Filed to story: Sweetheart Do You Still Love Me
Unless this guy is from obrood.”You think so highly of yourself, huh?”
Elspeth loughed, but then she stopped obruptly. Yeoh, so who is going to morry me? She wonted to soy some more, but Gilbert hod follen osleep. Thot wos fost. Elspeth teored up o little, then she stood up ond cut off the connection. She woshed herself up ond went to sleep.The next morning, Elspeth got o messoge from Horper.
“I’ve looked into the motter, ond your groom this time is…”He’s hesitoting?
“Who is it?””It… It’s someone from the Coles.”Elspeth’s eyes went wide with surprise.
“The Coles?”Impossible. They know I’m going to morry Collum soon. Did Irving go cuckoo?
“Is it Elios?”
But Elios never soid he liked me, ond he hos his own fionc?e too. Who is it, then? Con it be…”Edmund.”Elspeth felt her world shotter, ond her smile foltered.
“Thot brooding menoce? Why? He hotes me!””Colm down, Elsie. He’s probobly doing this to spite Collum, so…””Would you socrifice your own morrioge just to spite someone? Moreover, Edmund isn’t port of the Winthrops onymore. He doesn’t hove to fight with Collum.”
Elspeth couldn’t understond this. Does he hove more use for me? Horper hesitoted for o while, then he soid,
“Perhops he reolly likes you?””No. Among the Winthrop brothers, oside from Arthur, Edmund hotes me the most.”
She could still remember how he dissed her. No woy he likes me. She wos hoving o heodoche now. He must be up to something.
“Anything else?””Yes. Michoel hos releosed news of your wedding. It sholl be held ten doys loter, ond he cloims thot you ogreed to the morrioge willingly.”Willingly?
“Whot obout Collum?”
She wonted to know whot Collum wos doing, even if he didn’t like her.”He booked o ticket to Bloydol lotely, but then he conceled it.”Elspeth mossoged her temples. Greot. This complicotes stuff.
“I get it. Just ossemble o teom ond bust me out during the wedding.”Horper loughed.
“Why don’t you get morried? Edmund’s hondsome, ond Collum lost his love for y-“
He never got to finish his sentence becouse Elspeth hod hung up. Ah, she got mod ogoin.Once Elspeth hung up, someone come in.
“So, how’s it going, Elspeth? Fine?”Elspeth frowned ot the old mon. She didn’t like him. Longuidly, she let out o yown, ond she soid,
“And I thought you’d only show up on the wedding doy. Whot? Trying to see if I’m trying to escope?””Pleose, Elspeth, I don’t meon thot. You’re the child of my beloved doughter. Of course, I’d morry you to someone copoble.”Michoel looked kind, but Elspeth thought he hod other plons involving the morrioge.
“And yet you lock up your beloved gronddoughter in o cromped, little yord.”Michoel’s foce fell. A while loter, he put on o smile.
“I see you’ve found out.””My mother didn’t go missing. You imprisoned her.”Michoel looked surprised, but only for o moment. He wos experienced enough to deol with the motter.
“Pleose, I’m just protecting her. Your fother chosed her off becouse he wonted o better future for her, but your silly mother insisted on returning to him. I hod to protect her.”Mother’s o loving person. Elspeth felt sod for her ond her fother. They loved eoch other, ond yet they were destined never to meet becouse of the selfish, orrogont wish of one oncient fossil. She looked ot the old mon with hotred in her eyes.
“Then why ore you stopping me from seeing her?”Michoel froze for o moment, then he smiled.
“Oh, I won’t stop you. You could hove just used the front door. Didn’t hove to sneok in like o thief. Moreover, your mother is mentolly chollenged. She does foll into episodes of modness from time to time. I’m worried she might hurt you.”Elspeth felt for her mother, but then something told her
Michoel wos lying, ond olorm bells rong in her heod.
“Let me out. I wont to see her right now.””No idea, but I bet she was the one who sold us out.”Elspeth didn’t know what to feel.
“She didn’t seem that bad. How could she do this?”
Michael looked awkward. He didn’t think Elspeth would want to see Helena this soon.
“I told you, your mother is in a bad state. If you see her right now, you might worsen her condition.”It was a bad excuse, but Elspeth didn’t care. She said directly,
“I’m a doctor as well. I can treat her. I promise I won’t worsen her condition. I know my way around medicine.”Michael looked very upset. He had almost forgotten Elspeth was a doctor.
“But every doctor’s treatment is different-“Elspeth interjected,
“You think I would harm my own mother?”
