Geoffrey lowered his head and chuckled, “Mr. Hans doesn’t want to be your heir or care about your properties. So, why don’t you choose Someone else as your heir? It’s…”
Before he could finish his words, Nelson interrupted him at once, “Someone else? Do you mean yourself? Stop daydreaming. I won’t choose a cripple as my heir!”
When Geoffrey heard such hurtful words, he twitched his lips, and the smile on his face disappeared in an instant. “Uncle Nelson, I was healthy and sound before, but you made me a cripple!”
“Yes, I’m the one who hurt your leg. But now you can’t walk well. Did I say something mean?”
“Uncle Nelson, I know I’m not as good as Cristofer, but I can still be a good successor. It’s clear that Cristofer is out of your control now. Why not consider me as your successor?”
Without thinking, Nelson refused him bluntly, “I can choose the perfect one, why pick someone imperfect?”
Geoffrey felt hurt by his words. He looked at Nelson and walked away.
“How dare you show such an attitude toward me?! Where are you going? Come back here!” Nelson yelled.
However, Geoffrey ignored him and left without even looking back at him. He thought, ‘Nelson, I’ve given you a chance. Since you don’t listen to me, then I’ll get what I want in another way.’
****
After leaving Nelson’s villa, Cristofer drove his car onto the coast road. It was so quiet in the car that Estelle and he could even hear each other’s breaths.
Sitting in the passenger’s seat, Estelle turned to glance at him secretly. Then, she looked down at the flowery patterns on her dress and stayed quiet.
After a while, Cristofer ended the silence by giving her a tissue. “Clean your face. Your makeup is messed up.”
Estelle took the tissue but didn’t use it. Her thoughts were all over the place. After some hesitation, she asked, “Did you tell Mr. Lopez the truth?”
Cristofer kept his eyes forward, feeling a bit anxious. “Do you want it to be true?”
“…”
“Could you accept that the person you love the most and the person you hate are the same?”
“I don’t know,” Estelle replied softly.
Hearing her answer, Cristofer chuckled and said, “I see. I’m glad you didn’t pull your hand away right away when I held it earlier.”
“We were just acting.”
“No, you weren’t. You genuinely believed I was Mr. Mysterious.”
Summoning her courage, Estelle turned to him and asked earnestly, “So, are you Mr. Mysterious or not?”
“What if I am? Would you forgive me and be with me again?”
“Answer me first!” Estelle said, tears welling up in her eyes.
“I’m not.”
“… What?”
“I’m not Mr. Mysterious,” Cristofer said gently, his face expressionless. “Uncle Nelson is a man who will do anything to get what he wants. I’m afraid he might get angry and harm you if you question him like that.”
“And then?”
“So I lied and told him I’m Mr. Mysterious to divert his attention away from you and onto me. He might just think I’m struggling with a mental issue again. If I hadn’t said that, I’m afraid we wouldn’t have been able to safely leave his place.”
Estelle’s heart sank.
“You can feel safe staying at the Hans’ Residence for now. I’ll arrange more bodyguards to protect you and the children. As for Uncle Nelson, I’ll handle him.”
Hearing this, Estelle sniffled but didn’t say anything.
“I’m not Mr. Mysterious. Are you disappointed?” Cristofer asked.
Shaking her head, Estelle answered, “I’m not disappointed. I’m relieved. If you were Mr. Mysterious, I wouldn’t know how to face you.”
Cristofer felt hurt by her words.
“Fortunately, you’re not him.” Estelle wiped away her tears and asked, “Has Mr. Lopez transferred all his properties to you?”
“Yes,” Cristofer sighed, replying, “For the past four years, I’ve been managing his properties for him.”
“But back then, he separated Mr. Mysterious from me and wanted Mr. Mysterious to be his heir.”
“Yes, you’ve mentioned this before.”
“I don’t think Nelson will need two heirs,” Estelle remarked.
“What are you trying to say?”
Taking a deep breath, Estelle asked, “So, you’re really not Mr. Mysterious?”
“No.”
“When you entered the villa, I thought I had correctly guessed that you were Mr. Mysterious. But then I wondered if you were just pretending to be him. So, I’m not sure if you’re him or not. By the way, you mentioned you could find the Malus Halliana tree. Were you lying about that too?”
“No,” Cristofer assured, “I can genuinely find it. I saw it a few days ago at the back of Mount Cloud.”
****
Cristofer woke up early the next morning and had a video call with Dr. Stewart.
“Dr. Stewart, I think my condition is getting worse.”
Dr. Stewart, woken up by the video call, was so tired that she struggled to keep her eyes open. Seeing Cristofer in a suit on the screen, she couldn’t help but feel a bit surprised.
Cristofer looked very attractive, but she just wanted to sleep right now.
She grabbed a glass of ice water and took a sip to wake herself up. Then she said, “Mr. Hans, it’s four o’clock now. You called me an hour earlier than last time.”
“I apologize for disturbing your sleep. I’ve transferred ten times your salary to you as compensation,” Cristofer said in a kind tone.
Rubbing her temples, Dr. Stewart, still looking drowsy, replied, “Mr. Hans, you’re young, but I’m almost fifty. No matter how much money you offer, I’d prefer to get some rest.”
“Okay, I’ll keep it short,” Cristofer said. “I suspect I have a split personality.”
“A split personality? What makes you think that?” Dr. Stewart asked.
With a slight frown, Cristofer explained, “The scenery on top of Mount Cloud and the Malus halliana tree in my dreams are real. I used to think it was because of the telepathy with the twins that I have my twin brother’s memories and dream about them. I thought he might still be alive. But now, I’m sure he’s not.”
Hearing this, Dr. Stewart was now wide awake and asked, “Are you sure?”
“Yes,” Cristofer replied confidently. “Estelle was with another man who loved her deeply after she left me. Not long ago, I found out that this man looked exactly like me and told her he was my twin brother.”
“No wonder she asked me about twin telepathy during our last phone call,” Dr. Stewart said, her face showing understanding.
“Yes, she had the same thought I did before. Yesterday, I met two people, and from their words and expressions, I’m certain that my brother is no longer alive.”