Filed to story: Sweetheart Do You Still Love Me
Has Arthur returned as well? Max already knew what kind of person Arthur was, so he immediately frowned when he saw the man. “Who invited you?”
“Mom did. What’s wrong? Am I not welcome here?” replied Arthur with a faint smile, seemingly unaffected by the others’ emotions.
“I don’t know what’s on Mom’s mind. She’s still willing to invite you to her birthday party when you’ve already become like this.” Max had always been straightforward, but this statement did not affect Arthur at all.
“Mom raised me. Is there any problem with her inviting me back to attend her birthday party?”
It was pointless to argue with him about such things, so Max glared at him coldly before turning back to sit on the couch.
Meanwhile, Arthur raised his head and casually glanced at Elspeth, who was standing not far away. “Long time no see, Elspeth,” he said smilingly.
Elspeth put on a fake smile and replied, “That’s not quite true. We just met two days ago, after all.”
The group’s conversation was extremely awkward, and the atmosphere was oppressive.
Just then, Yelena arrived. When she saw the group of people sitting on the couch while looking at each other awkwardly, she was slightly startled and didn’t say anything. “Why are there so many people here? Am I late?”
Her sudden appearance happened to resolve the awkwardness there.
Of course, she was quite sensible; she immediately noticed Arthur, who seemed out of place in the crowd. With a hint of disgust on her face, she said, “Why are you here too?”
Arthur looked down upon her boisterous personality, so he ignored her completely.
“Hey! I’m talking to you.” She rolled up her sleeves and was ready to confront him, but Max quickly held her back.
Even Elspeth rubbed her temples resignedly. This little one loves causing trouble.
“No matter where I am, what does it have to do with you?” Arthur’s eyes were cold, and his words were very unpleasant. “You’re just an outsider to the Winthrop Family, so you have no right to judge me.”
“Hey! You’d better watch your words, Arthur. I’ve disliked you for a long time. You bullied Elspeth so badly before this, and now, you dare come here without any shame. Are you looking for a beating?” Yelena was angry for Elspeth’s sake, and she was displeased at the sight of Arthur.
“Me? Bullying Elspeth? Who told you that? Was it Elspeth herself or someone else?” Just then, an affectionate smile tugged on his lips, and there was a hint of reluctance on his face. “We got along quite well when we were abroad, so you’re defaming me.” He emphasized the words ‘quite well’, so everyone couldn’t help but imagine what had happened between the two.
Hearing that, Yelena became furious. “I’m warning you-don’t tarnish Elspeth’s reputation anymore!”
“Okay, the last dish is ready. All of you, come and eat!” shouted Margot from afar, breaking the tense atmosphere between the two at once.
With that, they all shuffled toward Margot respectively. Along the way, the furious Yelena passed by Arthur and angrily bumped into him. However, she was too weak, so he didn’t feel anything. It was just like a mosquito bite, not doing much harm.
As they sat down at the table, Elspeth saw that Yelena had deliberately chosen a seat opposite Arthur. At that moment, a faint sense of ominousness rose in her heart.
It was Margot’s birthday today, so she had dressed up for it.
“Mrs. Winthrop, I wish you eternal youth and a life filled with happiness,” Yelena wished her sweetly and passed her a birthday gift, which made happiness bloom inside Margot. Then, she looked at Arthur opposite her and asked provocatively, “What present are you giving to Mrs. Winthrop?”
Hearing that, Arthur took out a gift box from his pocket. The packaging was small and exquisite, looking expensive at first glance.
As soon as he placed the gift box on the table, Yelena reached out her hand and snatched it. “Let me take a look at your gift. I’m quite curious.”
She was inherently a childish person and coupled with her coquettish and cutesy way of speaking, no one dared say she was rude, so everyone just let her be. Even Margot sat there and smiled with half- closed eyes, appearing to like this prospective daughter-in-law very much.
After opening the box and taking a glance, she noticed an emerald ring inside. Then, she took it out to study it under the light. Right after that, she pursed her lips in disdain. “The emerald in this ring doesn’t look like much. Are you giving this to Mrs. Winthrop?”
“It’s still a token of appreciation from Arthur.” Margot knew that Yelena was straightforward, so she didn’t criticize her. “No matter how much it’s worth, it’s the thought that counts.”
Dissatisfied, Yelena tugged on Margot’s arm and said coquettishly, “I think you deserve the best in this world, Mrs. Winthrop. You’re so beautiful that wearing a ring like this will only degrade you. I’ll take you out and get you a bigger gem when I have the time.” These were the words of a young girl. Although it was rather rude, she still sounded adorable.
Margot was flattered by her words. “Okay, I’ll wait for you to buy a bigger one in the future.”
“Alright! In that case, I’ll take care of this ring for you, Mrs. Winthrop.” As soon as she said that, she threw the ring into a nearby trash can. Obviously, she was provoking Arthur.
She was secretly pleased with herself after doing that, knowing that her behavior was humiliating him. She was ready to see him snap, but she didn’t expect him to be expressionless when she looked at him.
How can he endure this? In the end, she sat back down, dejected.
When Elspeth saw her actions, all she could feel was panic. Fortunately, Margot had a good temper and liked Yelena. Otherwise, if someone else had thrown her birthday gift directly into the trash can, she would have flipped the table by now.
