She held back the words which sprang to her lips and sighed.
“It’s okay, Mom. Just forget it. In the future, he will go his way, and I’ll go mine. Don’t worry. I can take care of the children,” Estelle assured her.
“You don’t have much experience in looking after children. How about I apply for a discharge and help you look after them? It’s tiring for you to take care of two children alone. I’ll help you. You’re still a child who needs to be taken care of in my heart. I can’t let you handle everything alone.”
Estelle immediately stopped her in a hurry and said, “Mom, I’m already twenty-six years old.”
“So? No matter how old you are, you are always a child in my heart,” Aurora said and couldn’t help but smile bitterly. “You are no different from the stubborn girl you used to be. I still remember that you were determined to learn jewelry design back then. And you chose a foreign university and went to Lanster City alone regardless of anything. At that time, your father was worried about you every day. Fortunately, Cristofer often went to see you.”
Speaking of Cristofer, she suddenly paused and then hurriedly said, “Forget it. Let’s not talk about him. It’s all in the past. Estelle, do you have any plans for your future?”
“I’ll divorce Cristofer first. If I don’t cut all my ties with him as soon as possible, I’m afraid that Gretchen will do harm to us again.”
Hearing this, Aurora nodded in agreement. Then she said apologetically, “Estelle, it’s all my fault. I shouldn’t have trusted your uncle. Now all the fruits of your father’s painstaking efforts have been pocketed by him. He always spends money on water. Maybe most of our money has been wasted by him.”
York had been ignorant and incompetent since he was a child. Thanks to Aurora and Frederic, he got a job in the Hudson Group. However, he never worked hard and was idle every day.
He didn’t even know about the business of the company, let alone managing it. With such a person in charge of the company, the company had been in decline these years.
Although Estelle had been mentally prepared, when thinking that York would destroy the fruit of her father’s painstaking efforts of his whole life, Estelle still felt heartache.
“The Hans Group is under his management now. I want to persuade him to return it to Cristofer. After all, the Hans Group is the property of the Hans family and should belong to Cristofer. Speaking of this, I feel so sorry for Cristofer,” Aurora sadly blurted out.
“Mom, I will deal with this after I divorce Cristofer and send Yohan to preschool. With the shares that Dad left to me, I’ll be on the board of the company. I won’t let York ruin our company anymore,” Estelle quickly declared.
“But Estelle, I’m afraid that you will be bullied and suffer grievances.”
Hearing this, Estelle smiled and said calmly and confidently, “Mom, don’t worry. I will protect myself. Besides, the company was founded by Dad. Whether the situation of its operation is good or not, I must get it back. As for the Hans Group, I will also give it back to Cristofer.”
“Estelle, money will come and go, and I don’t care about it anymore. I just want you to be safe and happy. By the way, where do you live now? Is there anything I can do to help you? Do you have enough money?”
Gently taking Aurora’s hand, Estelle said in a soft voice, “Mom, I have something to tell you. Now I...”
Before she could finish her words, her phone suddenly rang.
Estelle frowned and took a look at the caller ID on the screen.
“Go ahead. Let’s talk about it later,” Aurora urged her.
Estelle then went to the corridor and answered the phone. “Hi, Mr. Roberts.”
“Estelle, what is wrong with you?!” Tim roared angrily as soon as he got through.
“I’ve just been back from the business trip, and Bob told me that you had resigned! Do you think our company is a place where you can work or resign as you please? Come back to work right now!!!”
Estelle had expected that Tim, who was always short-tempered, would be angry about her sudden resignation, so she was not surprised at all when hearing his roar.
“Mr. Roberts, I’m really sorry,” she explained in a soft voice. “I have some personal affairs to deal with, so I have to resign. But I’ve already completed the design of the jewelry ordered by Katrina. If she’s not satisfied with the designs, feel free to tell me, and I’ll modify them.”
“She is very satisfied.”
“Well, that’s good.”
“But I’m not satisfied!” Tim said furiously. “Estelle, do you think my confession of love to you is sexual harassment? Is that why you resigned to get rid of me?”
“No. Mr. Roberts, you misunderstood---”
Tim interrupted her and got even angrier. “Then it must be because your Mr. Mysterious is jealous and doesn’t want me to get close to you that he forced you to resign, right? Tell him that I need to talk with him. And what’s wrong with me liking you and appreciating you? How could he be so selfish to ask you to give up your promising career?”
Feeling helpless, Estelle took a deep breath and said, “Mr. Roberts, my resignation has nothing to do with Mr. Mysterious. As I said just now, I have to resign because I have some family affairs to deal with.”
“It’s not because of him? All right...” Tim’s tone softened in an instant, and he continued, “Anyway, you have to come back. We don’t have enough designers in our company. If you leave, we’ll lose a lot of customers and suffer a great loss!”
After thinking for a while, Estelle said respectfully, “Mr. Roberts, I’ll design five more sets of jewelry as compensation for the loss that I will cause to our company. What do you think?”
“Don’t talk to me in such a polite way. It’s so weird. And you should know that I don’t lack money. The loss you cause is nothing to me.”
“Then... what on earth do you want me to do, Mr. Roberts?” Estelle was confused.
“You have two choices. One is to come back to work, and the other is to let me chase after you. I’ll compete with Mr. Mysterious. This is the first time that I have chased after a woman. I won’t give up. And I don’t believe I will be defeated by him!” Tim remarked with determination.
“Mr. Roberts, we really don’t match each other,” Estelle said, feeling helpless.
“I’m a man, and you’re a woman. And both of us are good-looking. We are well-matched!”
“I’m a divorced woman.”
“I know, and I don’t care.”
“I have two children.”
“I also know that. And I don’t care about it, either.”
“I already have someone I love.”
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