Filed to story: Sweetheart Do You Still Love Me
Then, she flipped through her Messenger and noticed that Hank had changed his profile picture. She texted him, and to her delight, he hadn’t blocked her.
However, she received no response even a few minutes later. So, she texted again, ‘You there?’ Just then, she was told she couldn’t reply to the conversation. He blocked me on FB as well?!
Yelena was out of options. I can’t call him. Can’t text him. And this b*tch won’t let me in. How could he do this to me?
She felt a bit exasperated for some reason, but then she was reminded of the way she treated Hank, and she shoved her stupid thoughts away. He didn’t even yell at me when I yelled at him. I can’t just give up now. She mustered up her courage and came to knock on the door.
The receptionist glanced at her but said nothing.
“Open up.”
The door blocked out all voices, but the receptionist still got the message. “No,” she refused.
“Okay, then I’ll smash the place down.” Yelena grinned.
The receptionist was horrified, but then she realized that the door was made of safety glass. No matter how much Yelena tried, she couldn’t possibly break it. However, Hank was right upstairs. If he was alerted to this ruckus, he might fly into a rage and lecture the receptionist for her poor treatment of a guest. In the end, the girl opened the door for Yelena. “Come in,” she said reluctantly.
Yelena walked in like a victorious peacock and sat on the couch. “Get me a glass of water.”
The girl’s face fell. That was part of her job, but she didn’t want to do it for Yelena, no matter what.
“Well, don’t just stand there. That little banter we had made me thirsty.”
The girl forced a smile. “The water dispenser is right there. You may fetch some water yourself.”
“You want a guest to do everything herself? Who’s your manager? If Hank knows you failed at serving his guests, he’s going to fire you.”
The girl was scrambling to answer, and the mention of Hank firing her made her panic. He might actually fire me if he knows this. With great reluctance, she filled a glass of water under Yelena’s supervision and shuffled back. However, when she gave the glass to Yelena, she intentionally splashed a bit of the hot water on Yelena, and it landed right on Yelena’s hand.
The water wasn’t very hot. The girl just wanted to pull a prank, but still, it caught Yelena by surprise, and she gasped.
Yelena looked at her slightly reddened finger. “What are you doing? Why’d you splash the water on me?” She’s vindictive.
“I didn’t. You just weren’t holding it well.” The girl put on a pouty look. She was acting very differently from how she was earlier.
“You’re pushing the blame on me?” Yelena shot her a glare.
However, before she could say anything, a cold yet familiar voice came from behind her. “Didn’t expect a troublemaker in my firm.”
Yelena shot up and turned around. The voice belonged to Hank, who stood before her at the moment. He was wearing a suit, and he looked tired. Worried, Yelena said, “Hank, I-“
“What do you want?” There was not a hint of love in the man’s eyes. There was only formality.
“Nothing. I’m just here to see you. I know I shouldn’t have given you attitude, so I came to say sorry.” She hung her head low and curled up a little. Every time she did something wrong, she would do the same thing and act like a child who did something wrong. Hank would forgive her every time. Well, not this time. All he did was look at her coldly.
“Done? Now, leave.”
Yelena looked at him in disbelief. She noticed the distant look in his eyes, and it pained her. “Do you hate me that much?”
“No. I just don’t want to see you.”
Tears welled up in her eyes. “Please, don’t be so distant. I’m sorry.”
“Why do you think I should be nice to you?” Hank seemed to have lost all patience as he said, “You don’t have to come to work anymore. I’ll have someone pack your stuff and send it your way.”
“I-“
“Now, leave. Unless you have something else to do.” He turned a little to look at her. “Just don’t show up in front of me ever again.”
Yelena felt something squeezing her heart. She saw Hank off and tried to say something, but not a single word came out of her mouth.
“Told you he wouldn’t see you. You just had to do it.”
The girl spared Yelena a look of pity. That was the first time she saw Hank being so harsh. He might be aloof, but he was always polite. Yet, he didn’t even show any patience with Yelena. She’s quite pitiful, I suppose.
Yelena wanted to cry, but she wouldn’t do that in front of this girl and certainly not in front of the public.
“Alright, stop crying. Don’t ever come again. He doesn’t want to see you.” She must feel awful right now. Out of pity, she gave Yelena some tissues.
Yelena took them and wiped her tears away before heaving a sigh. “I understand.”
