Filed to story: Sweetheart Do You Still Love Me
Soon enough, Frank figured that Agnes wasn’t an easily attainable woman, so he decided that he would simply give up. “Well, you might still have feelings for her even if you aren’t in contact with her now. I’m family, so you can tell me the truth,” Elspeth uttered.
A series of complicated emotions flashed across Frank’s expression before he eventually let out a long sigh. “Fine. I’ll admit it. I was planning to meet her this time.” Frank was convinced that Agnes had to be somewhat attracted to him as well. Furthermore, Frank was now capable of supporting himself, and he had his own business going on, so Agnes could no longer say that he didn’t have a proper job.
Callum met them at the airport after they landed. There was a rather conflicted look on Callum’s face when he saw Frank walking along behind Elspeth. “What’s he doing here?” Callum asked.
“He traveled miles just for a woman,” Elspeth uttered in a playful tone. The look on Frank’s expression darkened immediately. “What woman?” Callum asked.
“Fine, fine. I won’t expose you.” Elspeth shrugged before she continued walking. “Let’s just ignore him. He has his own matters to handle,” she said to Callum. Callum figured that she had a point, so he simply went along with her. Frank was left on his own, and he stood still for a while before he eventually snapped out of his daze. “Hey! How could you guys abandon me just like that?!”
…
Hank’s expression remained dark throughout the few days that he spent running his investigation. Yelena knew that he would remain grumpy until he managed to solve the case, and she completely empathized and accepted him the way he was. However, for some reason, Hank started distancing himself from her one day. If he’s ignoring me just because he’s moody over the case, then I won’t allow this to go on any longer, Yelena thought.
“What’s going on, Hank? Can you tell me what’s up?” Yelena went directly to Hank’s office, and she voiced out after she saw Hank brushing past her without even glancing in her direction. “I’ve been rather busy for the past few days, and I didn’t have much time to spend with you. I’m sorry.” Hank’s voice sounded rather distant even as he spoke.
I don’t understand. He used to be so sweet to me, and he’s a completely different person now. Yelena couldn’t make sense of it at all. There doesn’t seem to be any reason for his change. Yelena felt extremely sorry for herself. She couldn’t believe how the man that she had once loved had turned into such a different person. “Is it really because you’re busy?” she asked.
Hank nodded. “What is it? Do you have anything else to say?” In other words, he was trying to chase her off. Yelena could feel tears welling up in her eyes. “Summer told me that you guys don’t have a lot going on in the office these days. You’ve just been hiding from me, haven’t you?” she asked. “Why? What have I done wrong? Ever since you started that investigation, you’ve been acting rather oddly. I was fine with it at the start, but you’re practically ignoring me at this point. Have you lost feelings for me, Hank?”
Yelena heard a soft voice in her ears just moments after she finished her sentence. “You’re right. I’ve lost feelings for you,” he uttered. Yelena looked up in disbelief, only to be met with his cold and empty gaze.
“Why did you lose feelings for me? Why the sudden change?” Yelena couldn’t believe it. She had a feeling that the man was hiding something from her and that he was still lying to her at that point. Hank, on the other hand, seemed rather anxious and impatient. “I’ve answered your question. Will you just stop disturbing me for these few days?” Upon finishing his sentence, Hank walked off without waiting for her response.
Yelena hurried along behind him with her fists clenched and her eyes watery. “Can you please clear things up first, Hank? You have to give me a reason!” Even if he had lost feelings and wanted her to leave, Yelena still wanted him to give her a proper reason. She couldn’t bear to lose this relationship just like that.
“I don’t have a reason,” he replied.
“Hank!” Yelena felt as if her heart was sinking into a pit. “Do you know what you’re losing here?”
“Let’s just break up,” he said.
Yelena lifted her head with a look of disbelief in her eyes. “What did you just say?”
