Filed to story: Sweetheart Do You Still Love Me
“There, there. It’s all over now.”
Then, she raised her head and gazed at his face, noticing the smile on his face. She saw that he was utterly devoid of the earlier hint of grievance in his voice, causing her expression to immediately darken. “So, you’re taking advantage of me, huh?” With those words out of her mouth, she shoved him with all her might.
At this point, he couldn’t keep up the pretense any longer and could only cough lightly to change the subject. “Are you okay? Did you get hurt?”
With her arms crossed, Elspeth looked upset and asked, “Thanks to you, nothing happened to me. Still, why did you do this?”
Callum stared at her face and spoke earnestly. “I did it for you.”
For me? Elspeth listened to these somewhat absurd words and paused. “Why would you do this for me?”
“It’s all because of Slevin. Despite knowing that you are my legal wife, he used today’s fireworks feast to propose to you. I just didn’t want to see him get away with it.” When Callum said these words, his composure was uncanny.
“You say I’m your wife, but Callum, you also know that I-” Suddenly, she stopped and stared at him, feeling both burdened and moved by his genuineness. After all, he is just a random person who walked into my life, and I don’t feel anything toward him.
Then, looking at her guilty expression, Callum stepped forward and gently held her hand. “I know you have amnesia, so I don’t want to force anything on you emotionally. Still, I hope you can understand my feelings. Elspeth, I’ve been waiting for you for five years, and during these five years, I’ve never given up on our relationship. So, I hope you won’t easily give up either, okay?”
At this instant, Elspeth had no reason to resist this. Therefore, she nodded cautiously and slowly, her misty gaze dissipating as she responded with a mix of curiosity and resolve. “I’m willing to give it a shot, whether for your deep affection or… I’m willing to try and remember you.”
As she watched him blush in response to her words, fragments of jumbled memories suddenly flashed through her mind. Instinctively, she tiptoed and gently kissed his cheek in the vast darkness after the fireworks had ended.
In response, he drew her into his arms and spoke in a husky tone, “This time, you were the one who initiated the kiss.”
Even though she was a mother of one, she couldn’t help but blush like an innocent young girl.
“Callum… What a great show!”
An untimely voice broke their moment of affection, causing them to separate as if they had been doused with cold water.
“Slevin?”
In contrast to his earlier appearance of being well-groomed and well-dressed in a suit, Slevin’s suit appeared to have some wrinkles following the mayhem in the crowd. At this point, he glared at them with a gloomy expression, but he still smiled, sending shivers down anyone’s spine.
“Elspeth, when did you become so close to him? How could you even embrace each other?” Then, he creased his brow and spoke in a subdued voice, “Come over here, Elspeth.”
For some reason, the calmer his tone, the more Elspeth felt that this person seemed to be harboring an impending storm. Then, she clarified, “Slevin, I still want to tell you I can’t marry you. So, I hope you won’t have such thoughts in the future.” After saying this, she squeezed out a faint smile, trying to ease the tension in the atmosphere.
“Why can’t you?” he asked while fiddling with the prayer beads on his wrist and smiling slightly.
Nevertheless, she noticed his gesture and felt a sudden hesitation in her heart. After more than four years together, I could interpret this man’s gesture as indicating his anger.
“Because she is my legally wedded wife.” Callum proclaimed while glaring at Slevin and refusing to back down.
Surprisingly, Slevin gave a light, contemptuous chuckle upon hearing this. “Legally wedded wife? Callum, don’t forget that everyone in the country knows your wife has been missing for over four years. Moreover, four years is sufficient to determine a person’s death, and your wife has been presumed dead in your country. I heard that you even took over Azure Corporation. Tsk tsk, do you know how those rumors about you spread? They say the CEO of the Winthrop Group plotted to take his wife’s assets and intentionally killed her… Callum, have you handled the rumors in the country?”
“Shut your mouth!” Callum’s voice suddenly turned dark and chilling.
In the meantime, Elspeth had no idea this had happened, and as she glanced at Callum, her eyes were awash with a mixture of emotions.
At this moment, Callum turned his head, and their eyes met. “Elspeth, don’t believe what he says. Azure Corporation is just under my temporary management. I don’t want the business you’ve worked so hard to build to be divided by others.”
“So righteous, as if it were true,” Slevin sneered, his face showing a hint of disgust. Then, he gently extended his hand toward her. “Elspeth, we have been together for so many years, and I have never had any bad motives toward you. I have taken care of you and Dami so well. You should understand my genuine intentions, right?”
However, she pursed her lips and said nothing in response. After a while, she raised her head solemnly and replied meaningfully, “You’re right. I shouldn’t have doubted you so easily and believed a man who has only been by my side for a few days.”
