Back in the living room, Roxanne was chatting with the children about what their future siblings’ names should be. “If it’s a girl, can we call her Dawn? I’m Essie, so I want my little sister to be called Dawnie,” Estella suggested.
Archie and Benny thought the name was too simple and wanted something more meaningful. “Mommy, Archie and Benny’s names are too simple too. Why did you choose those names for them?” Estella asked in puzzlement.
Benny quickly answered, “Isn’t it obvious? Mommy gave us names that are easy to remember to make us more memorable to others, the same way as how Daddy left an unforgettable impression on Mommy.”
“That’s clearly not the case,” Archie refuted at once. Then, he offered his guess. “Mommy, did you draw inspiration from one of your favorite shows?”
Roxanne was stumped by their questions. / merely felt the names were catchy and genuinely didn’t put much thought into them.
Hearing their conversation, Lucian found their discussion about names interesting and chimed in, “Essie’s name was chosen by your great-grandfather. He said he wanted you to shine bright like a star.”
“Daddy, what do you think our future siblings’ names should be?” The three children looked at their father expectantly. Lucian furrowed his brows as a few ideas popped up in his mind. He hesitated, unsure which one was best.
Ultimately, he threw the question back to the children. “How about this? You guys come up with two names each, one for a boy and one for a girl. Once you’ve decided, we’ll have the whole family, including your grandparents, vote on them. Then, we’ll adopt the name with the highest votes. What do you think?”
The kids were fond of that fair voting method and agreed with alacrity. “I’ll look up names in poetry!” Archie hastily went upstairs. “I’ll search in classic literature books!” Benny trod behind his brother’s heels.
“I-I’ll find names in storybooks!” Estella didn’t want to be left out and immediately followed them upstairs. Subsequently, the living room plunged into silence. Lucian took a seat, and Roxanne skillfully poured him a cup of coffee.
“How is it? Has he left?” she asked while wearing an impassive expression. She no longer wanted to concern herself with Grant’s fate. Her only hope was for him not to disturb her current bliss.
“He didn’t leave. He fainted. I had the bodyguards watch him.” Lucian took a sip of the coffee, wondering if he should tell his wife about what Grant had said. Roxanne is a renowned doctor. After examining his condition, she can easily ascertain whether he’s truly suffering from a terminal disease. If Grant is lying even about this, he’s genuinely an appalling sinner.
Subconsciously, Lucian believed Grant was being honest. Roxanne knitted her brows. “You could’ve asked someone to send him away to the hospital if he fainted. Did he admit to taking money from the Crawford family’s scion?”
Lucian nodded and decided to be frank with Roxanne. “If he’s just putting up an act by pretending to pass out, I’ll kick him out right away. However, he told me he has a terminal illness and doesn’t have much longer to live. Therefore, he wanted to see you and apologize to you in person,” Lucian uttered gently.
Roxanne was stumped and fell into a momentary daze. Her eyes were filled with doubts, but her lips quivered.
“I-Is that true? Huh. I never thought his retribution would come so soon. He’s only in his early fifties.” Roxanne abruptly let out a pent-up sigh inwardly. This sigh is for my mom. Back then, that man abandoned his wife and daughter, brought a mistress into our house, and ruined our once-happy family. He had it coming.
