Chapter 347 – Her Sudden Departure: A Tale of Love and Redemption (Lucian & Roxanne)

“Roxanne told me that she’d be discussing with Mr. Morrison and Mr. Damaris about their collaboration, but I never thought that the discussion would take so long.”

Lucian sounded casual as he spoke to Jack and Larry, and even the way he called Roxanne’s name was intimate.

It truly sounded as if Roxanne was his woman and that she had only gone out for a business talk with them after gaining Lucian’s approval.

The moment Lucian said that the people’s eyes widened. Many knew that Lucian was engaged to a woman, and they knew that his fiancee was the daughter of the Pearson family.

However, Lucian’s attitude made them begin to wonder about his relationship with Roxanne. When they thought about Lucian’s status and the woman’s divine looks, it did not seem all too surprising that they were in a relationship.

The people inhaled sharply, thinking that they had learned something shocking; they were ready. to seal their lips and say nothing about that to anyone.

Roxanne was anxious when she saw the changes in their expressions. She wanted to part her lips. to say something to refute Lucian’s words, but there was nothing she could say.

After all, Lucian did not actually utter anything concrete. It was just misleading. If she were to speak without thinking, the man might twist her words. When she thought about what might happen, Roxanne bit her lower lip in defeat.

Like the others, Larry’s and Jack’s expressions also changed when they heard Lucian’s words. However, they had to admit that Lucian’s appearance and the words he said were the best way to get Roxanne out of the mess.

After sharing a look, they nodded at Lucian. “The upcoming collaboration is important, and there were quite a number of people at the event. That’s why we didn’t notice the time.”

In other words, they were telling the crowd that the three of them had not been alone earlier. The crowd, naturally, dared not question Lucian. Only the drunk Jessica was still slurring her protests.

“Why did you have to sit so close to each other if you were talking about work? So what if she’s a great doctor? What right does she have to sit with you? At the end of the day, it’s all because of her pretty face!”

As she spoke, she stumbled over to Roxanne, her finger still pointing at Roxanne’s face.

Jack’s attention was fully on Roxanne and Lucian. Even though he could hear Jessica’s voice, he did not realize when she had walked away from his side.

By the time Jessica reappeared in his line of sight, she was already in between him and Roxanne. Jack scrunched up his brows and tried to stop her. However, it would not be appropriate for him to be the one to make the move now.

Hence, he had no choice but to remain still in his position as he watched Jessica ram herself onto a wall. Larry had even less right to do anything.

Jessica’s friends, on the other hand, were panicking, but Lucian’s dominating presence stopped them from mustering the courage to pull Jessica back. So, they, too, could only watch as the scene. unfold.

“You…” Jessica staggered toward Roxanne until the latter was only a few steps away. “You minx! What kind of medical skills can you possibly have with that look of yours? Y-Your looks are everything!”

Roxanne had faced many similar questions like that before, but their questions had been looks in their eyes; none had ever voiced them out loud like that, let alone in a situation like this.

Even if she wanted to defend herself, she could not prove that her medical skills were not as lousy as Jessica said they were with just words.

Everyone heard Jessica clearly. Of course, they did not know much about the medical field. Hence, they merely nodded at Jessica’s remarks.

After all, they had the perception that accomplished doctors would typically be in their fifties. People would not normally associate a young and beautiful woman like Roxanne with being an accomplished doctor in the medical field.

Jessica’s hand edged closer and closer to Roxanne’s face. The latter’s face turned cold. She was ready to swat off Jessica’s hand at any moment right then.

However, before Roxanne could do so, a large hand struck first and immobilized Jessica’s hand. The man clutching her hand had evidently exerted a considerable amount of force, so much so that Jessica lost her balance and staggered a few steps back and missed Roxanne’s face.

“You could consult Dr. Lambert if you have any doubts about her medical skills, or you could also ask Old Mr. Queen. I believe he will have an answer for you.” Lucian threw a scornful look at the tipsy woman before him. “Also, if you can’t control yourself after having a few drinks, you’d better not attend these functions.”

Before Jessica could respond, Lucian eyed the crowd and fixed his gaze on Cayden as he ordered, “Get someone to send Ms. Hightower home.”

