Filed to story: Sweetheart Do You Still Love Me
Something isn’t right. How have they not carried out the final act if they’re married?
“We are sleeping in different rooms. Miss Joneson, you can rest assured. I won’t make a move on Elspeth without her permission. The worst thing has yet to happen,” Callum explained in a serious tone.
His words provided Helia with an opportunity to see him in a new light. After all, most men gave in to temptation easily. However, he was different as he chose to respect Elspeth’s wishes. Without a doubt, he was a man whom one could entrust the rest of their life with.
Truth was, Helia felt sorry for them. If they aren’t relatives, they won’t face such a dilemma in the first place.
“Since you are sensible, I’ll stop nagging. I believe you know what is best for you.” She couldn’t hide the bitterness in her tone.
The discussion ended there as Elspeth changed the topic to ease the mood. “How did you come across the McGrath Family?”
Helia sighed deeply. “At first, I was doing just fine in another country. One day, a local thug had his eye on me and wanted me to marry him. At that time, almost everyone knew I lived alone. Thus, I was moving away to avoid him. However, he learned it from somebody, so he barged into my house and forced himself on me.”
She was sharing another tragic story, but Elspeth could tell there was more than that.
“I grabbed the vase from the side and smashed him in the head, but I accidentally killed him with that. Even though I was afraid, I turned myself in. Due to it being an act of self-defense and I surrendered voluntarily, I was sentenced to fifteen years of imprisonment.”
Elspeth could never imagine such a weak woman like Helia would toughen up one day. After hearing Helia’s story, she had mixed feelings as she was both upset that Helia had to suffer many mishaps in life and felt bad for the woman for being unable to settle down in one place.
“What happened after you got out of jail?”
“At first, everything was fine after I got released from prison. I got myself a normal job. Even though I didn’t get paid much, it was enough to sustain my day-to-day expenses. Somehow, the thug’s family managed to find me and they blackmailed me to pay them every month. As I disobeyed them, they found a way to ruin my life. At last, I was dismissed and had to take a job as a sanitation worker. They finally decided to leave me alone because I looked miserable in their eyes.”
Elspeth studied every detail of Helia’s face. Even though she’s aged, she’s still as beautiful as ever.
However, she couldn’t help but sigh as she remembered Helia had to endure all the hardships in her life.
“One day, I came across a person on the street. He took me by surprise and knocked me out. After that, I woke up to find myself on an operating table without clothes on.”
The story continued, and Elspeth couldn’t pin down the feeling that was wrenching her heart.
“They said I have special blood and it could be used in different experiments. I was scared, so I tried my best to run away, but I always got caught and beaten up by them. However, they didn’t experiment on me. Instead, they locked me up with the excuse of making the most of my value.”
Elspeth’s gaze was filled with iciness when she heard that. By making the most of her value, they must have thought to use her to drag me down because they found that we look alike.
“Truth be told, Elspeth, I have seen you before.”
She what?
Elspeth couldn’t help her curiosity. She had a strange feeling that she also found Helia familiar. “And where was that?”
According to Elspeth’s memory, her recent trip abroad was half a year ago.
Half a year ago, she and Arthur had to travel abroad to treat Helena’s disease.
“It was back when I was a sanitation worker in another country. Once, you were visiting the red-light district. I tried to stop you, but you headed there without looking back.”
Memories flooded Elspeth’s mind at the clues.
Helia was right. Elspeth had to disguise herself and hide in the red-light district to get what she wanted.
She indeed came across a female sanitation worker on the way, and the woman warned her to stay away from the area.
At that time, she paid the woman’s warning no mind, and the incident eventually slipped her mind.
“Did you recognize me right away?”
Helia’s eyes immediately misted over with tears at the question. “You’re my daughter. Besides, you resemble the younger me. How could I not recognize you? Just one look and I knew you were my daughter.”
Back then, Helia thought she was imagining things when she saw Elspeth in the middle of work.
The second time she saw Elspeth, she finally believed that the daughter who had been on her mind forever was right before her eyes.
She would never mistake Elspeth for somebody else. Elspeth is exactly the younger version of me.
However, when Helia recalled the things that had happened to her, she was too ashamed to reveal her identity. She didn’t want Elspeth to learn about the existence of her infamous mother, so Helia refrained from approaching Elspeth.
Thus, once she learned that Elspeth would visit the red-light district from time to time and always take the route they first met, Helia frequented the place. When she was cleaning the streets, she would watch Elspeth from afar just to ensure her daughter’s safety.
“Why didn’t you tell me anything?”
If Helia approached her back then, Elspeth swore she would have taken good care of Helia. She wouldn’t have let Helia suffer even more on her own.
“I don’t want to disappoint you. You must have expected a better mother. Don’t you think a mother who works as a sanitation worker will only embarrass you?”
Helia was well aware that she wasn’t good enough to be Elspeth’s mother, so she suppressed the thought and buried it deep.
In her opinion, only a woman as elegant and noble as Helena was the best choice as Elspeth’s mother.
“It’s not like that. No matter what you did, you’re always my mother. I’ll never look down upon you. Instead, I feel bad about the hardships you had to endure.”
Elspeth gently held Helia’s hand. A glint of warmth shone in her gaze as she murmured, “Now I’m capable of taking care of you. You don’t have to worry about being a burden to me.”
Helia smiled through tears. “You’re right. You grew up to be an excellent woman. I have nothing to worry about.”
Elspeth single-handedly established her company at a young age and her business was thriving. Besides, she was also doing well in other fields. She was more capable than most people of her age.
“How about this, once Callum and I divorce, I’ll move out with you.”
Callum’s eyes dimmed at the suggestion and he asked slowly, “Is the Winthrop Residence not good enough?”
“It’s not about that. It’s just not a good idea.”
Elspeth worried that Helia would have to relive the bad memories during her stay. After all, Helia was frail, and staying in such a place would only aggravate both her physical and mental health.
“Why not? Miss Joneson has moved on.”
Callum insisted on Helia and Elspeth staying.
After all, he was reluctant to let Elspeth go.
Helia felt bad to separate them. However, when she thought about the pair being blood-related, she could only agree with Elspeth’s suggestion to avoid the pair from continuing to see each other.
“All right. Let’s move out together.”
Elspeth nodded. “But you’ll have to compromise with this place for the next few days. We’ll move out once I’m divorced.”
At this point, Callum knew better than to try stopping her.
Noticing that Helia was a little tired, Elspeth showed her to a guest room to rest.
After Elspeth came out, Callum shot her a question as he studied the weary look on her face. “Do you really believe that we are blood-related?”
He remained skeptical about the matter.
Elspeth shook her head. “I don’t know what to think. Judging from how confident my mother is about it, I think she might be right.”
“Have you thought about how we should deal with our relationship if we find out we are blood-related in the end?”
Indeed, Elspeth had given it a thought. The moment Helia told them about their relationship, she already began to think over the situation in her mind.
“We have to break up if we’re cousins.”
She wasn’t the kind of person who dared cross the line, and she couldn’t do it either.
The older generation’s feud didn’t bother her that much, but the possible blood relationship between Callum and her gave her second thoughts.
“Are you willing to give up on us? On me?” Callum was a tall man. When he talked, he was looking down at her with sad eyes.
“Of course not! But we can’t be cousins and lovers at the same time.”
