HONEY, Love Me One More Time

Chapter 30: Today Is Your Birthday

But Cristofer didn’t seem to notice that she was unhappy and continued, “Besides, don’t go to the hospital to visit Estelle’s mother anymore.” Gretchen immediately raised her head and asked in astonishment, “Did Estelle ask you to tell me not to visit her mother?” “No. Her mother is in poor health and needs more rest. I know you went to visit her out of kindness. But talking with others is energy-consuming for her, and it’s not good for her recovery.” Hearing that, Gretchen breathed a sigh of relief. Fortunately, Estelle didn’t say anything to Cristofer. The relationship between Cristofer and Estelle always made her feel anxious and restless recently. Cristofer is always calm, mature, and gentle. But whenever he talked or met Estelle, he would lose control of himself and become emotional. Although Cristofer took good care of Gretchen and was always very gentle to her, Gretchen still thought they were not intimate enough. The others might think that she was so lucky to have a boyfriend who loved her so much, but she knew that Cristofer was more grateful to her than loving her. She knew that Cristofer was grateful that she had accompanied him when he was at the lowest point in his life. But that was not what she wanted. In her memory, it seemed that Cristofer had never said “I love you” to her. In the past, Gretchen thought that Cristofer disdained saying such words because he thought they were disgusting. But later, she found that he didn’t say he loved her because he didn’t totally fall for her. Recalling Cristofer’s reaction when he met Estelle recently, Gretchen suddenly had an unprecedented sense of crisis. **** When Estelle returned to the ward, the nurses were about to transfer Aurora to the intensive care unit. Aurora had fallen asleep. It could be seen that she was tired because she didn’t even wake up

when the nurse moved her to the transport stretcher. The nurse said, “Her condition is really terrible. Fortunately, she has been treated on time, taken good care of these days, and has become better, or else she couldn’t sleep so soundly.” Hearing that, Estelle couldn’t help feeling sad and said, “She does need a good sleep.” “Miss Hudson, the staff in the pediatric department told me to inform you to pay the fee for the stem cell transplant as soon as possible. Besides, the fee for your pulmonary surgery hasn’t been paid, either.” Estelle nodded. “I see. I’ll pay the bill later.” After settling her mother in the intensive care unit with the nurse, she went to the Billing Section. Since Aurora was transferred to the intensive care unit, she would be under observation twenty-four hours a day. So when there was any unexpected condition, she could be rescued immediately. **** At the Billing Section, the staff showed Estelle the bill and said, “Miss Hudson, your bill included the cost of the stem cell transplant and the pulmonary surgery. Please check the bill thoroughly. And you can pay the bill if there’s no problem.” With a bank card in her hand, Estelle took a look at the amount shown on the screen and was shocked. The cost of stem cell transplant is so high. Is the money in the bank card enough to pay the bills? “Here,” Estelle felt nervous, handed the card to the staff, and entered the password. When she saw the receipt printed out by the POS machine, she breathed a sigh of relief. She looked at the bill again and couldn’t help smiling helplessly. The money that the mysterious man gave her was just enough. He must have known how much money I needed before. Who on earth is he? ***** At nine o’clock at night, Estelle went to room 1231 of the Grand Hotel of Hadale City on time to work as a substitute. “Come in. The door is unlocked.” The mysterious man’s voice came from inside when Estelle wasCcontent © exclusive by Nô/vel(D)ra/ma.Org.

about to knock on the door. Estelle gently pushed the door open. As expected, the room was still dark. It was a cloudy day today, and there was no moonlight, so the room was darker than it was when she came last time. She could only grope her way slowly into the room along the wall. All of a sudden, the man held her hand. And the pleasant smell of ocean dew cologne surrounded her in an instant. In the darkness, Estelle could feel that the man wrapped his arm around her from behind. The two of them entered the living room, and they came to the sofa after a while. Then the man pressed her shoulders and let her sit down on the sofa. “What would you like to drink?” The man asked. “I’d like some cold water. Thank you,” Estelle answered. The man nodded, handed her a bottle of cold water, and sat beside her. Feeling that the man was close to her, Estelle moved aside to keep a distance from him. “Sir, thank you for helping me,” She gratefully declared. “Thank you very much. I will return the money to you as soon as I get the property of my family back.” “You don’t need to return the money. Besides, we are in a deal, and I should pay for the time you spend with me. Therefore, you don’t need to pay me back.” Estelle sighed and said, “Sir, do you still need me to... stay here for the night?” “Yes,” The man answered calmly. “Okay.” The man also sighed. He looked out of the window and said in disappointment, “It’s cloudy today. What a pity that I can’t see the stars today.” “You like stars?” Estelle’s voice sounded happy. Instead of answering her question, the man said, “Estelle, today is your birthday. Have you forgotten it?” Estelle was stunned for a minute. Birthday? It was not until then that she remembered that this day was her twenty-sixth birthday.

Then she couldn’t help but smile bitterly. Her struggles recently drained her, and she was on the verge of collapsing daily. She had forgotten about her birthday too. “Have you forgotten about it?” The man asked. “It doesn’t matter. I remember that.” Estelle smelled alcohol on his breath and asked, “Sir, did you drink wine?” “Yes, but just a little.” “But the smell of alcohol on your breath is very strong. You must have drunk more than a little, right?” The man suddenly chuckled and asked, “Are you questioning me?” Estelle quickly waved her hand and said, “No, I don’t mean that. I know I don’t have the right to question you. I’m just a substitute for your friend. Sir, you’re a good man. My father had an accident because of driving under the influence, so I don’t want you to...”