Filed to story: Sweetheart Do You Still Love Me
“Alright, this complicates things.”
Elspeth nodded. They exchanged a look and were about to leave, but then someone closed the door all of a sudden. Callum looked outside the window and saw a familiar figure at the entrance-it was Jasmine.
“Hey, long time no see.” Jasmine was standing right outside the door, staring at the locked couple. There was a scoff flashing in her eyes.
“What do you want?”
Jasmine’s eyes went wide. “What do I want? That’s none of your business.”
“Jasmine, stop messing around.” Elspeth was a little nervous. The signal was bad here. If they were to lock up in here, nobody would come to find them.
“What? Are you scared? Well, why don’t you grovel before me and call me master? If you do that, maybe I’ll whip up some food and let you guys live longer.” Jasmine cackled. She was delighted to see Elspeth locked up like a dog. “Finally. I’ve been staking out your place for a whole week. And I finally get my chance to get back at you.”
Jasmine turned the key around and pulled it out. Good. It’s locked twice. She held the key up and wagged it before the couple. “My, aren’t you guys careless? You should’ve kept an eye on this. But it doesn’t matter. I can keep it for you.”
“Jasmine, you’re playing with fire. It might burn your whole family down,” said Callum calmly. He wasn’t intimidated by the situation in the slightest.
His calm demeanor made Jasmine nervous. “Don’t try to scare me. They don’t know I’m here. And the signal’s bad here. Nobody knows you guys are locked up. And nobody knows it’s me. Even if they can find you, you’d be long dead by then.” She laughed maniacally. “You can’t scare me.” She scoffed.
Callum looked at her coolly, his gaze filled with silent danger. “Very well. Let’s see who breaks first. Us, or your family.”
“You’re still acting tough, huh? I’d like to see how long you can hold it up.” Jasmine’s chest was heaving. She was livid.
“You’ll see if it’s an act soon enough.” Callum’s eyes glinted with murder.
“In any case, you guys are locked. Let’s see how you escape.” She crossed her arms and chuckled.
“Too early to celebrate, Jasmine.”
Callum’s threat managed to scare Jasmine for a moment, but it lost its effect after a while. “I used to like you, but now, I’m disappointed. Since you want to be with her, you guys will suffer as I did.”
She cackled like a mad witch finally succeeding in her devious spellcasting. Just then, thunder roared. Jasmine looked at the ominous sky and frowned slightly. “It’s going to rain soon. Time for me to go, then. Have fun, you two.” With that, she got into her car and drove off.
The couple exchanged a look, both having their own ideas to escape.
Elspeth tugged on Callum’s sleeve as she asked, “So, what’s your plan?”
“Don’t worry. We’ll be fine.” Callum patted her head.
Just when he was about to say something, the woman rolled her eyes. “I’m not worried. Just want to know if you have a plan. If your plan’s too convoluted, we’ll go with mine instead.”
“I’ve sent them a signal. They should arrive soon.” His underlings should have gotten the signal for help.
So, we have to wait, huh? Elspeth clicked her tongue impatiently.
Callum was amused by her actions. “So, what’s your plan?” Is she going to smash the door with her head?
The thought alone made him smile. Elspeth noticed that, and she knew Callum must be thinking of something stupid.
“Alright, out of my way.” She tugged on the lock and picked up a stretch of thin steel thread. She was going to pick the lock.
“You can pick locks?” Callum was surprised, but he let Elspeth do her magic. This wasn’t the first time she surprised him. In retrospect, it wasn’t surprising that she had another skill.
“I know a lot more than I let on.” She looked at him smugly and moved her hands around. Before long, the rusty lock opened up. “I could’ve picked it faster, but it’s rusty.”
A hint of delight flared in the man’s eyes. “You’re awesome.”
“Naturally. Alright, it’s going to rain soon. We should go back.” Just when they were about to leave, a car charged straight out of nowhere and came right at them.
They knew something was wrong. Callum shouted, “Split up!”
They ran in opposite directions, and the car made a quick turn. It went after Elspeth. Despite her best efforts, the car easily caught up to her and got in her way. She stopped, breathing heavily as she looked at the car.
