“I must punish him and let him pay the price,” Impostor Mr. Mysterious said coldly.
“But you were willing to give up everything and let go of the past and go abroad to live a peaceful and simple life with me…”
“That was in the past, Estelle. As I said, people change. I used to want to live a simple life with you. But now it is not what I want. Why can Cristofer have everything, but I can’t? He monopolized the family properties of the Hans family, and you gave birth to three children for him. We are brothers. Why can his life be so perfect and happy, but I can only live an ordinary life and have to hide all the time?”
Hearing his words, Estelle felt a chill all over and couldn’t utter a word.
“Estelle, don’t be too softhearted. Listen to me. You don’t have to do anything. I’ll get even with Cristofer for you…”
“Enough is enough!” Estelle couldn’t stand it anymore. “Sir, I have something to do now. Let’s talk about it three days later. I’ll hang up.” Before Impostor Mr. Mysterious could say anything else, she hung up the phone quickly.
The voice on the other end of the line was so familiar, but every word that Mr. Mysterious said made her feel that he was a stranger to her. She couldn’t believe that Mr. Mysterious, who used to be gentle and kind, would plan to take the properties of the Hans family.
Back then, when they were in urgent need of money, Mr. Mysterious sold all his cars to raise money instead of coveting others’ money.
‘What has happened to him in the past years? What is wrong with him? Time can really change everything. Mr. Mysterious has changed. Cristofer has changed. And I have also changed. I should hate Cristofer and cut off all ties with him. But just now, when I saw him in great pain and trembling all over, my heart ached… Why was I worried about him?’ Estelle pondered.
“Oh, there you are,” Cristofer said, surprising Estelle as he said from behind her.
Estelle turned and saw him in the corridor nearby. His left arm was in a cast, and he had a sling made of gauze wrapped around his neck to support his arm.
Changing her mood, Estelle sniffled and walked towards him. “Are you done?”
“Yeah,” Cristofer replied casually. “Let’s go get the kids. We promised Christina we’d take her to the theme park today. She’s having a liver transplant surgery tomorrow, so let’s make her wish come true before that.”
“Sure,” Estelle agreed with a nod.
Because their MV Agusta motorcycle was too attention-grabbing, and there were many people and cars on the road at this time, they decided to take a taxi home to avoid drawing too much attention.
When they returned to the Hans’ Residence, the children were having breakfast, and Luke was looking after them. Yohan had just finished a dessert, and Gary was brushing crumbs off his clothes thoughtfully.
Seeing Cristofer and Estelle return, Gary said, “You’re finally back. The kids missed you. You two promised to take them to the theme park today. But when they woke up and came to your room, they couldn’t find you. They thought you had forgotten and had gone to work.”
“We didn’t forget. Estelle wanted to learn how to ride a motorcycle. Since there are fewer people and cars on the road in the morning, we went out early, and I taught her,” Cristofer explained.
“Riding a motorcycle is risky. Oh, Cristofer, what happened to your arm?” Gary asked, noticing that it was in a cast.
“I accidentally bumped into something yesterday, and it caused my arm trouble again. It’s not a big deal, don’t worry,” Cristofer reassured.
Hearing this, Yvonne rushed over and looked up at her Dad, asking, “Daddy, does it hurt?”
Cristofer couldn’t help but smile seeing her teary eyes, and he shook his head. “No, it doesn’t hurt,” he said gently.
Yvonne then leaned in and gave his injured arm a gentle blow, saying, “It won’t hurt after I blow it.”
“Thank you, sweetheart,” Cristofer replied.
“Yohan, Christina, come here, and let’s all blow on Dad’s arm together. He won’t feel any pain afterward!” Yvonne invited Yohan and Christina.
Yohan immediately set aside his half-eaten dessert and ran over with Christina. Since Christina was younger, she couldn’t run as fast, so Yohan ran slowly and held her hand to keep her from falling.
The three children stood before Cristofer, puffed up their cheeks simultaneously, and blew on his injured arm.
“Dad, get better soon,” Yvonne said, leaning in to gently kiss his plaster. “I want you to give me one of those ‘fly-up-to-the-sky’ hugs.”
Estelle quickly interjected, “Yvonne, your Dad’s hand is seriously hurt. I’m afraid he won’t be able to lift you up like that in the near future.”
Yvonne’s eyes welled up with tears. “Dad…”
“It’s not that bad; don’t make her worry,” Cristofer said, gently patting Estelle’s hand. Then he turned to Yvonne and promised, “Okay, I promise I’ll get better soon and give you that ‘fly-up-to-the-sky’ hug.”
Still worried, Gary asked, “Cristofer, is your injury really not serious?”
“It’s not serious, Grandpa. Don’t worry.” Cristofer said.
“I don’t believe you. You never tell me the truth when you are injured. I’ll ask Estelle about it.” Gary snapped. Then he looked at Estelle and asked, “Estelle, is he seriously injured or not? Tell me the truth.”
Licking her lips, Estelle shifted her gaze to avoid eye contact with him and said, “The wound has been bandaged. He will be fine in a few days.”
“Okay,” Gary nodded and let out a sigh of relief. “So, you’ll be looking after Cristofer during these days. I’m getting too old to be of much help.”
“Grandpa, please don’t say that…”
“It’s alright. You don’t need to console me. I’m aware of my health. This year’s birthday party might be my last. After I’m gone, Cristofer will have no family left. I hope you two can stay together and love each other for the rest of your lives. Estelle, stay by Cristofer’s side always and never leave him, okay?”
Estelle hesitated for a long moment, biting her lip without saying anything.
Seeing her like this, Cristofer smiled and said, “Grandpa, please don’t talk like that. You’ll live a long life and watch the kids grow up. With you caring for them, Estelle and I will have more time to enjoy our marriage.”
Gary chuckled upon hearing his statement and said, “Haha, alright, you two enjoy your marriage as you wish, and I’ll look after my great-grandchildren. I feel relieved hearing what you said. Honestly, I’ve always worried that Estelle might not forgive you for your past and leave you after I’m gone.”