“I said that we should break up. Don’t you understand me?” Hank had never spoken to Yelena in such an impatient tone, and Yelena was too shocked to respond for a while. “I don’t believe it. You wouldn’t break up with me just like that,” she uttered.
“I gave you a reason, yet you don’t believe me. If I didn’t give you any reason at all, you’d say I was just acting up.” Hank then realized how troublesome it was to handle women. “I’ve given you a proper reason now. What else do you have to say?”
Yelena’s tears trickled down her cheeks as she shook her head and spoke in a rather hesitant tone. “N- nothing else.”
“If that’s the case, then you should stop showing up at my workplace in the future.” Hank scanned the woman from head to toe once as if he was looking at an expired item. He didn’t say much more after that-he simply turned around and walked off. Yelena stared at the man as he strode off with confident footsteps. She felt as if she was in a dream. I didn’t do anything wrong at all. We were doing fine just a few days ago. How did things turn out like this? How could he just lose feelings and ask for a breakup?
Yelena stood in the middle of the hall with a blank look on her face. She stayed there for a while until Summer came up to her and tugged on her arm. Then, Summer held onto Yelena’s shoulders before giving her a good shake. “Snap out of it, Yelena. You just got dumped, you know?”
“I know,” Yelena replied with her head hung low. “What do you mean I was dumped? We had a peaceful breakup,” she continued.
“Alright, young lady. Stop acting tough. I’ll tell you this, but you need to promise that you won’t tell my boss about it. In the past few days, there has been a woman who has been showing up to meet him frequently. They seem to get along really well. Judging by my observations, I think you might have been… cheated on,” Summer said.
“Cheated… on?” Yelena had never expected herself to encounter such a dramatic and ridiculous situation. Hank wasn’t the perfect man, but he was an upright and proper man who seemed relatively loyal. Previously, Max might have cheated on her, but she would’ve never expected Hank to do the same.
Yet, Summer was a close friend and someone supportive of Yelena. Yelena was sure that she could trust Summer. Summer would never lie to me. “Do you know what that girl looks like?” Yelena thought that she might know the woman.
Summer let out a sigh when she saw the look of determination in Yelena’s eyes. “She’s his ex- girlfriend…”
Yelena had no idea how she made her way back to the production crew. Summer’s words were still echoing in her mind even after she sank down on a couch at her shoot. “About three or four years ago, Mr. Damazio dated a woman. He hadn’t met you then, and he was really sweet to her. He really pampered that woman. We all thought that he would marry that woman, but something happened in between, and that woman disappeared all of a sudden. She was gone for three whole years. However, we suspected that the woman probably thought Mr. Damazio wasn’t good enough for her. Or… perhaps something happened in her family. Either way, they had a rather odd relationship, and it seemed like things got rocky along the way.”
Yelena’s chest felt extremely tight as she listened to Summer’s words. “What happened after that?” Yelena asked.
“The woman broke up with Mr. Damazio after that. He was really sad for a long while, but he eventually moved past it after he met you,” Summer explained.
Yelena felt rather puzzled after hearing Summer’s words. “What do you mean? Did he only get over the relationship after he met me?” Yelena had a feeling that her impression of the man was about to be shattered after hearing Summer’s explanation.
“This might sound like a bit of a clich?, but it’s the truth,” Summer started. Yelena, who had been in so many TV shows, naturally understood what Summer meant. She let out a miserable scoff. “I look like that woman, don’t I?” Yelena asked.
“How did you know that?” Summer noticed how Yelena seemed rather unsteady-Yelena looked like she was about to faint at any point. Summer didn’t want to cause any more pain, so she tried to be more careful with her words. “You shouldn’t think too much about it. That was all in the past, and I’m sure Mr. Damazio has never treated you as a replacement…”
The words ‘replacement’ felt like a stab in Yelena’s chest. “Are you saying that Hank only fell for me because I look like that woman?” Yelena had never once considered the idea that the love she found was merely something that she had stolen from another woman. However, the more she thought about this, the more she seemed to realize tiny details that hadn’t occurred to her in the past.
