Filed to story: Sweetheart Do You Still Love Me
“Are you really not unhappy?”Elspeth couldn’t describe how she felt.
“No, I’m fine,”
she replied, but her smile looked somewhat strained.Seeing that she seemed a bit uncomfortable, Callum led her out of the hotel as soon as the gathering was over.As they walked outside, Elspeth let out a wistful sigh.”I can see the change in my dad’s attitude toward you, actually.”She couldn’t help but let out a wry laugh at the man’s words.
“Yeah, even you could see that, so how couldn’t I?”Callum stopped to look at her. He said earnestly,
“Still, you don’t have to be worried. There’s no way my dad would dislike you all of a sudden. He probably has a reason for doing so.”Naturally, Elspeth knew full well about this. She decided to ask Theodore about it when they went home tonight.As the couple strolled along the bridge, it suddenly began snowing.Elspeth was stunned; she hadn’t paid attention to the calendar for a long time. Seems like Christmas is coming, she thought.Before she snapped out of her trance, Callum surprised her with a bouquet of Lenten roses he produced from nowhere. Though not as delicate as roses, the flowers looked extraordinarily hardy.She asked,
“Callum, did you steal these from someone else’s backyard?”
She sounded disapproving, but inwardly, she loved these flowers very much.Callum darted her an impassive glance.
“There are stalls selling things on both sides of the bridge. Weren’t you looking at these just now?”Elspeth looked back and saw there was indeed a flower stall where she had been standing. What was more, she’d been staring blankly in that stall’s direction just now.
“Actually, I don’t like… Achoo!”
She smiled in embarrassment before emitting a loud sneeze.Before she could finish her sentence, Callum fixed her with a murderous stare.
“Are you saying that you like Lenten roses very much?”Coming to her senses, she nodded vigorously.
“Yeah, I like them a lot.”Callum frowned when he noticed that she was shivering with cold.
“Feeling cold?”Cold? It’s thanks to your tone that the weather turned chilly! Elspeth looked at her clothes-which weren’t really warm enough-before emitting another sneeze.
“No, I don’t.””Then, why are you shivering?”
Callum lowered his gaze as he took off his jacket and draped it around her shoulders.
“I’ll send you back.”Elspeth gave him a smile of gratitude.
“Thank you for your kindness, Mr. Winthrop, but my legs are numb.”Speechless, Callum crouched down and let her get onto his back.Now that she didn’t have to walk by herself, Elspeth suddenly became talkative.
“Callum, I’ve heard that a couple can remain together in their old age once they’ve walked together in the snow.””I don’t know if a couple can remain together in their old age after walking in the snow, but I’m sure they’ll get hospitalized for that.”She was displeased with the man’s unfeeling remark. How unromantic. Theodore was sitting in the living room watching TV when they arrived home by car. Seeing that Elspeth was back, he pretended to leave again, but she stopped him before he could do so.
“Mr. Winthrop, may I ask what is going on with you?”Theodore replied with a forced smile,
“I’m fine, Elspeth. Don’t think too much about it.”Elspeth… Now he calls me Elspeth instead of Elsie, thought Elspeth. Unable to get the truth out of him, she decided to look into it herself.After she returned to her bedroom, Theodore summoned Callum into his study. No one knew what Theodore had said, but the next day, Callum became somewhat quieter than usual.Seeing that he wasn’t in a good mood, Elspeth asked,
“What’s wrong with you?”Callum shook his head.
“I gotta go to my office. You should go to Azure Corporation early if there’s nothing else.””Are you telling me to go to my own company?”
Elspeth was astounded. He was just fine yesterday; why is he beginning to distance himself from me today?Callum pressed his lips together without saying a word.A sense of discomfort surged up within Elspeth.
“Callum, just tell me if there’s anything. Don’t keep it from me.””I’m fine. I gotta go; I’ve got work to deal with at my office,”
Callum replied before leaving; his broad figure looked desolate from behind as he left.Elspeth gritted her teeth before going to the Winthrop Group after him.Once arriving at the Winthrop Group, she found that her stuff had been cleared away on Callum’s orders, while her desk was occupied by the new director of the Design Department. She was depressed when she walked into the man’s office and saw him working as if nothing had happened.
“Callum, can you tell me what on earth is going on with you?”Callum looked up; his eyes were full of meaning that she couldn’t understand.
“I’m fine. It’s just that you’re not supposed to stay any longer in the Winthrop Group according to the rules.”She smirked.
“Well then, were you lying when you told me before that the Winthrop Group is mine as long as I go out with you?”He shook his head.
“No, I wasn’t.””Then, what do you mean by doing this right now?”Callum let out a sigh.
“Well, if you want to keep on staying here, I’ll have another desk cleared up for you.”Naturally, Elspeth was unwilling to let go easily without finding out the actual reason behind this, so she nodded and let Callum do so.He had the cubicle furthest from his desk cleared up and designated it as hers. The cubicle seemed several times better than her previous desk, but the distance between it and his desk made her feel ostracized.Furthermore, Callum was supposed to have lunch with her during lunchtime, but she saw Emma in his office at noon. The scene was oh-so-familiar: Callum was sitting there working while Emma was sitting on the couch waiting for him to finish his work.They didn’t appear overly intimate this time, but the man’s silent acquiescence pricked Elspeth’s heart nonetheless.”Elspeth, what brings you here?”
Emma asked in surprise, as though Elspeth were a complete outsider.Elspeth didn’t even look at her.
