Ch. 1861..1870
Leaving The Country After Divorce Chapter 1861-Roxanne walked out of the operating room and removed her mask. Flashing Madilyn a smile, she announced, “Madilyn, we succeeded!”
Madilyn shot up from her seat. Her body, which had been trembling nervously just a second ago, stiffened when she heard Roxanne.
Then, joy overtook her face.
She rushed forward and hugged Roxanne tightly.
“Thank you so much, Roxanne. Thank you for saving my mom. You're my savior! I don't know how I could ever repay you...”
Roxanne embraced Madilyn and patted her back with her right hand.
“It's okay now. Everything is okay now. Mdm. Xander's heart failure has been cured. She'll be fine from now on,” she comforted.
Tears of joy streaked Madilyn's face.
Standing at the side, Lucian gazed at Roxanne approvingly and gave her a thumbs up.
While Roxanne reminded Madilyn to take good care of Lorraine, fatigue swept over her.
“All right, I know. It's almost dawn already, so hurry and go home with Mr. Farwell. Have a good sleep. I'll take care of everything here,” said Madilyn with concern.
She had completely calmed down by then.
Roxanne bobbed her head and left with Lucian.
As they were walking out of the hospital, she could hardly take another step because of how tired she was. In the end, Lucian bent down and piggybacked her to their car.
Upon getting into the back seat, Roxanne lay down and fell asleep in an instant.
Not wanting to disturb her, Lucian drove slowly and carefully.
When they arrived home, he was reluctant to wake her, but Roxanne got up on her own groggily.
Lucian then carried her straight into their bedroom.
With such a reliable man by her side, Roxanne felt utterly content. The corners of her mouth turned up, and she drifted off with a soft smile.
She slept all the way until the evening. It was almost past dinnertime by the time she woke up.
Roxanne washed up and went downstairs. The sound of the children playing around reached her ears, and she greeted them happily.
Elias and Sonya were both in the dining room. At the sight of Roxanne, Sonya stopped feeding Estella and stood up. “Roxanne, I'll reheat the food for you. Give me a minute,” she said while walking into the kitchen.
“Mom, it's fine. I can do it myself,” Roxanne said.
Elias grinned and interjected, “Just let her do it. It's what she should do as your mother-in-law. Lucian told me about what happened. You worked so hard last night and saved Ms. Xander's mother. You're so impressive!”
“It's nothing much, Dad. After all, it's within my duty. I even had to bother you and Mom to look after the three kids.”
“Hahaha! We'd be delighted to take care of these three little ones every day! You should rest as much as you can when you have the chance. Don't busy yourself too much with the affairs at the research institute, too.”
Elias had always had Roxanne's great respect because of his generosity and open-mindedness.
After Roxanne finished dinner, Lucian came home.
It was as if he could read Roxanne's mind as he brought bags of gifts and nutritional supplements that were perfect for a hospital visit. Once again, the two of them set off for the hospital.
Following over ten hours of meticulous care, Lorraine had woken up.
Madilyn stayed by her side at all times and monitored the electrocardiogram closely. She could see that Lorraine's heart rate was gradually returning to normal. With her heartbeat growing stronger, Lorraine didn't feel tired at all.
When Roxanne and Lucian entered the ward, they could see that Lorraine looked much healthier than before the surgery.
This was a sign that she was getting enough blood supply.
“Mdm. Xander, we've come to visit you,” Roxanne chirped.
Leaving The Country After Divorce Chapter 1862- Snuggly
After Lorraine woke up, she was very thankful and grateful for Roxanne.
Both Lucian and Roxanne didn't want to waste Lorraine’s time to rest. After a brief conversation with Lorraine, they left the hospital.
Once they returned to the mansion, Lucian immediately gave Jonathan a call.
It wasn't until then that Jonathan knew something so horrific had happened the night before. As such, he rushed over in the middle of the night to visit Lorraine.
A while later, Roxanne received a phone call from her best friend, who informed her that Jonathan had indeed been over to see her mother.
However, Madilyn's tone was considerably calmer this time. She was unlike before when she sounded as if she was a little girl longing for love and affection.
“Roxanne, my mom still lacks blood and hematopoietic function.
