Filed to story: Sweetheart Do You Still Love Me
Seems like I’ve got to toughen him up by sending him to the branch office.Oblivious to all of this, the assistant was feeling smug, thinking he had done a great job. Little did he know he would be sent to the man-eating branch office next month for some toughening up.Returning to the subject, Callum looked at Elspeth’s face, asking,
“So, can you now tell me why you’re working at such a place?”Elspeth spread her hands and explained helplessly,
“I didn’t want to work at such a place either, but I need a medicinal ingredient that only Logan has possession of. I made a deal with him, where he’ll give it to me once I help him get his hands on what he wants.”Callum knitted his brows when he heard the terms of the deal.
“What does he want?”Elspeth replied,
“He wants the Flaming Scimitar, which belongs to the Adler Family and is now in the hands of Rayan Adler, the youngest son of the current generation of the family. He carries it with him every day, so all I have to do is take him hostage and threaten him into handing it over.”Callum didn’t think it would be that simple, though.
“You’re now in a foreign country, where the Adlers wield extraordinary power. Not even Logan dares to mess with them, so his purpose in sending you here couldn’t be more obvious.”Obviously, Elspeth had been made a cat’s paw of Logan. If she successfully obtained the scimitar, no one would find out about him. If she failed to do so, he could deny his responsibility for this.Elspeth replied,
“I know all of this, and he did tell me that these things are risky, but the medicinal ingredient in his hands is the only one available across the globe. I have to get my hands on it no matter what.”Callum disagreed,
“Even so, you can get someone skilled at fighting to help you complete such a dangerous task.”At the mention of this, Elspeth felt a headache coming on.
“It’s not that I insisted on coming here myself. It’s mostly because only a honey trap would work on that Rayan guy, and Lisa and I are the only ones in the Evil Wind Sect who are skilled at fighting. Lisa has just come of age, so how could I have the heart to let her come here to suffer?”Finding no flaws in what she said, Callum finally accepted her excuse with a nod despite his reluctance. The next instant, however, he asked,
“Where are you staying now, then?”Elspeth’s back froze at once. She had made a deal with Arthur and was staying at his place because Callum had forsaken his relationship with her. If Callum were to find out that she was not only staying at Arthur’s place but also going to get engaged to him, he would probably skin her alive!
“I-“Before she could finish her sentence, their conversation was interrupted by the ringing of the phone.
“Surprise, surprise!”
Emma’s voice was sweet and clear on the other end of the line.
“Callum, I’m now at the airport in Eden! Can you come and pick me up?”
Without saying a word, Callum put the phone on mute and turned around to look at Elspeth behind him, who of course recognized whom the voice belonged to. Sitting on the edge of the bed, she instantly pulled a long face.
“Coming all the way here after you, eh? Seems like she’s really not gonna give up on you.”Jealous as she sounded, her response pleased Callum very much. He smilingly lifted a lock of her hair and toyed with it in his hand.
“What’s the matter? Are you being jealous?”Elspeth smacked his hand away with a hard slap. Smoothing her hair with her fingers, she retorted sarcastically,
“How could I dare to be jealous? Say, did you mute the phone because you’re afraid she might hear that I’m with you?””No, it’s not. It’s just that I don’t want to cause you any trouble.”
Callum’s voice dripped with helplessness and affection as he leaned over and pinched her face.”Hmph!”
Elspeth disagreed with a snort.Hearing no one speak on the other end of the line, Emma grew even more anxious.
“Callum, I’m here to attend the Fashion Week, and it occurred to me that you’re here as well. I don’t know anyone else around here, so could you come over to pick me up?”Any man would have been unable to turn down such a request, but Callum remained imperturbable as usual.
“I’m busy at the moment. How about I let my assistant pick you up instead?”He was apparently giving her the brush-off.After hearing this, Elspeth finally mumbled,
“Mm-hmm,”
in satisfaction.Sharp as Emma was, she immediately took notice of it.
“Callum, is someone with you over there? How come I heard a woman’s voice just now?””I’m in a meeting.”Callum said he was in a meeting, but in reality, his hands were naughtily moving along Elspeth’s fingers. Feeling the softness of her fingertips, he couldn’t help but squeeze and toy with them.”Callum!”
Elspeth warned under her breath before pushing him away. She whispered angrily,
“Can’t you behave yourself a little?!”
Such is how men always misbehave around women!”Why should I behave myself around you? You’re my girlfriend, no?”He had never realized before that her hands were actually so soft to the touch. Feeling turned on at once, he turned down the phone’s volume and carelessly tossed the phone aside. Then, he hooked his arm around Elspeth’s waist, pulling her into his arms.Pushing her hands against the man’s chest, which was coming closer and closer, Elspeth naturally changed the subject, pleading,
“Callum, let go of me. Emma is still on the phone. What if she overhears us?”Callum lowered his head; his eyes were dark and inscrutable in the dim light of the room.
“Don’t you want her to overhear us?”Elspeth looked up and happened to meet his gaze. Her heart skipped a beat; the next instant, he pressed his lips against hers with the intensity of a storm.Intermittent sounds were coming from the phone left on the soft quilt, but they didn’t affect the couple at all. After a long time, the sounds gradually died away until they were ultimately reduced to complete silence.Their lips tangled together, Elspeth and Callum smooched amorously with dreamy looks in their eyes. Just when Callum was about to proceed to the next step, she suddenly put out her hands and pressed them against his chest.
“Alright, this is enough.””Why don’t we continue?”
He had no intention of stopping at this point.She shot him a black look.
“What if you suddenly lost your emotional memories again like before? What about me?”Only then did Callum give up. Suppressing his urges, he gently wiped away the saliva at the corner of her mouth.
