At present, he regretted the harm he inflicted on the woman he loved deeply. Yet, it seemed like an irreversible act. He yearned to win her back but felt he didn’t deserve to be with her.
As Cristofer thought about everything that had happened over the years, he couldn’t help but feel like there was someone out there playing puppet master, trying to break him and Estelle up.
Then he thought of Mr. Mysterious and suddenly had a wild guess.
“Ding!”
The elevator stopped on the eighth floor.
Room 0826 was just a short distance from the elevator. Standing at the door, Cristofer could vaguely hear the two children’s voices.
Soon, Estelle’s voice came from the room. She seemed to be asking the children to go to bed.
Cristofer then heard Yohan say good night to her.
****
Yvonne, wide awake, was snuggled up in Estelle’s arms as she told her the story of the princess and the prince in a soft voice.
“The prince defeated the evil dragon and saved the princess who was imprisoned in the castle. They lived a happy life ever after.”
“Mom, you are a beautiful princess in my heart,” Yvonne said in a sweet voice.
“I used to be, but now I’m not.”
“Why?” Yvonne asked, blinking her big eyes.
“Because… My prince will never come back to me.”
“Mom, Dad had returned. He will protect you, me, and Yohan. He has promised us.”
Estelle responded with a gentle tone, “I’ll protect you and Yohan as well.”
“Mom, I miss Dad.”
“Your Dad is very busy. He has very important things to do and can’t come here.”
“Then when will he come and read me stories? Yohan told me that Dad used to tell him stories about Iron Man.”
“He…”
Suddenly, there was a knock on the door.
Estelle was startled and thought, ‘It’s so late now. Who would come here at this hour?’
“Who is it?” she asked vigilantly.
Hearing the knock, Yvonne sat up from Estelle’s arms and got out of bed. While running toward the door, she said excitedly, “It’s Dad! It must be Dad!”
When she came to the door, she stood on tiptoe, reached out her hands, grasped the doorknob, and turned it hard.
The next moment, the door was opened, and the dim yellow light in the corridor came into the dark room through the crack.
Estelle followed Yvonne out in a hurry, and she saw a narrow, long shadow on the floor.
As the door was wide open, she saw a familiar figure.
The man at the door stood with his back to the light with a golden halo around him.
Estelle could not see his face clearly, but she recognized his figure at a glance.
‘Is it you, Mr. Mysterious?’
She was stunned and even forgot to breathe.
There was a faint smell of the mixture of cologne and tobacco in the air, which smelled familiar to her. At this moment, Estelle felt as if she had returned to the day when Mr. Mysterious met her for the first time.
With tears streaming down her face, Estelle called the man in a trembling voice, “… Mr. Mysterious?”
Seeing Cristofer, Yvonne immediately held his legs and said happily, “Dad, hug me!”
Cristofer didn’t expect that the door would be opened so soon.
He had thought that Estelle would refuse to open the door for him, ask him to leave, and tell him that the person he should be with now was not her but Miss Wilson.
Before knocking on the door, he even devised many excuses to persuade Estelle to open the door.
Unexpectedly, while he was thinking about which excuse to use first, the door was opened, and he was pleasantly surprised.
He was about to call Estelle, but then he heard her call him, “Mr. Mysterious.”
She mistook him for Mr. Mysterious, the man whom she would keep in her heart all her life.
The cruel fact damped down Cristofer’s enthusiasm and joy, and he was bitterly disappointed.
With a darkened face, he bent down and picked up Yvonne. Then he closed the door and walked toward Estelle.
“Do I look like him that much?” he asked her in a deep voice.
Estelle was in a daze, thinking, ‘Cristofer, your voice is exactly the same as that of Mr. Mysterious.’
For a moment, Estelle was in a trance when she heard his voice. However, from the words he said, she knew that the man in front of her was Cristofer, not Mr. Mysterious.
Clutching her face in distress, she was unwilling to acknowledge that truth. Deep down, she yearned for Mr. Mysterious to be still alive.
Yet, she was painfully aware that her yearning would remain unfulfilled, forcing her to face the harsh reality.
“Dad, you came back late. Mom is very sad,” Yvonne said softly in Cristofer’s arms.
Cristofer walked into the room slowly with Yvonne in his arms and asked in a gentle voice, “It’s so late now. Why don’t you go to bed?”
“Dad, I’m worried about you,” Yvonne curled her tiny lips.
“Really?”
“Yeah,” Yvonne nodded. “Yohan said you’re a superhero who fights bad guys every day. I’m worried you’ll get hurt.”
When Cristofer heard this, his serious expression softened into a smile.
“Don’t worry. I’m very strong and won’t get injured. Look, I can hold you easily now,” Cristofer smiled at her.
“Mom’s worried about you, too,” Yvonne said, glancing back at Estelle, who looked uneasy. Then she whispered, “Dad, can you give her a hug, too?”
Her words made Cristofer and Estelle feel embarrassed.
Estelle took a step back in an instant. Obviously, she didn’t want to have any physical contact with Cristofer.
Cristofer looked in Estelle’s direction and felt a little frustrated, but he didn’t let it show. Instead, he gently told Yvonne, “Your Mom is a strong woman. She doesn’t need me to hug her.”
Yvonne didn’t fully understand what he had said but still nodded. It was already late at night, and it was time for her to go to bed.
Resting her head on Cristofer’s shoulder comfortably, she felt sleepy soon and closed her eyes slowly. After a while, she fell asleep with her little mouth slightly open.
“Have a seat, please,” Estelle, who had been silent all the time, suddenly talked to him in a low voice, “Would you like something to drink?”
Hearing her offer, Cristofer was flattered. He had anticipated that Estelle might be displeased by his unexpected arrival and show the same cold behavior she had earlier in the day.
He slowly sat down on the sofa in the living room, trying not to wake up Yvonne, who was sleeping soundly in his arms.
“No, thanks. I’m not thirsty,” he responded casually.
However, Estelle still gave him a glass of water and handed it to him.
“This is warm water. The temperature is just right. You have stomach problems, so you’d better not drink too much coffee and wine,” she reminded him after offering the glass.