Chapter 78
In the past, it had always been the three of them-Roxanne, Archie, Benny-having meals together, occasionally with Madilyn joining in.
However, it was a first for them to have their meal with Lucian.
At that moment, various emotions rose in Archie’s and Benny’s hearts.
Lucian stopped in his tracks and turned around to meet Estella’s glistening eyes. He then shifted his gaze to the seat beside them, which had utensils placed on the table near it. His eyes immediately glinted with emotion.
As the matter of fact, the four of them were indeed a family.
It would seem odd if he were to sit there.
Though that thought passed through his mind, he had already taken his seat by the table before even realizing it.
For some reason, the atmosphere that was originally jolly had become tense. He could not help but wonder if he was the reason for the change.
Archie and Benny fell silent and lowered their heads to eat their food.
Since the boys were not talking to her anymore, Estella lost her appetite. She held her utensils and took tiny bites out of her food.
“Essie, is there something you dislike?” Roxanne asked gently, noticing the change in her behavior.
Hearing that, Estella hurriedly shook her head.
She liked everything Roxanne made.
She just wasn’t in the mood to eat.
Benny knew Estella could not talk. Thus, he put down his utensils and answered on her behalf, “Essie is just like us. She doesn’t like carrots and peppers. She always picks these out in the kindergarten.”
Roxanne smiled kindly. “I’ll help you pick them out, okay?”
A smile reappeared on Estella’s face, and she nodded obediently.
Seeing her response, Roxanne walked over to Estella, picked out the carrots and peppers from the latter’s plate, and placed them on her own. She then watched Estella picking up her spoon again.
Just as Estella was about to continue eating, something tugged the back of her hand, which made her tear up in pain. She stopped moving her arm. lifted her head, and looked at Roxanne pilluny for help.
Noticing the expression on Estella’s face, Roxanne put down her utensils right away. “What’s wrong?”
Estella bit her lip, trying her best to stop herself from crying as she turned over her hand to let Roxanne examine it.
Everyone was stunned as soon as they saw the back of her hand.
Estella had extremely fair skin. As the light shone on the back of her hand, a horrifying red mark could be seen visibly.
Roxanne frowned and asked worriedly, “What happened?”
Estella bit her lip without saying anything.
Roxanne had no choice but to glance at Lucian, who was sitting beside her.
Lucian felt a pang of guilt when he met her questioning gaze. Despite that, he looked as calm as ever. “Did you hurt yourself when you were throwing things just now?”
The worry in Roxanne’s eyes intensified. “Throwing things?”
Lucian said, “Essie doesn’t know how to vent her emotions. Sometimes, when she gets really angry, she’ll throw things to vent it out.”
He could not bring himself to utter the word “autism.”
On top of that, he did not know what her reaction would be once she found out about it.
Surprise flashed through Roxanne’s eyes as she turned to look at Estella to confirm the fact. “Did you hurt yourself?”
Estella hesitated momentarily before nodding gently.
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Seeing her admitting to it, Lucian frowned. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
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Estella shuddered and inched closer to Roxanne, feeling frightened.
Roxanne cast Lucian another displeased glance when she saw Estella’s reaction.
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The kid’s injured. How could he still speak to her in such a tone?
“Does it hurt a lot?” Retracting her gaze, Roxanne held Estella’s hand and massaged it gently.
Estella pursed her lips and nodded.
“You’ll be fine. I’ll help you to apply medicine. It won’t hurt in a while.” Roxanne gently released Estella’s hand and instructed her boys, “Keep her company. I’ll get the medical kit.”
The boys nodded immediately and started taking turns telling Estella some interesting things..
