Filed to story: Sweetheart Do You Still Love Me
He was clear about his boundaries, so he no longer questioned the woman. Instead, he simply nodded and left.Elspeth had just stepped out of the hospital when she saw a familiar figure. Callum was standing outside the hospital, smoking cigarettes. It seemed like he had been there for a while-there were many cigarette butts on the ground beside his feet.
“What… What are you doing here, Callum?”
He let out a sigh.
“I didn’t mean what I said. I was just worried about your injury,”
he uttered. All the hurt and sorrow that Elspeth had internalized earlier seemed to flow out of her after she heard his words.
“I’m fine, Callum. I really am…”
She hadn’t expected herself to get all soft and mushy in front of someone else. However, for some reason, she couldn’t contain the urge to cry whenever she looked into the man’s loving gaze. She was reminded of a quote that she saw online. Being loved is an experience worth tearing up for.”I know. I’m sorry,”
Callum replied.Elspeth took a deep breath before she spread her arms open. He immediately got the message and stepped forward to pull her into a tight hug. He was careful with his actions and tried to avoid her arm as he didn’t want to hurt her. Elspeth felt an inexplicable sense of security and satisfaction when she felt his body heat on her skin.”I want you to tell me the truth, Elspeth. Did Old Mr. Joneson ground you?”
Callum could tell she was lying from the start, but he still wanted to hear the truth coming from her mouth.
“I don’t think he grounded me, but he does want me to stay in Blaydal. He doesn’t want me to go back to Damoria.”
Elspeth felt the temperature around them drop after she finished her words.”Why didn’t you tell me the truth before this?”
he asked.She let out a hearty laugh as she tried to lighten the atmosphere.
“I just didn’t want you to worry… You would’ve offered to come over and help me if you found out about this. But… I don’t want you to get involved in this mess,”
she explained.”This isn’t just about you, Elspeth. You’re my girlfriend. It’s my duty to do these things for you.”
He gently pressed his palm against her face. For some reason, his heart ached when he heard her explanation.In the past, Elspeth had always been one to deal with everything on her own. She refused to burden others with her issues, and this was the first time someone had ever offered to be a constant support for her. She sniffed lightly.
“I got it. I’ll tell you about everything from now on.””Alright. I’ll stay here for a few days, and we can head back together once everything is settled,”
Callum suggested.”What about the company?”
she asked dumbfoundedly.”I got Edmund to return to the company, and I told him to keep an eye on everything. All of my meetings will be done virtually. Don’t worry. I have it all planned out.”
He felt his heart melting at the adorable sight of Elspeth with her lips slightly open. He couldn’t control himself from leaning forward to kiss her. Elspeth hadn’t expected the passionate kiss, and she lost all senses when she felt the man’s lips against hers. The man sucked on her lips as if they were popsicles, and she felt herself immersing in the raw and passionate kisses.It took a while for Callum to finally release his grip on her. When he pulled his lips away, he could see Elspeth panting slightly from their kisses, and he smiled as he wiped off the saliva he had left on the corner of her mouth.
“Alright. I’ll send you home now.”She nodded as her cheeks turned red. Callum headed directly to the hotel after he sent Elspeth home. Michael was waiting at the front door when she stepped into the house. He rushed over to her when he saw that she was home.
“How’s Frank, Elspeth? Is he awake?””He woke up already. He just needs to receive some treatment before he is fully healed,”
she explained. Michael felt more at ease after hearing that, and he spread his lips into a seemingly compassionate smile.
“Who was the person who sent you home, Elspeth?”
There was a mysterious look on his face.She felt her chest tightening as she quickly came up with a lie.
“That was a friend from Blaydal. I happened to bump into him in the hospital, so he sent me home.””A friend? Are you sure that it wasn’t Callum who came from Damoria?”
Michael was a genius-he got it right with his first guess.
“What’s so great about Callum, Elspeth? He might be good-looking and have some money, but there are tons of other men like him. Why don’t I find you someone better?”
he asked.Elspeth frowned as a look of disdain surfaced in her eyes.
“He’s the only person I like.”Michael’s expression turned grim when he saw how stubborn she was.
“I don’t approve of you two!”
Elspeth didn’t seem surprised to hear the old man’s words.
“You have no say in my relationship with Callum,”
she replied with a scoff. Michael didn’t lose his temper yet, as he still wanted to have a civil conversation with her.
“Elspeth, Callum is just another regular guy. There are tons of men in Blaydal. Why don’t I introduce you to someone better, huh?”
He genuinely didn’t want her to marry a man that didn’t meet his standards. He believed a man had to have at least two of the three roles-a military soldier, a government officer, and an entrepreneur-to be eligible for marriage with Elspeth. Michael was a short-tempered man, and he felt his blood boil when he saw how rebellious she was.
“You’re just like your mother! Both of you are so stubborn!”Elspeth froze when she heard the mention of her mother.
