Filed to story: Sweetheart Do You Still Love Me
Releasing a gut-wrenching scream, she tried to rush forward. However, one of the passersby grabbed her and dragged her backward by the arm while cursing furiously, “Miss, what the hell are you doing? In that state, the car might explode at any given moment! Hurry up and run!”
She struggled to break free. “No! My boyfriend is in the car! I need to help him!”
“What boyfriend? Even if he was inside, he would’ve been crushed into a pulp by the massive impact just now!” The passerby shook his head and sighed, cautioning her against unnecessary risks.
Held down tightly, she was unable to move a single inch. Therefore, she could only watch helplessly as the car gradually burst into flames.
“Silly girl, what are you thinking? How could anything happen to me?”
Just as Yelena sunk into utter grief and despair, she suddenly heard a familiar voice behind her. Looking back in disbelief, she discovered Hank standing not far away with scratches on his face.
He was smiling. Moreover, his smile was warm and gentle. His expression almost seemed as though nothing drastic had occurred just moments earlier.
The accident had, however, terrified Yelena. Flooded with fear from her close brush with death, she threw herself into his arms. “Do you know how much you scared me earlier? You pushed me out of the way, but I couldn’t find you anywhere. I thought you were still inside the car!”
He patted her on the back reassuringly. “How could I do that? I could never abandon you alone.”
The truth was that he had no time to react earlier. Hence, he simply threw open his door and rolled to the side of the road. His swift actions ultimately resulted in injuries to his face during the process.
She raised her hand and touched the wounds on his face tenderly. “It must be painful. You must’ve gotten these injuries earlier. Let’s get you examined at the hospital.”
He shook his head and released her from his embrace. When the flames surrounding the car began to subside, he stepped forward to take pictures and collect evidence from the scene. Yelena watched him for a moment before she questioned, “What are you planning to do?”
“I suspect the incident today was not an ordinary accident. Look! There’s nobody in the car, which means that the driver jumped out of the car and escaped.”
Upon hearing those words, she widened her eyes in disbelief. “Are you saying somebody tried to harm us?”
“Pretty much.”
She immediately became livid. “Who on earth would do that? Why would they want to harm us? It’s not like we’ve offended anybody.”
Hank stroked her hair to calm her down. “It’s alright. There’s no need to worry. I’ll know the truth once I investigate this matter.”
If my investigations reveal the culprit behind this incident, I will never forgive them. Anybody who dares to harm my beloved is simply asking for death.
…
Ever since Elspeth encountered that person during the book signing session previously, she had been feeling extremely restless.
She could not shake off the feeling that things were not as simple as they seemed. No way, the woman was merely similar to Emma in appearance. Not to mention, there was also the man who looked exactly like Callum.
Everything was puzzling and confusing, but it did not take long before she encountered that woman again.
The previous president of the Alphascape Group had resigned, and the new president was said to be a young woman. Nobody knew what sort of tricks she used to climb her way to the position in just half a year.
Elspeth originally thought the relationship between the two companies could start again on a clean slate now that the previous president was gone. It was not until she encountered the familiar face in the office that she abruptly felt overwhelmed and confused.
“Yena?”
The woman standing opposite Elspeth was dressed in a modest but professional suit. Furthermore, her movements gave off a sense of elegance and poise. If she was said to resemble Emma in appearance, it could also be said that she was considerably gentler and more respectable than Emma.
Nevertheless, Elspeth always felt as though there was something familiar about the way this woman looked at her.
“I did not expect you to remember my name, Miss Lynwood. I’m very flattered.” Yena’s words were meant to be flattering, but her statement simply left Elspeth feeling uncomfortable instead.
She frowned slightly and took a seat opposite Yena. “I can’t believe you’re Alphascape’s new president.”
Yena was not surprised that Elspeth would ask such a question. Curving her lips into a smile, she laughed and asked, “Don’t tell me… Do you, like everybody else, also believe I used unorthodox methods to obtain this position, Miss Lynwood?”
Elspeth did not expect to bring such a grave accusation upon herself at the start of the conversation. A look of displeasure immediately appeared in the depths of her eyes. “I did not mean that.”
“Lighten up a little. I was merely joking with you.” Yena held up the contract in front of her. Placing it on the table, she lightly pushed it toward Elspeth. “Have a good look, Miss Lynwood. What do you think of the written contract?”
The two companies were supposed to cooperate in the field of computer chip technology, which was something new to Azure Corporation. It was only natural that Azure could not compare with Alphascape in terms of experience and technology.
Fortunately, Elspeth had done her homework before she decided to enter the industry, so it was not difficult for her to read and understand the contract. Even so, two conditions in the contract surprised her.
“The price of the chip… In terms of the pricing, isn’t Alphascape being a little too greedy?” After doing some market research, she knew that similar computer chips could be purchased from other vendors at a price that was 25% lower than what Alphascape offered. Hence, she could scarcely believe Alphascape would offer them such an expensive deal.
Yena naturally knew what was written within the contract. Admiring her newly-done manicure, she responded in a calm and leisurely manner, “But Alphascape is currently the only one in the industry that can mass-produce these chips. You might not be able to obtain as many of these raw materials if you purchased them from elsewhere, Miss Lynwood.”
