Pippa was already waiting by the gate when Roxanne arrived with her boys. She smiled and grected them. “Hi, Ms. Jarvis. It has been a long time!” Pippa said.
Roxanne politely smiled and replied, “I’ve been busy at work lately. Did Archie and Benny give you any trouble?” Roxanne suspected the boys might have done something wrong in school, resulting in their strange behavior that morning.
Surprisingly, Pippa shook her head and said, “Not at all! Archie and Benny are really good boys. Sometimes, they even help me look after other kids. I have to thank you for bringing up such sensible boys!”
Roxanne lowered her eyes and looked at the two boys that were standing by her side. They looked up to her with wide-eyed innocence, leaving her perplexed.
Seeing that they were not going to let her in on their secret, she gave up and looked away.
“Ms. Jarvis!”
A sweet, child-like voice rang out from behind Roxanne.
Roxanne turned around and saw Estella running toward her as fast as her tiny legs could take her. Her chubby little face was turning red from the exertion. The little girl was dressed in an adorable dress and had a head full of curly hair.
Roxanne was stunned by the sight of Estella’s curly hair. She bent over and hesitantly asked, “What happened to your hair, Essie?”.
She remembered Estella had naturally straight hair and wondered who styled her hair.
Estella tugged at her own hair and innocently said, “Grandma! Grandma said all princesses have curly hair!”
Sonya was aware of the kindergarten’s anniversary celebration. She heard Estella was going to act in the play, so she excitedly brought the little girl to the salon to style her hair.
Lucian did not want to quarrel with his mother over such a small matter, so he let her be.
When Estella mentioned Sonya, Roxanne’s heart became heavy, and she instinctively stood up and took a step away from the little girl.
Estella could sense ber change in attitude. She tilted her head in confusion and looked disappointed.
It pained Roxanne to have to put a distance between herself and the little girl, but she had to do so.
Realizing she had overlooked something, Roxanne looked behind Estella, and true enough, she saw Lucian walking toward them.
Dressed in an expensive tailored suit, Lucian strode regally in her direction, his gaze fixed intently on Estella and her.
Roxanne quickly looked away when her eyes met Lucian’s. She grabbed her boys’ hands and turned to walk into the school compound.
Although she knew she would have to work with Lucian and Estella due to their collaboration in the play, she wanted to delay their interactions as long as possible.
“Hello, Mr. Farwell!” Roxanne heard Pippa greet Lucian respectfully as she hurried past the gate. She was too slow as Lucian had already caught up with them.
Lucian gave Pippa a small nod in acknowledgment. Then his gaze swiftly swept to Roxanne, who was back facing him and walking away in a hurry.
Roxanne had a prickling feeling on her back and could sense he was looking at her.
“It has been a long time, Ms. Jarvis,” Lucian greeted her as he walked to her side, Estella in tow.
Roxanne’s heart skipped a beat when she heard his voice. Scenes of them parting unhappily after their last meeting juxtaposed with the kissing scene in Sleeping Beauty and flashed in her mind. She got flustered and did not know how to face him.