“My mother might be happier if you weren’t around,”
she replied in a scornful tone just moments later. Rage bubbled in Michael’s chest, and he felt his body trembling after hearing what she said. Why is it that all the girls in this family are so disobedient?!”I’ll say this one last time. I don’t want to see you dating Callum! You’ll have to deal with the consequences if you go against my words!”
he hissed. She was already fuming from the old man’s words, but she finally lost it when she heard his last sentence.
“I’m not done with my treatment of Frank, Grandfather. Don’t you dare test my limits! Otherwise, I can always decide not to treat him.”Did she just use Frank to threaten me?! Michael widened his eyes. Even though Helena was a stubborn woman, at least she was obedient enough to go along with his words without fighting him. She wouldn’t openly threaten him the way that Elspeth just did. Elspeth, on the other hand, was a lot more daring and confident with her words.”We can talk things through, Elspeth…”
His expression softened after that.
“I’m not stopping you from being with Callum. I’m just concerned for you. I’m only worried that he’s not good for you.””I’ll decide who’s good or bad for me. If you want me to treat Frank, then you’ll have to stay out of my relationship with Callum.”
She got to her feet and headed upstairs straight away after finishing her sentence.
“Elspeth!”
Michael let out a sigh after calling her name.
“I got it. I won’t say anything from now on. But Frank… I hope you take good care of him.”Elspeth knew that the old man’s promise was only temporary. Even though he claimed that he wasn’t going to meddle with her relationship, she knew he would find new ways of tearing them apart after Frank was healed. However, now that she had Frank’s treatment as leverage, she didn’t have to worry about this matter for the time being.”Sure. I’ll do my best. However, I would like you to hunt down the culprit who was responsible for today’s incident,”
Elspeth uttered. Michael frowned upon hearing her words.
“I’ve already found out about this. It was the Weiss Family! It seems like they’re getting a big head. How dare they lay hands on my grandchildren?!”
he hissed.”I don’t mind the fact that they tried to harm me, but what matters is that Frank has been injured in the process. I hope you punish these people for the sake of Frank.”
She gave the old man a faint glance before she turned to leave.The next morning, Elspeth paid a visit to Frank’s ward and found him in bed, scrolling through Twitter.
“Did you check Twitter, Elspeth?”
Frank urged her to check her phone when he saw her.She pulled her phone out to see a notification. ‘Elspeth is dressed in imitation designer clothes. Is she doing it intentionally, or is she trying to act rich?’ There were images attached to the tweet; a photo that showed her black skirt, a picture of her purchasing the item, and a receipt for the purchase. More details were shown in the following tweet. ‘This skirt was designed by the famous designer, Jenny, and there’s only one piece in the whole world. Jenny has never put her design on sale, so the one that Elspeth is wearing has to be a fake!’ Elspeth tutted when she saw the detailed explanation on the post.”Elspeth, I was the one who brought you to purchase that item in the store. Should I step forward to speak up for you?”
Frank felt rather guilty. Things wouldn’t turn out this way if I hadn’t urged her to buy this outfit.”There’s no point in you explaining any of this. They might make a post about you if you do that. Then, your reputation would be ruined as well,”
she uttered. He was utterly impressed by her thorough analysis of the situation.”Who’s the one behind this?”
Frank wondered.Elspeth chuckled.
“It may seem like they’re trying to attack me, but they’re actually trying to attack the whole Joneson Family. People have been trying to mess with me since I came back to the family. Do you think it’s just the two jealous girls who are behind this?”He froze for a moment before he finally understood what she was saying.
“You’re right.””I’m sure they must have teamed up to start this news about me. Then, the other people who dislike the Joneson Family probably just tagged along and spread the news to the rest of the public. That’s probably how this ended up trending,”
she deduced.A dark look surfaced in Frank’s gaze.
“I’ll tell Grandpa about this. I’ll tell him to find the culprit,”
he uttered.”It’s fine. It won’t take long for me to find out who’s behind this anyway,”
Elspeth replied.”What do you mean?”
Frank was confused.The Internet consisted of a vast amount of data that was largely protected, so how would she find the culprit? Elspeth didn’t bother explaining herself to him when she saw the look of astonishment on his face. Instead, she simply pulled her laptop out of her bag. Her fingers flew across the keyboard for a while before she successfully hacked into Blaydal’s information network.”What are you…”
Frank was dumbfounded to see what she was doing. He didn’t understand all the codes on her screen, but he knew what she was doing. She was hacking into Blaydal’s information network! Even though the accounts that wrote the posts only revealed their IP addresses and not their personal information, Elspeth successfully got her hands on all their details.A look of disdain formed on her face as she looked at the IP addresses and personal information on her screen.
“They have zero skills.”
They don’t even know how to protect their personal information! Frank didn’t even know what to say after hearing the dissatisfaction in her tone. After a long while, he finally managed a single word.
“Hacker.”