I'll take good care of her. I won't be thinking about anything else during this period of time.”
"All right. Take good care of her. If there's anything you need, you can always come to me!”
Roxanne could understand what Madilyn was going through right now.
Back then, after she gave birth to her children, Roxanne had completely abandoned any thoughts about love and relationship. She merely wanted to raise her children well.
During that period of time, women were extremely calm and composed.
But at the same time, there were also expecting something and validation.
Life continued mundanely for a month.
During that time, Benny was accompanied by his entire family as he competed in the Global Junior Computing Competition. He went on to earn first place in the tournament, unsurprisingly.
The competition was incomprehensible to outsiders.
However, Benny told his parents that some foreign hackers had exploited the opportunity of the competition to hack into a few prominent technical institutes by utilizing the organizing committee's system.
In short, they intended to steal information and data.
Benny tried his best to prevent and stop them from doing so. He also rallied some of the tech experts he met online to help him stop the foreign hackers.
Eventually, their plan succeeded.
When compared with the defensive battle within the same period, the challenge of winning first place in the competition was simply insignificant.
Meanwhile, Archie also participated in the variety show Mega Brain. Throughout the course of the show, Archie wore a mask to conceal his identity. He always attended recordings of the show in complete secrecy, so his true identity was never disclosed.
Even the production staff was unaware of his true identity.
Nevertheless, Archie became a sensation in Chanaea for his amazingly powerful memory that enabled him to identify subtle differences between over four thousand similar pictures.
On top of that, the production team included a clue from an ongoing criminal case in the test.
Eventually, Archie spotted the crucial difference within the clue and provided valuable evidence that helped solve the case, leading to the arrest of the real criminal.
For a whole week, all online media were reporting on the nickname “Chanaean Child Prodigy.”
As the media outlets tried to discover Archie's identity, their reporting grew more and more ridiculous. Someone even suspected that Archie was a robot instead.
Archie was amused upon learning about the rumors, while Benny would always tease him with it.
Estella's children's apparel company was starting up as well.
Roxanne had never imagined that Lucian's investment would be that large and extensive.
Flagship stores were opened in over twenty major cities across the country simultaneously.
Estella's designs were fresh and trendy that matched children's interests, and they were also imaginative and fun. Additionally, those designs also incorporated many elements of ancient Chanaean culture, giving consumers a refreshing feeling.
Most importantly, the price was decent and affordable.
The brand Snuggly became an instant hit, and dozens of business partners sought out franchise opportunities with them. However, as soon as they learned the brand was owned by Farwell Group, they knew they stood no chance at all.
Estella had chosen the name Snuggly herself as she once stated that she wanted all children who wore her designs to feel warm and snug every day.
Leaving The Country After Divorce Chapter 1863-Roxanne's research institute launched two new products after one month of preparation, namely Allure Essence and Sheen Lotion.
Both products were also subjected to random sampling for a week before they were officially launched.
According to the results, both products proved to work as well as international luxury brands.
Elektra tested the products herself and even recruited her friends and family to do so.
The first batch of orders was quickly snapped up by all the celebrities and noblewomen in Horington.
All five thousand sets sold out immediately.
Fortunately, Sonya had requested Roxanne to save a few sets for her in advance, saying they would be given away to repay some great favors she had received.
Both products became a sensation and the talk of upper-class socialites. Those who couldn't get their hands on the products were discreetly looked down upon.
Prices were constantly being raised from time to time. While it was officially priced at one thousand two hundred and eighty-eight, it could be resold for an additional ten thousand.
With the launch off to a great start, Roxanne's confidence skyrocketed, and she led the staff in celebrating with a joyful gathering.
Elektra rushed to the research institute early in the morning to discuss the second phase of orders with Roxanne.
“Elektra, I think we shouldn't be too rash and aggressive with our plans, but we won't go down the low-end or lower-middle class route. Let's keep the second phase of orders at a hundred thousand sets. We're already going pretty fast with a phase each month. I don't want our products to become a source of revenue for some scalpers, so the order quantity should be just appropriate enough.”
Following a month of interaction, Roxanne and Elektra became much closer.
Elektra had also only met Roxanne and rarely interacted with Lucian.
