Carefully, Cristofer picked up the coat that Estelle had set aside. He was cautious not to wake her up and gently draped the coat over her shoulders. However, the moment the coat touched Estelle’s back, she stirred, opened her eyes, and gazed at him with her large and bright eyes.
Their eyes locked, and Cristofer was momentarily taken aback, his heart racing. He suddenly felt embarrassed, remembering what he had said to Estelle earlier, and released his grip on the coat as if it were a bomb. He wanted to leave the study quickly, but Estelle halted him as he started to move.
“You came to see me,” Estelle said, her face breaking into a joyful smile.
Seeing the pleasant surprise on her face, Cristofer had a flashback to their youth when he used to leave birthday gifts for Estelle in her bag or the drawer of her desk. Her expression now mirrored the delight she had shown back then.
Subconsciously, Cristofer wanted to return Estelle’s smile, but the awareness of their current strained relationship made him adopt a cold expression. He replied, “No, I was just passing by.”
Estelle, not willing to let him off the hook so easily, picked up her coat and waved it in front of him, asking, “Then why did you come in and put this coat on me?”
Cristofer, feeling exposed, was momentarily speechless. He turned to leave the study, but as he reached the door, he stopped, swallowing uneasily. With a furrowed brow, he said, “It’s late. You should go to bed.”
“But I need to finish this project as soon as possible,” Estelle insisted.
“No matter how busy you are, you should prioritize your health,” Cristofer cautioned.
Estelle countered, “Then why don’t you take care of your own health? Eva mentioned that you often work late and sometimes even go without sleep for five consecutive days.”
“Don’t follow my example. I’m setting a bad one,” Cristofer admitted.
Hearing this, Estelle sighed and asked in a soft voice, “By the way, what are you going to do about Eva? I’ve been handling the company’s affairs for you lately, and Eva has been asking for a raise multiple times.”
Cristofer thought for a moment and then said, “Well, just give her the raise.”
“But if she has enough money, she might go to the border to look for her boyfriend. I’m worried that she won’t be able to handle the disappointment,” Estelle added softly.
“She will eventually find out about her boyfriend’s fate, and she’ll have to face it. We can’t keep hiding it from her,” Cristofer replied.
Estelle was still a bit concerned, but she ultimately nodded and said, “I understand.”
“Is there anything else?” Cristofer asked, brows furrowing.
“What?”
“If you don’t have any other tasks, you should go to bed now. I’ll take care of this project,” Cristofer suggested.
Looking at him disapprovingly, Estelle said, “You’re not as healthy as I am. You should be the one going to bed now. Besides, I’m not the type to leave my work unfinished. I want to learn about running a company through hands-on experience.”
Arching an eyebrow, Cristofer asked, “You want to learn how to run a company?”
“Yes. Would you be willing to teach me?” Estelle softly asked.
Cristofer couldn’t help but chuckle and said, “I don’t mind being your teacher once again. After all, I’ve been your teacher many times since you were a child. Back in junior high school, I used to tutor you in subjects you struggled with, and I even helped you practice your handwriting.”
Estelle retorted, “I practiced my handwriting with a copybook.”
“I was the one who bought the copybook for you,” Cristofer reminded her.
“But you didn’t actually tutor me,” Estelle pointed out.
“Didn’t I tutor you? I distinctly remember that you didn’t want to practice your handwriting back then and even went to my house to tell my parents. You were rather pleased when they scolded me because of it,” Cristofer recalled.
“That was because you were so strict at that time. You were even stricter than my teachers,” Estelle explained.
“Your teachers liked you and spoiled you too much,” Cristofer remarked.
“Did you like me too? Then why were you so strict with me?” Estelle blurted out, immediately falling into silence as she realized what she had said.
Estelle had been intelligent and beautiful since childhood, a bright star at school. Everyone liked her, and even her teachers rarely criticized her. It was safe to say that everyone around Estelle had been exceptionally kind to her from birth. Therefore, when Cristofer, who had always been gentle with her, became strict during handwriting practice, it almost made her want to break ties with him.
Curious, Estelle asked, “Why did you insist on making me practice handwriting back then?”
Cristofer smiled and confessed, “I did it out of selfishness.”
At that time, they were not in a romantic relationship, and Cristofer didn’t know whether Estelle liked him or if they would marry when they grew up. He tutored her in handwriting because he wanted her to think of him whenever she wrote.
After Cristofer finished his words, there was a moment of silence. They hadn’t talked to each other so gently for a long time, and the atmosphere was so cozy and precious for them.
Several seconds later, Cristofer broke the silence and changed the topic, “It was me who decided to go to jail before. It has nothing to do with you that I missed the chance to see Grandpa for the last time. And I’ve never blamed you for that.”
At the thought of Gary, Estelle felt a little sad, and the smile on her face faded a little. Thinking of something, she said, “You’ve compensated the stores for their losses caused by Victor’s stealing and gained their forgiveness. Does it mean that you didn’t have to go to jail?”
“Yes,” Cristofer nodded.
“Then why did you… turn yourself in?” Estelle paused and asked, “Is it because of me?”
“Sort of.”
“Did you want to redeem yourself by torturing yourself?” Estelle fired another question.
“Not exactly,” Cristofer said with a lowered head. “I know that no matter what I do, I can’t make up for the harm I caused you. Back then, you almost lost your life because of my reckless actions. What I went through was just a broken bone and the hardships of prison. It can’t compare to the pain and despair you felt.”
Estelle heard this but didn’t know how to respond.
“There’s another reason I turned myself in,” Cristofer admitted in a muffled voice. “I couldn’t bear seeing you and Victor so close. It hurt to see you two together.”
“Cristofer…”