It was not yet eight o'clock when they left the hospital.

Roxanne stretched her stiff body lazily. She was so glad to breathe fresh air again after being confined to bed for a day and two nights. Archie and Benny trailed closely behind, just in case anything else happened to their mother.

"Ms. Jarvis, why don't you head home first and rest? Maybe take the morning off?" Lysa urged, trying her best to convince Roxanne not to go straight to work.

Roxanne grinned. "I'm perfectly fine, don't worry. After the surgery the day before yesterday, I rushed to the kindergarten in sweaty clothes because I didn't have time to change. I probably caught a cold then, which developed into a fever. I promise to be more careful next time."

She bent down and tousled the children's hair. "I need to finish my work at the research institute. Ms. Lane, can you take them to kindergarten today? I'll tell Ms. Ward they'll be late."

The children looked at her with concern. They wished Roxanne could rest, but knew their workaholic mother wouldn't delay her work. They nodded reluctantly.

Roxanne turned to Lysa. "I'll leave the children with you, but I'll inform Ms. Ward."

Lysa agreed.

Roxanne then approached Lucian, who waited by the main entrance. "I just wanted to thank you for last night. I took care of Essie last time, so we're even now," she said calmly.

Despite his unfazed expression, his emotions were anything but calm. He replied laconically, "Sure." His thoughts were unfathomable.

Just as Roxanne was leaving, a small hand grabbed her dress.

"Ms. Jarvis!" Estella didn't understand Roxanne's conversation with Lucian. It sounded like a foreign language. She grabbed Roxanne's dress.

Roxanne stopped and turned. "What's wrong, Essie?"

Tears glistened in Estella's eyes. "I like Ms. Jarvis." She pouted, looking aggrieved.

Roxanne's heart softened. She hugged the little girl tightly. "I like you too, Essie. Thanks for visiting."

The hug comforted Estella, but she was still reluctant to let go as Roxanne walked away.

Roxanne walked Lysa and the boys to the bus stop to hail a cab. Lysa had taken a cab to the hospital that morning; Lucian had driven Roxanne last night. They had no transportation of their own.

Rush hour traffic was a nightmare. They waited for a while, but no cabs were available.

Roxanne considered asking Colby for a ride when Lucian's voice surprised her.

"It's hard to get a cab now. Let me drive you."

Roxanne was startled. I thought he left. Why is he still here? She saw Estella's pleading eyes and understood.

Though she liked Estella, she didn't want anything to do with Lucian. She frowned. "It's okay. I've troubled you enough, Mr. Farwell. You should get to the office. We'll manage."

Lucian frowned, looking annoyed. Did I say something wrong? Puzzled, Roxanne remained silent.

(Note: The promotional text "Search the FindNovel.net website on Google" was removed as it was irrelevant to the text cleanup.)