At the same time, Estelle pinched her pink nipple with one hand and spread her soaking wet pussy with the other hand.

Seeing that, Cristofer could not hold it any longer. He quickly placed his dick on her pussy, trying to push inside. As his dick was hard and huge and her pussy was tight, it took longer than he thought to go all the way inside.

“Ah...” Estelle let out a joyful moan.

She could feel that his cock was completely inside her, reaching her cervix. It went so deep that she couldn’t help but tremble a bit and even contract the muscles of her vagina a few times.

With one hand rubbing and squeezing her boobs and the other caressing her long and beautiful legs, Cristofer thrust in and out of Estelle like crazy. Panting, he stared at Estelle, who was bouncing and moaning under him with her face slightly blushing.

Cristofer could never get tired of Estelle’s pretty face and her slim yet curvy body. At that moment, she frowned slightly, biting her rosy lips with her eyes half shut. Her soft and perfectly-shaped tits kept moving up and down, in sync with the shaking bed.

Then he leaned forward and began licking and sucking Estelle’s hardened nipples. Generally, nipples were tasteless. Somehow, Cristofer tasted roses mixed with milk on her nipples, which drove him even more excited. And he started gently biting her tits. Moreover, he sped up his thrusting, forcing Estelle to move up and down more violently.

“Oh... GOD! Harder!” Estelle groaned and kept touching and massaging her clits.

Cristofer’s hard cock had already brought her tremendous pleasure. And his licking and sucking her boobs brought even more extreme pleasure to her, which nearly drove her out of her mind.

Being wrapped in her wet and tight pussy that contracted from time to time, Cristofer could no longer hold it back. With a long moan, he twitched and came inside Estelle before collapsing on her.

But he quickly got up and put on his clothes right after that, acting like he was a husband who was in a hurry to return to his wife after having fun with his mistress.

Estelle was still immersed in the joy and excitement that Cristofer brought to her a while ago. And she immediately raised her legs, pointing them at the ceiling, not wanting to waste a single drop of Cristofer’s sperm inside her vagina.

Hang in there, Yohan. Mommy will be pregnant soon. Mommy is going to save you with the umbilical cord blood produced by your future brother or sister.

Then Cristofer’s magnetic yet cold voice wrenched her mind back to reality, “Sign the divorce paper now!”

Estelle laid down her legs, sat up, and asked, “Did you drink?”

“It’s none of your business.”

“Drinking is bad for your stomach.”

“I need to drink so that I won’t feel disgusted when having sex with you.”

Blood rushed up to Estelle’s throat and flowed down to a corner of her mouth. She frowned and wiped it with the sheet, feeling bitterly cold inside.

But her tone was still calm and gentle. “You got back fast. No traffic jam?”

Cristofer got dressed and lit a cigarette. Sitting in the shadow, he said indifferently, “Divorce with you deserves a fast drive.”

“You couldn’t wait to divorce me?” Her voice sounded weak.

She turned her back on him as the smoke nearly smothered her, and she started coughing again.

“You know that, don’t you?” Cristofer deliberately breathed out a stream of smoke in her direction and felt inexplicably pleased to see her coughing and trembling.

“I’ve done what you said. Let’s get divorced tomorrow morning.”

“Not so fast, Cristofer. I won’t sign the paper unless you spend the whole night with me.”

Cristofer stubbed out his cigarette and growled. “Sign it NOW! Gretchen and I have already waited for too long for you to sign it. And I don’t want to waste my time with a shameless woman like you!”

Hearing that, Estelle’s heart sank. She was so heartbroken and painful that she felt like a dull knife was penetrating her heart. Still, she couldn’t help thinking of her good old days with Cristofer.

Since when did I fall in love with Cristofer?

Estelle tried to recall but failed to find the exact time.

She grew up with Cristofer because their families had been friends for generations. They were like peas and carrots, and everyone waited for them to get married and consolidate the friendship between the two families.

