Looking at the children, Estelle asked in a soft and low voice, “Let’s go back to sleep, okay?” However, the three children were sleeping soundly, and no one heard her. In this case, Estelle had to quietly wait for them to wake up, and she considerately buttoned their coats.
The temperature at night was low. When the wind blew, it became colder here. As there was nothing Estelle could use to shield the children against the wind, she wrapped her coat around Yohan who was bending over the wooden table, and then held Yvonne and Christina more tightly in her arms. But she was still worried that the children would catch a cold if they slept here for a long time.
‘Should I wake up the kids? Although it doesn’t feel good being woken up while sleeping, it is better than catching a cold.’ While she was hesitating, a pair of big hands came into view and then took the two little girls away from her arms.
All of a sudden, Estelle was wide awake and raised her head. When she saw Cristofer, she was surprised. “… Cristofer?”
“Mm,” Cristofer replied to her as he let Yvonne and Christina lie in his arms so that they could lie more comfortably. He had been fixing his eyes on the two girls and didn’t look at Estelle.
Seeing him sitting in the wheelchair, Estelle asked in confusion, “How did you get here?” There was no elevator to the top floor of the villa, and the stairs to the top floor were steep and narrow. Thinking of a possibility, she asked in disbelief, “Did you walk here by yourself? How can you walk in such a condition?”
She had secretly inquired about Cristofer’s condition with Luke. Both Cristofer’s legs were badly fractured, and what happened in the forest half a year ago delayed the treatment, so it would take him a long time to recover. Walking before recovery would make his condition worsen and was of no good.
After finishing her questions, she wanted to check on Cristofer’s legs and reached out her hand. But when she was about to touch his knees, she suddenly stopped and then withdrew her hand.
“Sorry. I was too anxious,” Estelle said. Looking at Cristofer’s legs, she found that his trousers were a little loose for him, and she almost cried out. ‘Cristofer, you used to be in good shape. Back then, When you played soccer on the soccer field, you could always attract the attention of many girls. But now, you’re confined to a wheelchair. Your legs used to be muscular, but now they are so thin.’
“I’m fine,” Cristofer said in a flat tone, his eyes showing a subtle disappointment. His response brought Estelle back to reality. Cristofer had expected Estelle to show some concern for him, but when he saw her pull her hand away, his hope faded. He couldn’t help but think with a touch of self-mockery, ‘Cristofer, what were you hoping for? Don’t expect anything. Estelle doesn’t love you anymore.’
Hearing his words, Estelle nodded slightly. She glanced towards the stairs and asked, “Did Uncle Luke help you get here? Do you want to go back to your room? How about I help you go downstairs?”
Cristofer remained expressionless and didn’t answer her question directly. Instead, he said, “You can go back to sleep. I’ll take care of them.”
Despite the limited time he spent with Estelle and the children, Cristofer paid close attention to their well-being. He had observed how busy Estelle had been during the funeral and understood her exhaustion.
“Let me take care of them. It’s not convenient for you to go downstairs with the children in your arms,” Estelle suggested softly, concerned for both him and the children. “How about this? I’ll wake Yohan up and have him look after his sisters. Then I’ll help you return to your room first, and…”
Before she could finish her sentence, Christina, disturbed by their conversation, frowned and buried her head into Cristofer’s coat. Estelle and Cristofer fell silent and only resumed talking when Christina had fallen back asleep. This time, they lowered their voices.
Estelle wanted to continue speaking, but Cristofer whispered, “I can’t fall asleep and want to spend more time with the children here. You may go back to sleep now.”
Estelle hesitated, wanting to express her concerns but fearing that mentioning Cristofer’s injured legs repeatedly might hurt him. Instead, she focused on watching the children sleeping soundly.
Cristofer, on the other hand, gazed at Estelle with affection as if he wanted to etch her image into his heart. When he noticed her about to turn and look at him, he averted his gaze, quickly hiding his true feelings.
“You can rest assured,” Cristofer deliberately said in an indifferent tone, with a cold and serious expression. “I’m the children’s father. I will take good care of them.”
Estelle wasn’t sure how to convince Cristofer, so she reluctantly followed his order. As she headed towards the stairs, she couldn’t help but glance back at Cristofer and the children. When she reached the first floor, she thoughtfully considered discussing Cristofer’s health with Luke once again.
‘It’s tiring and dangerous for Cristofer to walk up the stairs alone in such a condition. I need to tell Uncle Luke to stop him from doing such dangerous things in the future.’
Thinking about it, Estelle went to Luke’s room. His room door was shut, and there was no light underneath. Estelle figured Luke was still working and hadn’t returned to his room, so she left to find him elsewhere.
Since it was late, there were only a few places Luke could be. Estelle decided to check these places one by one. On her way, she ran into a servant who had just finished work and was heading to her room.
Estelle stopped the servant and asked, “Do you know where Uncle Luke is? I need to talk to him.”
“Uncle Luke?” The servant seemed puzzled and pointed at Luke’s room. “Uncle Luke went to bed shortly after dinner. He had a busy day and went to sleep early today. Mrs. Hans, if it’s not urgent, you can talk to him tomorrow.”
“Okay, thank you,” Estelle replied politely.
Estelle couldn’t help but wonder, ‘If Luke went to bed early, who helped Cristofer reach the top floor? Did Cristofer go upstairs alone in his wheelchair? That must have been painful for him…’ She felt a mix of emotions.
For a moment, she had the urge to rush to the top floor and hug Cristofer. However, she remembered that Cristofer didn’t want to see her, so she abandoned the idea and returned to her room feeling down. Opening her room door, she caught a glimpse of light coming from Cristofer’s nearby bedroom.