“After we go down the mountain, you must go to the hospital to have your hand bandaged and have an injection against tetanus,” Estelle suggested softly.
“Estelle,” Cristofer called her name gently.
“What’s up?”
“How have you been these years?” Cristofer asked. Then he saw a sad look appear in Estelle’s eyes.
“Neither good nor bad. When I heard the news of Mr. Mysterious’s death, I broke down and lost my will to live. But thinking about the children and my mother, I told myself that I couldn’t die and must be strong. Now I’m just living for them,” Estelle said calmly.
Cristofer looked at her in surprise and clenched his hands subconsciously when hearing her words.
“Estelle, you…”
“I know you are not Mr. Mysterious,” Estelle said with a bitter smile before Cristofer could finish his words. “I know you are Cristofer. Actually, I heard what you just asked me,” Estelle said softly. “Thank you for saving me today. Mr. Mysterious also saved me once when Mr. Klein wanted to hurt me before. That day, he was all in black and wearing a helmet, just like you riding a motorcycle, and went to Mount Cloud.”
“I know he will never come back to me. I always felt that the time we spent together was like a wonderful dream. And when I woke up from the dream, everything about him disappeared from my life. I will never forget that he helped me through the hardest time in my life. I will never forget the days when we were together. Now, I only hope he can be happy. As long as he can live a happy life, it doesn’t matter whether I can see him again or not.”
Cristofer listened to her quietly as he slowly took off his helmet and casually put it on the motorcycle seat.
Looking at the motorcycle, Estelle asked, “Did you just buy the motorcycle today?”
“Yes, I bought it this morning.”
Estelle then remembered that by the time she got up in the morning, Cristofer had left the Hans’ Residence.
“Were you okay last night?” she asked.
“I was fine. Why do you suddenly ask such a question?” Cristofer looked at her.
“Um… Uncle Luke said that he added aphrodisiac to the soup. Did you leave last night to… find someone to help satisfy your need?” Estelle stammered in embarrassment with her head lowered.
“What do you want to know?” Cristofer asked in reply.
“I’m not trying to pry into your privacy. I’m just worried about you.”
Hearing this, Cristofer smiled and said, “I had calmed down by the time I left the bathroom last night.”
At the thought that he had fallen in the bathroom, Cristofer felt embarrassed and explained to her, “My arm was seriously injured before, and the sequela is that it would hurt badly on rainy days. Last night, I fell in the bathroom accidentally because the sudden sharp pain made me lose my balance. I’m usually fine when the weather is good. Don’t take me as a disabled person who can’t take care of myself.”
Without saying anything, Estelle grabbed his left wrist and rolled up his sleeve.
When she saw his forearm full of bruises, she was shocked and asked, “What have you done to your arm?”
“I pinched it last night.”
“Why? Because it hurts too much?”
“No,” Cristofer said as he lowered his head slightly and looked at her. “The aphrodisiac was too strong, so whenever I felt I was about to lose control of myself, I would pinch my arm as hard as I could. The pain could help restrain my impulses.”
Hearing this, Estelle gasped. “To restrain yourself, you pinched your left arm?”
“Yes,” Cristofer nodded and said with a smile. “This method worked well.”
“Then where did you go last night?”
“I stayed in the room and didn’t leave until about five o’clock. Then, I made a video call to my psychiatrist and talked about my condition with her. I’ve not been in a good mental state and suffering from serious insomnia recently. But unexpectedly, I fell asleep without taking sleeping pills last night. And I dreamed…”
Estelle asked, “What did you dream of?”
“I dreamed of this place, the top of Mount Cloud,” Cristofer said in a deep voice, “It’s so strange that I’ve never been here before, but the scenery here is almost the same as that in my dream.”
“Both my psychiatrist and I think it’s incredible,” Cristofer chuckled while looking at her.
“You really have never been here before, have you?” Estelle asked.
“No, not even once.”
“I see.”
“You can’t believe it either, right? It’s really hard to believe that there is such an unusual coincidence.”
“Could you introduce your psychiatrist to me?” Estelle suddenly asked him.
Cristofer’s smile disappeared when he heard this. Then he asked with a worried look, “What’s wrong? Are you suffering from a mental problem as well?”
“No, I’m fine.”
“The kids…”
“The kids are fine too. I just want to consult her about something.”
“For the sake of Mr. Mysterious, right?” Cristofer immediately saw through her.
Estelle licked her lips and nodded. “Yes.”
With a bitter smile, Cristofer said, “You are so blunt and never hide your concern for Mr. Mysterious in front of me.”
“It’s better to be honest and make everything clear from the beginning in case of any misunderstanding,” Estelle explained.
“Misunderstanding? What do you think I will misunderstand? You think I will misunderstand that your kindness to me is because you still have feelings for me? Or do you think I will misunderstand that it’s because you still care about me that you agreed to cooperate with me and act in front of Grandpa?”
Hearing this, Estelle sighed and said, “Why do you have to…”
“Never mind,” Cristofer said and forced a smile. “At least by saying them out, I can remember well that your kindness to me is just because of another man so that I won’t have the unrealistic expectation that you will come back to me in the future. Did I say anything wrong? Why are you so silent?”
Estelle lowered her head and said, “Because I don’t know what to say.”
“You don’t have to say anything. I know what you think. I can understand that you don’t want to be with me again. I did too many things wrong in the past, and now I have to face the consequences. Estelle, I’m willing to do anything as long as you forgive me, even if you ask me to die.”
“I don’t want you to die. Instead, I hope you can live well. Grandpa Gary needs you. Your employees also need you. Whether it’s for them or yourself, you should cherish your life,” Estelle said in a soft voice.