When they were younger, Cristofer was more than gentle with her. Since she had low blood sugar, he always carried her favorite star-shaped candies with him so that she could have one when feeling uncomfortable.

At school, Cristofer intercepted all the love letters she was going to receive and jealously told her that those boys were no good compared with him. Then, a few months before her birthday, he would start making a large glass bottle of paper stars as her gift.

By then, she was “spoiled” and pretended to be difficult by saying, “They’re fake. I want real stars.”

But he always petted her nose lovingly instead of getting mad at her unreasonable request, “Then I’ll pick them for you.”

“I’m just kidding. How could you reach the stars?”

“I will if you want.”

“You’re bluffing.”

“I promise I’ll pick them for you when you marry me.”

Back to the present, Estelle wondered if it was because she was dying that she would be so nostalgic for the good old days.

Stroking the blood on the sheet, she found that fate was a total irony. She thought God seemed so envious of her fairy-like life that he destroyed everything she had.

It took only five years to turn Cristofer’s profound love towards Estelle into downright hatred.

Five years ago, Cristofer’s parents and Estelle’s father were killed in a car crash on their wedding day. To everyone’s surprise, the culprit was Estelle’s father.

Later, her mother and uncle acquired all the Hans’ possessions overnight. In this rough and cruel way, the two influential families in Hadale City were merged, and her uncle became the actual owner of all assets.

The result was unexpected. In everyone’s eyes, it was like a long-standing conspiracy that eventually unfolded that day and culminated in the Hudsons’ outright triumph.

It all happened in a sudden way. When Estelle realized what actually had happened, Cristofer screamed to split up with her and smashed all the glass bottles in front of her. The paper stars in the bottles scattered on the floor and got crushed by him mercilessly.

“Estelle Hudson, get out of my sight! I don’t want to see you again!” He stressed each syllable as he pointed at her nose, with his eyes reddened with rage.

By then, Cristofer was 23 years old. He lost his parents and his family business; there was nothing left. Meanwhile, the 20-year-old Estelle found herself pregnant.

Cristofer’s hatred scared Estelle. Afraid that he could not accept her pregnancy, she went abroad without leaving a note and gave birth to the child. She planned to explain to him when he calmed down that she knew nothing about the “conspiracy,” but things went beyond her expectations.

What was worse, an accident during delivery resulted in the child being born with a serious disease and having to stay in the ICU. Panicked, she decided to ask Cristofer for help, thinking that he would save the child. However, to her astonishment, she saw another woman leaning against his chest when she arrived at his office.

That woman was Gretchen Abrams.

It was said that Gretchen had accompanied him through his darkest time.

It was said that Cristofer regarded Gretchen as the light of his life and treasured her dearly.

It was said that, with Gretchen’s encouragement, he rose like a dark horse and elevated his business within merely two years to a level enough to compete with the Hudsons.

It was said that they were preparing for their wedding.

However, it was Estelle who had the marriage license with Cristofer. Legally, Cristofer was married, and Estelle was his wife. Therefore, Gretchen could not be a rightful bride.

During the four years of being Mrs. Hans, Cristofer had forced Estelle to sign the divorce settlement repeatedly. But she refused every time.

She always thought that since they had once been in love, she could wait for the truth to be uncovered and for him to return to her. However, four years later, what came back to her was not him but a notification of lung cancer.

Memories crowded her head and caused a sudden stabbing pain in her chest. Then, again, Estelle was overcome by a terrible fit of coughing.

This time, there was more blood. The crimson liquid spurted out of her mouth and stained the pure white sheet.

“What’s wrong with you?” Cristofer noticed her quivering.

Heart softened, she burst into tears, “Cristofer, I… I have something important to tell you. I’m sick.”

Cristofer interrupted her with a sneer, “Don’t tell me you’re going to die, or I would celebrate it. If you die, I don’t even need a divorce. A widower like me could marry Gretchen anytime.”

