Filed to story: Sweetheart Do You Still Love Me
Noticing Elspeth’s softened tone and her attempt to concede, Slevin felt somewhat satisfied and gradually loosened his grip around her neck. Elspeth started breathing rapidly and inhaled the fresh air in large gulps. “Elspeth, I’m pleased that you understand what it means to be pragmatic.” Since Elspeth had been choked for an extended period, her breathing became rapid which made her cough desperately. After a while, the flush on her face gradually subsided.
“So, what are you trying to get out of this?”
“My purpose is very simple, just two things,” Slevin replied.
“First, starting today, you are not allowed to have any contact with Callum, and you’re not allowed to return to the country with him.”
“Second, you must marry me immediately. From now on, you will live by my side and go nowhere else.”
These two absurd demands left Elspeth speechless. “Slevin, I am a person, not your slave, let alone your possession. What makes you think that you have the right to demand that I stay by your side?”
“My demands have been stated. Whether you agree or not is up to you. You have no right to negotiate with me.” Slevin licked his lips as his smile turned sinister.
Elspeth fell silent. As she looked at the confident man in front of her, she knew he wouldn’t give up until he achieved his goal today. If she bluntly refused him, she didn’t know what he would do. Moreover, Damian was still in his hands so she couldn’t act recklessly. “Are you saying that if I agree to these conditions, you’ll release Damian?” she asked.
“Of course, if I say I will release him, then I will.” Slevin raised an eyebrow slightly.
“Very well, I agree to your conditions, but I also have some conditions of my own.”
Slevin frowned slightly, seemingly dissatisfied with her words. “I’ve already said it, you have no right to negotiate with me.”
“Slevin, I can assure you that my conditions won’t put you at a disadvantage. They are simply my unfulfilled wishes.”
“What are they?”
“First, you must release Damian immediately.”
Without hesitation, Slevin nodded. After all, the initial purpose of kidnapping Damian was for this very reason, and now that she had agreed, there was no need to use him as leverage anymore.
“Second, I’ll take care of Callum until he’s discharged from the hospital. After that, I will have no further interaction with him.”
Slevin didn’t readily agree to this condition. “Why do you need to take care of him until he gets discharged? I’ve already said that I don’t like the two of you being together.”
“He was the one who saved Damian when the accident happened. He’s Damian’s savior, so this favor must be repaid to him.”
“Elspeth, don’t play any tricks with me. Callum is Damian’s father, so it’s only natural for him to save Damian. There’s no need to talk about repaying favors.” Slevin smirked.
Elspeth refused to back down on this point. “I have only these two demands. If you allow me to fulfill them, I will wholeheartedly stay by your side. If I cannot fulfill them, then I will never be at ease.”
Seeing how calm she looked made Slevin feel that she was sincere. Despite his firm stance toward Elspeth, he didn’t want it to create further complications between them. “Fine, I agree. But you must promise me that once he is discharged from the hospital, you will have no further contact with him.”
“Deal.” Elspeth’s gaze narrowed slightly.
“Alright, now can you tell me where you’ve kept Damian?” Elspeth brought up the topic. It was evident that she was anxious about it.
Since Damian was now covered in injuries, his wounds might have worsened due to being treated roughly. Slevin pondered for a moment. Initially, he had considered personally returning the child to her, but in the end, he gave her the address. “He’s in the basement of my villa. He’s perfectly safe so don’t worry.”
After all, Slevin had spent a significant amount of time with Damian. Despite kidnapping him, he couldn’t bring himself to harm the child and opted to keep him safe at home. Elspeth smiled at Slevin as she was grateful for his humanity. “Do you want to go see him now? I’ll take you there.”
“Okay.” Without informing Callum, Elspeth immediately got into Slevin’s car, and they headed to his villa. Upon arriving, she hurriedly got out of the car and rushed straight to the basement.
Having spent more than four years together, Elspeth was familiar with the layout of his villa. As soon as she reached the basement door, she noticed that it was unlocked, which puzzled her. Furthermore, she didn’t hear any sounds of a child coming from the basement.
Elspeth instantly sensed that something was wrong. She forcefully pushed the door open and entered, only to find it empty. Slevin calmly arrived behind her. “What’s wrong? Isn’t he inside?”
Hearing that, Elspeth turned around. Her face was pale, and her voice trembled uncontrollably. “Slevin, where did you keep him?”
It was only then did Slevin realize that something was wrong. He walked in and took a look, and sure enough, there was no sign of Damian. “I specifically checked on him before leaving and he was definitely inside. Why would I lie to you about this?”
