“Then, why did you decide to set it three days later?” Justin asked in confusion.
“I promised Christina that I’d take her to the amusement park and spend time with her before her operation. And Estelle will be busy looking after the kids. If I’m not there with them, I’m worried that York might cause trouble, and Estelle won’t be able to handle it,” Cristofer explained.
Justin nodded and said, “Those things will only take two days. What’s your plan for the third day?”
Cristofer replied, “I’m going to meet the impostor, Mr. Mysterious.”
Justin was stunned, “What do you want to do? Confront him?”
Cristofer shook his head, “I have some questions for him.”
****
It was at night. In the bedroom of the Hans’ Residence, Estelle tossed and turned on the big bed, unable to fall asleep.
At first, she thought that it was because she had met Mr. Mysterious again and was so excited that she couldn’t sleep. But later, she found that it was because of Cristofer. Somehow, the scene where Cristofer lay weakly in the room of their previous marital house, where she used to live for four years, kept running through her mind.
She still remembered that when she saw Cristofer, he immediately covered his arm with the quilt and that Justin said Cristofer’s arm was severely injured. Thinking about this, she turned over and looked out of the window. The sky was clear and studded with stars, and the moon was full and bright.
‘Cristofer is so powerful and has a high social status now. Who on earth dared to hurt him? Did someone sneak an attack on him? It looked like Cristofer knew who hurt him, but he didn’t intend to take revenge at all. What happened to him?’
Estelle’s mind was in a mess. She thought about it for several minutes but couldn’t figure it out. Then, out of the blue, her phone buzzed, which was quite unusual on this quiet night and caught her off guard.
‘Are you asleep?’ A message from Impostor Mr. Mysterious came.
When Estelle picked up the phone, the second message from him came.
‘Estelle, I can’t fall asleep. I miss you.’
Estelle held her phone, unsure of how to respond.
She thought, ‘What should I say to him? Should I just reply with ‘I miss you too’?’
In the last few years, Estelle had been longing for Mr. Mysterious. She missed his comforting hugs, his deep and husky voice, and the subtle scent of cologne he wore. However, when she saw Mr. Mysterious today, she didn’t feel as thrilled as she had expected.
She didn’t have any romantic feelings for him anymore. When she was with Mr. Mysterious in the past, she used to express her love and attachment to him openly. But now, she couldn’t find any sweet words to say to him.
‘Estelle, the starry sky is so beautiful tonight. Every time I see the twinkling stars, I’ll think of you. Will you come to see me in three days? Whether you will come or not, I will wait for you here.’
After reading the messages, Estelle gave up the idea of replying to him. ‘Forget it. Just let him think that I’m asleep.’ She thought and turned off her phone directly. Then, the big bedroom recovered to its quietness.
Estelle couldn’t manage to fall asleep after tossing and turning for a while. She sat up, switched on the bedside lamp, and glanced at the empty spot beside her with the pillow and bed sheet neatly arranged.
A few days ago, when she moved here, she was hesitant to share a room with Cristofer. In her heart, she still considered herself Mr. Mysterious’ wife, and it felt inappropriate to share a bed with another man. Estelle struggled to fall asleep after a lot of tossing and turning. Finally, she sat up and switched on the bedside lamp. She gazed at the empty space beside her, where the pillow and the bedsheet lay flat and smooth, without any wrinkles.
A few days ago, when she had moved here, she hesitated to share a room with Cristofer. In her heart, she still saw herself as Mr. Mysterious’ wife, and sleeping in the same bed with another man didn’t feel right. However, now she found it difficult to sleep without Cristofer next to her.
Scratching her hair irritably, Estelle thought, ‘Did I fall in love with Cristofer again after playing an affectionate couple with him?’
Then she shook her head violently.
‘No, that’s impossible. Cristofer was so cruel to me before. How is it possible that I fell in love with him? But since I don’t love him, then why do I keep thinking about him tonight?’
The more she thought about it, the more confused she was. Later, she fell asleep and had a lot of dreams, most of which were about her happy past with Mr. Mysterious.
However, in her last dream, Mr. Mysterious suddenly becomes Cristofer. With his face pale, full of blood and pain, he held her hand and said in a pleading tone, “Estelle, promise me that you will never leave me. Promise me…”
Estelle was jolted awake by a vivid dream. When she opened her eyes, she realized it was already morning. She got out of bed and pulled back the curtains, allowing the morning sun to stream into the room, filling it with warmth. It was at that moment that she truly felt fully awake.
“Ah, reality isn’t any better than the dream. Four years ago, I parted ways with Cristofer, who once vowed to protect me forever but ended up hurting me. And just yesterday, Mr. Mysterious, who used to be so kind to me, turned irritable and impatient. Both of them have changed so much from how they used to be. Time is incredibly cruel; it changes everyone,” she reflected.
Suddenly, a faint cough from the garden below interrupted Estelle’s thoughts. She peered down and was surprised to see Cristofer.
Cristofer was still dressed in the same black suit he had worn the day before. His left arm hung limply at his side, wrapped in thick bandages.
“Cristofer…” Estelle softly called out his name.
Upon hearing Estelle’s voice, Cristofer paused. He hid his injured left arm behind his back and put on a faint smile as he gently replied, “Did I wake you up? I’m sorry.”
Estelle asked, “What are you doing out there?”
“I couldn’t sleep, so I went for a walk,” Cristofer explained.
Estelle questioned, “Why didn’t you come back to the bedroom?”
Cristofer shook his head and replied, “You were already asleep when I returned. I didn’t want to wake you up.”
Estelle asked further, “When did you come back? How long have you been outside?”