Then Estelle gave out a cold laugh with anger. ‘Do these two decide to skip work together?’ Then, she shot a dubious glance at the bedroom on the second floor. At the moment, Estelle was naturally suspicious because Cristofer had recently done many weird things to make her stay with him. Therefore, she suspected that Cristofer had told them not to answer her call. But his miserable look didn’t seem to be fake.
Estelle frowned slightly. ‘Is this your new way of making me stay, Cristofer?’
Estelle had already been late for work. She couldn’t make it to the morning meeting even if she flew there now. After sighing and groaning, she could only go to the guest room and turn on the computer to work from home. After she had prepared everything, it was almost time for her to check Cristofer’s body temperature. Then she quickly ran to Cristofer’s bedroom, asking, “How do you feel now?”
“I’m fine,” Cristofer said weakly. He drew out the thermometer and gave it to her. “I’m all right. You can go to work. If you don’t go now, you will be late. I don’t want you to miss work because of me. I can…. Ahem! Ahem!”
A fit of coughing seized Cristofer when he wanted to persuade Estelle, and even his face turned red. Biting her lips, Estelle stared at him as if she wanted to make sure whether he was faking it.
When Cristofer finally stopped coughing and lay back to the bed, he frowned and looked miserable, his face pale. With a sigh, Estelle took a dubious look at the number on the thermometer, which was 37. 5. Then she suddenly became worried. ‘Although the temperature isn’t too high, you have a fever.’
Thinking of that, she said, “I told Mrs. Moorsum to make some ginger tea for you, and you need to take medicine and sleep after drinking it.”
“It’s just a fever. I’ll be fine,” Cristofer assured Estelle. He tried to sit up and take a sip of water as she had suggested. However, as he reached for the glass, a sudden coughing fit overcame him. He had to cover his mouth to muffle the loud coughs, making Estelle worry that he might cough too hard.
Estelle didn’t want to leave him alone in his condition, so she stayed nearby. She watched Cristofer drink ginger tea and take his medicine, then returned to the guestroom to get some work done. Nevertheless, she frequently checked on him.
Thankfully, despite his illness, Cristofer remained calm and didn’t make a fuss. He lay in bed quietly, unable to sleep due to discomfort. Whenever Estelle visited, he would smile and reassure her, saying, “Don’t worry, I’m usually very healthy and will recover soon.”
Estelle suggested, “You should rest more,” and placed a glass of warm water on the bedside table. Although she wished someone else could take her place, Luke, Vincent, and Eva seemed to have vanished. Left with no other option, Estelle continued to care for Cristofer, even though she felt a bit overwhelmed.
She would pause her work, put her phone down, and go to Cristofer’s room to check on him regularly. Cristofer eventually fell asleep after a brief conversation, possibly due to exhaustion. Estelle watched him sleep and couldn’t resist touching his face to check his temperature, but she quickly withdrew her hand, realizing he felt unnaturally warm. Her heart sank, and she thought, ‘His fever must be higher than 37. 5 degrees now.’
Estelle looked around Cristofer’s room, searching for ways to help. She noticed the empty glass on the bedside table and decided to fetch some hot water.
Coincidentally, Mrs. Moorsum had just prepared ginger tea and was planning to take it upstairs. When she saw Estelle, an idea struck her. “Estelle, could you please take the ginger tea upstairs? I’m busy in the kitchen making soup, and I need to keep an eye on it.”
“Sure, you can give it to me. Mrs. Moorsum, can you prepare something light and easy to digest for lunch? Cristofer isn’t feeling well, and I doubt he can eat much.” Estelle quickly found a tray and placed the glass of water and the ginger tea on it, her actions appearing completely natural.
Mrs. Moorsum responded promptly, “Don’t worry. I’m making chicken soup for Mr. Hans.”
With the tray in hand, Estelle headed upstairs. Cristofer had awoken, feeling parched. He had sat up with the intention of going to the bathroom to freshen up but lay back down when he heard footsteps outside his door.
“Good, you’re awake. Mrs. Moorsum prepared some ginger tea for you. Have a sip,” Estelle said softly as she placed the tray on the bedside table. “You need to eat a bit more to regain your strength and fight off the cold.” She talked gently and persuasively, as she often did when reassuring her three children.
Cristofer was touched by Estelle’s caring gesture. He cleared his throat and weakly remarked, “Ahem. Ahem. Why have you come here again? I’m really fine. You should get back to work. By the way, did Vincent talk to you about the documents? I need him to bring them to me.”
Estelle responded with a hint of frustration, “You’re human, not a machine. Do you want Eva to start thinking you’re mean like before? You should take a break today. Consider it a day off.”
Cristofer appeared somewhat bashful, his face reddening. He reclined and said, “Alright. How about you?”
Estelle replied, “I’m fine. I don’t have much to do today.” She thought to herself, ‘This is the first time we’ve spent time together so peacefully since I moved out. Even though we’re not talking much, it’s a comfortable silence. It’s almost like… well, an old couple.’
Soon, it was time for lunch. After putting the chicken soup and other dishes on the table, Mrs. Moorsum went upstairs and said to Estelle, “I need to go out now, Estelle. I might come back in the afternoon after I buy some groceries. Please take care of Mr. Hans while I’m gone. I’m sorry to bother you.”
“It’s okay. I have asked for a leave anyway,” Estelle replied. Then she turned around to look at Cristofer and sighed after thinking for a few seconds. ‘Cristofer, you look so weak now, and your legs are still injured. Maybe you shouldn’t go downstairs.’
With that in mind, Estelle put away her draft with an outline on it and went to the study room to take out the bed tray that hadn’t been used for a long time. A while later, she returned to the bedroom and said to Cristofer, who looked confused, “You are still too weak. You can have lunch in the bedroom. I’ll take the dishes upstairs.”