A suited man got out of the car, and a man in black got out of the passenger seat, holding up an umbrella for the man. “It’s been a while, Elspeth.” Arthur smiled gently. Noticing Elspeth getting drenched, he cocked his eyebrow. “You shouldn’t let the lady get drenched. Get a set of clothes for her to change.”
“Cut the crap, Arthur. What the hell do you want?”
“What else?” Upset by the quality of this conversation, he stepped forth in an attempt to get closer to her. The woman quickly took a step back. “Aww, don’t back off. I’m not a monster. Not like I’m going to eat you.” He smirked. “Besides, I like you. I won’t hurt you.”
How on earth can he be so f*cking clingy? “Can you stop coming after me? You disgust me.”
“I’m disgusting? All I want is to get along with the woman I like.” Arthur shrugged.
“Shut it. What do you want?” He’s not a bearer of good news. And he almost killed us. Oh, no. “You’re going to kill us, aren’t you?”
Shocked, he said, “Oh, no. I love you too much for that. Even if I want to kill someone, it’d be Callum.”
“But you came after me. You can’t catch up to him now.”
Arthur exchanged a smile with the man in black before turning his attention back to Elspeth. “Do you think I’d be that stupid?”
“What do you mean?”
“Oh, I’m not the only pursuer tonight. Someone else went after him.”
Oh, no. He’s in danger. Elspeth roared, “He’s your brother!”
“Oh, please. He doesn’t see me as his brother, and it’s been that way for a long time. Don’t try to use that nonsense to persuade me out of it. It’s too late for that.”
She sighed and asked, “What’s the condition? What do I have to do to save him?”
“No negotiations. I must kill him, or you will never be with me.” Arthur shook his head. Elspeth tried to strike a deal with the same term before, but as long as Callum was alive, she would never truly be his. This time, he wouldn’t fall for the same trick again. The best way to take out his competition was to get rid of him in the wilderness.
“Murder is against the law.”
Arthur’s smile didn’t diminish. “I know that much. But I never said I’m the one who killed him.”
Elspeth sneered. “But your men are acting on your orders.”
“And why do you think I would be blamed for the murder?”
Shocked, Elspeth said, “You’re going to scapegoat Jasmine?”
“She’s my get-out-of-jail card. It’d be a waste not to use her, don’t you think?”
Arthur didn’t care who the scapegoat was. If it weren’t for Jasmine locking Elspeth and Callum up, he wouldn’t have done this. However, now that he had the chance to kill Callum and pin all the blame on Jasmine, he’d seize it, no matter what.
“You’re evil.” Elspeth took a step back and stepped into a pool of mud.
“Don’t try to fight. I said I won’t hurt you. Now, come with me. It’s raining out here. You don’t want to catch a cold, right?”
The man tried to hold her, but she swatted his hand away. “Don’t touch me. You’re disgusting.”
“You still think I’m disgusting, huh?” Arthur stared down, his eyes filled with cold fury.
“I’ve always thought you’re disgusting. You’re the most disgusting man in the world.” Elspeth was riling him up so he would tell her all his plans.
And he took the bait. “I’m disgusting?! I did it all for you! I have to kill him. That’s the only way to get you. Without him, we can be together.” He stepped forward and forcefully grabbed her hand. “Do you have any idea how long I’ve waited for this?”
She shot him an icy look. “What did you do to him?”
“Nothing much. I just told my men to hide in the bushes and ambush him. Once he shows up, they’re going to grab him. First, they’ll cut off his limbs. Then, they’ll slowly rip his insides out…”
The description was getting gory, and Elspeth started retching in disgust.
“I know you won’t listen to me, so don’t ask. Now, come with me. There’s water in the car. You’ll feel better once you have some water.”
Arthur picked her up in a princess carry. The woman tried to break free of his grasp, but she had no strength left. The sprinting from earlier took all she had. Thus, she gave up resisting and tried to come up with a plan to escape. Callum can hold on for a bit.
Noticing what she was thinking, the man shook his head, smiling. “You can’t run this time. No matter what you say, I won’t agree to it.” Callum must die.