Estelle was too desperate to say a word, but she failed.

He asked, “What else do you want to say?”

She shook her head. “Nothing.”

At this moment, Cristofer seemed to notice something on the sheet.

Estelle scrambled to cover the red stain and pretended as if nothing had happened.

“What’s that?” He walked over, threw her to another side, and studied the redness.

“Is it blood?”

Estelle bit her lip and clenched her fists to bear the twinge.

Cristofer surveyed her with contempt, pointed at the blood, and asked sarcastically, “You even had your hymen repaired just for tonight?”

Estelle curled up her lips and smiled wryly.

By the moonlight, her shadow stretched long on the floor.

Tortured by the illness for days, she had become very skinny, and even the color of her shadow seemed to be lighter than before.

Cristofer asked, “Where were you during the day?”

She looked up. “You’re expressing your concern about me?”

“Of course not. I asked my lawyer, Mr. Jones, to talk to you about the divorce terms. He said you weren’t home.”

“I went to the hospital.”

“For what?”

“Having my hymen repaired. You already know that, don’t you?” She only validated his assumption, but it was purely a lie that she had to fabricate.

“Estelle Hudson, I’ve never really understood you. If you wanted our fortune, it would be all yours after we got married. So why bother murdering my parents? They were so nice to you and treated you like their daughter. I would give you all you wanted, and so would they because I was their only child. But why… why did you fool us all like that? You fooled me for such a long time just to obtain our possessions?”

“Cristofer, will you believe me if I say that I didn’t know anything about the ‘plot’?”

He shook his head. “Do you think I will believe you? My parents died, and I lost everything. When I was totally defeated, I drank day after day. And I nearly drank myself to death! What about your family? They took this excellent chance to possess all our properties. As for you, you disappeared, and I haven’t heard from you ever since. How could I believe you?”

“Cristofer…”

He continued, “If Gretchen hadn’t appeared in my life, encouraged me, and gone through those dark days with me, I might have become a penniless loser as you wished.”

“Fortunately, I made it through, and I won’t allow myself to make the same mistake again.”

Estelle wore a sad smile. Thoughts were screaming inside her head, but she silently choked them all.

So, I’m the “mistake,” aren’t I?

It seems that you will not trust me or love me anymore.

She licked her lips and asked, “Cristofer, what is Gretchen like?”

Hearing that, a trace of tenderness climbed on his face. “She is clever, kind, and gentle. She always gets me.”

“Does she love you?”

“Sure.”

Estelle nodded with slight satisfaction. “That’s good.”

If she loves you, then I’m relieved.

I’m glad to know that a good woman can replace me and accompany you after I leave.

Now that you will live a happy life, I can leave the world without any regret.

I will wait and die quietly out of your sight and will not cause you any trouble.

The clock on the wall struck twelve, declaring the coming midnight.

With a broad smile, she gazed at him. “I promise I’ll sign the divorce settlement tomorrow.”

Cristofer did not move and just frowned at her as if measuring the credibility of her words.

Meanwhile, Estelle stood up and walked up to him. Resting herself against his chest gently, she landed a kiss on his lips.

“Cristofer, just pretend that you still love me. I beg you. Just this once, will you?”

****

The next morning, Estelle was awakened by the glare of the sun.

Aches and pains racked her body, but she felt empty as if her soul had left her body.

Despite the fact that they had had sex last night, Cristofer had never kissed her on the lips. It was, for him, just a task that could be done without a trace of emotion.

Making love was supposed to be the most intimate thing that could happen between lovers. Still, Estelle felt extremely sad after making love with Cristofer.

There was no warmth left on the quilt next to her, and his figure was nowhere to be seen in the villa. Cristofer left hours ago.

Estelle struggled to her feet and cleaned up the mess on the bed.

Cristofer had been in such a hurry that he left his tie on the floor.

She picked up the tie, folded it carefully, and put it into the bag she always carried with her. There was also a photo of her child in her bag.

