After a brief silence, Estelle finally broached the question that had been on her mind for a while, “Cristofer, please tell me the truth. Are you Mr. Mysterious or not?”
“No,” Cristofer replied firmly.
“But Justin claimed that you are Mr. Mysterious,” Estelle countered.
“He’s my good friend, and he’s on my side. He said that because he wants you to come back to me,” Cristofer explained.
“But he’s also friends with Mr. Mysterious. He even pretended to be Mr. Mysterious before. On my way here, I thought about it carefully. There aren’t many people who know Mr. Mysterious. Only Justin, Ron, Mr. Lopez, and Geoffrey know his real identity. So, I think what Justin said might be reliable,” Estelle expressed her doubts.
Cristofer countered, “Uncle Nelson also knows Mr. Mysterious. Justin claims I’m Mr. Mysterious, but Uncle Nelson says I’m not. Whom do you believe?”
Estelle admitted with a pained expression, “I don’t know. I really don’t know. I’m not even sure if the Mr. Mysterious I saw in the Rose Garden is real. He knows a lot about our past, like the dog we had and the name I gave it. But his personality and temperament are completely different from Mr. Mysterious. Compared to him, you…” She paused abruptly.
Cristofer questioned, “Me? What’s wrong with me?”
Looking at him, Estelle replied, “You resemble Mr. Mysterious more than him. Your temperament, your voice, and the way you speak are similar to Mr. Mysterious.”
Cristofer chuckled and said, “Did you forget that you said you’d love Mr. Mysterious no matter who he is, as long as he’s not me?”
Estelle fell silent.
“If I were truly Mr. Mysterious, would you come back to me? The man you deeply love is the one who caused you immense despair. Can you accept it?”
“I… Even though I don’t hate you anymore, I might not be able to accept it if you were Mr. Mysterious,” Estelle confessed.
“Estelle, there’s no need to worry about this. I’m not Mr. Mysterious. I’ve been working on making myself appear more like him lately. My ability to learn and imitate is quite remarkable, so it’s only natural that you might think I resemble him.”
Staring into his eyes, Estelle asked cautiously, “Are you sure?”
Cristofer, wearing a soft smile, gently pushed a strand of her hair behind her ear and reassured her, “Yes, Estelle, trust me. All you need to focus on is that in three days, you’ll be back with Mr. Mysterious.”
As they continued their conversation, they reached the orthopedics department. Cristofer took a deep breath outside the doctor’s office and smiled, “I can go in alone. Wait for me here.”
Estelle hesitated but eventually agreed, “Okay…”
“Listen,” Cristofer whispered gently, “You kissed me in the doctor’s office just now. Keep it a secret, and don’t let Mr. Mysterious find out.”
After finishing his words, Cristofer went into the doctor’s office. When Estelle saw him walk with a slight stoop, the rims of her eyes turned red.
Cristofer had always been high-spirited, confident, and vigorous in her heart. But now he was humble and self-abased. A few days ago, he could pick her up easily and let her sit on his shoulder. But now his arm was severely injured, and he couldn’t even take care of himself.
‘Cristofer, who on earth hurt you? Both you and Justin refuse to tell me the truth. Are you trying to cover up for the one who broke your arm?’
Many things had happened in the past few days and made her confused.
Beep! Beep! Beep! While Estelle was lost in thought, her phone beeped.
‘Estelle, are you awake? Why didn’t you reply to my message?’ A message from Impostor Mr. Mysterious came again.
After reading the message, Estelle checked the time. It was only seven in the morning.
Feeling a bit tired, she sat on a bench outside the doctor’s office and sent a short reply, ‘Yes, I’m awake.’
Impostor Mr. Mysterious quickly responded, ‘Were you asleep when I texted you last night?’
‘Yes.’ Estelle replied briefly, not really interested in chatting with him.
He continued, ‘You didn’t reply to my message. I thought you regretted it and didn’t want to come back to me.’
Estelle, not wanting to prolong the conversation, replied, ‘I’m busy right now. Let’s meet and talk in three days, okay?’
Instead of texting, Impostor Mr. Mysterious decided to call her directly.
In the quiet hospital corridor, Estelle’s phone rang suddenly. She considered ignoring the call but changed her mind and rushed to the stairwell to answer it. “Hello, Sir.”
Impostor Mr. Mysterious asked, “Estelle, it sounds like you’re in a quiet place. You’re not at home, are you? Where are you?”
His tone made Estelle feel like he was interrogating her, but she decided to be honest. “I’m at the hospital.”
“Oh, for Christina’s surgery, right? What did the doctor say? Is there a good chance of her surviving?” Impostor Mr. Mysterious asked.
“I’ll do my best to help her survive,” Estelle replied, determined.
“Okay. Remember, come to me in three days. We’ll return to the Hans family together, and I’ll take back what’s rightfully mine.”
Estelle felt something was off. She frowned and asked, “What do you mean by ‘take back’?”
“The Hans family’s assets,” Impostor Mr. Mysterious answered coldly. “I’m a Hans family descendant, so I have a right to a share of the family’s wealth. Besides, you were married to Cristofer before. Since you’ve divorced him, you’re entitled to half of your shared property and shares in Cristofer’s company. With our combined shares, we’ll become the largest shareholder, and Cristofer will have to follow our orders. He hurt you, and I’ll help you make him pay!”
Estelle was bewildered by his words and asked, “… Sir, is this really what you want?”
“Or what? Isn’t this also what you want to do? Don’t you want to take revenge on Cristofer for what he has done to you? I know you are kind and don’t have the heart to do that, so I’ll do it for you. Believe me. I’ll make him get his retribution…”
“I don’t need you to do that for me!” Estelle interrupted him with a growl. “Sir, tell me, are you going to do that for me or the properties of the Hans family?”
(Impostor Mr. Mysterious then answered her with a chuckle, “Of course it’s for you. It is for you that I want to take everything away from Cristofer. I’ll make him suffer so you can vent your resentment.”
“What if I don’t want to take revenge on him? I just want to live a simple life in the future,” Estelle stated bluntly.