That night, both the boys and Roxanne did not get a good night’s sleep. Roxanne couldn’t stop thinking about Lucian’s reply in the group chat and also their collaboration in the play.
As for the kids, they were kept awake by the worry that their mommy would back out of the play. The next morning, Roxanne stepped out of her room and saw two little “pandas” at her door.
Surprised at the sight of the dark circles around the boys’ eyes, she frowned and softly jested, “Where did these two pandas come from?”
The boys innocently looked up to her and gave her sheepish smiles.
Roxanne shook her head and asked with concern, “What happened? Did you not sleep well last night? How did you get such bad dark circles?”
Roxanne’s heart ached, and she bent over and gently caressed the area around their eyes.
The boys closed their eyes to accommodate her, but there was a look of anxiousness on their faces. “Mommy, you’re still going to join us in the anniversary celebration, right?” They sought her assurance.
Lucian’s face appeared in Roxanne’s mind when she was reminded of the anniversary play. Her heart sank, but she put on a brave front and said, “Of course! Mr. Bauer told me the groupings are final, and we can’t make changes anymore.”
The two boys nodded in relief, but their eyes never left her.
Roxanne wondered if it was her imagination, but she thought Archie and Benny looked apologetic.
She was puzzled by their abnormal behavior as she could not recall the boys doing anything naughty or hurtful to her.
During breakfast, the boys were very attentive to Roxanne, piling her plate with food and filling her glass with milk.
After a while, Roxanne could not hold back her curiosity anymore. “Okay, out with it! What have you done behind my back?” she asked.
The boys froze for a second, anxiously looked at one another, then turned to
Roxanne and shook their heads.
Roxanne gave them a suspicious eye and said, “Then why are you so exceptionally attentive to me this morning?”
Instantly, the boys’ guilty expressions betrayed them.
After reading about the story of Sleeping Beauty, they felt they had betrayed their mother. They had the kind intention of helping Estella, but as a result, they inadvertently got Roxanne into an awkward situation whereby she had to be kissed by Lucian.
They couldn’t possibly tell their mother the truth, so both of them pursed their lips tightly together and refused to utter a word. Although Roxanne knew something was fishy, she decided not to probe, knowing she would not be able to get them to talk.
Archie and Benny secretly breathed a sigh of relief and quietly finished their breakfast under the apprehensive eyes of their mother.
After breakfast, Roxanne sent the two boys to school and stayed on to attend the parents’ meeting to discuss the plays’ scripts.
It had been a while since Roxanne last accompanied the boys to school, so Archie and Benny were very happy. However, as they were still conscience-stricken by their “betrayal,” they suppressed their excitement and kept quiet throughout the journey.
It was highly unusual for the kids to be so dull and subdued.
Normally, they would be chatting non-stop during the journey to kindergarten, especially since their mom had not been sending them to school for a while.
The kids should be excited, so their restrained behavior was making Roxanne uneasy. She knew something was wrong, but unfortunately, she could not get the boys to talk.