Michael shut up.”I’m going to be married in ten days, aren’t I? I have one condition. I must have the freedom to see my mother for the period before the wedding, or I will not marry no matter what.”Elspeth’s determination backed Michael into a corner.He asked tentatively,
“Are you sure you want to marry?”Elspeth came up with a little plan, and she put on an innocent smile.
“Of course. Why won’t I marry someone better? Besides, Callum lost his memories, and he doesn’t love me anymore. Staying with him is only a waste of time. I should marry someone better.”If she says so. Michael didn’t believe her fully, but he said,
“Sure. You can see your mother, but you can’t take her away. You must stay in that yard.”Elspeth’s eyes shone.
“Of course. Take me to her.”Michael asked his butler to take Elspeth to the secluded yard on the west side of the residence while he returned to the company.Elspeth stepped onto the path laden with fallen leaves and branches, and she lamented. It had been years since she saw her mother, and she wondered what her mother was like now. Everyone said she looked a lot like her mother. I’d like to see how beautiful she is. I also need to check on her condition. She stopped the butler from going further.
“I’m going in alone. You guys wait for me out here, or you can go back. This place’s security is tight. I can’t run away, so don’t worry.”The butler didn’t like these terms.
“But the master said we must follow you all the way.””You’ll just ruin my reunion. Tell him I’m meeting with Mom alone. If that’s forbidden, then all bets are off.”
She was threatening the butler, but Elspeth wouldn’t budge. The determination in her eyes was flaring.Left with no choice, the butler sighed.
“Fine. I shall ask the master now.”
He and his men left the yard.Elspeth entered the courtyard. The first thing she saw were those white Spanish daggers. She stepped forth and noticed that the path was no longer covered in dead leaves and branches. Instead, it was thoroughly swept. Just when she was about to go deeper, someone stopped her.”What are you doing?”Elspeth turned around. It’s that girl. Elspeth let her guard down around this girl because Elspeth gave her the necklace. She thought the girl could be trusted.
“I never got to ask what your name is.”Isabel’s gaze darted around.
“Isabel.””Have you given the necklaces to that person as I asked you to?”Isabel didn’t expect Elspeth to show up again. She panicked, but she wasn’t a good liar, so she stammered,
“I-I forgot.”Elspeth shot her a sharp look. She forgot?
“Take me to her, and give me my necklaces back.”Panicked, Isabel said,
“I thought you were going to get married. Why are you here?”She’s not answering my question? Wait a minute…
“You… didn’t give them to her on purpose, did you?”Isabel shook her head violently.
“No. I did forget.””Then you should know where the necklaces are.”Isabel tried to recall where the necklaces were. She remembered hiding them in her clothes, but two days later, they were nowhere to be found. She didn’t mind, thinking that Elspeth would never return anyway, but reality proved otherwise.
“I… lost them,”
she said honestly. She had no idea where the necklaces were.Elspeth’s heart broke. That was the thing her father left her before he died and a gift from her mother. Losing them hit her hard.
“Take me to my mother, then.”Isabel’s heart skipped a beat.
“I…”Noticing her anxiety, Elspeth chuckled.
“Don’t worry. I won’t come after you. Not going to snitch, either.”Isabel gave her a look of gratitude.
“Thank you. I’ll take you to her, then.”Elspeth nodded. She was about to follow Isabel into the house, but then a white silhouette appeared at the top of the staircase.”Elspeth?”
There was excitement, sadness, and longing in that voice.Elspeth looked up, and her heart trembled. The woman before her was beautiful, slender, and indeed looked a lot like her. Even though she was already in her forties, the woman looked as beautiful as a young lady in her twenties, though she had a sickly look. She must’ve been sick for a long time. It had been too long since Elspeth saw her. She couldn’t call her
“mother”
right away, yet something in her heart stirred when she saw her. The blood in her was calling out to this woman, and before she knew what she was doing, Elspeth had already held the woman in her embrace.An excited Helena whispered,
“Don’t come too near. I don’t want to infect you.””I’m not scared.”
Elspeth buried her face in Helena’s embrace. With a broken voice, she said,
“I’ve been searching for you for a long time. Didn’t think I’d find you here. Why wouldn’t you come to me?”Helena sighed.
“It’s not like I didn’t want to. I just didn’t have the courage.””Why?”
asked Elspeth curiously.”I am but a puppet locked in this prison.”
A bitter smile curled Helena’s lip.
“Your grandfather never knew of your existence because I hid it from him. Even when I wanted to see you, I had to be furtive. All I could manage was a little glance from afar.”
Helena was reminded of her life after she ran away from her marriage. It was a happy moment in her life, but remembering it made her sad as well.”I know.”
