Filed to story: Sweetheart Do You Still Love Me
At this moment, nothing Elspeth said could stir any emotions in his heart.
“All right, have you thought it through?” Arthur looked at the two frantic men next to him and asked, “Are you sure you want to make an exchange with me?”
“Enough with the nonsense and hurry up.” Edmund watched his actions, his eyes practically blazing with anger.
“Callum, I want you to hand your position as CEO of Winthrop Group to me, and you can never step foot into the business circle for the rest of your life.”
Callum’s face fell when he heard that.
“As for Edmund, I don’t have much of a grudge against you, so I don’t plan on giving you a hard time, but if you plan to take Callum’s side, I won’t hold back on you either.”
Edmund chortled, replying with his usual sarcasm, “I’m not on his side, but I definitely won’t side with an ungrateful dog.”
An ungrateful dog… The implication behind these words certainly left a sting.
Finally understanding the meaning behind his words, Arthur did not lose his temper but doubled up with laughter instead. “You never change, Edmund. You’re exactly the same as before.”
“That’s right. You’ve never changed either; you’re still like a pitiful and groveling dog.”
Arthur instantly lost his temper as the words pitiful and groveling viciously jabbed at the wound in his heart. “Edmund, don’t think that I don’t dare to hurt you.”
Edmund was slightly taller than Arthur. At this moment, he straightened his back and looked at him calmly. “Arthur, I’ve already said that you really are amusing. All these stinging words you’re saying now are hilarious to me.”
Stinging words… As expected of Edmund; he knew how to hit him where it hurt most.
Arthur nearly lost it. Edmund was just standing there, practically itching for a punch in the face. As long as he pounced on him, he could definitely teach him a lesson with the advantage that came with the knife in his hand. He nearly followed his instincts, but just as the knife left Elspeth’s neck, he instantly pressed it back against her skin, way closer than just now.
Arthur sent them a blood-curdling smile. “I know you’re trying to anger me on purpose. You’re working together with Callum, right?”
If he hadn’t spotted the readiness in Callum’s gaze out of the corner of his eyes earlier, he might have been restrained by now.
“You really are my beloved brothers.” Arthur chuckled as he tightened his grasp on Elspeth, causing her to gasp for breath.
Meanwhile, Edmund was enraged by the sight. Arthur was too cunning; he hadn’t expected him to see through their plan like this. On the contrary, Callum was a little calmer. Now that their current plan had fallen through, he could only try to come up with another one.
Arthur’s expression turned impatient as he said, “Have you made up your mind yet? I’m not that patient.”
“As long as I promise you, you’ll let her go, right?”
Arthur nodded, appearing honest and trustworthy. “Of course. As long as you’re willing to promise me, I will listen to you and release her.”
“Then let me take you upstairs to sign the contract.”
“Why are we going upstairs to sign the contract? Just print out the contract and bring it down.” Arthur became impatient and his tone was aggressive with a hint of anger.
Everyone did not notice that Jethro, who was being low-key, had quietly moved behind him, waiting for an opportunity to strike. Callum pretended not to notice and continued to calmly ask him, “Can we negotiate? You release her first, and then I will go to the company to give you the transfer of shares contract.”
“Why should I trust you? What if you go back on your word after I release her?” Arthur was not stupid and knew that this was just a trick to deceive him.
“But the transfer of the CEO position is not that easy; it requires the entire Winthrop Family to vote and decide.”
Arthur didn’t care about those things, and his smile was vicious as he said, “That’s your own business. As the CEO, I’m sure you’re smart and can definitely make these things happen.”
Just as he finished speaking, Jethro, who had been silent, suddenly rushed forward, aiming to knock the knife out of Arthur’s hand. Even though Arthur’s reaction was fast, he was still one step too slow. He watched the knife fall to the ground and was momentarily distracted. At that moment, Elspeth bent her arm and used her elbow to hit him hard in the abdomen. This was one of the most vulnerable parts of the human body, which her self-defense trainer had emphasized before.
Sure enough, Arthur bent over in pain and groaned. Elspeth took advantage of this to run toward Callum. Feeling the warmth of his embrace, she finally breathed a sigh of relief. Callum held her tightly, savoring the feeling of reclaiming something he had lost. He was determined not to be careless again and positioned himself protectively in front of Elspeth. Meanwhile, Jethro had already withdrawn, and the rest of the group watched Arthur’s contorted expression. All of them had different thoughts.
In the end, it was Blake who said, “Arthur, turn back.”
With a hopeless look in his eyes, Arthur gazed at the people before him, though deep down he knew his heart had already died. At this moment, he was already beyond redemption, so how could he turn back?
