Filed to story: Sweetheart Do You Still Love Me
He tried to make his words sound objective so that she wouldn’t detect anything unusual.
“Oh, you mean Hank and me? We get along well and our relationship is going smoothly. We just got engaged recently, and maybe we will get married.”
She stirred her coffee with a spoon, looking clearly unhappy.
Federick said, “You’re getting married. But you don’t look so happy?”
“I didn’t plan on getting married so soon, but Hank and his family are eager for it. So, we decided to get married next year,” she explained.
Yelena was at the peak of her career and didn’t want to give up her work to focus on family yet, but Hank was really fond of her and wanted to be together as soon as possible.
Federick furrowed his brows and disagreed. “But you’re in a rising period of your career. Are you willing to easily give it up for marriage?”
She sighed, looking like a wilted plant. “I don’t really want to, but I don’t want to disappoint him either.”
“Disappoint him? This is your career we’re talking about. If you give it up to be with him, you won’t be the Yelena he fell in love with,” Federick reminded her.
He suppressed the smile he had maintained for a long time, and his expression gradually turned displeased.
“Yeah, I know how much support Hank has given me in my work. It’s hard to believe he would put an end to my dream because of this situation.” Yelena’s eyes lit up at the thought and her excitement faded quickly as she continued, “Even though that’s the case, but… I’ll go back and have a proper discussion with him.”
Federick looked at her shining eyes like a little puppy. He was unable to resist the urge to reach out and touch her hair.
He did what he felt like, but the moment his hand touched her, he heard a cold voice beside him.
“What are you doing?”
Yelena never imagined she would encounter Hank in this place. After all, she recalled that he should have been working on various matters in the law firm. In any case, the aura lingering around him seemed ominous. Standing up quickly, she widened the distance between them. “Why are you here?”
“I was passing by when I saw you inside the restaurant. Honestly, I didn’t expect to see the two of you here.” At the sight of her lowered head and flustered appearance, Hank felt the rage in his heart subsiding slightly.
She gave an awkward laugh. “It’s about what happened previously. I wanted to treat him to a meal for saving my life.”
He shifted his gaze to Federick. “Didn’t we agree to do that together?”
Yelena’s voice became increasingly quiet. At the same time, she sounded more aggrieved with every word she spoke, “But you always claimed to be busy whenever I called you. That’s why I eventually decided not to disturb you. It’s enough if I treat him to a meal myself.”
Hank was on the verge of exploding from anger when he abruptly realized that he had been busy. It was true he had been neglecting her for some time. Hence, the complicated look in his eyes turned gentle instead. “I’m sorry. I’ve been neglecting you recently. I’ve also been inconsiderate toward your feelings.”
Knowing his personality, she initially thought she would receive a stern reprimand peppered with cold and sarcastic remarks. Therefore, she had prepared herself to receive a thorough scolding. Contrary to her expectations, she raised her head only to see a gentle gaze in his eyes. The unexpected sight abruptly left her at a loss for words.
“I got it. Next time, I’ll make sure to notify you in advance.” She actively admitted her mistake.
Hank knew Yelena was well-behaved, so he did not lecture her much. Besides, he was not worried about her; the only thing that worried him was Federick. Not only was he unable to determine whether Federick’s intentions were good or bad, but Federick’s feelings toward Yelena were so noticeable that he could not help being on guard.
“Oh, right! Since you’re already here, why don’t we eat together?” She enthusiastically pulled Hank into the seat beside her.
The three sat at the same table together, and the atmosphere immediately became awkward.
Watching Hank and Federick glaring at each other over the table, Yelena suddenly felt that treating Federick to a meal had been the wrong choice. She should have directly offered him monetary compensation instead.
“Let’s eat! Why are you just staring blankly at the food?”
Hank did not respond immediately. On the contrary, Federick was the first to point out the issue. “The food on the table is almost gone.”
Only then did Yelena realize she had practically wolfed down most of the food on the table earlier. Her face instantly flushed bright red at the realization. “Uh… I-I’ll order more food for us.”
She was about to flag down one of the waiters when Hank caught her hand and stopped her. “I’ve already eaten earlier. There’s no need to order more.”
Hearing those words made her freeze in confusion, and she did not know what to do next.
He cleared his throat and continued seriously, “Since you guys have finished, I’ll take Yelena home.”