Why would he invest so much money in me when I first debuted? Why did he fall in love with me the very first time he met me? Why was he so nice to me? Why did he play the role of a perfect boyfriend? Why was he so thoughtful and sensitive this whole time? It all seems to make sense now. Yelena kept analyzing her past memories with him as she sat on the couch.
So, he’s breaking up with me now because the OG is back. I’ll have to give up on the life that I once had. All of the love Hank showed me was actually love that he had wanted to give to a different woman. Tears landed on the ground as Yelena lowered her head. Cayson found Yelena with her head in her hands and her shoulders shaking. He hurried over to check on her as he thought that something had happened to her. “What is it, Yelena? Did someone hurt you? Why are you crying?” he asked.
Cayson was shocked as this was the first time that he had ever seen her cry. “Don’t cry, Yelena. Tell me what’s going on,” he uttered.
“I’m fine, Cayson,” Yelena replied. However, regardless of how much she tried to calm herself down and act like her usual self, she couldn’t seem to stop her tears from flowing. Cayson felt rather helpless as Yelena wouldn’t tell him what was going on. He didn’t know how else to comfort her, so he simply sat by her side and patted her on her shoulder while handing her pieces of tissue.
“Stay positive, Yelena. There are a lot of great things in life. We should keep ourselves focused on the good things ahead of us,” he said. Yelena tugged her lips into a sneer. “Good things, huh? Why don’t I see any good things ahead?” she uttered in a weak tone. Both her relationships had ended in terrible failures. Yelena had always thought that romantic relationships were one of her greatest enemies. I’ve never done anything wrong, and I’ve never committed any sins. Why must I go through such suffering? Yelena felt sorry for herself as she thought about this.
Cayson was smart enough to figure things out based on what he knew about her. He could guess that she was struggling with some issues in her relationship after hearing what she said. “Did your boyfriend hurt you? You can share with me,” he said.
Yelena shook her head. “I don’t have a boyfriend anymore. He broke up with me.”
Cayson’s heart nearly leaped out of his throat at that moment. He hadn’t expected to hear such good news. If she’s single now, does that mean that I get to openly express my interest in her? But with Yelena still grieving the loss of her relationship, Cayson knew that he couldn’t express too much of his joy then. He didn’t want to scare her off. At that thought, Cayson continued to comfort the woman. “I always knew that he wasn’t good for you. You shouldn’t have been with him from the start. It’s okay. I’m sure you’ll find someone better after this breakup,” he uttered.
Yelena wasn’t in the mood to listen to such words-she wasn’t looking for someone better at all. After all the challenges she had faced in her romantic life, she felt like she wasn’t suited to date at all. However, what she was the most curious about then was what the other girl looked like. What is it about that girl that makes it so hard for Hank to forget about her? He even tried to find a replacement for her, Yelena thought.
As Yelena dried her tears and got to her feet, she came to a firm decision in her heart. “We might have to pause our shoot for two days, Cayson. I need some time to really process my emotions,” she said. Cayson knew that Yelena was in no condition to film her scenes, so he nodded in agreement.
At the same time, Cayson was also aware of how this was the perfect opportunity for him. He didn’t want to let go of his chance to get closer to her at a time like this. He felt both sorry and hopeful when he saw Yelena’s teary and swollen eyes. “Would you like me to keep you company? We could go for a short trip,” he offered. He tried to soften his voice to make himself sound more caring and pleasant.
Yelena rarely interacted with him on a daily basis, so she frowned upon hearing his suggestion. “Your schedule is pretty packed, right? I don’t think I need you to keep me company,” she replied. Cayson was aware of how he might have overstepped his boundaries, so he scratched the tip of his nose awkwardly. “Oh, I was just thinking about how you might feel lonely if you’re left alone at a time like this,” he said.
