Chapter 174
The next morning, Roxanne and the three kids had breakfast together.
Eslella sat beside her quietly and allowed the boys to feed her. Her cheeks puffed up
adorably as though she were a chipmunk.
Roxanne felt her heart soften at the sight of the obedient little girl. She also felt bad for her.
1 believe Essie wanted to talk last night.
With that thought in mind, she gazed at Estella affectionately. “Essie, do you want some
buns?”
Estella nodded eagerly.
Roxanne picked up a bun but didn't place it on Estella's plate. She said, “If you want, tell me
in words.”
Estella blinked, seemingly stumped by her request.
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇtRoxanne's brows furrowed in disappointment. “If you don't talk, I might not understand what you want. That way, I'll
worry that I can’t take care of you. Essie, can you get used to talking? Don’t worry, I'll help you. We can do it
slowly.”
Hearing her words, Archie and Benny placed their forks down. “Let's do it together! We want to hear Essie talk,
too!”
As their expectant gazes fell on Estella, she glanced at each and every one of them. Her fists balled up as she
forced herself to grunt, “Mm!”
Roxanne and the boys were pleasantly delighted by her soft and adorable voice. Their eyes lit up in surprise.
I was just trying my luck and didn't expect Estella to talk for real!
Despite wanting more, Roxanne knew she shouldn't be impatient. She stroked Estella's hair adoringly before placing
the bun on her plate.
Estella was ecstatic to learn that she could talk, too. She was still beaming joyfully when Roxanne dropped them off
at the kindergarten.
“Essie, you're in a jovial mood today, huh?” Pippa remarked when she saw Estella's precious grin.
Estella beamed at her and nodded happily.
Benny chimed in, “We re helping her to learn how to talk!”
Pippa assumed they were joking around. After all, she had taught Estella for some time but never heard Estella talk.
However, Archie and Benny took the matter seriously. They were even discussing how to push Estella to talk during
class.
In between classes, Estella went to them as usual so they could play together.
Nevertheless, Archie wasn't his usual self. He frowned and demanded, “What do you want from us?”
Puzzled, Estella whipped her head around to look at Benny.
I want to play with Archie and Benny! We play together every day, right?
Benny added sternly, “Hurry up and tell us what you want. Archie and I are busy!”
Both of them were obviously treating her coldly. Estella recalled how she followed them
everywhere back when they first came and how they ignored her. She really enjoyed playing
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏmwith them recently, so she grew flustered and grabbed the pencil and paper on Benny's
table so she could write her thoughts out.
To her surprise, Archie pocketed the pencil. “Talk to us. Otherwise, we won't know what you
mean.”
Estella gripped the corner of the desk sadly.
“Didn't you promise Mommy this morning that you'll learn how to talk slowly?” Benny gazed
at her. “If you can't talk, you can call our names. We've been calling your name, Essie, but
you've never said our names!”
Estella parted her lips but nothing came out of her mouth. She grew anxious and was about
to burst into tears.
Seeing that, Archie and Benny gave her the pencil instead of forcing her to talk.
However, for the next few days, the two boys grew distant from her at home and at the
kindergarten.
Every time Estella came to them, Benny would huff angrily, “We treated you well, but you
wouldn't even call our names! We re going to ignore you!”
Estella was devastated.