“I can’t turn back anymore.”
“No, you can turn back. You can surrender yourself and apologize to Max and Callum. I believe they will forgive you eventually.” Despite everything, Blake still clung to the hope that Arthur could change for the better, as long as he was willing to do so.
“What’s the use of telling him all of this? How could he possibly change? To him, he’s never wrong.” Edmund knew Arthur better than anyone else. Arthur was an extremely selfish and twisted person with a pathological mindset. It was a waste of breath to talk to him. This naturally reached Arthur’s ears. He chuckled, picked up the knife from the ground, and played with it in his hand. There was a hint of pride in his smile as if he had never lost.
“You’re right. You’re absolutely right. I’ve never done anything wrong.”
Just when everyone thought he was going to hurt someone, he suddenly stabbed himself in the chest. When blood spurted out, everyone panicked.
No one expected that he would end his life in this way. Arthur had studied medicine and knew where to strike to ensure a sure death. With too much blood loss, even if an ambulance arrived, he couldn’t be saved. They watched in horror as Arthur collapsed onto the pool of blood beneath him, his eyes remaining wide open.
Arthur’s gaze swept past Callum and landed on Elspeth. He curled his lips and spoke weakly, his voice almost inaudible. “Elspeth, even in death, I want you to remember me.”
Elspeth didn’t understand what he meant; she only saw his eyes slowly close and finally, he could no longer speak.
Arthur was dead. On such a beautiful spring afternoon, he died in Winthrop Group.
The blaring sirens of police and ambulance echoed in the background as a crowd rushed in, setting up the police tape and administering first aid. The scene became a blur of activity, with only Elspeth and Callum standing motionless like statues. Elspeth couldn’t help but think that Arthur must have known today was going to end in tragedy, which was why he had a knife with him.
Arthur was a germaphobe, so he carried a sterilized surgical knife. It wasn’t until a police officer came over to persuade the two of them to leave that Elspeth finally looked up and saw Callum’s face.
Callum didn’t look relieved as expected. Instead, his gaze became even deeper. “Let’s go out,” he said.
“Okay.”
The two of them walked out without looking back.
Arthur had already been buried for a month when Elspeth suddenly received a letter and a package signed by Arthur. The package was large and heavy, and she didn’t know what was inside. She planned to throw it away, but she changed her mind at the last minute.
Elspeth opened the letter first. There was only one line written on it: “Remember to open the package.”
Elspeth put the letter aside and opened the package. To her surprise, it was filled with letters and photos. She picked up the first one and read it in detail. It was about the first time she met Arthur. When she was in her teens, she saved a chubby little boy.
She picked up the second letter, then the third… Without exception, each letter recorded how they met, how they got to know each other, and how they became familiar with each other. Each letter was accompanied by a photo, and almost every experience was recorded with photos. There were professionally taken and edited photos, as well as blurry ones taken casually. It was obvious that Arthur had put in a lot of effort. Elspeth couldn’t describe what she was feeling as she looked at these things. She could almost imagine how Arthur took these photos and packaged them to send to her.
To be honest, this behavior was somewhat pathological, but Arthur was indeed a sick person. He couldn’t come back to life, and there was no point in blaming him at this point. However, she was inexplicably a little sad. In the end, she decided to burn all of these things. She packaged them up and took them to an open area to burn them. As the flames rose, she vaguely saw Arthur’s face having a gentlemanly smile, but the image was fleeting.
As she watched the fire burn, she thought about the last letter that contained the line, “Elspeth, I know I was wrong, but if I had been sincere to you from the beginning, would you have fallen in love with me?”
She didn’t know if she would have fallen in love with him, but she knew that she would never be able to tell him her answer.
My name was Arthur, and I was the third son of the Winthrop Family. I had always lived in my brother Callum’s shadow ever since I was a child. I remembered from a long time ago that Callum was always able to get high grades without seeming to make any effort. However, no matter how hard I tried, I could not catch up to him. So, our parents, Theodore and Margot, were biased toward him. Sometimes I would envy why he could get such high grades until I saw him burning the midnight oil, and then I began to hate him again. He was so good at pretending. I never understood his efforts; I just felt that he was a hypocritical person.
My father had trained him to become the future heir of Winthrop Group ever since he was a child, and Edmund could assist him as the vice president. The rest of us were not even allowed to join the company. When I was a child, I also told my father that I wanted to join the company, even if it was just to help Callum. However, I was ruthlessly rejected by my father. He said that my interest was not really in business and that I should forget about this idea and do what I really wanted to do, but ever since I was little, I had always wanted to join Winthrop Group. How could my interest not be in business? I knew it was just an excuse to push me away. In fact, he never had my best interests in his heart.