From that, it was clear that Elektra wanted to do well in her career.
“It's still too little, Roxanne. Have you ever considered that a hundred thousand sets will be sold nationwide? Many people are eager to get their hands on our products. We've also conducted market research, and do you know how many buyers are waiting to purchase our stuff online? More than four hundred thousand to five hundred thousand of them! We need to at least double our amount, which is two hundred thousand sets. In terms of factories, we can expand a few more production lines while also hiring more workers at the same time.”
During this period, Elektra's status within the Lane family had improved since she started the company with Roxanne.
Although two of the Lane family's listed companies had no relevance to Roxanne's company, their stock prices doubled shortly afterward.
Elektra truly enjoyed the perks of this investment. Even her parents stopped urging her to get married. Instead, they cared for her health and showered her with concern every day.
Meanwhile, the Lane family's branch families began seeing Elektra as a beacon of hope to prosper once again, while long-term investors with the Lane family also forecasted extremely profitable returns for them.
As a result of her current success, Elektra had almost forgotten about Christina's existence.
Christina had called Elektra several times, but the latter never picked up or found excuses to brush her off.
“All right, then. I never expected the market to be so eager about it. We hadn't thought about it during the early stages, and we lacked the production capacity to do so.”
In the end, Roxanne agreed to listen to Elektra's suggestion.
After all, Elektra's marketing strategies were much more mature than hers. Roxanne's skills were still mainly focused on research.
Feeling thrilled, Elektra nodded enthusiastically and began to inform Roxanne of more good news.
“The officials in Horington have been very helpful to us. Aside from giving us rapid approval for a commercial property site, they also provided us with a lot of tax breaks! Several foreign luxury brands have begun researching our products. They even hired headhunting agencies to lure our employees with lucrative salaries. This might be something you need to watch out for since each and every researcher in the research institute will be targeted by them.”
After that, Elektra gave another piece of news to Roxanne. “ By the way, the editor-in-chief of a fashion magazine requested an interview with you today. I wonder if you have time for the interview. If you don't, I'll just decline it on your behalf.”
Leaving The Country After Divorce Chapter 1864-After discussing with Elektra for more than an hour, Roxanne decided to turn down many activities. She just wanted to stay behind the scenes and focus on research and development.
When Roxanne got home, Lucian leaned over and tried to probe how many sets of the second issue had been produced.
"My dear wife, can't you give your husband some special treatment? I only need two hundred sets. Just two hundred sets! My friends are driving me crazy!”
Hearing his somewhat childlike tone, Roxanne felt pleased and nodded in agreement.
Lucian never expected that one day he would have to plead for bottles and jars. However, his wife's company was indeed expanding at an alarming rate.
The company had only been established for a month. Even though there was only minimal investment, its market value had already reached twenty billion.
With the constant launch of new products, the company was almost certain to reach a hundred billion in market value in no time.
Moreover, with the research institute, hospital, and pharmaceutical companies, Roxanne's combined net worth was bound to exceed hundred billion.
She would be a billionaire.
However, Roxanne did not care about her wealth. After all, her original intention was simply to ensure that the researchers did not have to live in poverty.
Anyone who was well-versed in science and technology ought to be fairly compensated.
Noticing that his wife looked a little tired, Lucian immediately started massaging her shoulders.
Later in the evening, Elias and Sonya came back from picking up the children from kindergarten.
Both of them were fully devoted to the three little ones. They accompanied them to the kindergarten and picked them up daily.
The family enjoyed dinner together.
Shortly after, Jonathan arrived.
At this stage, his main task was to compete with Shawn's company. There was no need for Lucian to personally take action.
After their last confrontation, Shawn's trade expansion plan had been interrupted, and he had been forced to withdraw from Epea in disappointment.
Hence, he turned his attention to competing with Farwell Group for investment shares in the emerging Alendorian market.
After giving Lucian a brief update, Jonathan was invited to join dinner.
Halfway through the meal, Jonathan suddenly stood up and slapped his head. “I almost forgot. I have to pick up Mdm. Xander from the hospital. Everyone, I won't be staying for dinner anymore.
I shall take my leave!”
Roxanne glanced at Lucian before standing up.