“Then tell me, where is he now?”
“I don’t know.” Slevin shook his head.
Elspeth forcefully pushed him, causing him to crash into the wall. “Slevin, you’re nothing but a blatant liar! Tell me where you’ve kept Damian! If you don’t, don’t blame me for what I’m going to do!”
Slevin was so angry, he laughed instead. “I’ve already told you, I don’t know. Why would I lie to you? What benefit would I gain from lying?”
“Then where is the child?” Elspeth took a deep breath. “If what you’re saying is true, and the child is missing, someone must be behind this. And it’s highly likely done by someone from your household.” Slevin fell silent upon hearing this.
After a while, he said slowly, “I’ve only given the basement key to one person.”
“Who?”
“Nyla.” The name was extremely unfamiliar to Elspeth. She had never heard it before.
Seeing her puzzled expression, Slevin explained, “She’s a girl I found on the street ten years ago. Out of pity, I brought her home, and since she couldn’t remember her name, I named her Nyla Damazio. I’ve been taking care of her all this time.”
“Why have I never heard you mention her before?” Elspeth sneered. “I never expected that you would show kindness.”
Slevin smiled wryly. “Six years ago, we had a disagreement, and she went abroad to study in anger. She hasn’t called me once in six years. Besides transferring money to her every month, we haven’t had any contact.”
“So, is she the one who brought Damian away?”
Slevin continued, “But she never returned, and I haven’t received any news of her coming back to the country. Besides… Nyla has always been a timid girl. Why would she kidnap Damian?”
“But you haven’t seen each other for six years. You have no idea what she’s like now. However, I don’t care about your relationship or what happened between you two. I just want to know if she took the child away.”
Slevin took out his phone from his pocket and dialed a number he hadn’t dialed in six years. The phone rang twice and was abruptly hung up. “She’s not answering my calls.” Slevin frowned and seemed impatient.
Elspeth snatched the phone from him and dialed the number again. It rang twice and was hung up again. “It seems she still hasn’t forgiven me.”
Elspeth felt restless and uneasy. She dialed the number again, and fortunately, this time the call was finally answered. “Slevin, why are you calling me?”
Elspeth was momentarily stunned by the cold and distant voice of the girl on the other end, but she could still sense a hint of excitement.
Elspeth held up her phone, signaling that the call was connected. Slevin took the phone and asked, “Nyla, where are you now?”
Nyla chuckled. “Slevin, how did you find out that I’ve returned to the country?”
“So, it was indeed you who took the child?”
Nyla’s voice carried a hint of jealousy upon hearing those words. “Slevin, I traveled all the way back from abroad. Shouldn’t you be happy to hear that? Why are you asking if I took the child? Don’t you realize it would upset me?” Nyla seemed to be trying to be cute.
However, as Elspeth listened to the faint voice on the phone, she sensed that something was wrong. “She doesn’t sound right.”
Slevin asked softly, “What do you mean?”
Nyla somehow overheard the voice and she instantly raised her voice. “Slevin, who are you talking to?”
“Your future sister-in-law.”
A flicker of panic crossed Elspeth’s face. “Don’t…”
Nyla’s previously cheerful tone turned cold. “Slevin, what do you mean by that?”
“Exactly as I said. Let’s not dwell on this for now. Quickly tell me, where did you take the child?”
“I’m not telling you.” Nyla scoffed. Suddenly, Elspeth vaguely heard the cries of a child. It was Damian’s voice!
Elspeth immediately became extremely anxious. “She’s the one who took my child!”
“Nyla, stop playing around and bring the child back immediately.” Slevin lowered his voice.
“What do you mean playing around?” Nyla realized that the sound of the crying child was audible, so she kicked him hard. “I’m not telling you!” After saying this, she hung up the phone.
Elspeth had been listening to the noise on the other end and upon hearing the muffled sound, she instinctively associated it with the sound of someone being kicked. Having been in fights before, she recognized the sound. The thought of Damian enduring such abuse made her blood boil. “Slevin, if anything happens to my son because of your sister, I will never let her or you off the hook!”
It was then that Slevin realized the gravity of the situation. “Don’t worry, I will bring the child back to you.” Although Slevin had considered threatening Elspeth, he had never contemplated harming Damian. At this thought, he immediately made a phone call. “Find out Nyla’s current location.”
A few minutes later, Slevin received a notification on his phone, and he frowned as he read the message. “She’s currently at… Gaya Beach.”
