Filed to story: Sweetheart Do You Still Love Me
As for Elspeth, a trace of anger instantly surged in her heart when she saw neither of the two wanted to back down. “That’s enough, you two. I have my own ride. So, I will ride in neither of yours,” she said while shaking the car key in her hand. Then, she tugged Damian toward her. “Come. Let’s go together.”
After that, she took Damian, got into her car, and drove away in an eddy of dust, leaving only Slevin and Callum looking at each other.
Soon, the group of four arrived at the restaurant, which they had agreed to come to beforehand. Since Slevin often took Elspeth and Damian to this restaurant before, the hostess was very familiar with them by now. Hence, when she saw them approaching her, she instinctively smiled and greeted, “Good evening, Mr. and Mrs. Damazio. Here for dinner with your son, I see?”
Slevin simply smiled and nodded instead of correcting her address. He even shot Callum a triumphant glance. It was as though he was telling Callum he had regained the upper hand once again.
Sure enough, Callum felt a little discomfited. However, a sudden thought flashed across his mind. So, he went straight to the front, smiled, and wrapped his arm around Elspeth. “Sorry, I think you have misunderstood. These are my wife and child.”
Since the hostess had never imagined such a scenario would occur to her, she immediately fell into a daze. “U-Uhm…”
What the hell?! This makes me look as if I’m a two-timing and promiscuous woman! As Elspeth thought of this, her face instantly reddened with embarrassment, and she hurriedly broke away from Callum’s restrictions. “Okay. Let’s just head inside.”
Although Callum was slightly dejected at the sudden loss of warmth in his arms, a sense of joy swiftly emerged in his heart when he remembered Elspeth didn’t deny the words he said to the hostess just now. Thus, he immediately shot a glare at Slevin.
The hostess had no choice but to guide the four of them into the restaurant. Fortunately, Slevin had reserved a private dining room. This way, they could avoid plenty of awkward situations.
Once they had taken their seats, a server approached them and handed the menu to Slevin. Yet, Callum immediately took it away, causing the server to be at a loss instantly. “Mr. Damazio was the one who reserved this room…”
Callum glanced at the dense server out of the corner of his eyes as he said, “I’m the one paying. So, is there a problem?”
When the server realized that he had forgotten about this possibility, he quickly apologized, saying, “I am so sorry. Truly, I am. I’m not aware that it’s going to be your treat…”
Slevin let out a snort at this.
After they finally managed to place their orders and all the dishes were served, Callum once again began expressing his attentiveness. “Here. Have a taste of this dish. You used to enjoy it in the past.
“This dish is too spicy, so don’t try it. That’s weird. Did I remember it wrongly? I thought you couldn’t handle spicy foods.”
“Oh, and this too. I’ve just tasted it, and it’s a bit too sweet. So, let’s just leave it and taste some other dishes.”
Elspeth was slightly at a loss as she looked at the ardent look on his face. “Callum, don’t just keep filling my plates with these dishes. You should have some too.”
“It’s okay. I’m not that hungry.” Not once did Callum take his eyes off her. It was as if he wanted to use this opportunity to make up for the loss he had to endure for the past few years.
Elspeth felt her heart turning heavy at his enthusiasm. Right now, I have lost my memory and can’t remember anything from the past at all. Yet, judging from how Callum cherishes me so dearly, I suppose we were indeed a loving couple in the past. After all, not only did he not give up, but he even looked for me day and night in those years when I had inexplicably gone missing. It was with that thought that she realized she couldn’t bear to say anything to reject his intimacy.
Callum’s gleam of hope intensified when he vaguely saw tears glistening in her eyes. Just when he supposedly wanted to take advantage of the wonderful atmosphere to continue expressing his feelings, Slevin, who sat next to him, immediately interrupted with a cough, bringing them back to reality. “How can she enjoy her dinner when you keep talking to her?” His words successfully reduced Callum to silence.
Just then, Damian, who had been indulging in his food and paid no attention to the situation, finally looked up. As he rubbed his stomach in satisfaction, he turned around and said to Slevin, “Uncle Slevin, I’m full. But since Mommy has still yet to touch her food, I don’t want her to take me home. I don’t know this man well, so can you take me home instead?”
Slevin clearly didn’t take his unintentional words to heart. Instead, he genuinely thought Damian was really sleepy and wanted to go to bed.
As he gazed at the practically untouched food on Elspeth’s plate, he eventually nodded, albeit slightly begrudgingly. “Okay. I will take you home while your mommy continues with her dinner. Then, I will return and pick her up.”
With that, Slevin grabbed Damian’s school bag and rose to his feet. Damian quickly followed and while everyone wasn’t paying attention to him, he mischievously blinked at Callum.
Once the two left the room, Elspeth was once again caught in a tricky situation.
Meanwhile, Callum simply looked at her. Since he had nowhere to vent the yearnings that he had long pent up in his heart, he could only keep staring at her. “How have you been doing all these years?”
Although she couldn’t apprehend the lingering emotion in his eyes, she still felt somewhat upset when she saw him like this.
“I’m doing pretty well.” Elspeth smiled awkwardly and instinctively asked, “What about you?” However, she immediately regretted asking that question.
“Me? I’m not doing well at all. I’ve missed you terribly over the years,” Callum replied. His gaze was clear yet sorrowful.
“How did you manage to find me after all this time?” Elspeth was a little curious and worried about Damian’s safety. It didn’t matter what Callum’s purpose was; it still creeped her out whenever she thought of the fact that he had managed to trace her directly to Damian’s kindergarten.