“Can you believe that my best friend kept me in the dark? Did he say that Mdm. Xander can finally be discharged from the hospital?
Lucian, let's go pick her up together.”
Lucian nodded in agreement.
Both of them then followed Jonathan to the hospital.
Indeed, Madilyn had kept the matter from everyone. She knew that her best friend had been busy with her new company recently.
It was sufficient to have Jonathan's help.
During this time, she was somewhat surprised that Jonathan was very concerned about her mother's illness.
He had been looking for various supplements and medicinal foods to help her recover.
And almost every two days, he would come to the hospital and spend time chatting with her mother.
Madilyn felt an indescribable sense of dependence in her heart.
She knew this was not a good thing. After all, Jonathan might treat all his important friends the same way.
The woman was aware that Jonathan had been in frequent contact with Coralie lately. They frequently went out for meals together.
Madilyn tried her best to avoid overthinking the complicated situation.
When Madilyn saw Roxanne and Lucian had also arrived, she happily ran up and hugged her best friend.
Roxanne noticed that her friend had lost weight and must be tired out from taking care of Lorraine.
Thankfully, Lorraine displayed encouraging signs of recuperation, and her previously gaunt appearance had also vanished.
The weight that Madilyn lost had transferred to her mother.
“Congratulations on your discharge, Mdm. Xander. You should live in Horington from now on. The weather here is nice, and Madilyn can take care of you. I'm sure she will be more at ease!” Roxanne smiled and suggested to Lorraine.
Lorraine could not stop smiling and kept thanking Roxanne and Lucian. She nodded and agreed to settle down in Horington.
Leaving The Country After Divorce Chapter 1865-Roxanne and Madilyn were seated in the courtyard of the mansion gifted by the former to the latter, chatting casually on a clear night.
Lorraine had already gone to bed, and Madilyn finally felt relieved. She looked as though she had finally found peace after surviving a catastrophe.
"Roxanne, to be honest, I've been avoiding it all along. I don't want to get involved in relationships. I appear nonchalant and bold to give myself courage,” Madilyn said truthfully, revealing her innermost fears.
After all, with her family background, she had to endure countless rumors and gossip from a young age. She had slowly learned to become strong and optimistic.
"Madilyn, you and your mother did nothing wrong, so you don't need to be afraid,” Roxanne comforted her friend.
Madilyn smiled slightly.
She was deeply grateful to Roxanne for saving her mother, as only a doctor could understand the dangers involved. Even a renowned doctor in Chanaea might not have dared to do what she had done.
"What about Coralie? You said that she's quite proactive. How do you even feel about Jonathan?” Roxanne probed.
Unexpectedly, Jonathan, who was usually clueless, had suddenly become popular recently. Coralie might have found a way to get along with him, as she seemed to have won his heart completely.
Roxanne was a little worried, as she could tell that her best friend's feelings for Jonathan had grown beyond a budding stage.
Madilyn shook her head. “I'm not really sure, but I can sense that he enjoys being around Coralie, so I might not have a chance. But it's also nice to be his friend. He's always been kind to his friends!”
Seeing the expression on her friend's face, Roxanne immediately retorted, “Madilyn, you can't give up so easily! After all these years, you finally met someone you really like. How can you give up just like that? Besides, Jonathan and Coralie haven't officially announced they are together, right?"
Madilyn's heart remained calm as she listened to Roxanne's words.
She had truly managed to regain her composure.
Madilyn gave a faint smile and said, “Right now, all I want is to focus on treating Jonathan's gastric.”
Maybe Jonathan's depression will gradually improve because of Coralie. After all, her positive attitude is infectious. Perhaps that woman is the right person for him.
"Well, that's true. The last check-up showed that his gastric had improved quite a bit. Can't that blockhead feel your sincerity?”
“Let's not talk about this anymore. Matters of the heart cannot be forced. Didn't you do the same thing in the past? Don't worry about me. Let's talk about something else. Your new company is really successful. Send me two sets of your products one day. I'm afraid
I'm getting old and worn out,” Madilyn said, trying to change the subject.
“Haha, you're just making up words to describe yourself. You're only twenty-seven years old. How can you be old and worn out? Okay, I'll reserve two sets for you,” Roxanne replied merrily.
