HONEY, Love Me One More Time

Chapter 7: Watch The Stars

When Estelle looked outside, she found that Cristofer and Gretchen had already left. He might have taken Gretchen to the hospital. How fast he has gone! He must be very worried about Gretchen. After all, a man like him would protect his beloved ones in every way. Estelle, once an apple of his eye, had been gradually perceived as filth by him, for that Gretchen managed to replace her. It didn’t matter anymore. What was done could not be undone, and she could not change anything. All she hoped for was to get pregnant and save her son. Estelle took out her phone, fixed it on a stand, and pressed the video record button. She showed a gentle smile in front of the camera, “My boy, this is Mommy. I don’t know if you’ll see this video. But when you see this video, I might be unable to stay by your side anymore. However, don’t be sad. I’ll be in another world where there are flowers, grass, mountains, and rivers. It will be beautiful and also… quiet.” She smiled with motherly tenderness in her eyes. “I might not be able to watch you grow up, but you must believe that Mommy loves you deeply. I’ve been thinking about which name suits you best for quite a long time. And today, I finally came up with the best one–Yohan, meaning the sun, because I hope you will always be full of joy and energy, just like the sun.” “Yohan, if you miss me, just look up at the stars. Mommy will always be there to watch over you every night.” Choked with tears, she immediately covered her mouth and stopped recording, for she didn’t want Yohan to see her crying like this. Having saved the video on a USB drive, Estelle walked downstairs and mailed it out. **** Cristofer stepped into the villa at exactly seven o’clock. “There you are.” Estelle had spent three hours putting on her makeup to hide her paleness in front of the mirror.

Finally, she looked a little better. Cristofer growled, “Damn you, Estelle!” His words pained her. “What?” “Gretchen had a miscarriage!” She was confused, but soon she realized what he meant. “You think she miscarried because I hurt her today?” “Am I wrong?” he asked rhetorically, “You can do what you want to me! Why did you hurt Gretchen? She’s never hurt, anyone!” Estelle shook her head. “Cristofer, you don’t understand women.” “I don’t need to understand.” “Yes, you do,” She stood up and faced him. “What a woman cares most about is her child. She’ll try her best to protect them from any danger and even sacrifice herself if necessary.” He said coldly, “You’ve never been a mother. What makes you think you are eligible to say that?” Estelle looked at him firmly. “No one is more eligible than me to say that, especially Gretchen Abrams! If she knew she was pregnant, she wouldn’t have tried so hard to get my address and said those words to provoke me into choking her!” Outraged, Cristofer squeezed her neck tightly. “Estelle Hudson, I’ll kill you if anything happens to Gretchen!” Out of breath, she felt increasingly painful, but she was smiling. “Really?” “I mean it.” “Oh,” She pointed at the hand on her neck and said, “I see. Can you get your hands off me now?” Cristofer did not let go but stared at her. “What on earth do you want?” A faint smile appeared on her face. “I know you might not believe this, but all I want is you.” Hearing that, he flung her mercilessly onto the bed. She then coughed violently again, and his biting words came into her ears, “Keep dreaming.” Blood welled up from her throat, but she struggled to swallow it back. Then, she climbed to her feet and held his hand as if nothing had happened. “Let’s go and watch the stars.” Cristofer dodged at once with disgust. “I only agreed to watch the stars with you. Don’t touch me.”Content (C) Nôv/elDra/ma.Org.

His words embarrassed her, but fortunately, the starry sky greatly pleased her. The moon was large and round, just like a silver mirror. Stars sparkled around it, giving off a serene and still glow. Cristofer said, “I checked the weather forecast. It’ll be cloudy or rainy from tomorrow to the end of this month.” Estelle nodded. “So?” “There won’t be stars on cloudy days.” She disagreed. “They’ll just be covered by dark clouds and won’t disappear. All the time, they are in the sky, though sometimes invisible.” Just like the stars, she was not as bright as the sun, but she was always there and never left. She had been waiting right there for Cristofer to come back to her. Over these years, she had thought more than once that as long as he smiled at her or said a word of concern, she would come back to him without hesitation. However, her wish was never fulfilled. Another woman already occupied his eyes and heart, and there was no longer any room for her. Cristofer said, “I mean, there’s no need to watch the stars on the following six nights.” “Don’t you want to watch the stars with me?” He laughed sarcastically. “What are you thinking? Your father killed my parents. If it weren’t for Gretchen, do you think I would watch these stupid stars with a vile, ungrateful woman?” It was quite windy on the roof. She sat precariously on edge, with her legs dangling over the side. Both her dress and loose hair were floating in the air. Standing right behind her, Cristofer stretched out his right hand and was about to touch her thin back. Just then, she spoke, as if she had seen all his movements clearly, “Did you want to push me off the roof?” Cristofer’s stretched hand stopped in mid-air. Estelle murmured to herself, “What a brilliant idea! Put everything to an end by pushing me down from here, and then nobody can stop you from living happily ever after with Gretchen Abrams.”

Embarrassed, he withdrew his hand and turned his face away. “I’m not you, who viciously murdered those who loved you. As much as I hate you and want you to disappear for good, I won’t choose such a despicable way.”