Chapter 568: That’s Wonderful

Book:Honey, Love Me One More Time Published:2024-6-2

Cristofer waved his hand and replied, “No need. I assume Eva has already asked her. I can check with Eva later.”
While Vincent held a higher rank than Eva as a special assistant, he wasn’t as meticulous as Eva. To make up for the oversight, he shifted the conversation to discuss Yvonne and Christina. “Yvonne might seem innocent, but I think she’s quite clever and resembles Mrs. Hans.”
He informed Cristofer that Yvonne had given Don an Iron Man toy and said, “When I was her age, I only knew how to get into fights with kids I didn’t like. I understood the importance of being friendly but didn’t know how to solve conflicts or think comprehensively.”
Cristofer nodded with satisfaction, reminiscing about the time he had spent with them before Estelle and the children moved out. Yvonne was the most delicate of the three. She appeared gentle and had a preference for cute and non-aggressive things, which led Cristofer to treat her like a fragile flower and provide her with extra care. He hadn’t expected that this little girl would face hardships with such resilience.
The more Vincent shared about their experiences at the kindergarten, the more enthusiastic he became. “Oh, by the way, Christina is quite a spirited girl. Nobody dares to bully her because she can stand up to anyone who tries to make fun of her. However, she also follows her brother’s lead and wants to protect her sister.”
Suddenly, Cristofer pictured the three children standing together against a common adversary. He nodded and commented, “That’s wonderful. They won’t be lonely because they’ll look out for each other.” Then, a thought of his estranged biological brother and their tumultuous history crossed his mind.
Vincent noticed Cristofer’s brief distraction and quickly raised his voice, steering the conversation back on track. He took out his phone and shared a few pictures from the kindergarten, saying, “Mr. Hans, the kindergarten teachers took some photos of the kids. I almost forgot to show them to you.”
Cristofer picked up Vincent’s phone and looked at the photos on the screen with a soft smile as the phone beeped.
“Mr. Hans, this is taken when they played basketball. And this….” Vincent waved his hands up and down to describe what happened vividly.
“I am a bad father,” Cristofer said when he saved all the photos.
Hearing that, Vincent didn’t know how to comfort him, so he could only say, “I think you are good enough. The parents in other rich families only let the babysitters take care of their children. They barely look after them.”
“You are not a father, so you won’t understand,” Cristofer shook his head with a bitter smile, “Compared to Estelle, I almost did nothing. Is she all right, by the way?”
Previously, Cristofer had wanted to check in on Estelle’s well-being, but he hesitated to call or email her directly. However, after Vincent brought up the topic, he reassured Cristofer, “No need to worry. Mrs. Hans is doing really well. Look at this picture; she’s full of energy playing games with the kids. Also, the Hudson Group’s jewelry has been a big success recently.”
Cristofer expressed concern, “I hope she’s not overworking herself.”
Vincent quickly eased his concerns, saying, “You don’t have to fret about that. I played games with her, and I felt like she was even stronger than me. We won because she could hold onto my hands…” He paused momentarily, realizing he might be touching on a sensitive subject.
With a hint of jealousy, Cristofer asked, “She held your hands?”
Ignoring the jealousy, Vincent continued cheerfully, “Well, technically, she held my wrists! She didn’t actually touch my hands. When we went to collect gifts from the teachers, some of them even thought I was the children’s father. But I quickly corrected them, so there’s no misunderstanding.”
Vincent began to speak more quietly, realizing something was off. He glanced at Cristofer and noticed his boss seemed jealous. Trying to ease the situation, Vincent said cautiously, “Mr. Hans, there’s no need to feel upset about this…”
Cristofer smiled and gestured dismissively, “I understand.”
Vincent breathed a sigh of relief, but he still felt a bit uneasy. “Alright, that’s good…”
“But I must admit, it does bother me a little.”
Vincent’s face turned red, and he stumbled over his words, not sure if Cristofer was joking.
Cristofer, however, clarified with a more lighthearted tone, “Just kidding. Now, let’s get back to business.” He handed Vincent a document and continued, “Tell the HR department to expedite the employee transfers. We can’t delay the process any longer, especially with the significant impact of the South African raw stone business on us.”
Finally, Vincent knew that Cristofer had already chosen the employees who were going to be assigned to Africa. When he saw some newly promoted staff, he said in relief, “Rest assured, I won’t make any mistake.”
Cristofer nodded absentmindedly, suddenly thinking of something and touching his phone screen. Vincent happened to see the soothing photo of Estelle and the children playing games from the corner of the screen.
Vincent had been watching them for a few years, so he sighed and wanted to persuade him. “Mr. Hans, I don’t think Mrs. Hans will shut you out forever. I’m sure you can clear up your misunderstanding as long as you can directly explain everything to her.”
“If only it could be so easy.” Cristofer shook his head with a bitter smile, feeling guilty, “Besides, I don’t know what to do because I have caused her too much pain. If there is no way that I can make up for her, I think I’d better set her free. She can do whatever she wants and go wherever she wants, and all I want to do is to watch her secretly.”
Then Vincent offered some advice to him. “Mr. Hans, you can’t think it through because you are in the middle of it. In our view, neither of you have moved on. If you don’t care about each other, you will act like strangers instead of constantly worrying about each other.” Although Estelle never mentioned Cristofer to him, Vincent saw her eyes soften when Yvonne told Don that her father was like a superhero. So, he reached a conclusion like this.
“Does she worry about me?” There was a hint of hope in Cristofer’s tone as he asked Vincent.
“Of course. But you have to be more proactive,” Vincent answered carefully.
Cristofer rubbed his temples wearily. “I’m afraid…. I’m afraid that only I think in this way and that I will push her further away from me if I take action to win her heart back.” After a pause, he asked, “Vincent, have you been in a relationship before?”