Roxanne noticed his expression darkening and assumed it was because he did not enjoy the lunch earlier, so helplessly, she continued to reassure him.
“It made me very happy that you guys put a lot of effort into helping me prepare lunch. Thank you for that.”
However, as soon as her words fell, Lucian put his arms around her waist and kissed her on the lips. His actions promptly took Roxanne aback, and she instinctively glanced at the car just in time to see the heads of the three children poking out of the window.
“Mommy! We want a kiss too!” The children’s initial guilty expression changed after she noticed them, and they happily swung open the car door and got out.
Roxanne glanced at the calm-looking man in front of her before focusing on the children’s expectant expressions. She crouched down and kissed each child individually, the shyness within her vanished because of them.
The children also obediently encircled her neck with their arms and kissed her on the cheek. “Don’t forget to take good care of yourself, Mommy!”
Roxanne assented with a smile. After getting up and bidding farewell to Lucian, she turned and entered the research institute.
Although working overtime for two days did leave her feeling a little exhausted, seeing Lucian and the kids earlier had filled her with motivation once more.
Roxanne soon began to continue the morning’s research. However, shortly after she had been working, her phone vibrated. She glanced at it and discovered that it was a call from Jack.
Roxanne put her experiment on hold to take the call, assuming he was calling for research- related matters. Jack’s voice rang out from the other end of the line. “My apologies, Ms. Jarvis. I’ve been caught up in other matters for the past two days. Are you very busy there?”
She smiled understandingly at his words. “You need not apologize to me, Mr. Damaris. Given that your family owns such a sizable business, it’s understandable for you to be a little busy. I’m managing well with the research over here.”
However, Jack still felt apologetic. “I happened to be free today, so if you don’t mind, I can come to the research institute to help you.”
Roxanne hesitated when she heard that. “I’m sure you know that the Damaris family is knowledgeable in this aspect. I can spare you some detours and perhaps also offer some suggestions for improvement,” he added persuasively.
She naturally hoped that she could develop a new drug with superior efficacy, so she had no reason to refuse after hearing what he said.
“In that case, I’ll have to trouble you to come over, then.”
Jack merely chuckled before ending the call. Unbeknownst to Roxanne, Jack had arrived at the research institute a scant step behind Lucian and the children, nearly at the same time.
He had been waiting by the roadside for as long as she had been in Lucian’s car and had even witnessed their kiss at the end.
Seeing how close their family was made his blood boil. I cannot accept that! Roxanne is my perfect partner. She must be mine! If I allow her to be together with Lucian, all my previous efforts will be in vain!
Jack’s expression darkened with malice at that thought. After getting out of the car, he adjusted his expression before entering the research institute.
Hence, he was once again sporting an apologetic look by the time he saw Roxanne. “You’ve lost weight. It looks like you’ve been too busy of late.”
The latter took a quick moment to glance down at herself. Then, with a nonchalant smile, she led him to the entrance of another laboratory.
“After what happened last time, I’ve redesigned the research facility and divided it into laboratories of varying sizes. I’m working in a compact one-person laboratory. If you don’t mind, yours will be next to mine. That’ll make it easier for us to communicate.”
Although Roxanne had not initiated the kiss, he could tell by the smile on her face that she had already accepted Lucian’s affections..