“I’m here to talk to Callum. It should have nothing to do with you.”Emma giggled with her hand over her mouth after listening to her reply.
“Elspeth, just forget it if you’re here to ask Callum out for lunch. He’s agreed to have lunch with me.”Elspeth couldn’t believe her words. Calm and determined, she looked into Callum’s eyes, asking,
“Tell me, Callum-is it true what she said?”Callum didn’t make a sound, but his silence had spoken for itself.”Look, Elspeth, why don’t you stop embarrassing yourself? You’ll put Callum on the spot by doing this.”
Unable to hold it in anymore, Callum said impassively,
“This is what my dad wanted.”
“Callum, am I still your girlfriend?”
Elspeth’s eyes reddened. Tears welled up in her eyes, but she fought them back with tremendous effort.Callum’s hands clenched into fists when he saw her on the verge of tears.
“Elspeth, I…”
he began, only to bite back what he had wanted to say because he couldn’t bring himself to say it.Emma raised her chin proudly.
“Elspeth, I told you long ago that Mr. Winthrop likes me the most. You were never a match for me.”Elspeth didn’t believe her at first, but now that she had listened to this, she suddenly found such words especially irritating to the ear. She asked,
“Do you also want to tell me to know my place and leave Callum instead of keeping you two from getting back together?”Emma’s face froze. She actually guessed it right.
“I didn’t say-“Instead of getting angry, Elspeth laughed.
“Sorry, but I’m officially Callum’s girlfriend at present, so you’d better not impose your ideas on him for the time being.”
As long as Callum doesn’t break up with me, I won’t easily give him up to this woman!”Well, in that case, Callum and I are going out for lunch. Care to join us, Elspeth?”
Emma suggested derisively.She only meant that as a taunt, but she didn’t think Elspeth would actually accept her invitation.
“No problem. Where are you guys going?”Emma wished she could bite her tongue off at this very moment. What nonsense did I say just now? Why would I invite Elspeth to join us for lunch?!
“W- We’re going to Kaiseki Restaurant.”Kaiseki Restaurant was a Japanese restaurant, but to the best of Elspeth’s recollection, Callum couldn’t eat anything raw or cold due to his weak stomach. Knowing that Callum would refuse, she suggested,
“Let’s go somewhere else.””Kaiseki Restaurant is fine,”
Callum said impassively.Surprised, Elspeth turned to look at the man, who looked away to avoid her gaze.Emma’s heart was bursting with pride. Subconsciously, she stepped forward and took the man’s arm, saying with a smile,
“Callum and I used to dine there every day back when we were in university. Tuna sushi was his favorite.”Unused to having someone else on his arm, Callum pulled his arm out of her grasp.Elspeth retorted in a sarcastic voice,
“In that case, do you know that Callum has been suffering from gastric problems and can’t eat raw and cold food since he started working?”Emma had been away for so many years, so how could she know about these things? Feeling somewhat embarrassed, she quickly said,
“Um, how about we go somewhere else-“
She really loved Callum and feared that he might get an upset stomach from eating raw food. Hence, she suggested that they go somewhere else for lunch.However, Callum replied impassively,
“No, it’s not necessary. This restaurant is fine.””Alright, Callum, it’s up to you.”
Emma looked at him gratefully. After all, this was the first time he had spared her feelings in front of Elspeth.Elspeth was seething with anger. Normally, she would’ve questioned Callum for this, but now, she couldn’t lose her temper and storm off easily. She sensed that the man was apparently avoiding her on purpose.The three thus went to lunch together, only this time, it was Elspeth who was playing gooseberry.Emma ordered some food that would suit Callum’s palate. Then, she asked,
“Elspeth, do you have anything you’d like to eat?”Before Elspeth could reply, Callum answered,
“She likes sashimi and tempura.”The smile on Emma’s face vanished instantly.Callum clammed up after finishing his sentence, and a brief silence fell upon them. The meal was extremely torturous, with Emma doing almost nothing else other than helping Callum with the food. When Elspeth looked up occasionally, she could see the man’s intense gaze resting upon her, only to shift away the next moment. This strengthened her belief that he was hiding something from her.At the end of the meal, she split up with Emma and Callum.Thinking that Elspeth couldn’t stand the man being nice to her, Emma smilingly left on Callum’s arm.Meanwhile, Elspeth suddenly received a phone call from Yelena.
“Yelena, where are you right now?”
There seemed to be a ridiculously loud noise on Yelena’s end of the line, and she even heard a cat’s shrill screeches. She asked worriedly,
“What happened?”Yelena could be heard sobbing fitfully on the other end of the phone.
“Elspeth, I’m now in Max’s villa! My cousin somehow found out that I’m here. Now that Max isn’t here, he’s been banging at the door!”No wonder I keep hearing muffled bangs.
“Send me your address. I’ll be there in a minute.”Shortly after that, Yelena texted her the villa’s location.Elspeth rushed there by cab. As soon as she arrived, she saw a group of men banging at the door like crazy. Upon taking a closer look, she realized that they really were led by that Finn guy!Seeing how uncontrollable the men before them looked, the cab driver gulped in fright.
“Miss, how about I help you call the cops?”Elspeth let out a sneer.
“It’s fine, you don’t have to call the police. I’ll deal with him.”She got out of the cab and stood aside. Seeing how Finn smashed all kinds of miscellaneous items against the door, she curled her lips in disdain.
“Finn, what are you doing? Playing music, huh?”Finn stopped. Having raised a racket here for half an hour, he was already tired and out of breath, but Yelena, that young lady, wouldn’t come out.