Elspeth knew Yena was speaking the truth. It was precisely due to Alphascape’s monopoly on the market that Yena dared to make such an unscrupulous offer. Be that as it may, if Elspeth bowed down to her wishes and agreed to such a high price, Alphascape’s oppression would only become increasingly excessive in the future.
Steeling her heart, Elspeth pushed the document back toward Yena. “I’m sorry, Miss Hallaway. I’m afraid I can’t agree to your terms.”
However, Yena was not surprised by Elspeth’s response. In the first place, these overbearing clauses were designed so that Elspeth would disagree with them.
She merely wanted to dismay Elspeth and let her know that it was a mistake to mess with her. Taking the document back, Yena directly tore it in half. “In that case, I don’t see a need for our cooperation.”
Seeing that, Elspeth smiled. “If that’s your decision, I believe you’ll regret it.”
Yena leaned back, looking somewhat at ease. “Well, enlighten me.”
With that, Elspeth elaborated, “Without Azure, Alphascape Group’s development in the field of chip production can only reach this far.”
Yena could hardly hold back her laughter when she heard Elspeth’s statement. “It’s easy for you to say that. I admit that Azure is powerful, but it’s not to the point that Alphascape Group’s development will get hindered without it.”
Elspeth sure is an overconfident woman, isn’t she?
“You will find out if my words are nonsense when the time comes.” Elspeth immediately stood up. “After all, Alphascape isn’t the only company in the field of chip production.”
Only then did Yena turn off the smile on her face. “Of course, I know that. I wanted to point out that you can’t find a second partner as promising as us to date, that’s all.” She attempted to instill panic in Elspeth.
Without warning, Elspeth turned her head and looked at Yena; not an ounce of fright could be seen on her face. “Look at me. Do you see any sign of fear?”
Yena straight off felt exasperated. She hated that Elspeth always seemed to have the game in her hands. In her eyes, it was as though Elspeth could achieve victory even if she stood there and did nothing. “Elspeth, don’t celebrate too early, and don’t get complacent either. After all, overconfidence isn’t a virtue.”
Upon hearing that, Elspeth chuckled. “Don’t worry. You couldn’t do anything to me two years ago, and that part still stands today.”
At once, Yena widened her eyes. “You!”
“By the way, which name do you prefer? Should I call you Yena? Or… Emma?”
Despite her fingers gripping the armchair tightly, Yena’s facial expression remained calm. “What are you blabbering about? I told you last time. I’m not Emma.”
Elspeth shrugged at her answer. “I think you should know very well whether you’re Emma or not. Besides, I’m not in a hurry to expose you. After all, it’s meaningless for me to do so. Anyway, since you refuse to cooperate with us, let’s just cancel it.” After that, she turned around and left without delay.
Just when she arrived at the door, Yena, who was behind her, suddenly yelled, “Elspeth!”
She turned her head, looked at her, and asked, “Is there something wrong?”
“I know you think I’m inferior and not as brilliant as you.” Yena’s voice gradually sounded anxious as she could no longer maintain her composure from earlier. “But I came back this time for the sake of letting you know that there’s bound to be a situation in which I can defeat you. Do you know how much I’ve suffered abroad? Arthur wanted to unplug all my medical equipment while I was in a coma. Fortunately, the nurse who looked after me at that time was a friend of mine. That was the only way I managed to get spared! After gaining consciousness, the first thing I did was to make a thorough investigation, and only then did I realize that Arthur was the culprit. He fancied me so much, and we were even together for such a long time, yet how could he do that to me? It must’ve been you who instructed him to do it. You must’ve infatuated him with your charm. That was why he did that to me!”
“I have nothing to do with this matter.” Elspeth involuntarily let out a deep sigh. “Emma, I never thought of you being inferior to me. I never thought of comparing myself with you either.”
“Bullsh*t! Wasn’t it because you wanted to let me know that I was a nobody in your eyes that you went out of your way to suppress me before?”
For some reason, Yena constantly believed that Elspeth was a hypocrite, which made her wonder why Callum would fall in love with such a hypocritical woman.
“I never suppressed you. It was you who refused to set yourself free.” Elspeth took a deep breath before she continued, “Okay. Stop making such silly statements. I came here today to discuss our company’s cooperation and not to listen to your complaints.” After saying those words to Yena, she left trippingly.
Yena was so enraged that she nearly chipped her teeth as she stared at Elspeth’s unfazed back silhouette. My purpose for undergoing a minor cosmetic surgery while I was abroad was to make myself look alike yet different from Emma. I am no longer the Emma that I was before, and the reason I came back this time is to simply let Elspeth know I will not allow myself to get trampled by her like before!
…
Elspeth planned to return to the Joneson Residence in Blaydal this weekend to discuss some matters. She figured it was time for her to ask the Jonesons to intervene with some matters.
Before leaving, she asked Helia if she was still willing to return to the Joneson Residence with her now. As of recently, she looked pretty well as she was almost done nursing her body in the hospital.
Apart from Welson, who would come over and annoy her time and again, Helia’s life was considerably enjoyable.
