Filed to story: Sweetheart Do You Still Love Me
“Your hands smell so good. What perfume are you wearing?”The young lady replied with a smile,
“I don’t like floral perfumes, so I’m wearing a honey-peach-scented perfume.”Elspeth had been smiling just a second ago. In this instant, however, she rebuked in a stern voice,
“It was you. You were the one who laced Yelena’s snacks with poison!”A hint of panic instantly flickered across the young lady’s eyes.
“You’re throwing mud at me! Why would you say I was the poisoner?”Elspeth walked around the young lady while sniffing at her. Then, she explained,
“The person who hired you to do this told you that the poisonous grass is aromatic, but they didn’t tell you that its scent would produce a strange smell when mixed with any kind of perfume. Not only that, the strange smell couldn’t be washed off.”The young lady’s face blanched at once.”Coincidentally, however, the honey-peach-scented perfume you’re wearing today is best at producing the strange smell mixture, so… Are you still not gonna admit it?”The ladies around the young lady sniffed at her. Just as Elspeth had said, she had a smell on her other than the scent of honey peach.The young lady slumped to the ground in fright. After all, she never thought she would be found out so quickly.Elspeth bent down and stared into her eyes.
“Who made you do it?”
The young lady’s lips parted.
“I-I have no idea.”
Elspeth narrowed her eyes.
“You have no idea? Then who gave you this and made you do it?”The young lady turned pale.
“I-It was a stranger who made me do it. She said the grass would cause diarrhea, which could then cause the filming to be postponed. But I never thought it’d cause poisoning-“Elspeth let out a laugh.
“How much were you paid to do this?””A hundred thousand in cash.”Just a hundred thousand in cash? That’s so stingy of Emma, thought Elspeth.
“What’s your name?”The young lady hemmed and hawed for a moment. Nevertheless, she answered honestly,
“My name’s Alicia Thornton.”Figuring out what had happened, Elspeth shook her head in resignation.
“I called the police just now. You’d better turn yourself in; perhaps you’ll get a lighter sentence.”I’m going to jail… Alicia broke down at once; she slumped to the ground and burst into loud sobs.Elspeth was in no mood to hear her wailing, though. Instead, she dialed Callum’s number.”What’s the matter?”
Callum sounded cool and distant over the phone.Elspeth’s chilly voice sounded even more heartless than the man’s.
“Please tell Emma that I won’t let her off if she does something against my interests again.”Callum’s imperturbable voice finally showed a hint of emotion when he noticed that something was wrong with her voice.
“Did she do anything again?”Elspeth let out a soft sneer that sounded even chillier than the freezing winter.
“She knows in her heart what she has done. Just keep in mind to pass on the message for me.”Callum fell silent for a moment. Then, he said,
“I’m sorry. I’ll compensate for the losses she caused.”Elspeth sneered in bitter disappointment.
“Callum, why do you need to take responsibility for what she does? What are you, her dad?”Callum didn’t say a word in response to such jibes, but Elspeth sensed that the man’s breathing became somewhat heavier on the other end of the line.
“Alright then, protect her if you want,”
she said before hanging up right away. Then, she called Harper, saying,
“Harper, help me look into Emma’s recent transaction records or the transaction records of those close to her. Mark the transaction that was worth one hundred thousand and made to one Alicia Thornton.”Anger welled up inside Harper when he recalled the person whom he had met last time.
“Did that woman get someone to hurt you again?”Elspeth let out a snort.
“Yeah. She’s really quite something.””Take it easy, Elspeth.
I’ll make her feel sorry for that.”
Harper smiled. Then, he immediately hung up the phone before Elspeth could realize what he meant.Harper was quick in doing things. Soon after the phone call, Emma came to Elspeth of her own accord.Elspeth was resting on the couch on the filming set when Emma suddenly barged in and raised her hand in an attempt to slap her. However, the pain didn’t hit Elspeth as she had expected; she caught hold of her hand and flung it away, causing her to lurch backward.”Darn you, Elspeth!”
Emma snarled furiously. She growled,
“What the f*ck did you do? Why did you have to hurt me like that?!”Surprised, Elspeth asked,
“What do you mean?””Still playing dumb, huh? Why did you spread slanderous rumors about me on the internet?”Wait a minute. When did I slander her? All I did just now was ask Harper to look into her, so he probably has exposed her for who she really is on the internet by now, thought Elspeth.
“How did I slander you? Don’t you have a clue about what you’ve done?”
she retorted, looking totally at ease with her arms folded across her chest.Emma was obviously beside herself with rage.
“See it for yourself!”
She took out her phone and flung it to Elspeth’s side. Elspeth picked it up and looked at its screen, on which Emma’s photo was apparently shown. In the photo, Emma was drinking with a bunch of foreigners with a coquettish smile on her face. Not only that, but one of the foreigners had his arm around her waist, while the other even daringly kissed her on the cheek.The photo was tagged with the hashtags #AFilthyB*tchBeneathHerAngelicPersona and #AViciousGoodyTwoShoesWhoPoisonedPeopleInPrivate.So, this is what Harper meant by ‘making her feel sorry’… Elspeth couldn’t hide her amusement as she looked at the photo.
“What’s wrong, Miss Walker? Aren’t you the woman in the photo? But I really never expected you to have such a… wild side to you.”Although she used the term ‘wild,’ Emma knew full well that she had deliberately said that to turn her stomach.
“Who let you spread these photos online?!”
She was on the verge of a mental breakdown. Never did she think Elspeth could actually find these things!”Oh,”
Elspeth responded.
“What makes you so sure that these things are my doing, Miss Walker?”Emma gnashed her teeth in hatred.