“Good. Stay out of his sight from now on, alright?”
“No. I mean, I know he doesn’t want to see me now, so I’ll come back some other day.”
The girl felt like pulling the tissues away. “How stubborn can you get? Don’t you see he doesn’t like you? Why do you still go after him?”
“You only saw a part of him. You know he’s a calm and rational man, right? To be able to make him lose his cool like this, I believe I’m the only one capable of doing so.” And that means he cares about me. Otherwise, he wouldn’t get mad.
“I’m impressed, in a sense. You’re acting like a simp right now.” The girl rolled her eyes. This time, she was starting to take Yelena’s side. “Your look is quite decent, I’d say. And you have a nice voice. Why do you obsess over him?”
Yelena shook her head and took a sip of the water. “Because I know he likes me. He can’t forget about me. I still have a chance, so I’m taking it.”
“How do you know you have a chance?” Just then, another guest came in, and the girl ended their conversation. She went over to serve the guest, and while the guest was doing something else, she came back and said, “You should leave now if nothing else.”
Yelena chuckled. “I know. By the way, what’s your name?”
“Why do you ask? Are you planning to lodge a complaint?” The girl looked at Yelena cautiously. She didn’t think they could be friends that easily. Not after the fight they had and the prank she pulled on Yelena just a while ago.
“Nah. I just think you’re cute.” She’s prideful, but she’s not evil. And I’ll be coming to the firm a lot. She might be of use, Yelena thought.
“Summer.”
Yelena looked at Summer for a moment. “That’s a good name.”
Summer put her hands on her hips. Smugly, she said, “Of course, my mom spent a lot of time picking the name, after all.”
Oh, right. This guest is here for Mr. Damazio. Hurriedly, she whispered, “This client’s here for Mr. Damazio. He might be coming to the lobby later. If he sees you here, it’d be trouble.” Summer was a little nervous.
“Trouble? Trouble for whom?” Yelena was confused.
“Us, of course.” Summer rolled her eyes and dragged Yelena out. “You should leave now. If you want to court Mr. Damazio, come back at 3.00PM tomorrow. He’s free at that time. You might be able to grab the chance to chat with him. Just don’t tell him I told you. This is just a favor.”
Yelena leaped in surprise and hugged Summer, kissing her on the cheek. “Thank you, Summer! I’ll be back tomorrow.”
Before Elspeth and Callum had returned, they told Harper to take Helia away. Then, they called Theodore and Margot, asking them to come home. When Callum came back with Max’s ashes, the Winthrops were shaken. Everyone was plunged into deep sorrow, especially Margot. She cried her heart out and wouldn’t let go of the urn.
Theodore stared at the urn, his lips trembling. “Is he… Is he really dead?”
Callum was in sorrow as well. He grunted in the affirmative.
“My son! Why… How did this happen? How did he die?” Margot’s tears wouldn’t stop coming. She loved Max the most. He was the youngest among the Winthrop siblings, so his parents naturally showered him with more love. Yet, he was gone. Forever gone. The only thing that was left of him was a pile of ashes. Margot couldn’t hold back her heartbreak.
“I know you’re sad, Mom. But we can’t raise the dead. We can’t turn back time, either.”
Margot took a deep breath to calm herself down a little. “How exactly did he die?”
“In a race. Max’s car was going too fast, and he crashed into something, so…”
Margot gritted her teeth. “Someone probably tampered with his car. There’s no way he would have gotten into an accident. He was a great racer.” He wouldn’t have been chosen for the training camp otherwise. Someone’s behind this.
“I understand it’s hard to take in, but it is what it is. No one is behind this,” Callum lied. He knew the truth, but he couldn’t say it out loud. Yelena was related to this in a way, but it wasn’t her fault. Still, Margot might not think so. She might blame Yelena for Max’s death, and that would spell trouble.
Margot held the urn tighter and cried even harder. “Oh, my poor Max…”
“Alright, stop crying. He’s not here anymore. Not like you can bring him back from the dead,” Theodore finally spoke up. He was also heartbroken over his son’s death, but he was the head of the house, and this was no time for weakness. Besides, his wife’s incessant crying was starting to get to him.
“Why can’t I cry? He was your son, too. Aren’t you even the least bit affected by his death?”
Margot then added, “Oh, I know. You still love Helena, don’t you? That’s why you don’t care about us.”