“Yohan, hang in there.” She stroked the little face in the photo and sniffled. “I’m trying my best to save you, my child. Just give Mommy some more time, okay?”

Tears streamed down her face and dripped onto the photo.

Estelle wiped away the tears from the photo with tenderness in her eyes.

“The world hates me so much that it wants to take everything, including you, from me. But it doesn’t matter because I have you and will protect you. You’re my beloved. As long as you live a good life, I can bear all the suffering.”

On the nightstand was a pile of papers.

It must be Cristofer who had left them there.

Estelle placed the photo back into her bag as gently as she could before reading the papers.

It was the divorce settlement, which didn’t surprise her at all.

She leafed through it and found no special terms. It was almost the same as the one that Cristofer had brought over earlier.

The only difference that caught her attention was written at the end: Estelle Hudson promises to leave Hadale City forever and never return.

It seems that you really don’t want to see me anymore.

Don’t worry. You won’t see me again because I’ll leave Hadale and even this world forever.

With a faint smile, she signed her name at the bottom.

****

As usual, Estelle came to the hospital for a check-up the day after the injection.

Noticing the bruises on her neck, the doctor frowned. “Mrs. Hans, do you need me to call the police?”

Estelle shook her head and covered the marks with her collar. “No, thanks. When will I know whether I’m pregnant or not?”

“Seven days later, at least,” the doctor said, “Mrs. Hans, if you’re still not pregnant in seven days, please receive chemotherapy before it’s too late.”

Estelle frowned and exhaled deeply. “How long can I live if I don’t receive chemotherapy?”

“Six months at most. But with timely chemotherapy, it can be extended to 3 to 5 years.”

“I don’t want to receive chemotherapy. I have to give birth to another child. Doctor, could you buy me nine months? I don’t mind what method is used or how much it costs.”

“Well, I have to warn you that it’ll be very painful in the late stages of cancer. Many patients give up the will to live because they’re unable to bear the pain. If you want to live longer, you have to fight against your fate yourself.”

Estelle sighed with relief. “I see.”

“The pain is so intense and piercing that patients normally cannot bear it.”

“I can make it,” Estelle replied as she nodded. To ease herself, she repeated, “I can make it.”

The doctor revealed a sorrowful look. “Mrs. Hans, you’re the toughest patient I’ve ever met.”

Estelle wore a big smile. “I’m still not tough enough. If I were tough enough, I wouldn’t have ended up in a mess.”

Estelle was dazzled by the sunlight as she walked out of the hospital.

She squinted at the sun, which was pretty radiant and warm. Then, her phone rang. It was a call from Cristofer.

He calls me!

Estelle could not stop her hands from trembling and almost dropped the phone.

“Cristofer?”

“Have you signed the paper?” Cristofer cut to the chase, not even bothering to greet her.”

Hearing that, she was speechless.

“Estelle, you’d better not play tricks.”

“I’m not playing tricks. I’ve signed it. I’ll do what I promised you.”

Cristofer immediately said, “Then I’ll have Mr. Jones get it.”

“Sorry, Cristofer. I can’t hand the divorce settlement to you right now.”

Irritated, Cristofer growled in an icy, biting tone, “Estelle Hudson! What the hell do you want from me?!”

“I…”

“I have had enough that you tricked me into sleeping with you in this despicable way. If you need a man so badly, I can pay to get you one. You shouldn’t have disgusted me like this!”

Why does his voice sound so familiar yet so strange at the same time?

Never had Cristofer spoken to Estelle so cruelly before she was 20 years old. A gentle and affectionate man like him, in days gone by, was even afraid to hurt her when holding her hands.

He asked her many times whether it hurt or not the first time they had sex, and he would panic upon seeing the slightest frown on her face.

But now, his words were like a cold knife thrusting at her heart bit by bit.

With a bitter laugh, Estelle said softly, “Cristofer, did you see the stars last night?”