She grabbed her handbag from the bedroom and asked, “I’m heading to work now. When do you have to start your work?”
Her question momentarily caught Cristofer off guard. He had been accustomed to working around the clock, often losing track of his regular work hours.
“Uh… around half-past nine,” he replied, sounding somewhat hesitant.
“Okay, there’s still some time,” Estelle replied as she hurried to the door, slipping into a pair of black high-heeled shoes. “Please take care of Yohan for a while. My mother should be back soon. You won’t be late.”
“Wait a moment. I’ll drive you to work,” Cristofer interjected as she was about to rush out.
“No, thank you. I’ll take a taxi. It’s more convenient.”
Just then, Aurora returned with Yvonne.
“Mom, give me a hug!” Yvonne sweetly requested, opening her arms when she saw Estelle.
Seeing Yvonne’s cute face, Estelle couldn’t help but smile and bent down to pick her up.
“Mom, are you going out?” Yvonne pouted and asked with a hint of sadness in her voice. “Will you come back very late again? Will the bad guys kidnap you again?”
Understanding that Yvonne was still worried about her late return, Estelle reassured her gently, “No, I’ll come back early today. Don’t worry.”
“Okay!” Yvonne nodded and said, “Mom, don’t be afraid of the bad guys. I’ll ask Dad to protect you. Dad is very strong. He can defeat all the bad guys!”
Estelle chuckled at Yvonne’s adorable response and said, “Be a good girl at home. I’ll be back soon, okay? Now, I have to go.”
Yvonne nodded obediently but still looked unhappy.
Seeing her like this, Estelle felt guilty and let out several sighs.
Suddenly, Cristofer took Yvonne away from her arms.
Yvonne had been three years old and was a little heavy.
Estelle had to use both of her hands to carry Yvonne, while Cristofer could easily hold her with just one arm.
“Just concentrate on your work today. I’ll take care of the children,” Cristofer declared.
Estelle’s eyes widened in surprise upon hearing this. She asked, “Aren’t you going to work?”
“Yohan is growing up. I’ll take him to the company. He’s my only son and will take charge of the company in the future. It’s necessary for him to become familiar with the environment of his future company,” Cristofer explained.
“Then what about Yvonne?”
“She’ll go with us. Don’t worry. I’ll take good care of her and won’t let her out of my sight for even a second.”
When Yvonne heard that she was going out with Cristofer that day, she cheered happily.
Yohan, who heard their conversation, rushed out of the bathroom and said in excitement, “Dad, are you going to take me to save the world?”
“Wash up first and then have breakfast,” Cristofer said, pointing at the food on the table.
“We’ll go after breakfast, right?”
“Yes, we’ll go after breakfast.”
Overjoyed, Yohan immediately ran back to the bathroom to wash up.
Standing at the door in a daze, Estelle felt Aurora gently patting her shoulder.
“Don’t worry. Cristofer is their father. He’ll keep the children safe,” Aurora suggested, smiling at her.
“But I’m worried that he can’t take good care of the children,” Estelle said, her expression filled with concern.
“Yohan is eight years old and can take care of himself. As for Yvonne, I’ll instruct Cristofer on how to look after her,” Aurora reassured.
Despite the reassurance, Estelle’s worry lingered. After a brief pause, she continued, “I’ll personally explain to him the dos and don’ts for taking care of Yvonne. Well…”
Before she could elaborate, Cristofer had already walked over to the table, carrying Yvonne in his arms, and seated himself.
He patiently fed Yvonne half a bowl of cereal and an egg, and then he ate the remaining cereal in the bowl.
Yohan finished his breakfast promptly and then rushed to his room to change into his clothes. Soon, he emerged, all dressed and ready to go.
With Yvonne in his arms and holding Yohan’s hand, Cristofer left the hotel in a good mood. Estelle trailed behind them.
Cristofer’s Maybach was parked conspicuously outside the hotel.
As soon as they stepped out of the hotel, Yohan spotted it and exclaimed, “Dad, your car is over there!”
“How do you know that’s my car?” Cristofer was surprised.
“I saw you drive this car before. Eh? The license plate number is different from before.” Yohan stated, looking confused. He still remembered that Mr. Mysterious’ license plate number was 0826.
And Estelle’s birthday was on August 26th.
Upon hearing Yohan’s words, Estelle glanced at the license plate number and noticed that it was a random combination of numbers and letters, lacking any particular meaning.
Feeling extremely excited when thinking about the trip today, Yohan looked out of the window curiously all the way.
Cristofer drove Estelle to the Hudson Group first. When the car stopped at the gate of the Hudson Group, he got out of the car, opened the car door for her, and said gently, “If York comes to make trouble again, just call me. My phone number hasn’t changed. You know that.”
However, Estelle was visibly worried, her gaze fixed on the two children still in the car. It was clear she wasn’t really listening.
Understanding her concern, Cristofer reassured her, “You can rest assured. I won’t take them away from you. I will send them back to the hotel in the evening.”
Estelle looked at him with relief and said, “Okay. Keep your word.”
“No matter what I want to do, I won’t use my children,” Cristofer smiled.
With doubt and distrust in her eyes, Estelle looked at him silently for a long time.
Being stared at by her like this, Cristofer didn’t feel uncomfortable at all and just stood there calmly.
After a long while, Estelle, who was about to be late, finally agreed to let Cristofer take the children away and hurriedly said, “Yvonne didn’t eat much this morning. She needs a snack at about ten o’clock. She usually drinks hot milk with honey. Yvonne is as picky about food as you are. She won’t drink it if you don’t add honey to the milk. Feed her some fruit at about four o’clock in the afternoon. She likes to eat grapes and watermelon but don’t let her eat too much, or she will have diarrhea…”
She provided Cristofer with a list of instructions and then asked worriedly, “Have you remembered all of them? Do you need me to text you a written version of them?”
“I’ve remembered everything,” Cristofer assured her with a serious tone. “You can trust me.”
Taking a deep breath, Estelle then walked into the company slowly, occasionally glancing back at the two children.
Waving goodbye to her, Yohan and Yvonne watched her until she was out of sight.
“Dad, will Mom meet the bad guys again?” Yvonne asked with a frown, clearly concerned about Estelle’s safety.
“Perhaps,” Cristofer replied as he opened the car door, carefully securing both children back into their car seats and fastening their seat belts.
He continued reassuringly, “But don’t worry, Yvonne. I’ll protect her and make sure no one can harm her.”