Filed to story: Sweetheart Do You Still Love Me
“I didn’t think you’d be so cold-hearted, child.” Haris chuckled. However, the benevolence and adoration beneath his eyes were long gone.
“That’s why this is only a token for exchange. If you want to know, I will naturally tell you about it under my conditions. If you don’t, then your mother’s life will have nothing to do with you.”
Her life… An ominous feeling flashed across Elspeth’s eyes at that. “What are you trying to say?”
“Do you still remember what I talked to you about? The new experiment I’m preparing to do.”
“That human experimentation?!” Elspeth’s heart skipped a beat.
Haris had mentioned the experiment to her back when she was staying in the McGrath Residence. But because the experiment required a special human organ as an enhancer, he didn’t talk in-depth about it. In fact, he even told her he intended not to do the experiment because of how cruel it’d be.
Another reason was that the unique type of people was too difficult to find. As of now, there were less than a handful of candidates that fit his experiment’s criteria.
“You won’t believe this. When I met your mother, she just so happened to be the perfect enhancer.” Haris opened his folding fan and fanned it gently while his eyes were filled with nothing but triumph.
Elspeth felt rather unsteady on her feet then. After understanding how cruel the experiment was, Elspeth couldn’t accept the idea of putting her mother through it. Haris could tell that Elspeth was hesitating, so he stepped forward and gently tapped her on the shoulder. His voice sounded as gentle and warm as always. “You’re my disciple, Elspeth. I don’t want to do anything that would make you sad. However, you should also know that my granddaughter had to go through a lot of suffering. I wouldn’t be able to face my ancestors if anything happened to her.”
Even though Haris sounded like he was giving Elspeth some advice, his words were actually said to his own benefit. Elspeth was well aware of this, yet she couldn’t bring herself to utter the harsh words she intended to say earlier. “I know you might find it hard to accept the truth, and I know you might think I’m lying to you. I can’t do much if you don’t believe me,” Haris added.
“I trust you.” Elspeth’s gaze glinted as she spoke.
“That’s good. It’s good that you trust me.”
The look on Callum’s face was as icy as ever. His eyes glinted sharply as he narrowed them. “Do you have any other conditions?” he asked.
“There are no other conditions for now. The only condition I have is that you guys get a divorce and you get married to Jasmine,” Haris said in response. There was no way for them to negotiate any further. Elspeth simply lowered her head without speaking. “I know you might find it hard to accept the situation now. How about this? I’ll give you guys three days. I want to see your divorce papers in three days,” Haris uttered.
With that said, Haris glanced at his watch before glancing up with a thoughtful look on his face. “It’s getting late. I’ll get the housekeeper to send you back if there’s nothing else you need.”
Callum couldn’t contain the rage within him anymore. However, he was worried that he would lose control of his anger, so he quickly grabbed Elspeth’s hand before leading her out. “It’s fine. We can head back on our own.”
Haris didn’t see a problem with this. The housekeeper, on the other hand, found the two youngsters extremely rude. “What’s surprising about that? If you were in their position, you might even be more emotional than them,” Haris stated.
The housekeeper let out a frustrated sigh. “I just don’t understand. You were the one who saved Elspeth, yet she doesn’t show any gratitude at all. Instead, she teamed up with some other man to scheme against your granddaughter, and now, she’s even giving you attitude.” Elspeth was nothing more than a heartless witch in the housekeeper’s eyes.
“That’s not entirely true. Both parties are at fault here. You may think that Elspeth is being harsh, but have you considered how Jasmine tried to ruin their marriage?” It had been a while since Haris spoke to visitors for such extended periods of time, so he seemed rather tired. “It’s a shame that I’m Jasmine’s grandfather. I have no choice but to be on her side.”
“But Callum is right. If we force him to get married to Miss McGrath, Miss McGrath might not be happy in their marriage either.” Haris massaged his brows as he felt a headache coming. “But if Jasmine doesn’t get to be with the person she likes, she won’t be happy either. There’s a saying that claims that a person who doesn’t achieve all her youthful desires will spend the rest of her life in regret. I’d rather she get what she wants and suffer through it,” Haris explained.
“You’re the wiser one indeed, Old Mr. McGrath.” The housekeeper lowered his gaze as he understood Haris’ intentions. “Alright. It’s getting late. Let’s head back,” Haris uttered.