As the two of them chatted leisurely, Madilyn slowly began to act like her former self.
Before leaving, Roxanne left a prescription for Lorraine which had a miraculous effect on blood production.
“Roxanne, I really admire your medical skills. If one day I don't know what to do, I want to learn from you and become your apprentice!” Madilyn said with a smile, then watched Roxanne leave when Lucian arrived to pick her up in his car.
Leaving The Country After Divorce Chapter 1866-Roxanne, who was planning to spend time with her children on the next day, which was a weekend, had to rush to the research institute after receiving a call from Peregrine.
As it turned out, one of the researchers had passed out after working overtime continuously. Moreover, they had stopped breathing, which meant that it was likely they had an inflammation of the heart muscle, resulting in the sudden collapse.
The people at the institute were administering first aid to the researcher, and they had also called for an ambulance.
However, Roxanne was closer to the research institute and would be able to reach the establishment quicker than the hospital staff.
Once she arrived, she hastily administered emergency treatment for the collapsed researcher. Even though she managed to get the heart pumping again, the researcher remained unconscious with no signs of waking.
Worried that long-term health effects might take place, Roxanne immediately took out her needles to administer acupuncture to the researcher.
She managed to wake them before the ambulance arrived to bring them to the hospital.
When Roxanne realized the researcher was one of Peregrine's team members, she reminded, “Old Mr. Lomax, didn't I tell you that you have to keep a close eye on their working hours and make sure they don't work overtime too often? This includes you. Don't overwork yourself. Our products are now earning profits, so our situation isn't that dire anymore.”
Peregrine quickly apologized, “I was too focused on the research and made them overwork themselves too much. You're right; I'm the one to bear this responsibility. I'll take note of this.”
Roxanne nodded. She knew that Peregrine could understand the severity of sudden myocarditis.
Then, she added, “Let the researcher rest for a while, but we're going to give them their salary as usual. Their medical bills will also be reimbursed by the research institute. By the way, we're going to be holding a performance recognition event in a few days. We'll be splitting all profits of the cosmeceutical company.”
Peregrine blinked in surprise. Evidently, he was not expecting Roxanne to split all the profits.
They did not rake in much profit in the first phase, but they sold two hundred thousand sets of products in the second phase.
“Are we not going to deduct the investment cost first?” he queried.
“No, I started this company to treat them better. We'll be able to deduct the investment costs in the future, anyway,” Roxanne easily answered.
She then asked Linda, who was heading to the hospital, to take good care of the researcher.
Not long after, Elektra came to the research institute to look for Roxanne.
A touch of anger was on her face as she said, “Roxanne, I heard that you are planning to split all of the profits. Did you even ask me about this first?”
Indignation was dripping from her words.
Indeed, Roxanne had decided on that without consulting Elektra, but she did not feel guilty about it at all. “Elektra, I know you're going to mention the investment cost, but I have to do this. I need to make the researchers feel secure about this company to ensure that we can develop even better products in the future.”
Elektra understood that too, but she still felt ill at ease about Roxanne's decision. “I understand, but you still should've come to talk to me about this first.”
She was worried that she would lose her authoritative power if this went on.
Although Roxanne was the major shareholder, she felt that the two of them should be showing respect to each other still.
With a small smile, Roxanne told her, “I'm sorry, I didn't get the time to do that this time, but I'll definitely do it the next time.”
The truth was, Roxanne had consulted Lucian about it.
Lucian told her that investors of the past tended to get the bulk of the profits once the profits started coming in. It was not right.
For the rich, a good investment project was everything, while money was not something they were short of. Anyone could invest.
The notion of “capital risk” was mostly a rhetorical one. If a project failed, many investors would have ways to shift the risk onto others.
Leaving The Country After Divorce Chapter 1867-Therefore, Roxanne decided to have her way for once and split the profits.
When Elektra realized Roxanne was slowly developing the aggression of a businesswoman, her heart began to palpitate.
She thought that Roxanne was an easygoing woman—she thought Roxanne was someone easy to control. That was why she humbled herself and gave Roxanne the ultimate power in the company.
