They had just finished planting the second sapling. As Roxanne rose to hand him the third, a commotion erupted nearby.

"Ms. Pearson? What are you doing here?" Pippa exclaimed in shock, seeing Aubree at the entrance.

Aubree wore a fancy red dress and expensive sunglasses that complemented her wavy hair. Approaching Pippa, she removed her sunglasses and scanned the crowd. "Lucian said the kindergarten organized a parent-child activity today. I'm worried about Essie, so I rushed over. Where are they?"

Pippa pointed toward Roxanne. "Over there with Archie and Benny. Essie adores them and doesn't want to be separated, even for this activity."

Aubree's eyes hardened at this news. Thanking Pippa, she quickly approached Roxanne.

All the other parents wore sportswear, making Aubree's bright red dress stand out. Those who recognized her shifted their gaze to Roxanne, anticipating a confrontation.

Roxanne's expression stiffened as she saw Aubree approaching. She knew Aubree wouldn't give up easily, especially after their phone conversation the previous night, but she hadn't expected this dramatic entrance.

"There you are, Lucian!" Aubree greeted him coquettishly. Turning to Roxanne, she added, "Hello, Ms. Jarvis! Long time no see!"

The awkward tension was palpable.

Roxanne nodded. "Yeah, long time no see."

"What are you doing here?" Lucian asked, displeasure evident in his tone.

Using Sonya as an excuse, Aubree said flatly, "Mrs. Farwell told me you brought Essie. She worried Essie would be uncomfortable with so many people, and that it would be inconvenient for you to manage her, so she sent me."

Lucian's frown deepened at the mention of Sonya. (Internal monologue: Had my mother not insisted on this marriage, I would have ended it long ago!)

Unaware of his anger, Aubree bent to Estella, who was playing with Archie and Benny. "Come here, Essie! Hug!" she said, arms outstretched.

To Aubree's surprise, Estella pouted and hid behind the boys. (Internal monologue: I hate that woman! She hit me! No hug!)

Aubree's eyes clouded with disappointment, but she maintained a smile. "Still mad about last time, Essie? I'm sorry I lost my patience. Please forgive me?"

Estella pursed her lips and shook her head silently. (Internal monologue: You little btch! If we weren't in public, I'd teach you a lesson!)* Aubree thought, after her second rejection.

Changes Made:

• Improved sentence structure and flow.
• Corrected grammatical errors (e.g., "rose" instead of "got up").
• Replaced informal language (e.g., "a good show") with more appropriate phrasing.
• Removed the irrelevant website promotion.
• Clarified ambiguous phrasing.
• Incorporated internal monologues more smoothly.
• Removed excessive exclamation points.
• Standardized punctuation and capitalization.
• Removed inappropriate language (the "*" was retained to indicate a word was removed).

The revised passage is cleaner, more concise, and reads more naturally. The internal monologues are better integrated, providing context without disrupting the narrative flow.