Later on, Callum inherited the company as expected. Edmund became the vice president and Blake entered the entertainment industry. As for Max, he pursued further studies and could continue his racing hobby too. While everyone else had the freedom to pursue their preferred paths in life, I found myself studying medicine despite never having had a passion for it. Luckily, I had a natural talent for it and managed to learn a great deal in just a few years. I eventually returned to Damoria and opened a hospital.
Theodore also strongly supported me, but I knew he was just guilty for the choice he made back then. He felt guilty that he didn’t let me do what I liked and forced me to study medicine. I would never believe him.
Later on, I met a girl named Emma Walker. She had a gentle demeanor and the unmistakable air of a wealthy upbringing, and I felt a strange sense of familiarity around her. As we spoke, I realized that she was the same girl who had stood up for me when I was being bullied as a chubby kid. I could never forget the cold look on her face as she drove away my tormentors and spoke wise words to me. To me, she was like an angel. However, my heart sank when I discovered that the girl whom I had secretly liked for so many years fell for Callum without any exception.
Callum, Callum… Everyone loved Callum. But I was not willing to give up. She was the girl I had been enamored with for so many years, so how could she have been swept away by Callum? It seemed that Callum had also become aware of my feelings for her. Despite his usual nonchalant demeanor toward things like dating and romance, he decided to pursue her. I couldn’t help but wonder if he was doing it intentionally to spite me. My animosity toward him intensified as a result.
Later, Emma went abroad and broke up with Callum, and I naively thought that I still had a chance with her. Unfortunately, she never noticed me. Then, the Winthrop Family took in a girl from the countryside, and I initially thought she was a country bumpkin, but she turned out to be so beautiful. She had a personality that didn’t fit the mold of someone from the countryside; she had a depth to her that even surpassed Emma’s. She had an air of mystery about her, and there were multiple facets to her identity. Elspeth’s unexpected arrival threw a wrench in many of Callum’s plans, and I began to see her as someone I could potentially use to my advantage.
With a calculated plan in mind, I approached Elspeth and confessed my feelings for her, hoping to persuade her to join forces with me. I even offered to share some of my wealth with her if she agreed. However, to my surprise, she showed no interest in the money and ended up choosing Callum. Their alliance posed a major obstacle for me, and I found myself constantly running into roadblocks and making mistakes. It wasn’t until later that I discovered a secret that shattered my world: the girl I had been pursuing all along was a fraud.
The true identity of the girl who had once seemed like an angel was actually someone I despised and even wanted to harm. When I learned this truth, I was initially filled with panic and it took me a long time to regain my composure. Eventually, I came to terms with the reality of the situation. However, my thoughts soon became erratic and uncontrollable. I found myself inexplicably drawn to her as if I had been in love with her all along. I began to do strange things for her, including having the desire to kidnap her and keep her to myself. Her every smile and expression were too beautiful, and I couldn’t bear the thought of her smiling at other men.
Utilizing my medical expertise, I devised a plan to lure her away from Callum and take her abroad. To my surprise, she took the bait and we embarked on a journey that would become the most beautiful days of my life. We lived as an ordinary couple, and I would cook for her and bring her small gifts each day when I returned home. She obediently remained by my side throughout our time together. One breezy evening, as we sat in the garden talking, I could sense a look of appreciation in her eyes. Perhaps, in her eyes, I wasn’t such a bad person after all. I thought that this idyllic time would last forever, but it was cut short by her mother’s interference.
Her mother disappeared overnight, and Elspeth abruptly cut off all ties with me with a terrible expression on her face. I finally realized that everything we shared was nothing but a fleeting illusion. The dream was over, and she was gone. During that time, my mood plummeted and I felt myself losing touch with reality. I returned back to the country and became obsessed with competing with her, hoping that it would make her notice me again. But deep down, I knew that my behavior was pathological and that it would only repulse her.
Knowing that I would never truly have Elspeth, I thought that even a moment of her attention was worthwhile. I became even more determined to remove Callum from the equation so that I could be with her single-mindedly. Taking over Winthrop Group became my ultimate goal, but my impatience and underestimation of Callum’s ruthlessness ultimately led to my demise.
Watching the girl that I had loved for a decade flee from me and throw herself into Callum’s arms was a painful experience. However, I also felt a sense of relief knowing that she would be loved. I had finally come to terms with the reality of the situation. As long as Elspeth was happy, regardless of who she was with, I would be content. Unfortunately, I came to this realization too late and would never have the chance to see her live happily with someone else.
Nonetheless, even at the end of my life, I still hoped that she would remember me.
