Lucian, I've been married to you for three years, and you've never touched me. I'm releasing you and your first crush from our marriage. Tomorrow, you're free to pursue her. But please, make amends for my years of unrequited love. With that, Roxanne Jarvis leaned down and kissed him, like a moth to a flame. Her kiss was frenzied and desperate. She knew it was despicable, but she'd loved him too long and suffered too much; she craved consolation.
"Roxanne, how dare you!" Lucian Farwell's jaw clenched, fury igniting in his eyes. His face darkened. He wanted to push her away, but overwhelming desire threatened to consume his reason. How dare she scheme against me? A tear escaped Roxanne's eye. Her kisses intensified as her hands fumbled over his body. She wanted to possess him, completely, for once. Fury surged through Lucian, but he was powerless to resist. His instincts took over, burning away his rationality.
The next day, Roxanne woke at dawn. Ignoring her discomfort, she dressed, retrieved the divorce agreement from her drawer, and placed it on the bedside table. Before leaving, she gazed at him. "Lucian, I'm setting you free. From today, we go our separate ways. We will have nothing more to do with each other," she murmured, averting her gaze as she left the Farwell residence. Her heart ached with bitterness and anguish.
Roxanne had loved Lucian for seven years, since her teens through university; her greatest wish was to be his wife. But Lucian despised her from the moment she married into his family. His grandfather's critical illness necessitated a joyous occasion to dispel bad luck, and she was chosen as Lucian's bride. Her greedy father and stepmother readily agreed. She remembered the joy she felt anticipating her wedding night, only to be met by Lucian's disgust. "Roxanne, I want to marry Aubree Pearson. I never wanted you! Only Aubree is worthy of me," he declared.
Roxanne knew he wasn't obligated to love her, but she clung to hope. For three years, she strived to be a good wife. She prepared dinner nightly, waited up for him, cared for him when he was drunk or ill, warmed his clothes in winter. Yet, he never loved her, and never would. Two days before her birthday, Lucian spent the day at the hospital with Aubree. Then, Roxanne understood her love was one-sided. She would never win his heart. She gave up.
Lucian woke at ten, his first impulse to strangle Roxanne. The CEO of Farwell Group, known for his sharp mind, had never been outsmarted. He never dreamed he'd fall for her trap! Fuming, he found Roxanne gone, but spotted the divorce agreement on the bedside table. "What is this?" His brows furrowed as he read the bold "Divorce Agreement." First, that despicable trick to force sex, and now this? How many tricks does she have? He refused to believe she genuinely wanted a divorce. He dressed and stormed downstairs. "Have you seen Roxanne?" he demanded of the butler, Lance. Startled, Lance replied, "Mr. Farwell, Mrs. Farwell left before dawn with her luggage." Lucian stopped, stunned.
Six years later, at VR Medical Research Institute, Yartran, Roxanne's assistant, Linda, informed her, "Dr. Jarvis, Professor Lambert wants to see you in his office." Tired from an all-nighter, Roxanne instantly focused. "Did he say why? Don't tell me my rascals destroyed the research again?" "Apparently," Linda replied sympathetically. Roxanne, a brilliant woman and Harvey Lambert's protégé, was rarely reprimanded, yet her sons often became scapegoats. Linda added, "They were worried about you being in the lab for three days, and they well, they caused a bit of a ruckus in Professor Lambert's office. I think he got a few more gray hairs." Roxanne groaned, amused yet apprehensive.
Six years earlier, she’d left the Farwell residence and gone abroad, initially to further her studies, but soon discovered she was pregnant. Torn about abortion, she changed her mind at the hospital, unable to part with her children. She carried triplets—two boys and a girl. Her daughter died during childbirth due to oxygen deprivation, leaving her with two sons, Archie and Benny. The thought of her sons brought joy, but the impending reprimand brought a slump to her shoulders.
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