The Abandoned Wife

Betrayals and Resentments

Seeing how restless their mother looked, Archie and Benny asked deliberately, "Who's Lucian, Mommy? Why are we hiding from him?"Roxanne slowly returned to her senses and stroked their heads, smiling as if everything was fine. "He's no one important. I just have a bit of a personal grudge against him. I want you both to hide if you ever hear his name, okay?"The two boys nodded. "Okay, Mommy."After Roxanne looked away, they glanced at each other curiously.What could've happened between Mommy and Daddy? It all seems like a huge misunderstanding.As Roxanne continued to ponder over what could be happening on Madilyn's side, the boys spoke again."Mommy, we left in such a rush back there. If that guy becomes suspicious, he might check the surveillance cameras and find us easily," Archie reminded.The woman tensed up instantly. "Oh, God. I totally forgot! What do I do?"I was so focused on running away that I forgot about the cameras! Lucian might already be here.I can't stay here. I have to take the kids home right now.Seeing the way their mother reacted made the boys turn away to conceal their smiles, and they only consoled her after they had suppressed the smiles on their lips."Don't worry, Mommy. I'll handle this."Benny took his laptop and began tapping away on the keyboard.It only took a while for him to hack into the restaurant's surveillance cameras and wipe out every footage of them."I'm done!"After deleting all the footage, the boy glanced up at his mother with twinkling eyes, eagerly waiting for her to praise him.Heaving a long sigh of relief, Roxanne pulled the two children into an embrace. "Thank goodness I have you. You've just saved me!"Aware that she was still nervous, the boys let her hold them a little longer."Are we leaving now, Mommy? Or should we wait for Aunt Madilyn to come outside?" asked Archie after Roxanne had let go.Having calmed down, the woman gazed at the entrance of the empty parking lot. "Let's wait a little longer."The boys nodded in response.Back inside the restaurant, failing to force a confession out of Madilyn, Lucian could only quash the hostility that surged within him."Pardon my rudeness. Thank you for helping me find my daughter. Well, then, we'll be off now. Enjoy your meal with your friends," he stated coldly.Then, he turned to the little girl. "Come, Essie."With a reluctant pout, Estella waved at Madilyn politely before walking toward her father.Lucian arched his brow slightly but said nothing more, leaving with the little girl and his group of subordinates.Upon walking out of the building, he tried to carry Estella into the car, but the child avoided him with a huff.Seeing that, Cayden hurriedly stepped in and did the job.The car began to move.Seated at the back, Lucian reached out to his daughter and placed her on his lap.With nowhere else to run, Estella could only let herself be carried like a doll, although she continued her silent tantrum and refused to look at the man."Tell me, Essie, was there another lady apart from the one from just now?" the man asked gently.The little girl glanced at him and grew more infuriated at the thought of that pretty lady having left her because of him.Seeing her scowl deepen, Lucian pinched her cheek in amusement. "I'm not even mad at you for running away from home, but you're here getting all mad at me? Don't you know how worried I was? Will you tell me why you ran away?"Yet, the child shoved his hand away and turned her head to one side again, ignoring him.Looks like she's really upset.The man pursed his lips in frustration, feeling at a loss as to what to do. "You don't have to answer me if you don't want to, but promise me that you won't run away from home again."He then turned to Cayden, who was seated in front. "Get the restaurant's surveillance cameras."He clearly hasn't given up."Yes, Mr. Farwell," Cayden responded helplessly.Twenty minutes later, the car slowly stopped at the Farwell residence.Estella did not want anyone to carry her. She quietly got down from the car by climbing down slowly.Lucian followed right behind and did not utter a word.The moment the father and daughter stepped into the house, they heard someone calling Estella."Essie!" Aubree, who was playing on her phone in the living room, exclaimed when she lifted her head and saw them entering the house.The moment she saw the child from a distance, she ran toward her and gave her a hug. "Essie, you're finally home! How could you run away and not tell us? I got the shock of my life when you went missing, do you know that? Are you okay? Are you injured?"She started inspecting Estella's body to make sure the latter was all right.Estella froze for a bit, as she was taken aback by Aubree's actions.But the cold look soon returned to the little one's gaze when Aubree's voice kept ringing in her ear, expressing her insincere concern.Does she not know why I ran away? I wouldn't have run away if she hadn't told me Daddy wouldn't care about me anymore.Feeling disgusted after seeing the hypocrite's face, Estella recalled the gorgeous woman she had met today.There was a world of difference between these two women.Estella absolutely despised Aubree's pretentious behavior.She started struggling and pulled herself away from the woman."What's wrong, Essie? Stay still, okay? Let me check if you're all right."Aubree could feel Estella wanted to avoid her. She tightened her grip on the little girl and sighed helplessly in front of Lucian.Estella started reacting more aggressively, as she was in pain.Aubree was running out of patience.When she punished Estella in the past, the little girl would tremble in fear and not make any noises.This was the first time she fought back!Aubree would have acted more harshly if Lucian were not around.But since Lucian was there to observe their interaction, she had to be more cautious not to arouse his suspicion. A hard glint flashed across her eyes, and an idea popped up in her mind. Instead of continuing with this tug of war, she decided to release Estella and fall to the ground.Aubree then looked at Estella in disbelief. "Essie, I know you dislike me. But I'm really worried about you. How could you..."She choked on her words as she looked at the little one with red-rimmed eyes.Upon noticing Aubree lying on the ground after removing his coat, Lucian frowned and pulled Estella aside. "Essie, I know you're not happy, and you can take it out on Daddy. But you can't vent your anger like this to others. It's rude, do you know that?"Estella refused to admit she was at fault, but at the same time, she felt helpless.Daddy always sides with that evil woman!She pulled her hand away from his grip, hugged her doll tightly, and ran upstairs.Now that Estella was gone, Aubree gradually crawled up from the ground and said gently, "Don't be too harsh on Essie. We don't know what she had been through when she was wandering in the streets-"Lucian interrupted her, "You should go now. Essie is still mad, and she wouldn't want to see you."Aubree's expression turned stiff for a moment, but she responded with an awkward smile. "All right then. I'll come and visit her on another day."She then lowered her head and walked out of the Farwell residence.After she stepped out of the residence, Aubree's expression instantly turned grim.How did he manage to find that little b*stard! And how dare she behave like this in front of me? Why isn't she dead! Damn it!Meanwhile, Madilyn stayed back at Drunken Fairy even after Lucian had left.When it was about time, she came out of the restaurant and quickly ran to the car."Are you all right?" Roxanne asked while opening the door for her. "He left?"Madilyn heaved a long sigh. "Yes. If only you could see how he stared at me. It's as if he could see through me! I nearly cracked under the pressure and gave you away."Roxanne smiled and expressed her gratitude. "You must have had it hard. Let's go elsewhere and grab something to eat, shall we? My treat."Madilyn waved her hand and turned her down. "No, thanks. I've packed all the leftovers. I must enjoy all these dishes from this exquisite private restaurant."