Roxanne made every effort to calm herself. She met Lucian's gaze calmly and said gently, "Lucian, behaving like this only makes you seem more like a stranger."
As far as she remembered, he had always been calm and apathetic. At least, that had been his personality six years ago. Now, he was unfathomable.
Perhaps her comment worked, for she sensed his grip on her chin gradually relaxing. She held her breath.
A while later, Lucian released her chin and sat back. He gazed at her with a complex expression. "What exactly do you want?"
The question caught her off guard before she could breathe a sigh of relief. Bewilderment washed over her. I should be asking him that. I've already made my position clear. What does he want?
"Ignoring the fact that you're avoiding me, you're not even visiting Essie anymore. Are you really this callous, Roxanne?" Lucian's gaze sharpened. (The promotional text "Search the FindNovel.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality" has been removed.)
Roxanne's heart sank. Closing her eyes briefly, she suppressed her feelings and said indifferently, "Let's not discuss this if it's meaningless. Since my presence upsets you so much, Mr. Farwell, I think I should leave."
She reached for the partition to signal Cayden to pull over. Before she could touch it, he forcefully grabbed her wrist.
Roxanne struggled. "If you really want to talk, Mr. Farwell, let's set a time and place. I'm very uncomfortable here!"
In that confined space, she felt powerless against him. Terror filled her eyes as she stared at him.
Sensing her fear, Lucian's eyes narrowed slightly. He slowly released her wrist and asked through gritted teeth, "You're afraid of me? What's there to fear? What have I done to hurt you?"
He had already been infuriated by her distancing herself. Her terror, however, hit him like a bucket of ice water. A bone-chilling coldness spread through him. He had never wanted her to fear him.
Conversely, Roxanne's expression grew colder with his continued harassment. "Don't you find yourself ridiculous, Mr. Farwell? Aren't you marrying Ms. Pearson? You should consider her feelings and keep your distance from other women, especially your ex-wife." Lucian's brows furrowed. He hadn't expected her to mention their past.
Roxanne felt it best to be frank. She was going abroad soon and wouldn't have much contact with him anyway. "If Ms. Pearson were to learn of your familiarity with me, Mr. Farwell, there would be misunderstandings. Please don't put me in a difficult position." "You think I'm putting you in a difficult position?" Lucian countered coldly.
Roxanne offered a self-deprecating smirk. "Or you can interpret it as my reluctance to repeat my mistakes six years ago. No one wants to fall into the same trap twice."
In other words, she was rejecting him, even if he truly had feelings for her. The incident six years ago had deeply hurt her, and she wouldn't let history repeat itself. As Lucian recalled her conversation with his mother at the cafรฉ, his heart sank.
The remaining letters ("ES CE LE LE CH SET F") appear to be random and unrelated to the text. They have been omitted.