Hearing his words, Estelle was speechless. At the same time, she breathed a sigh of relief, thinking, ‘It turns out that there was Viagra in the soup, which means that Cristofer is also a victim.’
“How is Mr. Hans now?” Luke asked with a worried look.
“He…” Estelle averted her face, her cheeks flushed, and she stammered, “He’s… excited because of the Viagra.”
“Then you…”
“I unlocked the door with my brooch and came out before he lost control,” Estelle explained. She sighed and glanced toward the second floor with a worried expression. “Uncle Luke, it would be best if you could go upstairs and check on him.”
Luke offered an awkward smile and remarked, “Estelle, you haven’t really reconciled with Mr. Hans, have you?”
“We… we’ve gotten back together.”
“Don’t lie to me. It’s not just Old Mr. Hans; I can see it too. You two haven’t truly reconciled,” Luke said with a helpless tone.
Perplexed, Estelle inquired, “How did you see that?” Simultaneously, she wondered, ‘I played my part convincingly today, didn’t I? Both Alexander and Belle believed that Cristofer and I were a couple. How did Grandpa Gary and Uncle Luke see through it?
Luke sighed and responded, “When you and Mr. Hans were deeply in love, you were inseparable. Mr. Hans would keep his arm around your waist almost all the time as if he feared someone would snatch you away. But today, while you were cooking in the kitchen, he barely came close to you. He hesitated for a long time before entering. Furthermore, your conversations sometimes felt overly polite.”
Hearing that, Estelle nodded in silence.
“Estelle, have you not forgiven Mr. Hans?” Luke inquired. “He’s been struggling these past years, suffering from insomnia and sleepless nights. He’s tried various sleeping pills, but none of them seem to work.”
“But he has achieved success in his career. His business is much more successful than before,” Estelle countered.
Luke wore a distressed expression. “Yes, he has found success in his career, but that doesn’t necessarily mean he’s living a happy life. He works tirelessly as if work is the only way for him to forget his unhappiness. In the past few years, he’s turned into a workaholic, cold and distant from everyone, like a completely different person.”
“Ah…” A groan of pain from Cristofer echoed from upstairs once more.
“I’ll go upstairs to check on Mr. Hans first,” Luke decided.
As he finished speaking, a sweet voice came in from nearby. “Mom, I heard Dad’s voice. Is he fighting bad guys?” Yvonne, standing in her pajamas adorned with Pikachu patterns, rubbed her eyes sleepily, looking adorable.
“Oh, little Yvonne, why did you come out? It’s cold. You should go back to your room,” Luke fretted.
Yvonne, though clearly exhausted, remained stubborn. “No, Grandpa Luke, I’m worried about Dad. I want to see him.”
She then dashed up the stairs. Witnessing this, Luke hurriedly moved to stop her and gently picked her up. “You can’t go upstairs right now.”
“Why not?”
“Because… Because your father is fighting bad guys. If you go up there, he’ll get distracted.”
“I’ll just stand aside and do nothing to distract him. I really want to see him, Grandpa Luke. I’m worried that Dad will get injured,” Yvonne pleaded with an innocent expression.
Her words tore both Luke and Estelle. They couldn’t bear to refuse her, yet they had to.
“Grandpa Luke, Dad promised me that he would tell me stories every night. I’ll wait for him on the side. After he defeats the bad guys, I’ll let him tell me stories!” Yvonne insisted, attempting to free herself.
Now stronger than before, Yvonne nearly broke free from Luke’s grasp. He quickly held her tighter and suggested, “Your Dad is very busy. Let me tell you a story tonight, alright?”
“But Dad’s voice sounds like he’s in pain. He must have been injured. I want to go see him,” Yvonne persisted.
Observing Yvonne’s persistence, Estelle couldn’t help but smile and reflect, ‘It seems that Yvonne has inherited Cristofer’s character. They both share the trait of not giving up until they achieve their goals.’
Stepping forward, Estelle said softly, “Yvonne, be a good girl and listen to Grandpa Luke. I’ll go upstairs to check on your Dad.”
Yvonne finally relented and stopped struggling. She obediently rested her head on Luke’s shoulder and whispered, “Mom, take good care of Dad.”
“I will.”
With her cheeks slightly puffed up, Yvonne secretly kept an eye on the stairs with a worried expression. Luke then quickly took her back to the bedroom. At this moment, Cristofer’s groans stopped, and the house returned to silence.
‘Has the drug lost its effect?’ Estelle wondered.
After pouring a glass of warm water, she went upstairs slowly. When she gently pushed open the bedroom door, she saw that the big bed was in a mess and Cristofer was not there.
Then, she heard the sound of running water emanating from the bathroom. Through the frosted glass, she could see Cristofer’s shadow. The shadow appeared to be about half a person’s height, leading Estelle to conclude that he was sitting in the bathtub.
‘Fortunately, you didn’t fall to the ground again, Cristofer,’ she thought with relief.
Estelle waited outside for nearly an hour until the sound of water in the bathroom stopped. As the bathroom door swung open, she lifted her head and caught sight of Cristofer emerging, holding onto his left arm with his right hand for support.
When Cristofer spotted her, he was taken aback and instinctively halted his movements. “Weren’t you leaving?” he asked in a surprised tone.
Instead of responding, Estelle averted her eyes and extended a bath towel to him, saying, “Wrap yourself with the bath towel first.”
At the moment, Cristofer was wearing nothing.
“My hand hurts… I can’t do it myself,” he admitted, clutching his left arm tightly and wincing from the pain. “I didn’t mean to do anything to you just now. I don’t know what was wrong with me. Star, I don’t want to take advantage of you, but I really can’t wrap myself in the bath towel with only one hand. I…”
Closing her eyes, Estelle moistened her lips and instructed, “Um… Come here.”
“What?” Cristofer was taken aback.
“Come here,” Estelle repeated. Her closed eyes heightened her other senses, allowing her to hear Cristofer’s even-paced footsteps and the weight of his breaths.
Estelle had expected his body to be warm after the shower, but as he neared, she instead felt a chill.
“Did you take a cold shower?” Estelle asked in surprise. “Isn’t your arm painful? How could you take a cold shower when your arm hurts like that?”