“No,” Estelle replied with red eyes, shaking her head. She reached out to find a tissue to wipe her face, and before she could grab one, Cristofer had already placed a tissue in front of her. She thanked him with a stuffy voice before taking the tissue. “Thank you.”
Estelle had been through a lot that morning, and she didn’t have time to put on makeup. Despite her long crying session, only her eyes and nose were a bit red.
Cristofer watched her wipe away her tears and stop crying. He finally asked, “Can we start over, Estelle?” Holding her hands, he continued tenderly, “Let’s pretend that today is the first day we met. Let’s work hard and live happily together. We can raise the children, Neptune, your mother, and even Uncle Luke together. Nothing bad will happen in the future. Do you want to live a simple life with me, Estelle?”
“But what about Victor? How can we live a normal life with him still around?” Estelle frowned.
“He hasn’t caused any trouble recently. After Gretchen passed away, I don’t think he has any other means to threaten us,” Cristofer replied. “I’ll find a way to deal with him. We’re family, so I can’t treat him like I did with Gretchen and Uncle Nelson.”
Estelle hadn’t heard those names in a long time, so she asked, “How is Mr. Lopez doing now?”
“He’s very old, and he doesn’t have much time left,” Cristofer said.
“You never told me about that,” Estelle sighed. “I don’t know what to think about him. He did help you in the past, but if it weren’t for him, we might have moved abroad four years ago.”
Cristofer couldn’t forget the horrifying car accident that happened years ago on a rainy night. He thought, ‘If Uncle Nelson hadn’t interfered in our lives, I might have lived happily with you in another country under a different name. Maybe that would have been the best outcome for me.’
Estelle asked, “Do you want to go visit him?”
Cristofer shook his head and replied, “You don’t need to worry about that. I’ll handle everything.”
Hearing that, Estelle nodded silently. They hadn’t sat down and talked like this for a long time, and she enjoyed the calmness in the air. She had always longed for an ordinary life, but her fate seemed determined to give her a roller-coaster ride.
Cristofer noticed her smile and asked, “Why are you smiling?”
“I’m smiling at my fate. It’s ironic,” Estelle replied. She reached out to pet Neppy with a contented smile. It was clear that she felt much better than before.
Cristofer asked with a wry smile, “You still can’t forgive me?”
“It’s not about forgiveness.” Estelle looked at the dog and then at the carpet, avoiding eye contact with Cristofer. After crying for a while, she didn’t feel as overwhelmed, but she still couldn’t completely let go of the past.
As Estelle didn’t directly refuse him, Cristofer suddenly felt hopeful. He comforted her softly, saying, “I don’t want you to forgive me. It’s enough that you don’t hate me. I can wait for you even if I have to wait for you for the rest of my life.”
Estelle felt restless when she thought about the past.
“I’m willing to do this, so please don’t take it as a burden for you.” Cristofer had never been a humble man, but he couldn’t be more patient when he said those words, which reminded her of the time when they were still affectionately in love. He was just like this before. He looked cool on the outside but kept rambling on like a grandma, telling her not to eat this and not to do that.
Estelle sighed and asked, “Do you know what kind of life I want?”
“I thought I knew it before, but I’m not sure now. I’ll help you achieve the life you want,” Cristofer answered with determination.
Estelle blushed when she heard that, ditching his hand and turning around to think about it. ‘Should I forgive you? Should we start all over again? Maybe it’s never a difficult question. I had the answer long ago, but I’m unsure about the future. I was a fearless young girl, but now I’ve become an ordinary person who thinks about all kinds of things. And… Wait a second. Why do I feel something is weird?’
Slightly frowning, Estelle asked Cristofer in confusion, “Wait a minute. Why do you suddenly become so energetic? Weren’t you so weak that you couldn’t even get off the bed?”
Finally, Cristofer realized he had forgotten to act weak around Estelle. When he tried to figure out how to fix this, Estelle started suspecting him because his acting wasn’t convincing.
Then Cristofer coughed, turned red, and looked at the curtain. After a moment, he admitted, “I couldn’t get out of bed earlier, but when I saw you, I suddenly felt better. Ahem. Ahem.” He coughed to prove he wasn’t lying.
“Wow, I didn’t know I was more helpful than medicine,” Estelle joked to him, “Maybe I should change my job.”
In the past few days, Estelle had been too worried to notice that Cristofer was pretending to be sick. When she finally realized something was off, she felt deceived and wanted to push Cristofer away. But she didn’t push too hard when she touched his arm.
Cristofer didn’t dare to ask her to stay, so he looked at her sincerely, like Neppy, and said, “Estelle, I can’t live without you.” Feeling guilty, he didn’t know how to explain, so he spoke his mind.
Estelle was touched by his words. She knew everything but couldn’t make the first move, so she gently pushed him away and picked up Neppy. “You… You can rest now. I’ll go find some food for the puppy. Neppy is so young that she needs her mom. We have to take good care of her.”
“Aren’t you angry with me?”
“Can our dog come back to me if I’m upset with you? Can our child be born safely? Can we pretend Gretchen never existed? Can our parents still be happy?” ‘No. The answer is no.’
Hearing Estelle’s words, Cristofer remained silent. Estelle continued, “We can’t change the past, and those who have passed away won’t return, so I’m not angry.”
“Estelle…” Cristofer couldn’t find words to express himself.
Estelle said, “I’ll consider what you said. You don’t have to wait forever, but I need some time.”
Cristofer sighed with relief, his eyes filled with joy. He felt elated as if he were in front of a mountain of roses.
“Alright, as long as you’re happy with it,” he said. “By the way, if you want to create a home for Neptune in the backyard, there’s plenty of space, and the servants can assist with tools and materials. As for the food…”
Estelle smiled, thinking, ‘You’re starting to ramble again.’ Then she gently interrupted, “Don’t worry about it. Just go to sleep.”
“Oh…”