Estelle, however, held her ground and quickly refused him. “You promised Yohan that you would bring us back home, but this place is not our home. Our home is…”
Cristofer pressed, “Where is it?”
“It’s not here,” Estelle replied, “If you don’t want to take us to the hotel, I’ll arrange a taxi for the children and myself.”
When Estelle was about to exit the car, Yohan woke up and peered outside. Seeing the villa, his eyes widened with astonishment.
Excitedly, he exclaimed, “Mom, this house is so beautiful!”
Cristofer chimed in, “Yohan, do you like it? We can stay here tonight, okay?”
Perplexed, Yohan questioned, “But I thought we were going home. This isn’t our home…”
Cristofer was momentarily at a loss for words.
“Dad, even though our home isn’t as fancy or spacious as this house, I still love it. Can we please go back there? This house is too big for me, and it makes me feel scared,” Yohan shared.
With a sigh, Cristofer replied, “You don’t have to be afraid. I’m here with you.”
As Cristofer attempted to take Yohan’s hand, the boy quickly retreated into Estelle’s embrace, asserting, “This isn’t our home.”
Curious, Cristofer inquired, “Then where is your home?”
Embracing Yohan tightly, Estelle collected herself and responded, “Our home is where we lived with Mr. Mysterious.”
“But he is dead!” Cristofer growled.
Woken up by him, Yvonne rubbed her eyes and asked with an exhausted look, “Dad, who is dead?”
Looking at Yvonne’s chubby face, Cristofer opened his mouth but held back the words that sprang to his lips.
Estelle then quickly got out of the car and took Yvonne from his arms.
Suppressing her anger, she said, “Mr. Hans, you don’t seem to be in a good mental state. We’ll leave now.”
Lying in Estelle’s arms, Yvonne turned to look at Cristofer, reluctant to part with him.
“Dad, aren’t we going home?” Yvonne said in a lovely voice.
“Your Dad has something else to do, sweetie. We’ll go back to the hotel first. Your Grandma is waiting for us there. Yvonne, say goodbye to Dad.”
“Bye, Dad,” Yvonne said, waving goodbye to Cristofer.
Estelle then turned around and left with Yvonne in her arms, followed by Yohan.
Seeing them leaving, Cristofer suddenly felt a strong sense of frustration.
Then with a submissive posture, he coaxed the children in a gentle voice, “Yohan, Yvonne, stay here with me, okay?”
Yvonne had just woken up and was not completely awake. Not knowing what had happened, she looked at Cristofer in puzzlement and didn’t say anything.
Yohan, who was standing beside Estelle, thought for a while and shook his head.
“Dad, I feel that you are different from before,” he exclaimed bluntly.
“What’s different about me?” Cristofer asked.
“You have never been so fierce before. You were always gentle when you talked to Mom,” Yohan answered.
With a deep sigh, Cristofer explained to him with a bitter smile, “I’m tired from working too long and not in a good mood, so I lost control of myself just now. I promise you that I won’t be like that again, okay?”
“Really?”
“Really. Can you help me persuade your Mom to stay?”
Yohan then looked up at Estelle.
However, Estelle ignored them and looked into the distance silently. Then she saw a tall and strong figure riding a motorcycle and quickly approaching them.
The roar of the engine became louder and louder as the motorcycle was closer and closer to them. And the man riding the motorcycle was all black and wearing a big black helmet.
“Mom, who is that?”
“That’s…” Estelle’s heart skipped a beat when she saw the figure so similar to Mr. Mysterious.
“Screech!”
The black motorcycle stopped in front of Estelle.
The man placed his feet on the ground for support and quickly took off his helmet, revealing his handsome face.
With a charming smile, he said, “Long time no see, Estelle.”
“Mom,” Yvonne, particularly curious about the motorcycle, called Estelle and said, “I want to ride this.”
“Wow, this is your daughter?”
The hopeful expression in her eyes disappeared when Estelle saw the man. She nodded politely and said, “Mr. Roberts, long time no see. This is my daughter Yvonne, and this is my son Yohan. Yvonne, Yohan, this is Uncle Tim.”
“Hello, Uncle Tim.” Yohan and Yvonne then greeted Tim simultaneously.
“Oh, my God! Your daughter is so good-looking. She’s as beautiful as you!” Tim said and then shifted his gaze to Yohan.
He leaned forward to scrutinize Yohan for a few seconds and then looked back at Cristofer.
After that, he said with disdain, “The two of you look so alike.”
“I’m Dad’s child, so I certainly look like him,” Yohan stuck out his chest and said proudly.
Seeing that Yohan was not bashful, Tim joked with him deliberately, “Then why doesn’t your sister look like your Dad? Isn’t she your father’s child?”
“Of course she is!”
“But she doesn’t look like your father.”
“Yvonne looks like Mom. She inherited more from Mom than Dad!”
Hearing this, Tim straightened up, folded his arms, and chuckled. “You are so clever.”
Seeing Yohan talk with Tim happily, Cristofer strode over unhappily and pulled Yohan to stand behind him. Then he said to Tim, “Yohan is my son. He inherited my intelligence.”
Tim’s cheerful behavior vanished as he addressed Cristofer, saying, “Why the serious face? Are you concerned that I might steal your son away from you?”
Cristofer retorted, “Do I need to remind you how many clients you’ve managed to swipe from me over the years?”
“Clients are clients, children are children. I have no intention of snatching your son,” Tim affirmed.
“Who’s to say? My son is quite the catch, handsome, intelligent, and charming. How can I be sure you’re not eyeing him?” Cristofer snorted.
“Don’t play the devoted father now,” Tim sneered, adding, “When Estelle was seriously ill and had to work to support the children, where were you? Enjoying life with another woman.”
“This is my family matter, and it doesn’t involve you,” Cristofer stated firmly.
“Estelle is divorced from you. She’s not your family anymore, so there are no family matters between you two. By the way, I’m here to have a meaningful conversation with Estelle. Perhaps she’ll be a part of my family in the future.”
Cristofer clenched his jaw, offering a mocking smile. “Your family?”
“I’m better than you, am I not?” Tim responded confidently. “At least I’ve always maintained a level of decency. Unlike you, Mr. Hans, who’s had his fair share of romantic escapades with women like Miss Abrams and Miss Wilson. Your luck with relationships is quite impressive.”
“Tim, things aren’t as simple as you assume. I’m not obliged to explain anything to you whether you believe it or not,” Cristofer retorted.