At noon the next day, Jonathan brought Frieda shopping. They bought a bunch of gifts before driving to the restaurant where they were supposed to meet Roxanne.
The restaurant was near the research institute. Due to the closeness of both locations, Roxanne thought she could head back to do some more work if their meeting ended early.
Something in the research institute held her up, so Jonathan and Frieda were already waiting in the private room by the time she arrived. “I’m sorry, Dr. Jarvis. Did I interrupt your work?”
Despite addressing Roxanne by her name in. front of Lucian, Jonathan was mindful of his behavior and addressed her politely when she was present.
Roxanne offered him a polite smile. Her gaze then landed on Frieda, and confusion crossed her eyes. If I’m not mistaken, Frieda never liked me. So why is she here today?
Considering how busy she was handling. various projects at the research institute, Roxanne did not want to be involved in any trouble. Jonathan rose to his feet and pulled out the chair for her like the gentleman he was. “Frieda recognized the error of her ways, so she asked for my help to schedule a meeting with you. She wants to apologize to you personally.”
As he spoke, he swept his gaze across his sister. Frieda obediently got to her feet while wearing a sincere smile. “Dr. Jarvis, I was too immature in the past. Because Aubree and I…”
There, she paused before continuing, “Aubree and I are good friends, so when I saw how close you were to Lucian, I immediately harbored prejudices against you. I now realize I was in the wrong. Hopefully, you won’t hold it against me.”
Frieda implied that her horrible attitude toward Roxanne in the past was entirely due to Aubree’s influence. With that mere sentence, she had put the blame on Aubree.
Roxanne understood the implicit message in Frieda’s words and felt slightly uncomfortable. She could not bring herself to accept her apology. Naturally, Jonathan also realized what Frieda meant. His expression turned grim as he chided, “Frieda!”
Frieda’s expression grew increasingly sincere as she retrieved a gift she had bought earlier.
“I’ve realized my mistakes now. You’re the only one Lucian has ever loved. Roxanne, I was foolish in the past, so could you please forgive me? Since Jonathan and Lucian are best friends, I would like to be your bestie, too!” she exclaimed.
While speaking, she offered the gift to Roxanne. With those words, she had put Roxanne on the spot, making it difficult for the latter to refuse without seeming unkind.
At that moment, Frieda was fairly confident that she would win Roxanne’s forgiveness. I’ve humbled myself this much, so there’s no way Roxanne will refuse to forgive me!
To her surprise, the other woman fell silent momentarily before pushing the gift back to her. “I am willing to forgive your previous attitude toward me, but it’s too early for us to become besties. We’re not that close to each other.”
Roxanne flashed a polite and distant smile at Frieda, then continued, “You can address me as ‘Dr. Jarvis’ just like Mr. Queen does. We can start by being friends.”
As a matter of fact, she had only agreed to be friends with Frieda out of respect for Jonathan. Taken aback by her rejection, Frieda stiffened. Meanwhile, Jonathan felt she had already gotten off to a good start by successfully having Roxanne agree to forgive her.
He chuckled, trying to lighten the mood. “Dr. Jarvis is right. Why don’t you start by being friends? Anyhow, you’ll have plenty of opportunities to get to know each other better. Whether or not you become besties is something that only time can tell.”
Roxanne looked at him, the smile on her face becoming much more relaxed. From the day she met Jonathan, she discovered he always behaved toward others with the utmost propriety, never once making things difficult for the other party.
