The Abandoned Wife

Fractured Trust and Silent Sorrows

Lucian's hand hung in the air, and his voice stopped abruptly as he turned around helplessly to watch his daughter reach the car.He watched her climb into the car before retracting his gaze and scanning the remaining children.Even so, there were no signs of the twins."Mr. Farwell..." One teacher noticed he seemed to be looking for someone. Her heart skipped a beat, and she hurried over cautiously.Lucian shifted his gaze and stared at the person in front of him expressionlessly. "Where are the twins? Have they been expelled?"The teacher lowered her head guiltily. "Not yet. I wanted to tell them about the news when they came to school. But Ms. Jarvis called me this morning, saying the boys were feeling unwell, so I didn't get to tell—""Okay," Lucian said curtly and strode to the car without waiting for the teacher to react.In the car, Estella hugged her schoolbag and rested her head on it, her eyes downcast. She looked as if she was pondering something.Seeing Lucian entering the car, she scooted to the side without lifting her head, putting a distance between them.Lucian sat beside her and instructed the driver to drive. After that, he gave her a concerned look, asking, "Can you tell me why you are angry today?"Estella turned her head to one side upon hearing his voice, looking completely reluctant to communicate with him.Lucian understood the signs right away. I'm the culprit for making her angry again.As for the reason, he had a rough guess, but he had no intentions of solving it at that moment unless Roxanne contacted him personally.Despite that, Estella clearly wanted him to bring up the topic. She made some gestures during the journey home, wanting to attract his attention.However, Lucian feigned ignorance.Upon reaching home, a red-eyed Estella shot him a glare before storming back to her room and slamming the door shut. She everflocked the door from the inside.Catalina, who was watching the pair's cold war from downstairs, cast Lucian a concerned gaze. "Mr. Farwell, what's wrong with""Let her be." Lucian knitted his brows. "She'll be fine after a while."Catalina had no choice but to ignore the matter.However, when it was time for dinner, Estella still did not go downstairs.Catalina looked at Lucian, who sat at the dining table without digging in. She sighed inwardly and rushed upstairs to bring Estella down.Unfortunately, no one came to open the door after she knocked on it for some time."Ms. Estella, please come down to have—"Before she could finish her words, a muffled sound could suddenly be heard. It sounded as if something had collapsed to the floor.Catalina's heart sank. Just as she was about to go downstairs to get Lucian, she spun around and found him already standing behind her.."Mr. Farwell, you know what Ms. Estella's character is like. She's always been unsociable, and she doesn't know how to speak. Please be more patient with her. How will things work out if you don't communicate with her properly? Ms. Estella is different from other children. Aren't you worried that her condition might worsen?" Catalina asked.The sound of something crashing onto the ground in the room made Catalina extremely – anxious. She was so worried that her eyes reddened when she uttered the last sentence.Lucian frowned.He never thought the child would be so mad.After listening to Catalina, he nodded and went forward to knock on the door. "Essie, open the door. Daddy wants to speak to you."When he finished, a muffled thump sounded on the door.Clearly, Estella was throwing something against the door to show her rejection of him.Lucian froze momentarily. He spoke once again in a gentler tone. "What do you want me to do? Can you open the door and tell me? We'll talk about it, okay?"A faint thump sounded on the door again.It was also Catalina's first time witnessing Estella acting that way. The thought of the latter's condition caused a fear to rise in Catalina's heart. Worried that something might happen to Estella, she said hurriedly, "Mr. Farwell, I think we should just go in. I'm worried Ms. Estella might..."Lucian hesitated for a moment, but he nodded in agreement.Soon, Catalina brought a spare key, opened the door, and they entered the room.They were instantly taken aback by the mess inside.The dolls Estella always treasured were scattered all over the floor. There were also a few exquisite-looking music boxes by the door, and two of them had cracks on them.Evidently, the items that were thrown at the door were the two music boxes.Among the mess was Estella curled in the corner. She was staring blankly at the ground as tears streamed down her cheeks uncontrollably. Sitting beside her were two relatively ugly dolls the adults had never seen before.Noticing the adults entering her room, she backed away subconsciously and lowered her head to avoid meeting their gaze.Lucian's heart ached when he saw the state of the girl. Feeling regretful, he stepped forward, wanting to pull her into his embrace.Sensing that he was approaching her, Estella raised her head immediately, her eyes filled with resistance. With her hands on the ground, she scurried backward frantically.Lucian paused when he saw her reactions. "Don't... be afraid. I know I was wrong."Estella did not seem to hear his words. Finally, she leaned against the wall and turned her body sideways to avoid his gaze. She hugged her knees and buried her head inside.The adults could not see her expression. All they saw were the heaving motioris of Estella's body when she sobbed.Lucian fell silent instantly.Feeling heartbroken, Catalina stepped forward. "Mr. Farwell, why don't I give it a go?"With that, she carefully approached Estella and extended her arms toward the little girl.This time, Estella did not avoid it.Catalina let out a sigh of relief and hugged Estella gently, patting the latter on the back. "What's wrong, Ms. Estella? Can you tell me about it? Were you bullicd by your classmates in school?"Estella merely continued sobbing, showing no response whatsoever.Catalina had no choice but to coax Estella in her embrace."Is it because the twins didn't go to school?" Lucian asked grimly. Estella's eyes lit up a little, and she turned her head aside with a sob.Noticing her slight reaction, Catalina quickly hinted at Lucian with a look to console Estella.Lucian sighed. He did not expect Estella to be so dependent on the twins.Could they be somewhat attracted to each other because they're siblings from another mother?"Okay. I won't make them leave the kindergarten."It was only then that Estella looked at him, looking extremely aggrieved.His daughter's state left Lucian no choice but to give in. "I promise you. I won't chase them away again."Estella still stared at him with a gaze filled with accusations.Understanding the meaning of her gaze, Lucian said gently, "They didn't go to school today because they took a sick leave. The teacher hasn't told them about their expulsion."