…
The chemistry between them was strong-both Callum and Elspeth no longer brought up this matter after leaving the hotel. They acted as they did on a usual day-they held hands as they walked back to the Winthrop Residence. However, they noticed a familiar figure when they arrived at their front door. The person was looking around as if she was waiting for someone.
When Yelena saw Elspeth walking over, she practically threw herself on Elspeth. “Elspeth. Elspeth! There’s something I need to tell you!”
Elspeth gently smacked Yelena on her head when she saw the conflicted look on Yelena’s face. “What’s the rush? You can just call me if you have something to say. Why did you have to come all the way to my house?”
Yelena lowered her head before speaking in a rather sorrowful tone. “Something came up for me, and I might have to leave the country for a while.”
“How long are you going to be gone for?” Elspeth asked.
“About half a year.”
“That’s a pretty long time.” Elspeth was sad to hear that they would have to be apart for a while. “You’ll have to take care of yourself while you’re abroad. If you encounter any issues, you can always call me.
I’ll go over to you immediately.”
Yelena was bad with goodbyes, and she felt especially uneasy with all the issues that they had faced in recent times. “You’ll have to video call me more, then.”
“Don’t worry. Where are you going, by the way?”
“Wohler.”
Elspeth felt a surge of familiarity upon hearing the name of the place. “That’s such a coincidence,” Elspeth muttered to herself.
“What’s the coincidence?” Yelena asked.
Elspeth realized that she had spoken her thoughts out loud, but she felt the need to explain herself when she saw the curious look on Yelena’s face. “Max is going there for some race car training as well.”
“That is truly a coincidence…” An awkward look formed on Yelena’s face.
“It’s fine. The country’s huge. You’re not going to bump into him,” Elspeth uttered.
Yelena shook her head. “There’s no reason for me to avoid him. I won’t catch feelings for him even if he shows up in front of me now…”
“Elspeth, Callum, why are you standing at the front door?” Yelena was too petite, so her figure was completely covered by Callum. Max didn’t notice her, so he walked over to greet them with a grin.
However, the smile on Max’s face fell when he saw the girl behind Callum. Yelena looked up to give him an embarrassed smile as well.
Elspeth didn’t find anything awkward about the situation-she was simply amused that the confidence Yelena had just a few moments earlier seemed to have disappeared. Elspeth couldn’t help but tease Yelena about it. “You were saying a completely different thing earlier.”
Yelena gave Elspeth a playful punch. “Alright. Stop teasing me.”
Max was the first to initiate a conversation. “It’s been a while, Yelena.”
“It’s been a while. How have you been?” Yelena realized that had asked the wrong question after she finished her sentence. How could Max be doing well at a time like this?
“I’m okay. I’m sleeping, eating; the usual,” Max replied in a casual tone. When Max saw the uncertain look on Yelena’s face, he decided not to say anything that would pressure her any further.
“That’s great to hear. Well, I’ll leave now, then.” Yelena felt the urge to leave because of how awkward the situation was. “Why don’t you stay for a meal?” Max found the courage to voice out an offer.
Yelena felt pressured to agree, but she then heard an icy voice sounding from behind her. “She doesn’t need you to offer her a meal.”
Yelena felt goosebumps forming on her skin when she heard the person’s voice. She hadn’t told a single soul about her trip to Winthrop Residence that day. Hank, in particular, would get extremely displeased if he heard about the Winthrops, so Yelena had made it a point not to mention it to him. Hank’s face turned icy whenever she mentioned the Winthrops, so Yelena figured that she would just sneak over for a while without Hank’s knowledge.
She hadn’t expected to see him there. “I called you. Why didn’t you pick up my calls?” Hank uttered. Yelena was rather taken aback by his sudden accusations, so she pulled her phone out to check. As expected, there were five missed calls on the phone. On top of that, there were tons of text messages from Hank. “Why did you call me out of nowhere?” Yelena asked.
“Shouldn’t I be the one who’s questioning you? Why didn’t you pick up my calls?” Hank’s voice was harsh and cold. The iciness in his voice reached its peak when he laid eyes on Max. “You ignored all my calls because you wanted to come over to the Winthrop Residence to see him. Is that it?” Hank asked.
