Cristofer remained seated, observing Estelle as she rushed away, lost in his thoughts. When she returned, she had managed to calm herself, making sure her heart wouldn’t race over such a minor incident. However, her darting eyes gave away her true feelings.
“Ahem… Estelle.”
“Don’t say anything!” Estelle interrupted him anxiously.
“No, I…”
“I don’t want to hear your explanation.”
“You’ve got it all wrong. I was just…”
“For heaven’s sake! Can’t you just lie still for a moment? Why do you keep fidgeting when I’m wiping your face? And you can’t even stay quiet in bed.”
Cristofer fell silent, his gaze fixed on her blushing cheeks, thinking, ‘I was simply thirsty and wanted a sip of water. But your bashful demeanor is quite captivating.’
Mrs. Moorsum’s cheerful voice interrupted their moment, “Mr. Hans, Estelle, could you come downstairs, please? I’ve prepared breakfast for you. The ginger tea is still quite hot, so Mr. Hans can start with breakfast, and the tea can be enjoyed after.”
Estelle promptly left the bedroom and offered to assist Mrs. Moorsum, expressing her apologies, “I’m really sorry for making you carry so many things. Next time, please call me, and I’ll help bring the dishes.”
Mrs. Moorsum smiled warmly, reassuring Estelle, “No need to apologize. It’s part of my job. By the way, the kids are safely at school now, so you don’t have to worry about them. If Mr. Hans still feels unwell, I can prepare some pork chop soup for him at lunch. A patient needs nutritious meals to recover properly.”
Cristofer took this opportunity to act weak again and spoke softly, “Thank you, Mrs. Moorsum. Estelle must be tired from taking care of me, so please make something she enjoys.”
Estelle, not wanting to have a heavy lunch, said, “I think I’ll be fine with the soup. Mrs. Moorsum, maybe you could add some vegetables like potatoes to the soup for both of us. That would make it more nutritious.”
“No problem,” Mrs. Moorsum replied with a smile as she headed back to the kitchen to prepare the meal. Seeing that Cristofer seemed to be feeling better, Estelle suggested, “Why don’t you rest for a while? I have some work to attend to, and I’ll wake you up for lunch.”
Cristofer nodded appreciatively, “Thank you for everything.”
As the day went on, Estelle retreated to her study, expecting a flood of work emails. To her surprise, she found that Eva had everything well-organized and under control, with no pressing issues.
At noon, Mrs. Moorsum served a delicious pork chop soup. Estelle checked on Cristofer in the bedroom first, finding him struggling to sit up despite his weakness. She suggested, “Why don’t you stay here, and I’ll bring the dishes upstairs like we did yesterday.”
Cristofer agreed and settled back against the bed, just as they had done during lunch the previous day. Everything went smoothly, with no spills or accidents.
Suddenly, Luke’s voice echoed from downstairs, “Mr. Hans, I saw the delivery guy when I returned. He mentioned that there’s a package for you, so I brought it inside.”
Cristofer felt a sudden rush of anxiety when he heard Luke’s early return. He discreetly glanced at Estelle, fearing that she might use Luke’s presence as an excuse to leave and resume her work.
However, Estelle remained focused on cooling down the soup in the spoon and feeding Cristofer. She reassured him, saying, “I’ll check it for you later.”
In her mind, Cristofer was not one to shop online frequently, so she assumed it was a document or something work-related that Vincent had sent. Moments later, the sound of approaching footsteps indicated Luke’s arrival.
“Mr. Hans, what did you order? It’s so heavy; it nearly broke my old bones,” Luke exclaimed as he placed a large box, almost the size of a desk, onto the bedroom floor.
Cristofer, feeling a bit flustered, nearly choked on his soup. He hastily wiped his mouth with a tissue and began, “It’s…”
Before Cristofer could finish his sentence, Estelle was already intrigued by the large box. She set aside the bowl of soup and stood up to examine it more closely. Confusion filled her voice as she said, “This box is unusually large and securely wrapped with wooden strips. It looks like it contains something valuable. Wait, I hear a sound coming from inside!”
Estelle crouched down and pressed her ear against the box. After a moment of listening, she announced, “It’s alive, and it sounds like it’s distressed. Luke, do we have a claw hammer or something similar? We need to open this box immediately.”
Upon hearing that there was something living inside the box, Luke quickly left to fetch the necessary tool. He quickly removed the wooden strips securing the box, revealing a paper box with air holes and cushioning material inside. Within this paper box was a pet carrier.
With a sense of surprise, Estelle opened the carrier, and a tiny creature leaped into her arms. It was a baby Samoyed with soft, fluffy white fur.
Luke couldn’t help but exclaim, “Oh my goodness! What an adorable puppy! Its white fur is so charming, and it seems very friendly. Did you order it, Mr. Hans?”
Cristofer bent down, coughed to hide his inner heat, and said lightly, “Ugh, yeah. The breeder works faster than I expected.”
The dog liked Estelle very much, wagging its tail at her. And Estelle couldn’t resist the cuteness of a puppy and loved it. She held the dog, stood up, and said to Cristofer, “You have been sleeping a lot in these two days. The breeder couldn’t contact you even if they wanted to. Luckily, the puppy was delivered here safely and soundly. It’s so lovely. How could it be so energetic after a long flight? Look at its ears. They’re pink. And when it smiles, it looks like…..”
As if recalling something, Estelle suddenly stopped talking, and the smile froze on her face.
Luke asked confusedly, “What’s wrong, Estelle?”
Estelle shook her head, put her face on the dog’s little fluffy head, and touched its soft hair. Then Cristofer sighed and said, “Uncle Luke, I also bought some dog food and other things for the puppy. I guess they will arrive soon. Please help me put them away.”
Luke nodded and went outside.
‘The little Samoyed you had before was also quite attached to you.’ Thinking of that, Cristofer rubbed the puppy’s head and pulled Estelle to sit by his side. He said softly, “Do you want to give it a name?”
“I…. It left me before I gave it a name.”
“I’m sorry.” Cristofer’s heart bled for her. Feeling bad, he tried to comfort Estelle. “It’s all my fault.”