“Okay.””What about Emma, then?”
Elspeth asked. Now that Emma had arrived in Eden, her purpose was obvious: she was after Callum. Well, it’s just that she’ll probably give me trouble again now that she’s here. Elspeth felt a terrible headache coming on at the thought of this woman.”Don’t worry. If she dares to do anything to you, I won’t let her get away with it.”Her heart fluttered at the man’s resolute choice.
“Aren’t you gonna pick her up at the airport, then?””Why would I? She and I aren’t related or anything,”
Callum replied, looking just as usual.Only then did Elspeth nod in satisfaction.
“Alright, then, I’m going downstairs. Gotta get back to work, you know,”
she said. Then, she stood up and prepared to leave.Just then, however, Callum suddenly pinned her down in bed from behind.
“Didn’t I tell you not to work at such a place anymore?”Elspeth said helplessly,
“Once I get my hands on the scimitar, I won’t stay at such a place anymore. That I promise you, okay?”Callum’s expression eased at last when he heard the promise.
“Okay. If you need anything, I can help you with it.”…In the airport lobby, Emma had waited for half an hour, but Callum was still nowhere to be seen.It was particularly chilly in Eden this season, but she purposely dressed in stockings and a mini skirt to leave a good impression on Callum. Thinly clad at this very moment, she looked especially hilarious and pitiful among the crowd, who were all dressed in cotton-padded clothes.
“Achoo!”
She couldn’t help sneezing while growing more and more resentful.She wasn’t lying when she told Callum that she didn’t know her way around here. But now, seeing how the man had yet to arrive after a long time, she knew he probably wouldn’t come over and pick her up. Moreover, judging by the indistinct female voice on the other end, she was almost certain that he was probably with Elspeth at this very moment.The more she thought about this, the more upset she was. Feeling depressed deep down, she called Arthur right away, asking,
“Arthur, I’m now at the airport. Can you come over and pick me up?”At this moment, Arthur was making food in his villa, racking his brains over the dietary restrictions of everyone in the villa. The moment he heard Emma’s words, he felt a bit irritable.
“I’ll let my assistant pick you up.”What a familiar response and a familiar excuse! Anger instantly blazed up in Emma.
“Why are all of you so busy?”At this, Arthur realized that she must have turned to Callum beforehand and gotten rejected, which was why she had to put up with the second best by choosing him instead. His heart chilled at the realization, and he answered back,
“Does everyone have to idle around waiting for you?”Emma had never seen him like this before. His voice was chilly, and his manner was distant. Ever since he went overseas with Elspeth, his attitude toward her had changed drastically. It’s Elspeth again! All of them are turning their backs on me because of her!Emma lost her sense of superiority at once. For the first time in her life, she felt so humiliated, and her hatred for Elspeth grew as a result. In a fit of exasperation, she flung her phone directly to the ground.The loud clatter of the phone breaking into pieces attracted many onlookers around her.In an instant, a wave of embarrassment washed over Emma. Glancing left and right, she noticed that everyone was staring at her peculiarly. Going crimson in the face, she left the airport in a hurry….When Elspeth returned home, Arthur was making food in the kitchen, his slender fingers clenching the spatula as he did a casual stir-fry with an apron on. Despite his casual cooking posture, it was apparent that the food in the skillet was absolutely mouth-watering.Having finished cooking the last dish, he turned around to dish it out, only to see Elspeth hiding behind the kitchen door.
“Go wash your hands,”
he said.
“Miss Joneson and Isabel are out shopping today. They went out early this morning.”
Elspeth ran to the bathroom and washed her hands before hurrying to the kitchen to help set the table. After that, she plonked herself down, spooned up the food, and put it in her mouth.
“Apart from anything else, you’re pretty good at cooking.””Why wouldn’t you notice that I have other strong points besides my cooking?”
Arthur complained. Taking off his apron, he placed it aside on the dining table before sitting down to dine with her.”Sorry, but I don’t really have much of a good impression of you,”
Elspeth replied, slurring her words with her mouth full.Arthur spent a long time poking at the dishes before him without actually picking up any.
“I’m speechless.”Noticing that he seemed kind of unhappy, Elspeth quickly changed the subject.
“By the way, Emma has arrived in Eden. Do you know that?”Arthur paused for a moment.
“How did you know about this?”Elspeth froze before she could blurt out the answer.
“Uh, she’s gonna attend some Fashion Week, no? It’s been announced on the news.”Arthur looked askance at her before picking up the remote control on the dining table and turning on the TV.The news of Emma attending a fashion show in Eden had just aired on TV right after Elspeth had blurted out her reply. Realizing that the timelines didn’t match up, she had no choice but to make up another lie to cover up the previous one. With a flicker in her eyes, she said,
“I read about it on some tabloid website.”Arthur was in no hurry to expose her lies either. He asked with a calm smile,
“On which website did you read about it? I’d love to know that. Its source is so accurate.””Is there anything that I’m unaware of? I’m a world-famous hacker, after all,”
Elspeth replied. With the world’s best search device in her possession, learning about these things was merely a piece of cake.”So? So what if she’s in Eden?”
Arthur ate his meal leisurely.A look of disbelief touched Elspeth’s face when she saw how calm he looked.
“Aren’t you supposed to be excited about her coming here? You used to be Emma’s *ss-kisser, no?”Arthur’s lips twitched for a moment.
“I’m bored with kissing her *ss. One has to stop when their feelings for someone don’t get reciprocated.”
I swear I’m only saying this to stall her off, he thought to himself.However, seeing how he looked a little downcast, Elspeth realized she had touched a sore spot with him. Patting him on the shoulder with a chivalrous expression, she said out of a sense of justice,
