Roxanne avoided Estella because of unpleasant encounters with Lucian. She even avoided mentioning Estella when Archie and Benny brought her up.

Archie and Benny quickly noticed Roxanne's strange behavior. While they didn't avoid Estella at school, their demeanor toward her grew colder.

Estella, who was still learning to speak, rarely did. She only spoke a few words when a topic interested her. Her speech gradually returned to its previous state when Archie and Benny stopped initiating conversations. Furthermore, she hadn't seen Roxanne for several days.

Only Lucian noticed Estella's changes. A few days earlier, he'd heard her speak occasionally after school. But for the past two days, she'd been silent.

Lucian worried about a relapse. However, the only person who could help Estella had distanced herself from him. The thought of Roxanne conflicted him.

That evening, after picking up Estella, Lucian tried James' method to encourage her to talk. "Essie, how have you been the last two days? Are you feeling down?" This one-sided conversation had been ongoing for days, but Estella remained silent.

Expecting the same, Lucian was surprised when, after he finished speaking, a soft, sad voice filled the car.

Pouting dejectedly, Estella said, "I didn't see"

"What didn't you see?" Lucian asked, confused.

Estella mumbled, "Ms. Jarvis." She counted on her fingers, then held up four. "Four days."

"I haven't seen Ms. Jarvis for four days. Ms. Lane picked up Archie and Benny each day. Even though Ms. Lane is kind, I miss Ms. Jarvis."

Lucian understood immediately: Estella couldn't see Roxanne because Roxanne was deliberately avoiding him. He didn't know how to explain this to Estella.

He hadn't seen Roxanne since their argument after he'd taken her home from the bar. As Roxanne had said, they were merely strangers now.

This thought brought him an inexplicable displeasure. After a moment, he snapped out of his reverie.

Seeing Estella's sullen expression, Lucian felt something was wrong. Wait. Hadn't she just spoken to him?

Realizing this, Lucian frowned in surprise. Casually, he tried to get her to talk again. "Essie, what did you say? I didn't hear you. Can you repeat it?"

Estella kept her head down, her round head and puffed cheeks visible. She ignored him.

Despite her silence, Lucian patiently patted her head and tried again. "You said Ms. Jarvis didn't pick up the boys. Who picked them up these last two days?"

Mentioning Roxanne, Estella slowly raised her head.

Lucian's heart leaped. He expected a response.

To his surprise, she only glanced at him, silently shook her head, and lowered her head again, refusing to communicate.

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