As the competition drew nearer, Yohan had been intensively practicing. Although he rarely encountered problems he couldn’t solve, the pressure stemmed from his desire to uphold his school’s reputation. After listening to Cristofer’s comforting words, Yohan nodded, saying, “I understand now. I have my family to rely on.”
After a brief silence, Yvonne looked at Cristofer and asked, “Dad, have you ever lost a competition?”
Cristofer responded with firm confidence, “No, I haven’t. Typically, I emerged as the champion in every competition I participated in. Your mom can vouch for that.”
Estelle nodded immediately, saying candidly, “That’s right, Yohan. I believe you’ll do even better than your dad.”
Yohan became quiet and a bit awkward when he saw his parents showing affection. He moved to the other side of the sofa, opened his school bag, and started reviewing math problems. Even though he took a day off from school, he couldn’t stop studying. Estelle and Cristofer smiled while Yvonne and Christina looked at Yohan curiously.
Vincent, who was known as an eligible bachelor in the company, felt a bit jealous when he saw this happy family of five. So, he quietly left, feeling a little sad.
Later, the receptionist noticed Vincent leaving and whispered to her colleague, “Vincent just left. It’s only Mr. Hans’ family in the reception room, right?”
Her colleague responded, “I think Vincent realized he was like a third wheel between Mr. Hans and his wife.” She was about to say more but noticed Vincent was approaching them, so she quickly pretended to be busy with her work.
Vincent, however, didn’t pay attention to her actions and asked casually, “Have you seen Eva? I need to talk to her.”
In the reception room, Cristofer looked at Estelle after Yohan started studying. He apologized sincerely, “I should have come here earlier, but I had to deal with some issues in the meeting, so I stayed there for a while. Did you wait for me for a long time?”
“It’s all right,” Estelle smiled warmly. She looked at Cristofer with understanding and continued, “You don’t need to apologize to me. I’m not a little girl anymore, and I understand how challenging it can be to manage a company. If you had canceled the meeting and left all your staff just because your wife and children came to the company, I would have thought it was irresponsible.”
Estelle had earned her authority in her own company, and those who initially doubted her because she was a woman had come to respect her competence.
Looking at her achievements, Estelle’s smile grew brighter, deeply touching Cristofer. He pondered her words for a moment and then said with sincerity, “Estelle, I’m really glad you came here.”
Estelle was slightly taken aback but tucked her hair behind her ears and replied, “Actually, the children insisted on coming. I didn’t…”
Cristofer interrupted her gently, “But you just mentioned that you would have found me irresponsible if I had abandoned my responsibilities and staff just because my wife and children were here…”
Estelle didn’t understand what he was happy about. ‘Are you happy because I praised you? Countless people have praised you for all kinds of things before. But I didn’t say anything special to make you so happy, Cristofer.’ She thought.
Licking her lips, Estelle admitted, “I didn’t blame you for that. Your work is always the most important thing.”
Cristofer, his eyes filled with joy, leaned in closer and whispered in her ear, “You said ‘my wife and my children.'” He thought to himself, ‘Of course, they are my children, but my wife….’
Estelle suddenly realized her choice of words. She quickly clarified, “I… I didn’t mean that. It was just a slip of the tongue.”
“I understand.” Cristofer smiled gently, “I’m still very happy, even if it was just a slip of the tongue.”
Estelle blushed at his words but decided to stay quiet to avoid any more slip-ups. She thought to herself, ‘The more I talk, the more I might mess up. It’s better to keep quiet. Why did I say that in the first place?’ Feeling frustrated, she added, “Please don’t overthink it. I didn’t mean that.”
Since Estelle had been living with Cristofer for a long time, and they had three children together, she didn’t always watch her words carefully and occasionally made such mistakes.
Seeing Estelle’s shy and nervous expression, Cristofer didn’t want to push the matter further. He didn’t want her to feel uncomfortable, so he went along with her and said, “Yeah, I understand.”
As they were talking, Yvonne and Christina, who had been observing the room’s atmosphere, approached them and asked, “Mom, Dad, what secret are you discussing?”
Cristofer quickly tried to change the topic, not wanting to make Estelle uncomfortable. He replied with a smile, “There’s no secret, just a little work-related matter that your Mom and I were discussing.”
Estelle appreciated Cristofer’s consideration and joined in, saying, “Yes, your Dad and I were just talking about some work-related stuff. It’s quite boring, actually.”
The little girls quickly lost interest when they heard it was about work. They hopped onto the sofa and turned their attention to Cristofer’s tie and brooch. Yvonne was fond of beautiful things, so she pointed at the flower-shaped brooch and asked, “Isn’t this like Mom’s hairpin? Can boys wear hairpins, too? Dad, why don’t you put it in your hair?”
“Dad’s hair is too short for a hairpin,” Christina remarked.
“I think that’s why he clipped it on his clothes,” added Yvonne.
As the children speculated, Estelle clarified, “Actually, this is a brooch. It’s meant to decorate men’s clothing. It’s different from hairpins.”
But as Estelle examined the brooch more closely, she was taken aback. She noticed that the simple brooch was decorated with a star-shaped diamond.
Cristofer was always very meticulous, even when it came to selecting small accessories. Estelle remembered how he once went all over town to find the perfect shade of lipstick for her. Most men couldn’t distinguish between different lipstick shades, but Cristofer was an exception. He could instantly notice if she changed her lip color.
At this moment, Cristofer considered taking off the brooch to please his two daughters. However, he soon realized that he couldn’t divide one hairpin brooch into two. Instead, he removed the cuffs that matched his brooch and offered them to the girls. “Here, you can play with these cuffs.”
“Thank you, Dad!” Yvonne and Christina exclaimed simultaneously, each sitting on one of his laps. They chatted joyfully while playing with the cuffs.
Yohan also wanted to play with them when he heard their excitement, but he remained focused on his studies, determined to excel like his father.
Estelle glanced at the two girls and Cristofer’s legs, expressing her concern. “Let them sit on the floor. I remember the doctor said you must rest your leg enough to recover.”