Cristofer, who had been up all night working, felt his temples throbbing as he thought about the children not wanting nannies. He said, “Tell the nanny candidates to wait in the living room. I’ll join them shortly.”
Meanwhile, five young women were seated in the living room, and Estelle was one of them. Estelle looked nervous and uneasy, unlike the other four candidates, who appeared confident. It wasn’t because she felt inferior to them but because she didn’t know how to face Cristofer.
‘What should I do if Cristofer asks the bodyguards to drive me away when he sees me? Should I say that I’ll leave after I see the children, or should I continue to stay here no matter what he says? Either of the choices will make me embarrassed. The most awkward moment in my life will come.’ Estelle thought as she nervously grabbed the hem of her clothes.
Suddenly, the sound of an electric wheelchair came. Estelle subconsciously looked in the direction of the sound and happened to meet Cristofer’s dark eyes. The moment Cristofer saw her, his eyes widened, and there was no love and gentleness but only surprise in them.
“Why is she here?” he asked in a hoarse voice, feeling that speaking these words had taken all his strength.
The other four candidates didn’t know who he was referring to, and they looked at each other in puzzlement. Finally, they followed Cristofer’s gaze, and all looked at Estelle.
Estelle had expected such an embarrassing moment would come. Plucking up her courage, she stood up, took two steps forward, and answered, “I’m here to apply for the job, and I was recommended by a domestic service agency.”
Estelle didn’t want to tell Cristofer that she got the interview through a favor from Luke, as she didn’t want to get Luke in trouble. However, Cristofer was perceptive and immediately saw through her weak excuse. He knew it was Luke who had helped Estelle, but he didn’t blame Luke because he understood that Luke did it for the sake of him and the children.
Without paying much attention to Estelle, Cristofer turned his focus to the other nanny candidates and said in a deep voice, “Hello, everyone. Thank you for coming. I’m looking for a nanny with strong qualifications. Please introduce yourselves one by one.”
Luke had expected Cristofer to be upset upon seeing Estelle and had prepared to mediate between them. However, seeing Cristofer remain calm, Luke breathed a sigh of relief and subtly encouraged Estelle with a wink.
Guiding his wheelchair past Estelle without a second glance, Cristofer picked up a résumé from the table and asked a candidate named Emily to introduce herself first.
Emily was an exceptional candidate-confident and enthusiastic. She had graduated from Norland College, known as a top-notch institution for training nannies. Graduates from this college were often hired by wealthy families worldwide.
Despite Emily’s impressive introduction, Cristofer found himself distracted. He knew he should be attentive, but he couldn’t help thinking about Estelle. He wanted to look at her and eventually did. In a moment of coincidence, as he turned to gaze at Estelle, she happened to be looking at him, too, and their eyes met once again.
Soon, the other four candidates finished their self-introduction. In this case, Cristofer had to let Estelle introduce herself even if he didn’t want to. Estelle then introduced her strengths clearly, logically, and briefly.
As a mother of three children, she didn’t place emphasis on introducing her educational background as the others did. Instead, she introduced how she usually dealt with different situations in the children’s daily lives. Only a person who loved children and paid much attention to the children could sum up so much experience. After listening to her self-introduction, the other candidates felt a sense of crisis.
After Estelle had finished talking, Cristofer gazed at her. It had been a while since they’d seen each other. He noticed that Estelle had lost weight and looked worn out, but her eyes still sparkled. It reminded him of when he used to say her eyes were like bright stars when they were together.
Realizing that he was immersed in memories between the two of them, he quickly snapped his mind back to reality and forced himself to calm down. Then he signaled Luke to settle the candidates in another place. After that, he carefully reviewed Estelle’s résumé, trying to find a reasonable reason to eliminate her.
Taking the hint, Luke said, “Ladies, please follow me to the reception room. We’ve prepared drinks and desserts for you. The result will come soon.”
The other four candidates did as he said while Estelle stood still. Looking around at the familiar furnishings of the villa, she was lost in thought.
Seeing Estelle standing there silently and Cristofer frowning tightly, Luke made a bold decision. ‘Even if I will probably be fired, I must do this,’ he thought. Then he quietly went to the playroom, opened the door, and said to the children who were playing games, “Your mother is back!”
Christina was the first to react to his words. Throwing the toy in her hand aside, she stood up at once and said excitedly, “Really? Mom is back so soon?”
Yohan was also overjoyed. At the thought that he was the family’s eldest child, he pretended to be calm and said as if he were a steady adult, “Grandpa Luke will never lie to us. Let’s go to see Mom!” After saying that, the three children rushed out toward the living room, hand in hand.
Estelle was in a daze in the living room when she suddenly heard the children call her.
“Mom!”
“Mom!”
Looking in the direction of the voices, Estelle was surprised to see the children and thought that it was Cristofer who finally agreed to let her see the children. When the children rushed over and held her, she quickly squatted down and held them in her arms.
Wrapping her arms around Estelle’s neck, Christina said sweetly, “Mom, I miss you so much. You’re finally back. I thought you abandoned us.”
“How is it possible I abandon you?” Estelle said in a choked voice as she caressed Christina’s head gently, the rims of her eyes turning red.
Holding Estelle’s hand, Yvonne said softly. “Mom, stay with us and don’t leave us anymore, okay?”
Estelle wanted to say that she would never leave them again, but as she was not sure whether Cristofer would let her stay, she just kissed Yvonne’s forehead and comforted her, “Good girl, I miss you so much.”
Yohan, who was nestling against Estelle, said gently, “Mom, I took good care of my sisters when you were not at home.”