Filed to story: Sweetheart Do You Still Love Me
Elspeth parted her lips to speak, but she couldn’t find the words at all. She didn’t know how to explain herself to him at that point. In fact, she didn’t even feel like explaining anything to him when she saw how emotionless he seemed. Is this how little we trust each other? Elspeth felt both frustrated and amused.
“Alright. I understand.” Callum smirked. “Don’t worry. You don’t have to give birth to my child if you don’t want to,” he uttered.
“Callum!” Elspeth’s face turned pale.
“In fact, if you don’t like being married to me, then we could just-“
“What’s the point of saying all these things?” Elspeth found it hard to breathe, so she pressed her hand against the wall to steady herself. “I know you find it hard to understand my actions for now, but can’t you just trust me for a bit?”
“I don’t know how to do that.” Callum stuffed both his hands into the pockets of his coat as he took a step back. “I won’t stop you from aborting the child. I’ll leave now.” He turned around to walk away, but his footsteps seemed rather unsteady as he left. He was just as hurt as Elspeth was.
The child in her belly was a product of their love. Yet, she seemed to insist on getting rid of the child without explaining herself to him. Callum felt extremely confused, and he decided to leave before he ended up saying anything hurtful to her. He hastened his footsteps at that thought. When he turned around a corner, he tilted his head back to find Elspeth crouching on the ground with both her hands covering her face. She had curled up into a ball.
Callum knew that she was crying. He took a deep breath before he made a phone call. “Hello.”
“What is it? Is anything the matter?” the person on the other end of the line asked.
“Can you come over to be with Elspeth? She’s in the hospital.”
“The hospital?” the person cried loudly. “What’s she doing there on her own?”
“She’s here to abort her child. You should come over to be with her,” Callum replied.
“An abortion? Is Elspeth pregnant? Why is she aborting the child?”
“I’m not sure, but I guess she has her own reasons.”
“Why do I feel so infuriated by your words?” Yelena stomped her foot on the ground as she confronted the man in a stern tone. “Am I her husband, or are you her husband? Shouldn’t you be at the hospital with her?” How could Callum neglect his responsibilities at a time like this? Yelena found this man utterly despicable. Despite that, she still got herself ready to head to the hospital.
“We had an argument. I don’t think she wants to see me now,” Callum explained.
“You’re a man. Why are you being so petty about these things?!” Yelena scowled as she threw a coat over her shoulders. Callum simply gave her the address of the hospital before he ended the call. When he turned around again, Elspeth was no longer anywhere to be seen.
…
Yelena couldn’t seem to reach Elspeth through her phone. Elspeth had decided to switch hospitals in the end as she simply couldn’t stand the idea of going through surgery under Arthur’s supervision. Elspeth lay on the surgical table of the new hospital, and she felt her eyelids getting heavy as she gazed up at the bright, white lights hanging above her head.
She had just been administered a dose of anesthesia, and she had felt a sting when the needle pierced her skin. The pain reminded her of Callum. He’s probably still mad at me. I’m sure he doesn’t understand my actions. He must think that I’m heartless to abort a child that we’ve been hoping for so long. Maybe I really am the most heartless person on earth.
Elspeth’s heart ached at the thought of this. However, as the anesthesia’s effects spread through her body, she could no longer keep herself awake. She felt her head getting heavier, and she later felt an emptiness in her abdomen. It felt as if something had been removed from within her-her body felt a lot lighter after that. She felt like she was dreaming the entire time.
About half an hour later, Elspeth opened her eyes to find out that the surgery had ended. She felt some discomfort as she got to her feet, but she didn’t feel anything else beyond that. “The surgery was a success, Miss Lynwood. You should get a lot of rest once you get home.” The nurse spoke to her in a gentle tone.
All she could think of was that her child was gone for good.
However, Elspeth was in no mood to be grieving over her child.
She was perplexed to the point where she didn’t know what she was thinking.
The nurse kept going on about some reminders, but she didn’t listen to any of them.
When she left the ward, someone was standing at the door. Instantly, her tears streamed down like a water tap that had been turned on.
“Elspeth…” Yelena spread her arms wide, allowing her friend to fall into her arms.
For the first time, she saw how fragile Elspeth was. She has always been my protector, but today, she looks like a broken doll.
“Elspeth, does it hurt?”
Even though Yelena had never given birth before, she knew how painful it must be for a woman after a miscarriage. Despite that, she could only comfort her friend gently and shed tears for her.
Caressing her face with a smile, Elspeth asked, “What are you crying for? It’s not like you went for the surgery.”
“I feel so bad for you.” Yelena only realized she had a nasal voice then. Suddenly, she clenched her teeth hard. “Callum is going overboard. It’s your surgery day! He was the one who made this happen, yet he’s avoiding you now. I’m starting to doubt if you married the right person.”
“Did Callum send you here?” Elspeth captured the point.
“Yeah. He said he has no guts to face you and claims that you hate him, but from my perspective, I think he’s just a coward!” Yelena then took off her jacket and draped it over Elspeth’s shoulders. “Come on. Stay over at my place for a few days.”
Even before marriage, Elspeth had never been to Yelena’s house, so she had no reason to go after her marriage, but now that Yelena invited her to come over, Elspeth nodded unexpectedly. “Let me make a phone call first.”
Yelena sighed bitterly. “Why are you still considering his feelings when he treats you like this?”
Lowering his head, Elspeth took out her phone and dialed a number. Three rings later, the receiver answered. “Hello.”
“I’m not coming home tonight. I’m sleeping over at Yelena’s.”
“Okay. Be safe.”
Elspeth hummed an “okay” and hung up the call.
Callum’s expression darkened when he heard the end call sound. He picked up the glass of wine and downed it. The wine stained the corners of his lips and streamed down his chin.
Wine bottles were surrounding him, and he appeared groggy due to the continuous shots of alcohol.
He subconsciously wanted to say no to Elspeth staying over at someone’s place, but did he have the right to? In her eyes, he must be a cold-blooded and ruthless man now. A self-righteous man who never considered her feelings.
If he couldn’t even agree to her simple request, he wasn’t worthy of being her husband.
With that, he swallowed the words that he nearly blurted and instead answered, “Okay. Be safe.”
The long silence on the other end of the call made him assume that he had done something wrong, but eventually, Elspeth did not say another word.
Callum started feeling anxious, but just as he was about to speak, Elspeth ended the call.
Staring at the number on his phone screen, he intended to call her back, but he just couldn’t summon the courage to do so. Hence, he tossed his phone aside and continued drinking.
Before he knew it, he was already drunk.
He sat in front of the large window on the first floor and watched the moonlight shining in. Only then did he realize in a daze that it was already nighttime.
With the alcohol drowning his system, he felt a severe headache. He fished out his phone to check the time.
It was 8.00PM.
Unknowingly, he had been drinking for four hours straight.
Callum staggered to get up, his eyes dim. He was still conscious despite being wasted, and his mind went crazy thinking about Elspeth.
Leaning on the couch, he took out his phone to call her.
She didn’t answer the first call, so he dialed once again.
He was sure that it wasn’t her bedtime yet, but the second call still didn’t get through after a long ring.
Without giving up, he dialed for the third time.
Someone picked up.
“Hello.”
He wasn’t sure of the reason, but perhaps due to his desperate longing for her, he thought he heard two voices. Nonetheless, he ignored that and merely blamed it on the alcohol. “Elspeth.”
He sounded drunk but extra tender.
“What’s wrong? It’s late.”
“I miss you.”
“Have you been drinking?”