“Who else would spread these photos online if not you?”Elspeth replied,
“Emma, I told you long ago not to get under my skin, or I won’t let you get away with it. Didn’t Callum pass this on to you?”Emma was startled for a moment. The next instant, she said with a coquettish giggle,
“Callum didn’t tell me that, of course. He knows my character better than anyone else does. On the contrary, he told me to stay away from you, saying that you’re bad-tempered, eccentric, and very vengeful.”Elspeth raised an eyebrow.
“Did he really say that?”Emma’s giggles were fiendish and grating to the ear.
“Of course. He also said he’d dump you and go out with me very soon. Just wait until he breaks up with you!”Elspeth merely picked her ears after listening to her words.
“Okay, I’ll wait for it, then. Goodbye.”Seeing Elspeth like this, Emma was exasperated, but she couldn’t do anything about it. In the end, she hurled several threats at Elspeth before leaving resolutely.When Elspeth saw the news again, Emma’s public relations team had come out and explained everything on her behalf, claiming that the poisoning was committed by one of her close aides who was out of control. The photos were claimed to be composites, in which case Emma’s face was planted on the woman in the photos using deepfake technology.The netizens seemed to buy the story, but some found out and revealed that Emma had a profligate lifestyle abroad, causing her to lose a large number of fans.However, such information was deleted soon after that.Elspeth knew it was probably Callum who helped Emma cover her *ss to protect her dignity. At the thought of this, she felt very irritable, so she drove to a well-known local bar right away. Before leaving the filming set, she told Blake to make sure that Yelena was doing her acting job. She also asked Blake and Max to protect her together without giving any opportunity to those who might have designs on her.Max nodded with a chivalrous expression while vowing to keep an eye on Yelena.Yelena pulled a long face as a bout of despair overcame her.After saying goodbye to the three, Elspeth went to the bar.The bar wasn’t far from the filming set. When Elspeth arrived, it happened to be 6.00PM. The sky darkened early in winter, so it was already dark at the time. In the darkness of night, she stepped into the bar, but a figure followed her inside before she could sit down and have a drink.Elspeth didn’t recognize the man when she first looked at him. Upon taking a closer look, she immediately tensed up as though the man were a formidable enemy. As she had expected, it was Jordan again.She didn’t understand why Jordan would never leave her alone, so she looked at him with a hint of displeasure in her eyes.
“What’s wrong with you, Mr. Carr? Are you fond of stalking someone?”
Jordan wasn’t offended by her sarcastic remarks, though. Instead, he joked with her as usual, saying with a smile,
“No, I’m not. I just happened to run into you because fate brings us together, no?”
“Then why are you sitting at my table?””I’m just making do with your table. The others are all taken.”Elspeth pointed at the several free tables nearby before letting out an angry laugh.
“Mr. Carr, do you have bad eyes or something?””You’re right that I always have bad eyes. As it happens, I’m not wearing my glasses today.”Indeed, Jordan had always looked serious with his glasses on. Now that he had taken off his glasses, he looked somewhat… devilishly handsome with a few locks of hair dangling over his forehead.”You’re only here because you have something to ask of me. What is it that you want to tell me this time? Spill it.”Jordan didn’t hide his intentions either. He replied frankly,
“Old Mr. Joneson wants you to get engaged to me.”Elspeth snorted with laughter at once.
“Engaged? Jordan, you know there’s no way I would get engaged to you.””Oh, really? That’s not for sure, though.”
Jordan gave her a meaningful smile that betrayed an undetectable hint of slyness.Elspeth grew suspicious.
“What’s the matter? Is he doing something behind my back again?”A sly smile tugged at the corners of Jordan’s mouth, which revealed an inexplicable hint of ridicule.
“Well, I’m not certain about this, but Old Mr. Joneson really went to great pains to make you go home.”Elspeth stared at the man’s face as her suspicions lingered.
“Then why are you telling me about this? Aren’t you worried that I’ll prepare for this in advance?”Jordan crossed his legs while pouring himself a glass of wine.
“That’s because you can’t change anything.”Elspeth smiled.
“Jordan, I have to say you’re pretty thick-skinned.”Jordan had an arrogant smile on his face.
“Even if I want to go out with you, I’ll make you agree to it with my own capabilities. So what if I tell you in advance? You’ll have to go back and get engaged to me sooner or later, anyway.”Elspeth thought that the man before her was no longer the Jordan she knew. In short… he looked a bit crazy. She stood up. I’d better leave as soon as possible. I can’t drink here any longer, after all.However, no sooner had she walked a few steps than her wrist was held in a tight grip.
“What’s the hurry to leave? Aren’t you curious about what’s going on with Callum?”Although Elspeth was still able to mention Callum’s name with composure, it was nonetheless a sore point with her. She stopped before looking at Jordan’s face with a rare look of anger and embarrassment on her pretty face.
“Why mention him?”Jordan replied,
“If it were me, I wouldn’t have put up with it when my boyfriend spent time with another woman and defended her in every way possible. Don’t you care about this at all? Do you know why Callum had such a sudden change in attitude?”Elspeth was startled for a moment.
“Why?””Because he couldn’t get over his ex, especially his first love. Don’t you know how much weight the words ‘first love’ carries?”Jordan only gave a smirk of ridicule, from which Elspeth even detected a hint of sympathy. Though it lasted only for a second, his reaction betrayed feelings of pity and regret.Elspeth’s heart twinged suddenly. Are the beliefs that I held onto previously just wishful thinking? Everyone has noticed Callum’s change of heart, yet I’m the only person who believes from start to finish that he would never change.
“Callum would still be attracted to Emma after four years of separation. If you don’t believe it, just wait until he dumps you and gets back together with her.”
Jordan chuckled softly before letting go of her.Elspeth’s heart ached. Maintaining her composure with great effort, she turned around and prepared to leave.”Oh, right, there’s one thing that I forgot to tell you.”