “Thank you so much.”

Pamela quickly plastered a smile on her face. “It’s what I should do. The credit should go to her parents for bringing her up well.”

Only after exchanging a few pleasantries with Pamela did Aubree recollect that she had yet to finish her task-to fetch Estella back home.

By then, the little girl was so hungry that her tummy had gone flat, and her gloomy mood became worse than before.

Aubree bade goodbye to Pamela apologetically and brought Estella into the car. “Ms. Yaxley says you’re not enthusiastic during games. Is it because you don’t like the other kids in class?”

Estella’s behavior that morning had probably given Aubree the illusion that she could converse with the little girl casually.

“I know you want to play with those two boys, but they can’t possibly come over to accompany you. That’s why you have to try to make new friends soon.”

As soon as Aubree finished speaking, Estella blew her top off and lashed out, “I don’t want to!” Archie and Benny will come to visit me! I will still play with them in the future! I don’t need new friends!

Aubree was taken aback by Estella’s attitude. “I’m saying it for your own good. You will only get well if you make more friends.” “I am not sick!” Estella retorted.

It was only then Aubree realized she had said the wrong thing. “I don’t mean it that way. I merely thought…”

She wanted to make things right again, yet did not know how to continue. After all, that was exactly what she meant. It was just that she had forgotten to cover it up.

“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said that. Can you forgive me, Essie?” Aubree carefully apologized after a short pause. Sadly, Estella did not bother to give her any form of response..

Aubree was undoubtedly in deep regret. It had not been easy for her to stop Estella from ignoring her. Yet now, their relationship had returned to square one because of her wrong choice of words.

On their way home, Aubree tried her best to salvage the situation. Despite her umpteen attempts at explaining herself, she failed to garner a response from the little girl again.

As the car slowly rolled up at the Farwell residence’s entrance, Aubree felt an inexplicable sense of remorse surge within her.

She recalled how Lucian said himself just that morning that her relationship with Estella had improved. Hence, she did not want him to see how things were between her and the little girl now.

Unfortunately, Estella had absolutely not intention of cooperating with her and strode into the house with her bag. Lucian had just returned home from work as well. The minute he saw Estella walking in, he noticed the expression on her face.

“What’s wrong?” Lucian asked concernedly as his brows knitted into one line. Estella, however, only pursed her lips and glanced at him silently. Without spouting at word, she headed upstairs with her bag.