Luke smiled and said, “What I feel doesn’t matter. But Mr. Hans really misses you and always smokes at night.”
‘Did he start smoking again?’ Thinking of that, Estelle raised her head to look at the second floor, but no one was there. She suddenly thought of the emails he had sent her a few days ago, so she asked Luke, “Does he always stay up late? Now I finally realize how tired he has been. But he’d better sleep early if he can. Otherwise, he will be drowsy the next day.” Though Estelle still wanted to say something, she blinked and realized she should stop now in case she made a mistake again.
“Mr. Hans always says he can’t fall asleep,” Luke said, shaking his head, but then understood what Estelle meant. “Estelle, have you also started working? I heard that the Hudson Group was doing well.”
Estelle smiled genuinely upon hearing Luke’s words. She replied, “We’re making progress, and I believe things will get better.”
Luke had known Cristofer and Estelle since they were students and had watched them grow. He almost considered Estelle as his niece, so he felt proud of her achievements. He smiled and said, “That’s fantastic news. It brightens up my day.”
“Thank you,” Estelle responded, keeping an eye on her three children who were running around. She turned to Christina and said, “Christina, slow down. Remember how long you cried last time when you fell on the lawn?”
While Christina and Yvonne continued to run around energetically, Yohan quickly caught them, one girl in each hand. He looked at them seriously and said, “Mom says you should stop.”
In an excited but soft voice, Yvonne responded, “I know. Where’s Dad? Hasn’t he woken up yet?”
Luke smiled and explained, “He woke up a while ago, but he’s working with Uncle Vincent right now. I’ll ask him to come outside later.”
Estelle had mixed feelings upon learning that Cristofer had started working so early. She lowered her head and suggested to the children, “Let’s go inside. Grandpa Luke might get tired from standing.”
Influenced by Estelle, the three children were considerate and respectful towards the elderly, so they walked ahead with small, careful steps, excited about the fact of seeing their dad.
As they entered the living room, Luke suddenly patted his head and exclaimed, “I haven’t informed Mr. Hans yet. He might not even know that you’re here.”
Estelle hesitated and replied, “It’s okay. We’ve been here many times before. He can continue working for now.”
Luke continued, “Usually, I’d go tell him to come downstairs, but his arms have been aching a lot lately, especially in this bad weather. It’s hard for him to move around. Estelle, why don’t you let him know the kids are here? I’m sure he’s eager to see them.”
At that moment, the children were already sitting on the sofa, eagerly discussing the fact that their dad was still on the second floor. Christina shook Estelle’s arm and urged, “Mom, you should go.”
Yvonne quickly added, “Yeah, Dad must really miss us!”
Estelle felt a bit awkward and turned to Yohan, asking, “Why don’t you go tell Dad?”
Yohan glanced at his sisters and replied, “I need to help Uncle Luke take care of the girls. They said they were hungry and wanted a snack. Mom, I’ll take them to the dining room.”
Luke, hoping for more communication between Estelle and Cristofer, stood up quickly and encouraged her, “Estelle, you can go on your own. I’ll check the kitchen to see if the cookies are ready, and I’ll bring some here if they are.”
Before Estelle could make up her mind, the four of them had already headed directly to the kitchen, leaving her alone in the spacious living room. She stood there, gazing at the staircase that led to the second floor, contemplating whether she should go up.
Meanwhile, Cristofer had returned to his seat in front of his desk and resumed reading the next page on the website.
On the other hand, Vincent had brewed a cup of tea and asked, “Mrs. Hans likes black tea the most. Would you like some?”
“No, thank you. I prefer coffee,” replied Cristofer.
“Alright, coffee it is,” Vincent acknowledged. He prepared a cup of Blue Mountain coffee and carefully placed it before Cristofer.
Cristofer would never bury his head in the sand, but Estelle could easily break down his guard and disturb him. Thinking again and again, he reached his hand to the cup and wanted to drink some coffee to calm himself down.
As Cristofer extended his hand towards the coffee, Vincent had the urge to caution him about the hot temperature, but before he could utter a word, Estelle knocked on the door and asked, “Cristofer, are you busy?”
‘When was the last time I heard Estelle’s voice?’ Cristofer wondered, lost in thought, as he accidentally knocked over his coffee cup.
Vincent wanted to help but couldn’t move quickly enough. He rushed to Cristofer, causing the hot coffee to spill onto Cristofer’s lap, and the cup broke when it hit the ground.
Hearing the commotion from inside the room, Estelle opened the door without hesitation. She gasped and asked, “What’s happening?”
“Hello, Mrs. Hans,” Vincent said enthusiastically, trying to ease the embarrassment.
Estelle nodded at him and then turned her attention to Cristofer. “What happened to you?” She carefully looked at the broken cup pieces and noticed his wet pants. She wanted to get a tissue to help, but Cristofer declined her offer and used a tissue to clean up the spilled coffee himself, clearly in discomfort.
When she touched his pants, Estelle noticed something was wrong and exclaimed, “The coffee is hot! Why didn’t you say anything?” After a brief pause, she firmly added, her eyes welling up, “You need to remove your clothes and apply some burn ointment to your legs.”
“No, I’m fine,” Cristofer couldn’t take his eyes off Estelle’s face and sadly wondered, ‘How did you become so thin? Have you been eating well, or have you been too busy with work?’
“Are you sure?” Estelle gave Vincent a suspicious look, but he clenched his teeth, determined not to reveal the truth. He silently thought, ‘I just brewed that coffee. It was scalding hot.’
“Yeah, I can manage,” despite the intense pain from the hot coffee scalding his legs, Cristofer remained composed and said, “Just hand me my cane.”
Estelle looked at the cane and then back at him, saying, “Sit down. We can help you.”
Estelle firmly urged Cristofer, leaving him with no choice but to signal Vincent for help. However, Vincent seemed preoccupied, staring at the ceiling, so Cristofer reluctantly asked, “Vincent, can you give me a hand?”