It was then that she realized she had thrown away the crown herself.
Elektra was annoyed, but when she realized that the profits they were going to rake in during the third phase would be exponentially more, she tamped down her anger.
“Let's agree on something first, then. The investors have to recover a certain amount of cost from the profits in the third phase. Either that, or we're going to have to start converting the investment cost to equity shares.”
Just as Elektra said that, Roxanne nodded, agreeing to let the investors recover the cost.
However, Roxanne did not agree to the conversion of equity shares.
"Elektra, if we're a good company, then the listing of a company shouldn’t matter to us. Moreover, it's not as if we're in need of funds at the moment,” Roxanne commented, and that was also a decision she came up with after consulting Lucian.
Elektra inhaled sharply, and fury entered her eyes.
Nevertheless, she suppressed it and said, "We'll discuss this when we hold the shareholders meeting next time.”
After that, Elektra excused herself and left the research institute.
The more Elektra thought about it while driving, the more she felt irked about it.
She could see Lucian's influence in the way Roxanne was managing the company.
It was impossible for Elektra to compete against Lucian.
Elektra's phone abruptly rang in the middle of her drive. When she glanced at the screen, she realized it was a call from Christina.
She had already rejected Christina's call multiple times, and she was wondering if she should decline the call again.
All of a sudden, several figures appeared in front of the car and stood in the way of her path.
Elektra hastily hit the brakes, but she still nearly crashed into one of them. In response, she snapped, “Do you have a death wish!”
However, in the next second, she found out those people were after her.
Right as she stopped the car, the people gathered around and started smacking the car door, screaming for her to get out of the car.
Elektra was petrified.
The person leading the group shouted from outside, “You have to pick up Ms. Patel's call!”
Christina's men?
Ultimately, she had to answer the call, as she had no other option. Although the individuals surrounding the car stopped shouting, they lingered nearby, preventing her from departing.
There was an icy quality to Christina's voice as she said, “Oh, Elektra, don't assume I know nothing. Although I'm in Hawen, I'm keeping track of the progress of Roxanne and your company. You're impressive, no? I'm surprised you're fearless enough to ignore my calls. Aren't you afraid that I'll deliver some clues to Lucian?”
Christina was quick to delve into the worst threats, and that made Elektra shudder in fear.
Promptly, she replied, “Ms. Patel, I hadn't contacted you since I've been busy. After all, there are many things that haven't been settled yet.”
“Oh? Is that so? Hm, all right then,” Christina enunciated, confident in her control over Elektra. “Well, things are running smoothly. You've recovered the costs in the second phase, so it's time to make a move in the third phase, right?”
Elektra pursed her lips at Christina's urging.
She could not give up on the current favorable situation.
"Ms. Patel, have you ever considered the bright future of this company? It will be raking in profits easily. If you're okay with it, I'll split half of my profits with you," Elektra offered, attempting to sway Christina with the promise of monetary gain and to abandon her scheme.
Yet, Christina bellowed, “Ha! Are you trying to bribe me? What a joke! Money can never mute my resentment, do you understand?”
Leaving The Country After Divorce Chapter 1868-“Not even tens of billions will mean anything to me, let alone millions! Do you understand that, Elektra Lane?” Christina gritted out, the hatred palpitating in her words. “If I really cared about money, I wouldn't have been a fool back then. I would've relented. You're not even as good as me. I didn't care about anything if it meant getting Lucian's love. You, on the other hand, are wavering for such a small amount of money. You're weak, Elektra! Your so-called love is simply not real. How can someone like you be worthy of having Lucian?”
Every one of Christina's words was a devastating blow to Elektra.
Elektra was shaking by then. She wanted to hurl retorts, but she could not find the words to do that.
Sure enough, it was just like what Christina had said. Upon getting a taste of a successful career, Elektra started to console herself and let go of her obsession with Lucian.
For a long while, Elektra was silent.
She had no other options. She had fallen right into Christina's trap.
“You still have a chance now. If you take down Roxanne, you may not have the opportunity to win Lucian's love, but you will still be able to take control of the cosmeceutical company. Do you understand what I mean?” Christina tempted.
Elektra froze, her resolve faltering.
