Estella never appeared in the dining room, not even after Lucian and Aubree had finished their dinner. Aubree would not allow the young girl to throw a wrench in her plans, not after she had worked so hard to draw a promise out of Lucian regarding their engagement.
After dinner, she offered, “I’ll head upstairs and check on Essie.” Lucian nodded indifferently in response. She trudged upstairs, her heart in her throat.
Catalina stayed with Estella in her bedroom and watched as the latter slowly ate her dinner. When she spotted Aubree at the door, Catalina greeted her amiably, “Ms. Pearson.”
Aubree nodded in acknowledgment and said, “You can head downstairs. I’d like to talk to Essie.”
Catalina hesitated briefly but had no excuse to protest the young woman’s wishes. Eventually, she left the room. Aubree and Estella found themselves alone.
Estella puffed her cheeks indignantly and slammed her fork on the table. She turned around and jumped on the bed, wrapping herself in the blankets. Then, she busied herself playing with her doll, seemingly intent on ignoring Aubree.
Her behavior caused Aubree’s expression to fall. She hastily approached the girl and pleaded, “Essie, I didn’t mean to say those things about you. Won’t you stop being mad at me, hmm?”
In the past, Aubree would have lectured the girl for her tantrum. However, Estella now held the key to her future, and Aubree had no choice but to worship the girl on a pedestal.
Estella kept her head lowered and ignored Aubree’s pleas.
Aubree gritted her teeth and said, “Can you promise me not to tell your father about what I said to you in the car? Please? I promise I’ll never say those things about you again.”
Estella harrumphed softly at her words. She had no plans to tell her father about Aubree’s words in the first place.
Though she hated admitting it, Estella knew something was indeed wrong with her.
Still, even if she told her father about it, he would only say that Aubree should not have made those remarks. Telling him would not achieve anything.
Meanwhile, Aubree took Estella’s silence as an agreement and sighed in relief. “Well then, you should get some rest. I’ll be here tomorrow to bring you to school.”
After finishing that sentence, Aubree turned and headed for the door.
Still worried, Aubree stopped at the door and added, “I promise I’ll take good care of you in the future. Be a good girl, okay?”
Only after she closed the bedroom door did Estella drop the doll in her hands. Tears welled in her eyes, blurring her vision. I miss Ms. Jarvis, Archie, and Benny so much…
Downstairs, Lucian watched Aubree leave, though his thoughts remained on his sulking daughter. Concerned, he headed upstairs to check on Estella.
His daughter was brooding under her blanket when he arrived. When she heard her bedroom door opening, she thought Aubree had returned and wrapped the blanket tighter around herself.
Lucian furrowed his brows in concern at her reaction. “Essie?”
Her father’s voice coaxed Estella out of the cocoon of her blanket. “What’s with you today? Why are you so upset?”
asked Lucian as he sat beside his daughter.
Estella sniffled and shot her father a pitiful look. “Daddy, I don’t want my new school.”
Frowning, Lucian said, “If you don’t like your. current kindergarten, I’ll transfer you to a new one.”
She clung to his sleeve and wailed, “No! I want to go back!” “No,” Lucian rejected her pleas coldly.
Realizing Estella was about to burst into tears, Lucian forced himself to soften his tone as he cajoled her, “Essie, don’t throw a tantrum. I’ve made up my mind about this. I won’t change it easily.”
