Filed to story: Sweetheart Do You Still Love Me
After bidding goodbye to Arthur, Elspeth sashayed to the man’s side and pretended to leave a casual remark.
“That pink dress really is hideous.”
As soon as the words left her mouth, she immediately noticed that the man beside her had moved his gaze to her in interest. She had found out a long time ago that Rayan hated pink, especially the shade mauve, and rumor had it that he would get short of breath and gasp for air whenever he wore something pink. Although it was merely a rumor, it was enough to prove that it was true that he didn’t like pink.
Seeing that, Elspeth added fuel to the fire by continuing,
“Pink has never been a luxurious color in the first place, and this is even the color that I hate the most. How ridiculous.”
As soon as she spoke, the man immediately walked toward her.
“Excuse me, do you hate this pink outfit too?”
As she expected, he took the bait.
Elspeth nodded with a regretful expression.
“That’s right. I didn’t expect that. I liked all of the previous outfits, but I just can’t bring myself to like this one.”
“We really are like-minded. I don’t like pink either, especially mauve.”
Elspeth spoke exceptionally well in Edenese, enough for her to pass off as a Charic woman who lived abroad. When the man saw that Elspeth was not only beautiful but also shared the same opinion as himself, he immediately took a liking to her. Although he was a hooligan who enjoyed visiting the red light district, he was a cultured hooligan. The Adler Family was prestigious, so he had his fair share of cultural enrichment growing up.
For the first time, Rayan only felt admiration and appreciation toward a pretty woman instead of having any sinful thoughts about her. He asked,
“Miss, would you allow me the pleasure of treating you to a meal?”
Upon seeing his gentlemanly invitation, Elspeth hesitated in a reserved manner. However, she only hesitated and did not immediately refuse, not knowing if this man would suddenly lose interest in her.
“That’s not a problem, but I’m not free tonight. We can set the date for tomorrow.”
In other words, she was indirectly asking for his contact information.
Understanding her intention, Rayan took out a name card and handed it to her.
“This is my phone number. You can contact me when you’re free.”
Elspeth was good at playing hard to get, and when she saw Rayan’s disappointed expression, she knew that she had already achieved half of her goal.
“Of course. I’ll definitely get in touch.”
Elspeth extended her lithe hand and carefully accepted the name card before putting it into her bag.
Then, pretending to inadvertently notice someone she knew in the distance, she revealed a look of surprise and said,
“My friends are waiting for me over there. I’m going to have a few words with them now.”
Rayan followed her gaze and saw a group of men who seemed to be of high caliber. A sense of indignation emerged in his heart at the sight, but he could not let it show.
“Why don’t you tell me your name and phone number, and I’ll contact you?”
he offered, not wanting her to forget about him the next day.
Elspeth pursed her lips into a smile.
“Of course, you can.”
He had fallen for her trap hook, line, and sinker.
At ten o’clock the next morning, Elspeth was still deep in slumber when her sleep was interrupted by a phone call. She impatiently picked up, but when she heard an unknown yet familiar voice from the other end, she immediately jolted awake.
“Miss Lynwood, I’d like to treat you to lunch this afternoon. Would that be all right?”
the person asked courteously.
Instantly, any remaining grumpiness she felt disappeared without a trace, and she got up to dress properly before going downstairs.
As Arthur watched Elspeth descend the stairs in a short, black off-shoulder dress from the living room, his expression became inscrutable.
“Don’t tell me you dressed up so nicely just to meet Rayan Adler?”
“Yes, I did. It’s the last day of the time limit Logan gave me. If I don’t complete my mission by today, he might not give me the herb.”
At that, Elspeth twirled in a circle, the hem of her dress rising and falling with the air. After such a long time, she essentially understood what kind of a person Logan was.
“Do you need me to come with you?”
Arthur offered to tag along, which was a rare occasion for him.
“It’s fine. It’ll be too obvious if we go together; I can handle it alone.”
She carelessly grabbed a piece of toast from the table and took a bite to fill her stomach, saying,
“I’m not stupid.”
“I’m just worried you’d get taken advantage of,”
he replied gently.
“Don’t worry about that. There’s no way he’d be able to take advantage of me.”
Naturally, she had her own methods to deal with old perverts like Rayan.
Elspeth had just descended the stairs when she saw a black Maybach parked at the entrance. An ominous sensation looming over her, she hastened toward the car, and when she saw the person inside, her face instantly fell. Callum was currently sitting inside, his glum gaze fixed intently on her.
Dammit, he still found out!
When she saw his expression that clearly said he would get out of the car to drag her in if she didn’t come in herself, she helplessly got into the car.
“Do you mind explaining why you’re here?”
Callum asked in an aloof tone, but Elspeth could sense a thick and menacing undertone in his voice.
“I-I can explain.”
She gulped before saying in a small voice,
“I’m forced to stay here because Arthur has something on me.”
“It’s because of your mother, right?”
His words hit the nail on the head. He had heard on the grapevine that Arthur was treating someone from the Joneson Family, but he didn’t expect it to be Elspeth’s mother.
“If you need a cure, I can hire the best doctor in the world for you. Why must you cling to him?”
Callum frowned at Elspeth, indicating that he could help her.
She raised her eyebrows slightly and said in a soft voice,
“I don’t want to stay here, really, but it’s because this disease can’t be treated by anyone but him.”
The words that Callum was about to blurt out clogged in his throat.
“So, Mr. Schwartz is powerless too?”
“Yes.”
Elspeth let out a helpless sigh, her voice sounding weak as she continued,
“I have no other choice but to fool him for now until he treats my mother. I’ll come up with another plan then.”