If she could take control of the research team, she would be able to continue developing new products even without Roxanne.
However, that meant she would be making Lucian her enemy. How was the Lane family going to hold up against Lucian?
Elektra's emotions were fluctuating rapidly, like a rollercoaster ride.
She calmed down again, but what was the point of that?
She did not have the freedom of choice. She was almost certain that Christina was recording that call as well.
If Christina were to send evidence of Elektra's contact with her to Lucian, she would also get on Lucian's bad side.
No matter what she chose, it felt like the ending would be the same.
“Okay. The release of the products in the third phase will be my chance to strike.” Not wanting to talk to the lunatic anymore, Elektra ended the call after agreeing to that.
Not long after, the people around the car left.
Elektra weakly slumped on her seat, feeling as if the inside of her heart had been hollowed out.
When it was almost time for lunch, Jonathan came out of the office with some medicinal herbs, about to visit Lorraine.
His phone suddenly rang.
It was a call from Coralie, and he picked it up.
“Jonathan, are you free? I went out cycling today, but I fell on my way back. I'm still on the mountain. Would it be too troublesome for you to come for me?”
Coralie's voice was soft and feminine, a voice that would attract the opposite sex.
“You fell? Where are you? Is it serious? I'll come right away,” Jonathan asked worriedly, concerned about his friend.
“I'm at Bellefort Hill Scenic Area. I'll send you my location. It's not that serious. It's just a scrape, and I'm only bleeding a little, so don't worry,” Coralie replied.
After ending the call, Jonathan received Coralie's message about her location.
He then drove to the location with the help of the Global Positioning System.
While he was on the way there, he even thought about how the medical kit in his car should be enough to treat her.
Leaving The Country After Divorce Chapter 1869-When Jonathan arrived, Coralie was sitting on the ground with her pants rolled up, revealing her fair skin.
She delightedly waved at Jonathan. “Jonathan, I'm over here!”
Every time Jonathan looked at her smile, he felt rejuvenated.
He hastily came out of the car and walked over to her with his medical kit.
In no time, he noticed her injury. The scrap on her knee was rather bad—it was bleeding quite a bit, and it was bruised.
He also noticed how the front wheel of her bicycle had bent out of shape.
“I wasn't paying attention to the road. This is a downward slope, and I was going a little too fast. A rock came out of nowhere, and I lost control of the steering when my tire ran over it. That's how I fell!” Coralie, the good-natured person she was, explained with a cheeky chuckle.
Meanwhile, Jonathan quickly took out the materials to clean and disinfect her wound before wrapping it with gauze.
While he was doing that, Coralie was leaning closer and closer to him. The faint floral scent of hers was wafting across Jonathan's nose.
The longer she looked at his slightly stiff expression, the more she found him cute.
“Let's go. I'll send you back,” Jonathan said.
Coralie nodded before tugging his arm, about to stand on her own.
However, the pang of pain coming from her knee made her draw her brows together.
“Can you carry me to the car? I don't think I can walk.”
Coralie thought that even the densest man would understand that she was giving him an opportunity to get close to her.
Nonetheless, an awkward expression crossed Jonathan's face, and he shook his head. “I... Ms. Crawford, let me help you into the car instead.”
With that, he reached out to her with his left hand.
Coralie was still for two seconds before wistfully thinking, I'm already offering myself, but he still doesn't get it.
After sending Coralie to a clinic to redress her wound, Jonathan excused himself and left.
It took Coralie a long time before she could come back to her senses. What's going on with this man? We were clearly getting closer with our recent frequent interactions, but why does it feel like I can never worm my way into his heart?
Madilyn had a day off that day, so she was taking care of her mother at home. She had received a message from Jonathan the day before, and he told her that he was going to bring medicine to her the next day.
Alas, her long wait was fruitless.
The thought of him being with Coralie at the moment flashed past Madilyn's mind, but she quickly shook her head and told herself not to overthink the situation. What's most important right now is to have my mother recover as quickly as possible. Then, I'll have to work hard to gain some achievements as the director so that I won't be letting my good friend down after how she saved my mother's life.
After dismissing those thoughts, Madilyn began tidying up the place. Her mother liked flowers, so she bought several pots. Recently, weeds had been growing in those pots.
