Filed to story: Sweetheart Do You Still Love Me
Frank’s eyes twitched.
“That’s because you guys are also the same age. The both of you will have many things in common.”
Michael wasn’t wrong. After all, the Joneson Family didn’t have many offspring. Nicholas’ wife-Anya- gave birth to Kenneth and Lola; Dylan’s wife gave birth to Frank; and Elspeth was the child of Helena. There were only a total of four children in the house. Hence, it was understandable that Michael didn’t want Elspeth to leave.
Although Frank was getting impatient, he didn’t say anything more and agreed to it in silence.
“Well then, you must be tired from all the traveling. I have asked someone to clean out a place for you to stay. Frank, take her to Cluist Pavilion. She will be staying there.”
Frank nodded when he heard Michael’s words. Then, he looked at Elspeth, who was daydreaming, and said faintly,
“Let’s go.”
Elspeth breathed a sigh of relief and followed Frank out of the room.
After a few steps, she suddenly said to Frank,
“Thank you.”
“What for?”
Frank raised his eyebrow.
“I suppose you said those words on purpose to save me.”
She thought that Frank must have known that she didn’t want to stay with Michael any longer. The reason he said those words were to help her get out of that situation.
“Don’t flatter yourself. I don’t have the time to help you. Have you forgotten that you kicked me into the flowerbed?”
Frank would be annoyed every time he thought about this and his face turned as black as thunder.
“No matter what, I still owe you a thank you.”
Looking at him, Elspeth felt that Frank might be a nice person. After all, he wasn’t as arrogant as he seemed.
“To be honest, I understand why you would be unwilling to stay here.”
His sudden words surprised Elspeth.
“What did you just say?”
Frank seemed to realize that he had made a mistake and put on his cocky expression once again. Coldly, he uttered,
“Nothing.”
Since Cluist Pavilion was not far away, they arrived within five minutes. Frank led her to the door, where he stopped and said,
“Take a look around inside. Call me if you need anything, but I hope you won’t.”
Then, he turned around and left.
Elspeth clicked her tongue and gave him a glance before entering the room. The room was huge, and the name of the room sounded ancient. Looking at the antique decoration, Elspeth could guess where Michael’s feudal views came from.
Suddenly, her phone rang. When she saw that it was Callum, she picked up the phone.
“How did it go? Did anyone bully you?”
Although Callum sounded calm, Elspeth could still hear the concern in it.
After thinking for some time, Elspeth still decided to lie to him as she didn’t want him to worry.
“Don’t worry. No one bullied me. They are all… nice.”
Unfortunately, she was terrible at lying, and Callum could tell that she was being dishonest at once.
“Are you sure?”
“Yeah. Don’t worry about it. I said I’m fine, right? You have to believe me. After all, when have I ever lied to you?”
Elspeth giggled.
“When are you coming back then?”
Callum’s words took a turn.
“About that… I will be home soon. Old Mr. Joneson asked me to stay for a while since he misses me.”
Callum could tell that Elspeth was locked up there.
“Do you want to come home? I can pick you up if you want,”
Callum said softly. He didn’t care if the Joneson Family was behind this. He would do anything it took to protect Elspeth no matter what.
When Elspeth heard his words, she was surprised and quickly shook her head. Then, she realized that he couldn’t have seen her actions and sighed.
“I’m fine. I just need to stay here for a while. It’s not like I’m being locked up here. You don’t have to do this.”
After all, she would find a way out herself.
Callum stopped pressing her about it since she was insistent. He only hung up the phone after talking to her for a while more.
Looking at her phone, Elspeth sank into deep thought. There’s no way I can stay here for long. If Callum senses something wrong, he will come over immediately. Who knows what will happen then?
Suddenly, she thought of Frank and smiled.
I have a plan.
On the first day Elspeth moved in, Michael told Frank to take her to the best mall in town for a shopping spree.
Frank wanted to refuse, but Michael promised to raise his allowance if he brought Elspeth around town, so he reluctantly took the job. The old man grinned and whipped out a card from his pocket before giving it to Elspeth.
“You’re part of the family now, so you too get some allowance. Spend it how you like. Tell me if you need more.”
The card was black in color, but the words on it were golden. Elspeth had the same card, and it wasn’t the kind of card that was given away freely, not even to those with power. Michael might be a git, but he was generous with his money. Elspeth was about to refuse, but the old man could be stubborn and sneaky when he wanted to, so she took it. You owe me, old man. Just taking what’s mine.
They went to the mall, and Elspeth walked around. Frank followed her with his hands in his pockets. He was also sulking.
There weren’t any clothes she liked after visiting several shops, so she bought none.
“You can take a rest if you want, Frank. I’ll holler at you once I’m done.”
She smiled. Oh, he’s wobbling. She clicked her tongue,
“Honestly, your stamina sucks.”
Frank was about to take her up on the offer, but he wouldn’t take that insult from her quietly.
“What did you say? Keep walking. We’re not going back until nighttime.”
Oh good. He’s annoyed. Delighted, she walked away and came to a boutique. One of the dresses inside caught her eye. It was a long fitted black dress with diamonds embedded along its hem, and the bottom of the dress was pleated to resemble flowers. Its sleeves and collar were connected by nothing but beautiful strips of fabric, revealing the skin of its wearer.
Noticing her interest, the retail assistant approached her with a smile.
“Good eye, miss. This is our store’s pride and joy. Only three of its kind in the world, and this is the last one. You look perfect in the dress. Would you like to try it on?”
Elspeth wasn’t interested. She was just observing the dress. This looks familiar.
The retail assistant wouldn’t give up and continued,
“It’s a nice dress, miss. Why don’t you try it on? You won’t regret it.”