Cayden hastily agreed. Lucian’s grip hurt Jessica’s wrist, and she slowly snapped out of her daze. Her blurry vision slowly became focused as she started to recognize the man before her. “M-Mr. Farwell?” Her voice turned shaky as she registered the face in front of her.

Lucian looked daggers at her. Noticing that she was finally sobering up, he swung her off to one side with a disdained look on his face. “I’m glad that you’ve finally sobered up, Ms. Hightower. I think it’s best that you refrain from drinking from now on.”

Jessica felt her legs going jelly at the realization. She staggered a few steps backward before she could finally steady herself.

Despite Lucian’s rough treatment, Jessica dared not utter another word as she lowered her head, still reeling in from the shock.

When Cayden finally brought along some people as Lucian instructed, he hesitated as he waited for Lucian’s orders for his next course of action. Lucian glanced at the woman beside him.

However, it did not seem that Roxanne wanted anything to do with the mess. Seeing as the misunderstanding had been resolved, Roxanne wanted to just put it all behind her. She said, “It’s great that you’re sober now, Ms. Hightower. I’d like to excuse myself if there is nothing else.”

Then, she looked around the crowd and stated, “It’s only a misunderstanding. I’d appreciate it if all of you would move on and refrain from spreading gossip.”

Lucian furrowed his brows in disagreement when he noticed that she was trying to play down the situation. However, he said nothing and went along with her as he shot a warning glare at the crowd. The crowd agreed not to spread the rumor as they met Lucian’s admonishing stare.

Roxanne flashed a grateful smile at the crowd. When she lowered her gaze, however, there was ar unmistakable weary look in her eyes.

She had drunk her fair share of alcohol just now. As a result, she was feeling dizzy. After going through the drama, Roxanne was utterly drained.

Lucian noticed her tired look, and his eyes darkened. He turned to Cayden and said, “Send Ms. Hightower home, and let Mr. Hightower know that she is sent home on my order.”

Jessica was slow to make sense of Lucian’s remarks. However, the same could not be said for everyone else. They reckoned that life for Jessica would not be easy after this shenanigan that she had pulled.

If Jessica’s father, Stephen Hightower, knew that his daughter had offended Lucian, there was a slim chance that she would ever get to show her face in the public after this.

Soon, Cayden sent Jessica away. Only after getting out of the hotel did Jessica finally make sense of what was happening. She struggled to break free, but it was all too late. After Jessica left, Lucian scanned the crowd.

Everyone felt chills running down their backs as they met his gaze. They dared not linger and. hastily left afterward. Instantly, only a few people were left at the entrance of the hotel.

“Thank you for helping me out of the situation, Mr. Farwell,” Roxanne said. She lowered her gaze and tried to calm herself as she muttered her thanks to Lucian, consciously keeping her distance from the man. Then she turned around to head back to Larry’s side.

However, Lucian held her hand right after she turned around. Roxanne paused in her tracks and instinctively wanted to shrug him off, yet she did not have the courage to turn around and tell him off. She simply stood there stiffly.

“You’ve always been insincere with your thanks, Ms. Jarvis,” Lucian said in an enigmatic tone. Then, he lifted his head to regard Jack and Larry who were standing not far from them. When he parted his lips, however, he did not sound as amiable as when he was defending Roxanne.

“Mr. Damaris, Mr. Morrison, the both of you couldn’t even handle a drunken woman, and as a result, your business partner here has suffered a scare. I’m afraid this is hardly ideal as far as business collaborations go,” Lucian said.

When Cayden reported the matter to him earlier, he had only mentioned that Roxanne was being put on the spot, and Lucian had come to her aid without hesitation.

He was upset to discover that Jack and Larry were actually present as well. Larry glanced at Roxanne’s stiffened face. He approached her and said to Lucian, “It all happened too fast. We had no time to respond. Thank goodness, Roxanne is not hurt.”

A guilty look flitted across Larry’s eyes.

Owing to his amicable personality, he had only thought about defending Roxanne when Jessica tried to admonish her. It never occurred to him to come up with a more aggressive retaliation.

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