A while later, Jonathan drove into the compound.
Madilyn, who was hunched over the pots, raised her head and tensed up when she saw the car.
A wave of merriment surged in her heart.
“Madilyn, I'm here with the medicine. Sorry about my tardiness. Some things happened on my way here. Where's your mother?” Jonathan asked.
As he spoke, he agilely took out packs of medicinal herbs and stacked them together before bringing them toward the living room.
“I'm over here. Jonathan, thank you.” Lorraine was all smiles as she walked out of the kitchen. “You haven't had lunch, right?”
“Mhm. If I was earlier, I would've had it in the office as usual.” Jonathan turned to look at Madilyn, who was busying away in the yard.
Why is she so quiet?
“All right, stay for lunch, then. I've made some local dishes of the northwest, so I'm sure you haven't tried them before,” Lorraine offered.
Jonathan nodded.
Leaving The Country After Divorce Chapter 1870-Madilyn was weeding the garden, but the wild thoughts in her mind were growing out of control.
After snapping out of her daze, she realized that Jonathan had agreed to stay for a meal at her place.
She couldn't help but feel excited.
Madilyn's mother had caught onto her every reaction.
Jonathan enjoyed the scrumptious meal as the dishes were particularly to his taste.
Over the course of the meal, Lorraine and Jonathan did most of the talking, with Lorraine peppering Jonathan with questions about his family.
Madilyn felt really awkward as she listened to them talk.
However, Jonathan didn't seem bothered by Lorraine's questions.
After he was done, he even praised Lorraine's cooking.
Before Jonathan left, Madilyn called out to him and said slightly sternly, “Did you eat the medicine I gave you on time?”
“Yes, I did. My stomach feels much better lately, and the usual burning sensations are almost gone.” Jonathan smiled and thanked her.
In response, Madilyn kept a cool face and asked that he go for another checkup.
Jonathan nodded and bade goodbye to her before leaving for his office.
Madilyn's lips twitched. She wanted to ask Jonathan some questions, but she didn't quite know where to begin.
She wanted to know if his depression was still acting up.
Madilyn had a feeling that Jonathan was actually quite tired, devoting all his energy to work.
Can't Mr. Farwell give him a break?
Then again, Madilyn thought Lucian might not be the reason Jonathan was overworking, as she realized that the man might be overworking to distract himself from depression.
After Jonathan got into the car, he suddenly thought of something and got out of the car again.
“Did you leave something behind?” Madilyn asked.
Jonathan shook his head and took out a ganoderma.
It was a big one.
“A medicinal herb supplier gave this to me just this year. I'm giving you the biggest one. I noticed that you've been looking tired recently. You may want to make some soup with this, although I'm not even sure if it helps.” Jonathan smiled sheepishly and handed it over to Madilyn.
She remained in a daze long after Jonathan's car had disappeared from sight.
“Maddy, Maddy...”
Lorraine called out her name a few times, her lips curling into a knowing smile.
“Mom, what's the matter?” Madilyn jolted back to her senses.
Nevertheless, she passed the ganoderma to her mother and said, “I'm not sure if this is really nutritious, but let's make some soup with it.”
“Maddy, I know what you're thinking, but it seems like Jonathan doesn't. So, you can't just sit and wait for things to happen. You've got to take some initiative,” Lorraine said with a chuckle.
When they were having the meal together, Lorraine had practically asked Jonathan everything there was to know about his family and personality.
She was certain that he was a perfect match for Madilyn.
Madilyn's cheeks tinged pink as she hurriedly denied it. “Mom, you don't know how things actually are between us. Besides, Jonathan might already have a girlfriend!”
“Really? But he didn't mention anything about that. Moreover, if he really does have a girlfriend, do you think she will allow him to come here and dine with us? He is definitely single, so you do stand a chance!” Lorraine explained.
Madilyn was stumped that even her mother wanted her to be more proactive.
However, Madilyn couldn't be as optimistic as her mother.
“Mom, I don't want to get into a relationship now. Let's focus on taking care of your health first.”
Madilyn realized that her emotions had been in disarray lately, perhaps the most chaotic they had ever been in her life so far.