Estelle hesitated for a moment and then replied, “I… My name is Star.”
“That’s a lovely name.”
“Thank you,” Estelle responded politely.
Victor’s parents were delighted, both of them looking at Estelle with approval.
Deep in thought, Victor’s adoptive father quickly asked, “Star, Victor didn’t buy you from human traffickers, did he?”
“No,” Estelle replied, shaking her head.
Upon hearing her response, Victor’s adoptive parents let out sighs of relief. “That’s good, that’s good,” Victor’s adoptive father expressed. “Victor is a good boy. He’s very capable and has earned a lot of money in the city!”
Estelle didn’t know how to respond and simply nodded.
“Now that we see him living a good life, we can pass away without any regrets,” Victor’s adoptive father added with a smile.
Estelle asked, “Didn’t Victor give you money to see a doctor?”
Victor’s adoptive father waved his hand dismissively and sighed, saying, “He did. But both his mother and I are seriously ill. Victor always reassured us, saying that we could get better. However, we know our conditions are deteriorating, and we don’t have much time left. Our only wish was to see him married while we were still alive. Now that our wish has come true, we can pass away without regrets and find peace.”
Suddenly, the door swung open with a loud bang.
“Why are you here?” Victor asked Estelle as he entered the room.
Startled, Estelle turned to look at him and said, “Your mother took me here.”
Victor glanced at his adoptive parents, who were sitting on the bed, and then looked at Estelle with a hint of impatience in his eyes, “I didn’t tie you up because your wrists are injured. Stay here obediently. I’m more familiar with this area than you and can catch you easily if you run away.”
Even without his warning, Estelle was clear that she couldn’t escape. It was still light when they left the Grand Hotel of Hadale City. And now the sun was setting, which meant that this place was at least five hours’ drive from the hotel and was about three hundred kilometers away from Hadale. Since she was not familiar with this place, she didn’t know how to go back to Hadale at all. Moreover, if she ran away, Victor would be irritated and hurt her out of anger after recapturing her.
At this time, Victor’s adoptive father said in a hoarse voice, “Victor, don’t talk to your wife like that. Our family is so poor. It’s not easy for you to have a girl who is willing to marry you. Be good to her.”
Hearing this, Victor just sneered and didn’t say anything. Then he took out a tube of ointment from his pocket and handed it to Estelle, saying, “This blister ointment can heal blisters. Apply it to your wrist.”
Estelle was a little surprised and didn’t take the ointment immediately. “You…”
Shoving the ointment into her hand, Victor said irritably, “Cut the crap. Apply it to the blister, as I said.”
After saying that, he turned around, walked out, and shut the old wooden door with a bang.
“Star, please don’t worry. Victor may not be talkative or know how to make girls happy, but he’s a kind-hearted man,” Victor’s adoptive father quickly comforted her. Victor’s adoptive mother nodded vigorously in agreement.
Seeing their gestures, Estelle asked, “Did you go to the city for medical treatment?”
“Yes, we went to Hadale and the capital for medical care and have spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on treatments. Unfortunately, we didn’t see any improvement. Victor works hard for his money. He doesn’t have a high level of education, so he does manual labor. We don’t want him to keep spending his earnings on us, so we decided to stop the treatments.”
Estelle had mixed feelings and didn’t know how to respond. She found it challenging to judge Victor’s adoptive parents. On one hand, they were the ones who bought Victor, indirectly causing him to be separated from his family for over thirty years. On the other hand, they treated him as their own son and cared deeply for him. ‘Perhaps Victor has both love and resentment towards them,’ she pondered.
“Well… Mr. Fox, can I call you that?” Estelle asked.
“My last name is not Fox but Brooks. Victor knows he’s not our biological son, so he chose the name Victor Fox.”
“When did he find out?” Estelle asked.
“When he was around six years old. Nobody told him, and we’re not sure how he found out. Star, Victor is incredibly intelligent and capable. He can earn money to support you and provide a good life. We owe him a lot. If we hadn’t bought him back then, he wouldn’t have endured so much hardship over the years. He may hold us responsible for buying him…”
Estelle reassured them, “He won’t blame you.”
“Sadly, we won’t be here for much longer, so there’s no need to lie. Star, Victor is truly a good man. He’s kind-hearted and responsible.”
“I see,” Estelle said, thinking, ‘I don’t know what kind of person Victor is, but I’m sure that he has almost lost his will to live.’
Previously, Estelle had wondered why Victor didn’t show up and take revenge on the Hans family until this year. After seeing his adoptive parents, she understood everything.
In the past, even though Victor was living a hard life, he didn’t lose his will to live because he had to work hard and earn money to support his family and pay for his adoptive parents’ treatments. If he went to take revenge on the Hans family and had an accident, his adoptive parents, who were seriously ill, could only wait to die.
But now, his adoptive parents couldn’t be cured and would die soon. Victor didn’t have to live for them anymore, and all he wanted was revenge. He would take revenge on the Hans family even if it would cost his life.
After talking with Mr. and Mrs. Brooks for a while, Estelle walked out with the ointment in her hand and saw Victor. Standing in the small yard, Victor was looking up at the sky across which the sunset was making great splashes of fiery opalescence. Seeing him, Estelle wanted to say something but stopped on second thought.
Noticing her coming out, Victor said in a deep voice, “I will let you go, but not now.”
“Why did you decide to let me go?” Estelle asked.
Hearing her question, Victor chuckled and said, “Is there anything wrong with it? Don’t you want me to let you go?”
Walking up to him, Estelle said in a soft voice, “You hate Cristofer so much, and I’m Cristofer’s ex-wife. I thought you would…”
“What did you think I would do? Rape you and then kill you?” Victor asked.
“I didn’t expect you would buy me the ointment.” Estelle suddenly said, looking at him.