At this thought, Elspeth tugged on Yelena’s sleeve and whispered, “Don’t go too far.”
“I know what I’m doing; I’m just standing up for you. Look at how cocky this guy is. I just want to knock him down a peg.” Yelena snorted. When she lowered her head, she noticed a familiar pair of shoes under the table and hatched another plan.
Pretending to drink water, she picked up the cup next to her and carelessly spilled it on the ground after taking a sip. As such, the water landed on the man’s feet. She had spilled quite a bit, so the inside of his shoes was completely soaked. Still feeling unsatisfied, she stretched out her foot and stomped on his shoe.
“Who spilled water on my shoe and stepped on me?!” A surprised cry rang out, and the man’s shriek echoed through the air.
When she heard the voice, the smile on her face faded instantly. Why is Max the one yelling?
“It’s still a token of appreciation from Arthur.” Margot knew that Yelena was straightforward, so she didn’t criticize her. “No matter how much it’s worth, it’s the thought that counts.”
Yelena intended to play a prank on Arthur, but she accidentally pranked Max instead, so guilt immediately overwhelmed her. “I’m sorry. I was drinking water just now, and it spilled on your shoes. I accidentally stepped on you too.” She glared at Arthur as she spoke, who was still smiling nonchalantly. Yelena cursed at him in secret. He’s such an *sshole!
Seeing that it was Yelena, Max’s rage subsided a little. “Oh, it’s okay. It’s fine since it’s you. Just be careful next time.”
At this moment, Edmund couldn’t resist smacking Max on the back of his head while commenting sarcastically, “What do you mean it’s okay because it’s her? Would you have beaten us up if it was one of us? What a great brother you are. We’re nothing in the face of your woman.” Edmund was always sharp-tongued, so everyone was used to it.
“Edmund!” Max grumbled unhappily.
His wet shoes felt uncomfortable, so he left his seat to change them upstairs.
After Edmund’s teasing, the atmosphere instantly eased up.
When Elspeth looked at Yelena, who was biting her fork and feeling embarrassed, she couldn’t help but sigh. “I told you not to go too far. See, you’ve caused trouble again.”
“I didn’t mean to. Besides, I wanted to get justice for you. Max was wearing the same shoes, so I mistook him for Arthur.” Yelena lowered her head, looking like a guilty little girl.
Seeing that she showed remorse, Elspeth didn’t want to scold her anymore. She then advised with a sigh, “Be more careful next time, and don’t act impulsively.”
Yelena nodded like a chick pecking at some seeds. “Okay, okay, I got it. I will listen to you from now on.”
After a while, Max changed his shoes and came back downstairs. He changed his clothes as well.
When Yelena saw him, she tried to ease the tension between them by asking with a smile, “You said you wanted me to come over and pick up something today. What is it?”
However, his expression seemed a bit off. He shook his head and answered, “Not today. Maybe next time.”
Yelena felt guilty after hearing that, thinking she had upset him with her prank. Thus, she didn’t ask any further questions.
However, Elspeth felt that something was amiss, for she could sense his motive when he spoke with such enthusiasm earlier. He’s probably going to propose today, so why is he going back on his plan right now?
She didn’t want them to miss this opportunity, so she spoke up. “Why not today? Did something come up?”
Just when Max parted his lips and wanted to say something, Callum, who had been silent all this while, suddenly said, “I don’t think this matter has anything to do with you. You should mind your own business.”
The moment these words came out of his mouth, everyone in the room became on edge. It wasn’t just hurtful; it was like stabbing a dagger into Elspeth’s heart, but the words were effective as she immediately stopped talking.
Fine, if you don’t want me to ask, I won’t. After all, I’m not part of the Winthrop Family, and I have no right to say much.
Even Max thought the words sounded too harsh, so he gave Elspeth a resigned look. “I’m sorry, Elspeth. Callum doesn’t speak very tactfully. I hope you’re not offended, but today’s not the day.”
Elspeth was quite calm, even managing to flash him a smile. “It’s fine. I don’t mind.”
Although Elspeth was calm, this was not the case for Yelena. She stood up sharply, fuming with anger. “What do you mean? So what if she said a few words? Or do you think she’s had too much food in your house, so that’s why you’re sticking your nose into everything?” This was an outright declaration of war.
Callum replied calmly, “No matter what you do, you should respect the rules of the host and not cross the line. I believe any normal person would understand this principle.” This also served as a disguised reprimand for Yelena’s impulsive behavior earlier.
If Callum and Elspeth were still in a relationship, she would’ve seen his words as advice and humbly accepted them, but now that they had broken up, his words were just provocative.
“Fine, this is your home, and if there are so many rules here, then uncouth people like us shouldn’t stay here. Let’s go, Elspeth.” She pulled Elspeth’s wrist, ready to leave, but Elspeth remained unmoved. This made her confused. “Why are you not moving? He said such things to you, so why do you still want to stay?”
At this moment, Elspeth forced a smile. “It’s okay. Let’s just finish celebrating Mrs. Winthrop’s birthday first.” There were two reasons why she didn’t want to leave right away. On one hand, she didn’t want to worsen the relationship between Yelena and Max, and on the other, she didn’t want to ruin Margot’s birthday party today.”