Cristofer closed his eyes, feeling heartache.
He indeed didn’t know how she spent those days.
But he had thought about this question when he stayed in the smoking room earlier.
In those five years, he had only returned to their villa about three times. And every time he went back, he would do nothing except force her to sign the divorce agreement.
He could roughly imagine how Estelle spent the lonely days without him.
Every time she had an attack and sweated all over in pain, no one was by her side. When she missed their son, she could only cry silently. She would feel disappointed when she called him and begged him to come back home but was refused. And the last time he went back to the villa when she said that she would get divorced as long as he stayed with her for a night, she must have been very desperate.
She was only twenty-six years old but had suffered so much.
Thinking about this, Cristofer couldn’t help wondering, ‘What kind of life are the twenty-six-year-old girls like her living?’
They may have a good job and a lot of friends. They will enjoy themselves and go shopping on weekends. Some of them may have been married and live a happy life with their husbands and children.
But what about Estelle? She lives in loneliness and despair, staying in the big villa and waiting for him every day. And she has nothing but cancer.
‘I just waited for her outside the ward in despair for only three days, but she waited for me at home in despair and disappointment for five years. How did she manage to go through those days?’
“Estelle,” Cristofer grabbed her hand again and said, “I only have one request. Don’t divorce me. As long as you don’t divorce me, I can do anything for you.”
“What if I want you to die?” Estelle asked with a darkened face.
Cristofer was stunned and then said firmly, “Then I’ll die with you.”
“Cristofer, what’s the meaning of such a nominal marriage? I will die at any time, but you still have a long time to live and can enjoy your life. And you have a fiancee, Gretchen. Have you forgotten it?” Estelle reminded him.
Cristofer shook his head quickly and said, “Estelle, please don’t...”
“Why do you have to be like this?” Estelle interrupted him and asked.
Then she sighed, feeling exhausted. “Do you think it’s meaningful to delay everything?”
“But I want to compensate you.”
“You don’t need to compensate me. What do you want to do to compensate me? Buy me all kinds of costly foods and luxuries. Or travel around the world with me? What else? Cristofer, I can’t eat much, and I don’t need luxuries. And for travelling around the world...” Speaking of this, Estelle paused and smiled bitterly. “I’d better not travel. If I die on the plane or in the hotel, it will cause trouble to others.”
Hearing this, Cristofer took a deep breath.
“I know you don’t like all these things. In the past three days, I’ve been thinking about how I can make up for the grievances you’ve suffered, but I couldn’t figure it out.”
“Well,” Estelle pointed at the sky and said, “Watch the stars with me, will you?”
When Cristofer heard this, his heart ached, and he felt as if a knife had stabbed his heart. After a few seconds, he said hoarsely, “Okay. You asked me to watch the stars with you for seven days back then. There are still six days remaining that I need to comply with.”
“One day is enough,” Estelle said after shaking her head. “Let’s put an end to our tragic marriage. Whether it’s good or bad, sweet or bitter, it should come to an end. It’s hard to say who owes the other more. And I don’t care about it anymore.”
“After the divorce, we will go different ways and have nothing to do with each other. The custody of Yvonne will belong to me. After I die, my mother will raise her. You can have a happy family and many children in the future. So, I hope you can give my daughter back to me.”
****
The sun gradually set, and the night fell.
“I’m so lucky today. The weather is good. Look, the night sky is so beautiful!” Estelle said softly.
Cristofer followed her gaze and saw the stars studding the sky.
Although it was not completely dark and the stars were not that bright, he still felt the stars were beautiful at the thought that Estelle’s nickname was Star.
Estelle kept staring up at the starry sky with a smile. Soon, tears streamed down her cheeks.
“Cristofer, it’s time for us to say goodbye,” she said.
****
On the way back to the Hans’ Residence, Cristofer kept thinking about what Estelle had said to him.
Estelle said that it was time for them to say goodbye. When she said that, he could feel how resolute she was. He didn’t know whether she would feel sad, but when he heard that, his heart was full of regret and guilt.
Unlike Gretchen, Estelle was always restrained and gentle.
Gretchen was aggressive when she forced him to marry her and hysterical when she denied that she killed Mrs. Moorsum. She was always willful.
Cristofer suddenly remembered that once Estelle also became hysterical. Back then, she was irritated by Gretchen and hit Gretchen in anger. They had known each other for over ten years, and he had never seen her act like that.
When Cristofer arrived at the Hans’ Residence, it was already past midnight.
At the thought that Luke and Yvonne must have fallen asleep, he didn’t want to wake them up and didn’t go into the villa.
Instead, he leaned against the car door and stared up at the starry sky until dawn.
At five o’clock in the morning, Luke woke up on time to prepare milk for Yvonne. As soon as he opened the door, he saw Cristofer standing at the gate and looking up at the sky blankly.
“Mr. Hans, you’re finally back!”
He walked over, followed Cristofer’ gaze, and looked up at the sky. But he saw nothing but clouds.
“Mr. Hans, what are you looking at?”
“I’m looking at the stars.”
Hearing him, Luke was confused. “Mr. Hans, it’s already dawn, and the sun is rising. There are no stars now.”
“There are,” Cristofer said firmly, his lonely voice then floated, “Estelle said that the stars were always there whether it was day or night. The sunlight just overshadowed them. They never disappear.”
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