With a sneer, Estelle put away her phone.
“I can get him to agree to meet Christina,” Cristofer suddenly uttered.
Hearing this, Estelle turned to him and asked, “How do you plan to make him agree to it?”
Cristofer replied in a gentle tone, “I have my own methods. You just need to tell me if you need my assistance.”
Estelle, with some reservations, shook her head and said softly, “Let’s discuss it later. I need time to think.”
‘Howard has changed a lot over the years. In the past, he used Rebecca to climb the social ladder and befriend wealthy people. However, over time, he became indifferent and lost his sense of morality in pursuit of fame and fortune.’
‘He doesn’t care about Christina anymore. Even if Cristofer uses his influence to make Howard agree to see Christina, Howard might not treat her kindly and could even say hurtful things to her. In that case, I’d rather not have Christina meet him.’
Understanding her concerns, Cristofer reassured, “Give me some time. I’ll make sure he voluntarily comes to see Christina.”
“Uncle, have you met my Dad?” Christina asked, overhearing their conversation.
Cristofer nodded and replied, “Yes.”
Christina’s face lit up, and she eagerly inquired, “Do I look like my Dad?”
The next moment, Cristofer fell into silence. Christina didn’t look like Howard. She looked more like her mother.
“Girls look more like their mothers than their fathers.” He didn’t answer her question directly.
“You are lying,” Christina retorted and pouted her lips.
“I’m lying to you. Yvonne looks like Estelle, doesn’t she?” Cristofer smiled, coaxing Christina.
Hearing this, Christina was a little stunned and then nodded slowly, thinking, ‘Yvonne indeed looks like Mom. She had Mom’s eyes.’
“But… I don’t look like Mom,” she said when thinking about her appearance.
“That’s because you haven’t grown up. As you grow up, you will look more and more like your Mom,” Cristofer said gently.
“Really? When I am at Yvonne’s age, I will look like Mom?”
“Yes. If you eat properly and be cooperative when receiving treatment, you will grow up soon, and maybe you will look more like your Mom than Yvonne does,” Cristofer said with a gentle smile.
After thinking about his words for a while, Christina chose to believe him. Then she turned her head and looked at Estelle, saying, “It’s good to look like Mom. She is the most beautiful woman in the world.”
Hearing this, Cristofer chuckled and remarked to Estelle, “This little girl is a bit contradictory. She’s hostile to others but really kind to you. It looks like you are perfect in her heart.”
Christina, brimming with joy, said with a radiant smile, “Once I’m better, I want to visit my Dad. I’ll ask him to take Mom and me to the amusement park. The three of us will take pictures together. Oh, and Yohan and Yvonne will come with us too. We’ll be a complete family.”
Neither Cristofer nor Estelle responded verbally. They both understood that while the success rate of the liver transplant was high, it was uncertain whether Christina would experience rejection or how she’d feel post-surgery. If all went well, they’d work on making Christina’s wishes come true.
Suddenly, Christina asked, “Uncle Cristofer, your name is Cristofer, right?”
Cristofer chuckled and replied, “Yes, that’s right.” He found her question amusing and unusual.
“Eh?” Christina blinked in confusion and turned to Estelle, asking, “Mom, didn’t you tell me that my Dad’s name is Cristofer? Is Uncle Cristofer actually my Dad?”
Both Estelle and Cristofer were stunned when they heard Christina’s words.
With mixed feelings, Cristofer turned his head to look at Estelle. With a frown, Estelle opened her mouth slightly as if she wanted to say something, but after hesitating for a while, she said nothing.
“Estelle, you…”
“What’s wrong?” Estelle blushed, slightly pursing her lips.
Cristofer was a little excited. He licked his lips and said, “Did you tell Christina that I’m her father?”
For a moment, Estelle didn’t know how to explain to him. “Um… It’s not what you think…”
With his eyes gleaming with joy and hope, Cristofer thought, ‘Estelle, is it because you’re afraid that Christina would feel disappointed when knowing that she doesn’t have the same father as Yohan and Yvonne that you told Christina I am her father?’
Cristofer looked at Estelle with contentment, then smiled and said, “In any case, I’m more than willing to be her father.”
After a moment of silence, Estelle decided to abandon the idea of explaining to Cristofer.
She had told Christina that her father’s name was “Christopher,” pronounced the same as “Cristofer.” If she revealed to Cristofer that Mr. Mysterious went by the name Christopher, he would likely become suspicious of Mr. Mysterious’ identity and try to find him. Mr. Mysterious had made it clear that he didn’t want anyone in the Hans family to know he was still alive. Estelle respected his wishes and kept his identity a secret. He had claimed to be lonely and had expressed a desire for nothing more than her. But now… he seemed to want nothing to do with her either.
Thoughts of Mr. Mysterious brought a bitter smile to her face. Seeing Cristofer still gazing at her, she fabricated an excuse and whispered, “I told her that you’re her father because she’s still young, and I…”
Cristofer interrupted before she could finish her sentence. He was so overjoyed that he momentarily forgot about the pain from his neck wound. He extended his hand slowly and said gently, “Christina, I’m your Dad.”
Christina was confused. Looking at Cristofer, she hesitated and then turned to pull the corner of Estelle’s clothes. “Mom, is he really my Dad?” she asked.
“Yes.”
Cristofer then chuckled and said, “Did you say that your father’s name is Cristofer? My name is Cristofer. If you don’t believe me, you can search for my name online. There should be a lot of information about me.”
Still dubious about his words, Christina said, “But…”
“What else are you doubting?” Cristofer asked gently. He took out his phone from his pocket and searched for his name on the Internet. The first news on the web page was that a financial magazine interviewed him, and he was on the magazine cover.
“You may have a look at this,” Cristofer said as he handed Christina his phone.
Taking the phone from his hand, Christina read the name carefully and then shook her head, saying, “My Dad’s name is not spelled like this.”
Raising his eyebrows, Cristofer asked, “Could you write down his name?” Then, he switched the text input mode to the handwriting input mode.
With a nod, Christina stretched out her finger and wrote “Christopher” on the screen. “Look, the first word of his name is ‘Ch’, not ‘Cr’.”