After a brief pause, she continued, “You claimed that you’ve finished dealing with all your matters. Then, can you open up to me now? I want to know who you truly are and learn about your past.” She finally voiced what she had wanted to say for a long time.
“Do you really want to know all about me?”
“Yes,” Estelle said firmly. “And what I want to know is the truth, not your white lies again.”
Hearing her words, Mr. Mysterious sighed and closed his eyes. “Yes, my arm was beaten.”
“By whom?”
“Me.”
“You?”
Mr. Mysterious nodded and smiled with a bitter expression. “Someone who’s been my benefactor doesn’t want me to be with you. I incurred a debt of gratitude to him, and that’s why I ended up with a broken arm.”
As Estelle listened to Mr. Mysterious, she initially thought that the person he referred to could be Melody or Gretchen. However, upon further reflection, she dismissed that idea because they had always believed Mr. Mysterious to be Tim and had never encountered the real Mr. Mysterious.
“He helped you when you were a child?” Estelle inquired.
“No, I was already an adult when I met him. At that time, I was in a very troubled mental state and had been diagnosed with bipolar disorder. The doctor warned that if the condition worsened, it could lead to…” Mr. Mysterious trailed off, seemingly hesitant to say the rest.
“Might what?”
“I might commit suicide,” Mr. Mysterious said in a deep voice.
Hearing this, Estelle gasped.
“Later, my benefactor appeared and gave me a reason to live. Although it turned out to be false hope, the fact remains that he helped me immensely during that time. Without his assistance, I wouldn’t have had a chance to be with you. So, I believe I must repay the debt I owe him. And I truly feel that breaking my arm is a small price to pay for being with you for the rest of my life,” Mr. Mysterious spoke in a tender tone.
“May I know who your benefactor is?” Estelle asked curiously.
“I will tell you once we’ve settled down abroad,” he replied.
“Is he very powerful?” Estelle inquired further.
“Yes, his power and influence are beyond your imagination,” Mr. Mysterious responded. “That’s why I’m in such a hurry to leave here with you. Now, all I desire is to lead a peaceful life with you and our children. I’ve thought about our future. After we settle in Randaw, you can pursue your dream as a jewelry designer, and I’ll find a job to support you and the children.”
Mr. Mysterious continued describing their future life, saying, “We can send the children to school together and pick them up every day. You’ll teach them art, and I’ll help them with math. And, of course, we’ll bring our puppy along when we go abroad. When you and the kids are not at home, the puppy can keep me company.”
His envisioning of their future was so heartwarming that Estelle couldn’t help but feel excited and eager for their new life together. It filled her with a mix of emotions and left her sighing in wonder at the possibilities that lay ahead.
‘Money is the source of all evil.’
Estelle pondered, ‘For the money, Melody and Gretchen orchestrated a car accident that resulted in the deaths of my father and Cristofer’s parents, and it also led to the dissolution of our marriage.’
‘For money, Henry’s father abandoned Henry and his mother.’
‘For the money, York became inhuman and maltreated my mother.’
‘It’s heart-wrenching to think that if the Hans and Hudson families had remained humble and not become wealthy, we wouldn’t have been targeted, and we could have lived a peaceful and happy life all along. The pursuit of money can sometimes lead to devastating consequences.’
“Sir.”
“What’s up?”
“I will deal with all my affairs and leave here with you as soon as possible. You have my word.”
Mr. Mysterious chuckled. “Okay.”
“I’ve promised to leave with you. Do you still feel afraid now?” Estelle inquired, looking at him seriously.
“Do you want me to tell the truth?”
“Yes.”
“Yes, I’m still afraid,” Mr. Mysterious answered sincerely.
“What are you afraid of?”
Mr. Mysterious expressed his fear, saying, “I’m afraid all my efforts for you in the past years will be in vain.”
Estelle was taken aback by his words, as they seemed so familiar to her. Her heart skipped a beat, and her eyes widened in surprise.
“What’s wrong?” Mr. Mysterious inquired, noticing her reaction.
Estelle shook her head with a smile and replied, “It’s nothing. I just find the concept of blood relationships to be quite fascinating. There’s something about it that modern science can’t fully explain.”
Then she thought, ‘It’s hard to explain why Yohan and Mr. Mysterious have the same personalities, why Yohan dreamed that Mr. Mysterious’ arm was injured, and why what Mr. Mysterious said just now was almost the same as what Cristofer said ten years ago…’
****
The next day, Rebecca happened to be near the hotel when she called to make an appointment with Estelle, and the two of them met at a nearby cafe.
“They really said the same words?” Biting the straw, Rebecca asked Estelle curiously, “Are twins all like this?”
“I don’t know,” Estelle shook her head and was also confused.
“I once read a news article about twin sisters who scored the same in the college entrance examination and went on to study the same major at a university. It makes me wonder if there could be a telepathic connection between twins,” Rebecca stated.
Estelle nodded. She remembered that she had also read the news before.
“Damn it! It is so unfair! As long as one twin studies hard and tells the other the answer by telepathy during the exam, then both of them can have good grades!”
“That’s too exaggerated,” Estelle responded, chuckling. “I guess it’s because the twins’ ways of thinking and levels of intelligence are the same that they got the same score.”
Holding her cheek with one hand, Rebecca chewed the boba that she had sucked up through the straw and said, “Estelle, I’ve specially searched for information on the Internet before. In theory, identical twins come from a single fertilized egg that splits into two, and they share virtually the same DNA. I have a question. If a twin has sex with his sister-in-law and later she gets pregnant, can the paternity test tell whose child she’s pregnant with?”
Estelle couldn’t help but burst into laughter when hearing her question. “You are so imaginative. If twins are telepathic with each other, then once a twin covets his sister-in-law, his twin brother will sense it.”
“You are right.” After thinking for a while, Rebecca nodded in agreement.
Thinking of something, Rebecca then suddenly exclaimed, “Estelle, Cristofer, and Mr. Mysterious are twins! Does that mean Cristofer knows about everything that happened between you and Mr. Mysterious?”