Yelena struggled to explain herself. “No. I wasn’t here for him. I was here for Elspeth.” She obediently held the phone out in front of Hank. “Look at this. I didn’t ignore your calls. My phone just happened to be on silent mode,” she uttered in a soft and meek voice. In other words, Yelena hadn’t intentionally avoided him, so there was no reason for him to be so worked up.
Hank felt his temper disappearing when he saw the pitiful look on Yelena’s face. He figured that it wouldn’t be nice for him to continue scolding her. Meanwhile, the interactions between Yelena and Hank felt like a huge reality check for Max, who was watching them from the side. I used to be the only person who could treat Yelena that way, but now, things have changed. She belongs to another man.
All I can do is stand around and watch in silence. I can’t even tell her how much this hurts me.
“Alright. Let’s go home.” Hank instinctively held Yelena’s hand to bring her home. “Why don’t you stay for dinner, Yelena?” Somehow, Max stirred up the courage to voice out once more. Everyone-Yelena, especially-was shocked by Max’s actions. What’s this guy up to? Elspeth wondered.
Yelena took one glance at Hank before she shook her head frantically. “It’s fine. I don’t think it’d be right for me to stay. I should head home,” she said.
Hank let out a satisfied grunt after hearing her response. “It’s just a meal. Furthermore, you’ll be leaving soon, right? Even if we’re just friends now… I don’t think there’s an issue with having a meal together, right?” Max said.
Hank narrowed his eyes upon hearing this. “How did you know that she’s leaving soon?” Why is this guy showing up now? Is he trying to snatch my wife-to-be? Yelena was just as puzzled when she heard Max’s words. She hadn’t told anyone about her plan to leave the country, and she had only caved in and told Elspeth about it earlier. How would Max know about this?
Max realized that he made a slip of the tongue, so he simply kept his mouth shut while eyeing Yelena with a hopeful look on his face. He was hoping that she would agree to dinner. Yelena knew that she could easily reject the offer, yet she couldn’t bring herself to utter such words when she saw the expectant look on Max’s face. “How about…” Yelena started.
Hank quickly interrupted her. “You guys broke up. Do you think both of you can still remain friends? Furthermore, the Winthrops have got nothing to do with Yelena. Why should she have a farewell dinner with you guys?” Even though Hank’s words were harsh, he had a point.
Max lowered his gaze. He knew that he had overstepped his boundaries, so he decided that he wouldn’t say anything further. This only made Yelena feel sorrier for him. “Why don’t we just stay for the meal? It’s just one meal, anyway,” Yelena said. Hank was exasperated to see the look of sympathy in Yelena’s eyes. “Um… We can stay for a meal, but I’ll have to join you guys.” Hank didn’t want Yelena and Max to spend time together when he wasn’t around. All his years of waiting would go to waste if they somehow managed to rekindle the spark between them. “How does that sound?” he asked.
Yelena knew that she was pushing Hank’s limits at this point. She turned to give Max a look in hopes that he would allow Hank to stay. Meanwhile, Max felt a throbbing ache in his chest. The woman he once loved was now begging him for the sake of another man. Maybe I shouldn’t have asked her to stay for dinner in the first place. Why should I keep her around? Isn’t that just making me feel worse?
However, Max couldn’t reject Yelena when he was the one who suggested the dinner. “Of course. He’s your friend, so there’s no harm in him staying for dinner.” Max placed extra emphasis on the word ‘friend’-this was his only way to express the frustration he felt. Naturally, Hank noticed the change in Max’s tone, but he decided not to be petty over it. Instead, Hank tightened his grip on Yelena’s hand before leading her into the house.
Max silently watched as they walked ahead of him. Elspeth noticed the look of sorrow on Max’s face, so she gave him a pat on the shoulder. “I’ve told you this-you should know when it’s time to let go and move on,” Elspeth uttered.
“I’ve let go of her, Elspeth. I just don’t know why I feel so sad all of a sudden.” Max lowered his gaze to hide the pain in his eyes.
“It’s fine. It’s okay to be sad. There’s no need to be ashamed of your feelings. You should be glad that the woman you fell for is someone so kind, adorable, and sweet. She didn’t hold any grudges against you even though it was your fault that you guys had to break up. She’s still willing to maintain a relationship with you,” Elspeth stated. This was the best outcome that Max could’ve hoped for.
