Benny's eyes brightened.
Emboldened by Lucian's acceptance of Archie's gesture, he tentatively attempted the same.
Taking the plunge, he placed a roast potato on the man's plate and stared at him expectantly.
The boy's thoughtful gesture stunned Lucian, as he thought the former would complicate things for him. He offered a grateful smile upon regaining his composure. “Thank you. Have some more potatoes yourself.”
As he spoke, Lucian reciprocated the gesture.
Having remembered the vegetables the boy mentioned not liking earlier, he deliberately avoided those.
Benny's eyes widened in surprise. “Thank you, Mr. Farwell! I will!”
Daddy gave me food!
Meanwhile, Archie pouted in disdain as he observed their interaction.
Benny is such an idiot. He can't even see such an obvious ploy of Daddy currying his favor! I won't be that easily fooled!
The rest of dinner passed with that strange atmosphere hanging over them. Roxanne got up to clear the table when they finished.
Lucian silently helped her put the silverware back in the kitchen drawer out of politeness. Upon completing that task, he stood around hesitantly, as he was unsure what to do next.
Though it stood to reason that he should return with Estella, he thought it would seem inappropriate to just leave after putting Roxanne through the trouble of hosting dinner.
“I can manage on my own,” Roxanne asserted when she noticed his discomfort. “Could you keep an eye on the children?”
Lucian nodded and headed to the living room.
Estella was working with the boys on the final stages of a Lego project they had been working on together.
Having already assembled a section, the children were struggling with the height of where it was supposed to be attached. Roxanne was usually close by to lend a hand after the preliminary assembly was completed on the ground.
As she was busy with the dishes at that moment, the children stood around, figuring out how to circumvent that obstacle.
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