Chapter 23 Chapter 23: Who’s This Baby?
Cristofer’s face darkened, and he didn’t say anything.
Seeing him like this, Gretchen was a little flustered.
She had been concealing her relationship with York for almost six years.
She knew that she couldn’t hide it from Cristofer for a lifetime so she had planned to tell him everything after they were married.
After they got married, Cristofer wouldn’t break up with her easily even if he was displeased with her. And as long as she spent more time pacifying him and pretended to be innocent, he would forgive her sooner or later.
But Gretchen didn’t expect that both Estelle and Cristofer would suddenly go to the Hudson’s House that day.
She was afraid that her identity would be exposed, so she irritated Estelle on purpose. In this way, Estelle would leave with Aurora as soon as possible. Otherwise, if Estelle met Cristofer and told him something about the accident, it would be very troublesome.
However, what Gretchen had done was in vain. Cristofer finds out about her relationship with York in the end.
Somehow, she always felt that there was something wrong with Cristofer recently.
Since they came back to Hadale, Cristofer was colder and colder than her.
Her intuition told her that the changes in Cristofer’s attitude towards her were because of Estelle.
“Cristofer,” Gretchen called Cristofer in a sweet voice as she held him from behind and rested her chin on his shoulder, “Are you hungry? You’ve been taking care of Yvonne since you came back. Let me cook some food for you.”
Cristofer shook his head and said, “No, thanks. I’m not hungry.”
“Alright. Then I’ll prepare some milk for Yvonne,” Gretchen said.
“You may have a rest. I’ll do it myself,” Cristofer sighed and said, looking indifferent.
But when he looked at Yvonne, he showed a gentle smile again. He couldn’t help but gently touch her dimples and said, “You are always smiling, little Yvonne. Fortunately, I’m your father. If it was a stranger who took you away, would you also smile so happily?”
Yvonne then giggled and opened her mouth to babble.
“Cristofer…” A soft and sweet voice came from behind Cristofer, destroying the cozy atmosphere.
Somehow, Cristofer suddenly felt a little annoyed.
“What’s up?” He asked impatiently.
Gretchen was shocked by his impatience and immediately said, “Nothing... Nothing.”
“Gretchen, just say whatever you want to say. And I don’t want you to hide anything from me, huh?”
Biting her lower lip, Gretchen nodded, “I see.”
“Then tell me, did you hide any other secrets from me?” Cristofer questioned her.
“No.”
“Really?” Cristofer looked into her eyes and asked.
Gretchen was a little anxious.
“Cristofer, what do you mean by asking me this question? Did Estelle say anything to you? You know that she hates me. She thought that I was a bad woman who destroyed her marriage and even wanted to beat me before. Don’t believe whatever she says to you!”
Cristofer looked away and said, “I was just asking. I didn’t mean anything. Don’t be so serious.”
Hearing that, Gretchen softened her tone at once and said, “For the sake of you, I don’t even mind raising the daughter of Estelle and you. I’m willing to do anything for you. Why don’t you trust me?”
“I didn’t say that I don’t trust you,” Cristofer’s voice carried irritation.
Gretchen felt a little depressed and said on purpose, “I’ll sleep in the guest room tonight. Just leave me alone.”
In the past, every time she felt unhappy and said such words, Cristofer would feel guilty and apologize to her.
But this time, Cristofer, who paid all his attention to the baby in his arms, just said lightly, “Don’t bother. I won’t stay here tonight.”
Gretchen was surprised and blurted out, “Where are you going?”
Is he going to see Estelle?
“I’ll take Yvonne to the Hans’ Residence and ask Uncle Luke to take care of her. When I was young, it was Uncle Luke who looked after me every day. He is good at taking care of children,” Cristofer answered.
As he spoke, he stood up with Yvonne in his arms, picked up the car key, and said gently, “Go to bed early. I’ll be living in the Hans’ Residence recently. Take care of yourself. If you have any problem, call my assistant Vincent, and he will help you.”
“Cristofer…”
“Well, I’ll go now. Bye.” Cristofer said and then left the residence with Yvonne.
Gretchen watched them leave and didn’t return to the house until the car was out of sight.
Then she slammed the door with a bang.
When Cristofer returned to the Hans’ Residence, it was seven o’clock in the evening.
He hadn’t been back here for a long time.
The whole villa looked old, with ivy clinging to the wall. And through a small window, Cristofer saw the yellow light in the villa.
After parking the car, he exited it with Yvonne in his arms and rang the doorbell.
“Who is it?” Luke, the old butler of the Hans family, was surprised when he opened the door.
“Cristofer?”
Cristofer smiled and said, “Hi, Uncle Luke. Long time no see.”
Luke was happy to see Cristofer. “Come on in, Cristofer! Did you come here alone? Why didn’t Estelle come with you?”
When Cristofer heard that, the smile on his face froze. “She... Her mother is sick. She has to take care of her mother.”
“Oh, then you’d better spend more time with her. She needs you,” Luke said with a worried look.
Cristofer didn’t say anything.
The Hans’ Residence was overlaid with memories of his childhood. He had been living here until he went to university.
Now only Luke and several maids worked in such a big and old house that looked a little bleak.
Suddenly, Yvonne made cooing noises in Cristofer’s arms, which attracted Luke’s attention.
“Who’s this baby?” Luke was curious.
Cristofer smiled proudly and said, “She’s my daughter.”
Luke’s eyes brightened, and he became overjoyed. “Oh, let me have a look. She is so beautiful! Look at her watery eyes. Aw, she’s got her mother’s eyes.”
“Uncle Luke, could you take care of her for some time?” Cristofer asked.
Luke nodded repeatedly and said, “No problem! I’ll take good care of her. You may rest assured. By the way, remember to spend more time with Estelle. She always looks fearless, but in fact, she’s fragile. She must be despondent because of her mother’s illness. Maybe she will cry secretly.”
Cristofer recalled what had happened the last time he saw Estelle in the hospital.
That day, Estelle looked haggard, and her lips were bloodless. She was kind and gentle to another man but shouted at him and asked him to get out.
Then he thought of how hysterical Estelle was when she wanted to beat Gretchen before.
Is she fragile? Maybe I still don’t know her well enough, Cristofer thought.
In his heart, it was Estelle who destroyed their relationship and his family, which gave him a fatal blow.
Why did she come back from abroad? Why did she come back to me? Whenever I see her, I am reminded of how stupid I used to be. I was so stupid that I believed that she loved me.
“By the way,” Luke patted Cristofer on the shoulder and said. “I always feel that there is something wrong with the car accident that happened to your parents. You’d better reinvestigate it. Besides, don’t vent your anger on Estelle because of it. She’s innocent.”
Cristofer sneered and asked, “Uncle Luke, do you believe her so much?”
Luke was a little surprised. “Don’t you believe her?”