She realized how her words might have sounded rather harsh to him, so she beamed and shook her head. “It’s fine. I don’t need any company,” she uttered. Cayson could no longer say much after that. Yelena asked the director for a short break, and she decided that she would travel around just to relax a little. She decided that she would visit the country that she had once vowed to never set foot in again. That country was the place where Max had done a bone marrow transplant for her.
Yelena had no plans of telling Elspeth about her breakup, as she didn’t want Elspeth to worry about her, especially since Elspeth had a lot of things to handle on her end. I can’t allow Elspeth to worry for me anymore, Yelena thought.
…
Elspeth was in no hurry to tell Callum that Emma was alive. For some reason, Elspeth felt like she would only cause more unnecessary trouble if she were to reveal this piece of information a little too quickly. However, Elspeth did tell Callum about the boy. They didn’t have much information on the young boy himself-all they had were a few blurry pictures that they had taken sneakily.
These pictures weren’t helpful in providing them with any more information. Even if there were more clues, these clues weren’t obvious clues that were easily spotted. Elspeth wasn’t interested in such tiny clues-she had sent the images to Lisa and told Lisa to dig around and figure out the identity of the young boy.
Blake was rather displeased by this entire matter. He felt like Elspeth and Callum were taking up too much of his wife’s effort and time that she could’ve spent on him instead. F*ck off, Elspeth thought to herself in response to Blake’s opinions. Lisa was an extremely talented detective, and it only took her three days to get to the bottom of the young boy’s identity and background history.
Elspeth fell deep into her thoughts after looking at the results. This kid’s name is Cameron, and he’s three-and-a-half years old this year. According to the information here, Cameron’s mother is Joella Henning, who happens to be Callum’s university coursemate. They’re even in the same course. Coincidentally, Callum graduated four years ago…
Callum was rather stunned to look at all the pieces of information before him. “I do remember that girl, Joella,” he said. Elspeth knitted her brows as she listened to him. “Joella was one of the girls who had shown interest in me back then. What was different was that she was a little more of a loner than the rest of the girls. Most of the girls would be really passionate and friendly, while she simply came up to me and stuffed a love letter into my hand,” he uttered.
Callum told Elspeth that the reason he had remembered Joella so well was because of how creepy Joella’s love letter had sounded. “She had included all sorts of odd and abstract statements that didn’t sound like what a young girl would write about. I naturally thought of her as a weirdo after that,” he said. He couldn’t remember the rest of the love letter, and he threw it away after he finished reading it.
Soon after that, Callum started dating another girl, and he never once accepted anything from Joella again. They no longer interacted with one another after that. He had almost forgotten about her when she reappeared in his life, and he felt rather confused by this entire situation. “Are you saying that the love letter she gave you had sounded rather odd?” Elspeth asked. Love letters can be shy, passionate, sentimental, or thoughtful, but to say that a love letter is odd… Elspeth quickly caught onto the keyword that Callum had uttered.
“It’s been a long time, but I briefly recall the descriptions that she had used in the letter. Most of them were really despairing and puzzled. It felt like she was writing a memorial speech more than anything,” he said. Elspeth felt her skin tingling upon hearing his words. That does sound pretty unconventional and eerie, she thought.
“So, the fact that she showed up now with a kid who looks similar to you can’t be a coincidence, can it?” Elspeth asked.
Callum’s gaze darkened at the thought. “If that’s the case, then the situation might be worse than we thought,” he replied.
Elspeth seemed to have realized the severity of the situation as well. Her expression turned grim.
“The most important thing right now is to find out where this boy came from. It’s as if someone is purposely concealing the boy’s background. We couldn’t find any information on him.”
She had a feeling that things were quite so simple.
“I agree,” Callum said.
Even so, Elspeth still found the whole thing rather ridiculous. “The boy’s address is stated here. Why don’t we find a time to drop by and ask a few questions?”
The boy’s address was fairly near Winthrop Residence.
“I’m free today. Why don’t we head over there now?”