“Well, it was true that I had no good leads the first few years. But in the past few months, I did obtain some clues. Furthermore, someone provided me with some key information while in the process of searching for you. So, I followed the clues and found you here. In addition, Harper said that he seemed to have spotted you in Slevin’s company and asked me to rush over at once. I happened to stumble upon your silhouette coming out of the office building once I was downstairs. Then, I followed you all the way to Damian’s kindergarten.”
Harper? That is indeed a somewhat familiar name. Elspeth hummed absentmindedly before asking,
“Why didn’t you come and look for me in these few years then?”
“Of course, I have looked for you.” Callum couldn’t help but step forward and grab her wrist. “Do you have any idea how I have been going about my days all these years? Every day, I miss you and wish I could rush to your side. Little did I know that Slevin hid your personal information. That was why I couldn’t find you. Elspeth, hear me out. Slevin has ulterior motives toward you and Damian. I hope you can realize his true colors. You-“
Alas, Elspeth furrowed her brows as a trace of displeasure emerged within her upon hearing him slandering Slevin. “Slevin has been very kind to me and Damian.”
Although she did feel that the timing of Slevin showing up in her life was a little odd, it didn’t mean she could erase the kindness he showed her and Damian over the years. Even if he does have ulterior motives like Callum said, it’s still up to me to figure out the details.
“I don’t know what Slevin has done, but I truly hope you can return to my side.” Callum gradually released her hand and the pain in his heart gradually increased as he watched her defend another man.
Once the two left the room, Elspeth was once again caught in a tricky situation.
Elspeth felt powerless in the face of him losing control of his composure. Therefore, she could only be frank with him. “Callum, I know you may feel ecstatic now that you have successfully found me, but you have to understand that I currently don’t have the slightest memory of you. So, I can’t empathize with what happened to you. As for the details, we will talk about them once I have slowly regained my memory. Okay?
Callum remained silent. In the end, he nodded slowly and heavily. “I acted a little too hasty.”
“Alright, then. If there’s nothing else, I shall take my leave first.” Elspeth picked up the napkin, wiped the corner of her mouth, and put on a kind smile.
This time, Callum didn’t cling to her. Instead, he asked, “Shall I send you home?”
“No, it’s fine. I can drive.” Immediately afterward, Elspeth deliberately ignored the sense of dejection that flashed across Callum’s eyes, turned around, and left.
When she got home, she didn’t turn on the light as she thought Damian had fallen asleep. Yet, while she was tiptoeing past his room, she happened to see him wearing Cinnamoroll pajamas and holding a brown teddy bear in his arms.
“Mommy, you’re finally home.” Damian walked over to her while rubbing his eyes. So, Elspeth quickly reached out and pulled him into her arms.
“Mommy, did you and Daddy have a good chat?”
Elspeth instantly understood what was going on upon hearing his question. So, that was Damian’s plan! The reason he left dinner early was nothing but an excuse to take Slevin away and give Callum a chance to be alone with me!
“He still isn’t your daddy.”
A trace of disappointment flashed across Damian’s eyes. This look exceptionally resembled Callum’s.
The more Elspeth looked at him, the more she felt he truly resembled Callum. Hence, she could only ruffle his fluffy hair and inquire, “Do you really like him?”
At this moment, Damian was wide awake as he nodded enthusiastically and added, “I have always wanted a Daddy. I kept having a sense of familiarity when I saw that man today. That feeling was completely different from when I saw Uncle Slevin. Besides, you don’t even fancy Uncle Slevin. Mommy, when will I ever have a Daddy?”
Then, he acted like a grown-up as he sighed, seemingly exasperated at Elspeth for failing to meet his expectations. “Although I’m not quite worried about you being alone, as a working woman, outsiders ought to have wronged you sometimes. So, it’s better for you to live a good life with Daddy rather than raise me alone. Also, I can tell that this man likes you a great deal. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have agreed to help him.”
After that, Damian hastily covered his mouth. Oh, no! I have accidentally spilled the beans!
Elspeth, who had all sorts of emotions welled up in her mind earlier, was immediately rendered speechless. “What did you say? What favor did he ask you?”
Nonetheless, he simply chuckled sheepishly, turned around, and prepared to run away. Unfortunately, before he could even get a head start, she suddenly grabbed him by the collar and dragged him back. “Tell me everything. If you don’t come clean, someone is not going to sleep tonight.”
Since the look on her face was extremely terrifying, he had no choice but to plead his case. “Mommy, I still have to go to kindergarten tomorrow. So, I should be in bed at this hour.”
When she saw that the little guy stubbornly refused to confess his crimes, she didn’t hesitate to raise her hand and spank his buttocks. “Oh, don’t worry. You don’t like going to kindergarten, anyway. So, I will help you call in sick tomorrow.”
“I want to-“
“Are you or are you not going to tell me?”
As Damian knew that he was about to end up getting a good beating, he immediately told her everything; all the details about the deal he made with Callum. As he spoke, he silently prayed for Callum’s safety, wishing he would be fine after tonight.
“That’s it?”
Truthfully, Elspeth actually thought it was a bit amusing as she listened to Damian telling her how Callum egged him on to be Callum’s wingman.
“Yeah…” When Damian saw that Elspeth’s facial expression wasn’t as gloomy as he thought, he inwardly breathed a sigh of relief.
“Then, did he promise you any reward?”
Reward? Damian carefully recalled. Then, he scrunched his nose and repeatedly shook his head. “I don’t think so.”
Elspeth shook her head helplessly as she watched how her usually intelligent son had fallen for Callum’s words hook, line, and sinker.