Federick neither agreed nor disagreed with those words, which indicated his tacit agreement with the suggestion. Seeing that Federick was reasonable, Hank did not make things more difficult as he simply stood up and dragged Yelena outside with him.
Subsequently, the two climbed into the car. The atmosphere inside was cold and gloomy, prompting Yelena to turn sideways and lower the car window. All of a sudden, the car came to a stop by the roadside.
“What’s wrong? Why did you stop?”
Before she understood the situation, Hank’s body suddenly pressed down on her. It was accompanied by an overwhelming rain of aggressive kisses. He seemed to be venting his frustrations, and his kisses were so forceful that her head spun in a dizzy manner.
After about ten minutes, he finally lifted his head. Looking down at her aggrieved eyes-full of tears- and her swollen lips, he could not help feeling a little guilty for some reason.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to hurt you just now.”
She shook her head in response. Truth be told, she knew he had been suppressing his dissatisfaction toward her in his heart for some time now. Although his actions had frightened her to a certain degree, they were within the acceptable range.
“When I saw you with him earlier, I could barely control myself.” His emotions had calmed down by then, but he could not help but feel angry again just by thinking about the scene earlier.
Yelena might have been oblivious to the situation, but how could Federick not know his feelings toward her?
“It’s okay. I understand everything.” She buried her head in his arms. “I also know that my action made you unhappy.”
Seeing how she apologized to Federick in a docile manner made Hank even guiltier. Nevertheless, there was no reason for him to help Federick hide the truth now that things had progressed to this point.
“Do you know why I was so furious?”
She stammered out an answer. “Because I was with another man, so you were unhappy.”
Yelena’s answer nearly made him burst out laughing helplessly. “You’re often spending time with other men in the crew. Are you saying I have to be jealous of them all?”
The realization struck her all of a sudden. “So, you’re only jealous of him. Is that right?”
Hank nodded. “That’s right.”
“Then, I won’t eat with another man alone again.” She quickly lowered her head and promised.
“It’s not to say you’re not allowed to eat with another man alone.” Since she remained ignorant of his reasons, he sighed helplessly. “It’s Federick. He doesn’t have pure intentions toward you.”
The only method for Federick to guarantee he could have a normal friendship with Yelena was to hide his emotions and prevent them from being revealed. That was because he understood her well. She had been hurt in previous relationships, so she generally paid extra attention to the boundaries between her and the opposite sex while dating. Had she learned that he had feelings for her, she would have never spent time with him so casually.
Sure enough, Yelena’s expression instantly turned pale. “Are you saying he likes me?”
“Yes.”
She froze in place for a long time, unable to speak. It turned out her speculations were true. Why would Federick deceive her? Did he want to stay by her side as a friend since she already had a boyfriend? Still, she would never be able to remain calm around him again.
Hank misunderstood her silence, assuming she had been frightened by the revelation. He asked, “Is the information such a shock to you?”
She shook her head. “No. I simply think it’s strange for Federick to have feelings for me.”
Hearing that statement, he thought she was naive. “Why wouldn’t he? You’re such an adorable woman. It’s only natural for people to be attracted to you.”
Yelena was so popular among men that it was extremely worrying. He was even tempted to tie her up with a rope so she would stay by his side forever.
“I’ve never had much contact with him. Why would he fall in love with me?” She was beginning to find the entire situation absurd.
“Why is it impossible? That’s not important, though. We-“
Before Hank could finish his sentence, Yelena suddenly panicked. “The car in front is coming toward us!”
Hank had parked his car by the roadside. Caught in the throes of passion, he failed to notice a white van careening toward them. It was not until Yelena screamed in a panic that he noticed the catastrophe looming over them.
His first reaction was to open the passenger door and push her out of the car. Shoved out of the vehicle, she landed quite a distance away and could only watch helplessly as the white van crashed into Hank’s car.
There was a loud collision, followed by a massive explosion that blasted the entire scene. Yelena slumped to the ground amidst the flames, her face blackened by the billowing smoke.
When the passersby rushed over to help, she finally realized that the front of the car had been utterly crushed by the impact. Hank had been sitting in the driver’s seat; if he remained in the car, he would be crushed and flattened by then.
She stared at the appalling state of the car with tears brimming in her eyes. “Hank!”
