Filed to story: Sweetheart Do You Still Love Me
He ducked his head down. While it had been six years, and all the love between them had dulled and faded away, Nyla was still the little girl he brought home. He was responsible as well for how badly she turned out and all she had done.
“It had nothing to do with it. It was not a big issue.” Elspeth sighed. “Alright. Stay here for now and wait for the rescue team to report back. Damian is quite badly hurt. I have to send him to the hospital.”
He glanced up at her before looking back down at the ground. “Go.”
She did not linger and hover around him. Instead, she promptly turned around, pulled Damian into her arms from the bench behind her, and carried him away.
Since she was in a rush, she did not drive and had forgotten to borrow the car from Slevin.
Damian was starting to burn up while in her arms, filling her with worry. However, there were not many cars that drove along this path. She waited and waited, but no cars were seen.
Just as she was at her wit’s end, a car sped over and screeched to a stop beside her. The driver honked at her.
“Get in, Miss Elspeth.”
She looked up to find Harper sitting in the car with a pair of sunglasses perched on his nose. Her eyes lit up. “Why are you here, Harper?”
“Slevin called me just now. He said you’re here and that I should hurry over.”
“Slevin?” she asked, taken aback.
He took off his sunglasses and hummed. “I don’t know what tricks he has up his sleeves but thank goodness he wasn’t lying. You really are here. Get in. What happened?”
“Nothing much. Damian is injured, though. I have to take him to the hospital. Can you take me to Callum’s hospital?”
It was only then that Harper noticed Damian’s injuries. In a worry-laced tone, he exclaimed, “Get in the car, then! We cannot delay any longer!”
Harper drove Elspeth to the hospital where she brought Damian over to the nurses.
Damian had left the hospital earlier that day uninjured, so the nurses were shocked to see how injured he was. “Put the boy on the bed. I’ll check him over right now for more injuries.”
While Damian was not very badly injured, he was still covered in numerous tiny wounds and gashes that made him look so very pitiful.
As the nurse cleaned and dressed his wound, Elspeth clenched her fists as she watched on. Her entire being was burning with fury when she thought of Nyla.
Nyla had lucked out by drowning in the ocean. If Elspeth got her hands on Nyla, she would never have an easy death.
Once the more minor injuries were treated, the nurse pointed to the wound on Damian’s forehead and said with a sigh, “This wound is rather deep. He might need stitches.”
Elspeth nodded. “I leave him in your hands.”
After putting away her tools, the nurse got to her feet. “Wait here for a while. I’ll get a doctor.”
When the nurse was gone, Harper stared down with an aching heart at Damian, who was still unconscious due to the pain.
“Just what happened, Elspeth? Why is he like this?” he asked.
A cold glint flashed in her eyes. “Slevin kidnapped him, thinking to use him to threaten me. In the end, his sister snatched control of the situation away from him. She was a depressed maniac who hurt Damian out of some wicked desire.”
Harper harshly kicked at the nearby stool and almost woke Damian up.
Realizing that he might have overreacted, Harper lowered his voice in a hushed whisper that did not hide his fury at all. “Darn it! That pair of siblings is so inhumane! Do they want to die? How dare they target your son! He even had the nerve to call me. If I had known this happened, I would have beaten him up at the beach just now.”
She was shocked. This was the first time she had heard him curse someone out.
However, Harper also had a child of his own. Perhaps he was feeling more attached to Damian because of his own paternal instincts. It was understandable.
“What will you do next? Will you let that pair of scoundrels go free?”
He did not want those two to be let off the hook that easily.
They had to face the consequences of their actions.
She frowned. “Nyla jumped into the ocean out of her own will. No one knows if she survived. Slevin is still waiting for the rescue team to drag her back to shore.”
He smirked. “Why don’t I tell the rescue team to be a little more careless in their search?”
With a shake of her head, she answered, “There’s no need for that. The waves were very turbulent back then. The rescue team is not made of fools. They will wait until the tide stops rising. By then, she will likely be dead. Her chances of survival are very slim.”
“She deserved it.”
Massaging her forehead, she responded, “Perhaps. It really feels like it’s not safe out here. I want Damian to go home earlier than planned.”
He nodded and thumped his chest. “Leave that to me. Don’t worry. I’ll make sure to plan out everything.”
“Thank you, Harper.”
The way she thanked him seemed to have unnerved him. “You were never like this, Miss Elspeth. Why are you being so polite right now?”
“I’m not. It is just that so much has happened that I feel like I have to cherish every shred of warmth in life.”
“What about Slevin? What do you plan to do?”
Her eyes darkened with an emotion that could not be named.
“Slevin… I still don’t know if he’s good news or bad news, but he is still useful to have around.” She took a deep breath. “Help me look into something, Harper.”
“What is it?” he solemnly asked in return.
“My Mentor, Sonny Schwartz, has been missing for four years. Can you investigate his whereabouts?”
He was instantly struck by a bad feeling. “I don’t know if I should tell you this, but…”
“Tell me.”
“I suspect he-“
“I know. I have suspected that as well, but I still do not know for sure. Please help me look into this.” Agony surged in her heart.
He nodded. “If that’s all, I’ll get to it now.”
After he walked away, Elspeth turned to look down at Damian and laid a hand on his shoulder while softly saying, “I’m so sorry, Damian…”
Damian seemed to have heard her, for he slowly opened his eyes and looked up at her with glistening eyes.
“I’ve missed you so much, Mommy.”
As there was a wound on the edge of his mouth, every word he spoke tugged at his lips, filling him with pain.
“Alright. Don’t speak for now. Rest. The doctor will be here soon to stitch up the rest of your wounds. Are you scared of stitches?”
He firmly shook his head. “I won’t be scared, Mommy. I’m a big boy now. I’m not afraid.”
“Good boy. Once you’re all healed up, I’ll treat you to a meal of your favorite seafood, okay?”
He was going to smile at her, but his lips hurt so much that he could only purse his lips and nod. As she ruffled his hair, she said, “I’ll be leaving you here so that I can talk to Daddy. Is that okay?”
“Mhm, Mommy. I’ll behave and wait here.”
When Elspeth arrived at Callum’s ward to find him dozing off in bed.
“Callum.”
“We found Damian,” she continued.
Hearing that, Callum immediately jolted awake with his eyes snapping open. His eyes were still bloodshot from the lack of sleep. “What did you say?”
“We’ve found Damian. He’s safe.”
“How is he now?”
