Do Not Come Back
The same thought popped up in Roxanne’s mind. Is this
little girl a mute?
Her sympathy for the little girl increased. In a gentle
voice, she asked, “Can you give me your hand?”
With that, she stretched her hand outward.
Despite staring at her timidly, the little girl seemed to be
less rigid after hearing her words.
Roxanne waited patiently for the little girl to accept her
hand.
After a long hesitation, the little girl finally reached out to
take Roxanne’s hand cautiously.
Seeing that, Roxanne held her hand gently and helped
her up. She didn’t forget to check the little girl again for
any injuries.
Because of her action, they got physically closer to each
other.
The little girl felt soft and fluffy. She even smelled like
milk.
Roxanne couldn’t help but recall her daughter, who was
a stillborn baby.
If she were to grow up well, she’d be around this little
girl’s age.
As that thought surfaced in her mind, Roxanne was
overcome with heartache and regret.
As if sensing her emotions, the little girl stayed put and
gazed at her quietly.
I know I shouldn’t talk to strangers, but this lady is really
pretty. Strangely, I feel the urge to get close to her.
At that moment, Madilyn remarked, “Oh, what an
adorable young girl. She’s as adorable as our boys!”
Roxanne nodded in agreement. “I believe she got lost.
Let’s send her to the police station and see if we can get
in contact with her family.”
Right after she said that, the young girl gave her a slight
tug.
Roxanne looked down in confusion.
The little girl was shaking her head profusely, her eyes
turning red. She seemed like she was about to dissolve
into tears any minute.
Clearly, the little girl didn’t want her to do that.
Seeing the girl’s distraught expression really tugged at
Roxanne’s heartstrings.
She had no other choice, though. If she didn’t send the
little girl to the police station in time, she might be
accused of kidnapping the latter.
Roxanne was in a dilemma.
“All right. We don’t have to go to the police station.” She
squatted down and tried to negotiate with the little girl.
“Do you have your parents’ phone number? I can call
them so they can come here to pick you up.”
The little girl stopped shaking her head, but she
slumped in dejection instead.
As she didn’t respond, Roxanne assumed she didn’t
have her parents’ number. She was about to send her to
the police station when the little girl moved.
Roxanne watched as she pulled out a pencil and a post-
it note. She then scribbled a phone number with the
word “Daddy” behind it before handing the note to
Roxanne.
After taking the note from her, Roxanne punched in the
number belonging to the little girl’s dad.
“Oh, she’s indeed mute,” Archie and Benny muttered
under their breaths.
Roxanne stiffened and shot her sons a warning look.
“Don’t be rude to her.”
The boys straightened their backs and gave the little girl
guilty smiles.
Glancing at them, the little girl inched nearer to Roxanne
instinctively and reached out to grab the corner of
Roxanne’s dress.
However, Roxanne didn’t notice that as she was busy
double-checking the phone number before making the
call.
Back in the Farwell residence, Lucian strode into the
mansion angrily. “Is Essie back?”
The butler came to welcome him. Wearing a worried
expression, he said, “No. I didn’t see Ms. Estella
around.”
After saying that, he realized the temperature
surrounding his employer had dropped drastically.
Lucian’s lips thinned as he furrowed his brows.
I’ve searched everywhere I could. Where could she be?
Did something happen to her?
As that possibility occurred to him, a faint gleam of
malice shone in his eyes. It appeared as if he wanted
nothing more than to destroy the entire world.
Right then, a lady clad in thick makeup hurried into the
mansion and asked anxiously, “Lucian, I heard Essie
went missing? Is it true? Did you find her?”
The lady was none other than Aubree, the one whom
Lucian wanted to marry previously.
Nevertheless, Lucian kept his authoritative aura before
her. “She’s still missing. Now that you’re here, I’d like to
know what you told Essie this afternoon. Why would she
run away from home for no reason?”
Aubree seemed surprised to hear his question as she
stared at him incredulously. “Lucian, what are you
saying? Are you saying I did something to Essie?”
Seemingly hurt, she added, “I did nothing to her! Never
mind if someone else misunderstands me. You’ve seen
how I treated her dearly over the years! Even though
Essie treated me coldly, I didn’t mind and took good
care of her. I never yelled at her. No way would I do
something to make her run away from home!”
With her red-rimmed eyes and innocent expression, she
was trying hard to convince Lucian that she had nothing
to do with Estella’s disappearance.
Deep down, she wanted nothing more than for the mute
little girl to disappear forever.
Indeed, she was harsh to Estella that afternoon. She
also told the little girl that she would give birth to more
adorable children after she married Lucian.
By then, Lucian would no longer adore Estella.
As Estella couldn’t talk, Aubree wasn’t afraid that the
former would complain about her behavior to Lucian.
However, she had no idea that Estella would end up
running away from home.
This is great! It will be better if she can’t return. That
way, I won’t have to see her again!
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