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Novel Catalog
Chapter 49
As Roxanne drove away from the kindergarten, the anger she had been holding onto slowly began to dissipate. For a moment, she realized how absurd the entire situation was.
I don’t have any rights here. I never did.
Her thoughts were laced with bitterness, but she kept her gaze fixed on the road, unwilling to acknowledge the self-deprecation stirring inside her. With a heavy heart, she forced herself to remove Estella’s tiny hand from her sleeve, her fingers trembling just slightly as she did so.
Estella’s little fingers twitched in the air, reaching for her once more, but Roxanne caught her hand mid-motion.
“Archie and Benny are waiting for me in the car,” she said softly, her voice strained. “I need to go now. Be a good girl and go with your daddy, okay?”
She ruffled Estella’s hair gently, offering a faint smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes. With a final, tender squeeze of Estella’s hand, she released it, her heart breaking as the girl reluctantly let go.
Roxanne turned quickly, avoiding another glance back, and hurried out the door.
Inside the car, Archie and Benny were sitting quietly, their innocent faces reflecting concern. When they saw their mother get in, both immediately looked at her, their eyes filled with unspoken questions.
“Mommy, what’s wrong?” Benny asked, his voice soft and full of worry.
Roxanne sucked in a deep breath, forcing a smile that didn’t feel genuine. “Nothing. Let’s just go home.”
She started the engine, pulling away from the kindergarten without another word.
Back at the kindergarten, Lucian was still standing by the door, his mind racing. He turned his cold, sharp gaze to the teacher, who had been watching the scene unfold in front of her.
“Are her sons attending here too?” Lucian’s voice was low, the edge of his anger clear.
The teacher, sensing the tension in the air, hesitated. She hadn’t expected this. “Yes, Ms. Jarvis’ twins—Archie and Benny—attend here.”
Before she could say anything more, Lucian interrupted, his voice icy. “When did they start?”
The teacher stammered slightly, feeling the pressure. “Just… a few days ago.”
Lucian’s expression grew colder. “Inform the head of the kindergarten to remove them from the list. If you don’t do this, Farwell Group will pull all its funding from this place.”
The words hung in the air, the weight of them suffocating. Lucian’s anger had reached its boiling point. Without another word, he turned and walked toward the parking lot, Estella still cradled in his arms.
The teacher watched him go, her face pale, unsure how to respond to the threat.
Outside, Lucian arrived at the car, noticing that the vehicle parked beside his was already gone. He didn’t waste any time; carrying Estella in his arms, he climbed into his own car and shut the door behind him.
The moment Lucian settled into his seat, Estella began to squirm, her small body fighting against his grip.
He loosened his hold, allowing her to crawl to the other side of the seat, but his eyes remained fixed on the road ahead.
Estella, clearly upset, took out her notebook and began scribbling furiously, the pencil moving across the page with angry, deliberate strokes.
Moments later, she stopped, her hand still gripping the notebook tightly. She turned it toward Lucian, glaring at him with a mix of frustration and hurt. The page only had one sentence scrawled across it:
Why are you not letting Archie and Benny come to kindergarten?
Lucian glanced down at the words, and a deep crease formed between his brows. He looked back at Estella, whose face was flushed with frustration. Without a word, she shoved the notebook closer to him, practically demanding an answer.
His lips pressed into a tight line as he looked at her, then back at the notebook.
“No particular reason,” he finally muttered, his voice cold. “I did it because I could and because I wanted to. That’s the answer you’re going to get if you insist on one.”
Estella, her anger growing, threw the notebook to the side, her small hands clenched into fists. She stormed to the far side of the seat, her back turned to him, her body language radiating an unmistakable message: I don’t want to look at you.
Lucian raised an eyebrow at her. “Getting mad won’t change anything, Estella. You’re not going to get your way.”
Estella shot him a glare over her shoulder, her eyes burning with resentment.
Daddy is the worst! I hate Daddy the most! I like beautiful Ms. Jarvis, and Archie and Benny. Why does Daddy have to fight with her?
Her thoughts spiraled in frustration. The one place where she felt safe, the one place she could go to see her friends, was now being taken away from her.
Why did Daddy have to ruin everything? Estella’s heart sank as the reality of the situation hit her. She would never get to see Archie and Benny at school again.
Her tiny face crumpled in distress. Daddy is too unreasonable. I don’t want to like him anymore.
Lucian let out a sigh, his expression hardening as he stared at the road ahead, unwilling to acknowledge the sharp pang in his chest.