After hearing this, Slevin was not as satisfied as she expected. He was initially surprised but then smirked, showing a hint of mockery. “Callum, did you hear that? Even Elspeth doesn’t believe you after everything you’ve done.”
“Elspeth!”
Callum called out from behind, only to be met with Elspeth’s icy expression. “Callum, now that you have obtained what you wanted, please stop interfering in our lives.”
“Do you truly believe what he’s saying? Elspeth, just a moment ago, you promised me-” When Callum heard the words that told him to leave, he felt a sharp pain in his chest, his eyes filled with anguish. Then, he continued, “Elspeth! Do you know how much I love you? If I were truly after your possessions, why would I come looking for you? Time and again, I’ve gone to great lengths to track you down, and now that I’ve found you, you don’t want me. Is that it?”
Although she was moved by his words, she suppressed her emotions and stated, “Please leave.”
“Elspeth!”
“That’s enough! Stop calling my name!”
At this instant, Callum was shocked into speechlessness by the angry shout from Elspeth. After a while, he stumbled a few steps back, wearing a miserable smile. “Fine. Since this is the case, I will no longer bother you. Also, Azure Corporation will be transferred to your name in a while. Please live well.”
Then, Slevin sneered and remarked, “So hypocritical.”
However, Callum ignored his sarcasm and turned away.
On the other hand, she felt a pang in her heart as she observed his figure leaving her field of vision.
“Elspeth, this man is a master of acting. Don’t let him deceive you.”
Slevin advised with a bitter tone, but to Elspeth’s surprise, she smiled like nothing had happened and said, “I’m fine, don’t worry. If everything is okay here, let’s go back. I miss Dami.”
After hearing this, his eyes flickered, but he still smiled warmly. “I’ve arranged for someone to take care of the boy and take him to play. They’ll bring him back later. Let me take you home first.”
Elspeth breathed a sigh of relief and nodded with a smile. “Okay.”
After Slevin had sent Elspeth home, he sent Damian back as promised.
Elspeth felt a sense of relief as she looked at her son, who was standing in front of her with an excited expression. She pulled him into her arms and asked, “Where did Uncle Slevin take you today, Damian?”
Then, the boy animatedly recounted every detail of his day’s adventures. “Uncle Slevin asked someone to take me to many fun places. We went to the zoo and ate fried chicken, which you usually won’t allow me to eat. Frankly, I have no problem with him being my daddy.”
“What nonsense are you talking about?” Elspeth knocked his head and added, “He can’t be your daddy.”
After hearing this, Damian glanced up and noticed an unusual expression on his mother’s face. He was worried when he saw the redness in the corner of her eyes, so he asked, “What’s wrong, Mommy? Did Uncle Slevin hurt you? If he did that, tell me, and I swear I will never let him get away with it!” The changes in his tone signaled a sudden transformation from his previously warm and welcoming demeanor toward Slevin.
“I’m fine. Nonetheless, you should always remember that Callum is, and always will be, your daddy, alright?”
Although the boy was shocked by her words, he still nodded. “Don’t worry, Mommy. I’ll listen to whatever you say.”
Elspeth sighed in relief at Damian’s obedience and said, “Now, Damian, there is something crucial I want you to remember. I will pick you up for the next few days, so don’t follow anyone except me, okay?”
Yet, the implication behind his mother’s words eluded him, leaving him no choice but to inquire, “Did you get into a fight with Uncle Slevin, Mommy? I have this intuition that you don’t like him and want me to keep my distance.”
Nonetheless, she felt helpless in the face of her son’s overly sensitive nature and had no choice but to find an excuse. Thus, she ruffled his hair and pretended to be mad. “Don’t overthink it. It’s just that I want to spend more time with you because we aren’t spending much time together recently. What’s wrong with that? Don’t you want to spend time with me?”
“Of course not. I want to be with you,” Damian replied without hesitation. Then, he snuggled himself into Elspeth’s embrace and asked, “When will you be with Daddy, Mommy?” Mommy just said that my daddy is Callum. Does that mean she has accepted him? he thought excitedly.
“We’ll talk about this later. Isn’t it time for you to go to bed?”
“I’ll wash up and go to sleep now. Goodnight, Mommy!” While saying this, he nodded his head.
“Goodnight, darling.”
After sending Damian back to his room, Elspeth sat on the couch, relaxed, and stared at the ceiling. The day’s events remained vivid in her memory, and Callum’s words reverberated within her thoughts. However, a profound sense of remorse washed over her as she couldn’t shake the feeling that her words had deeply hurt him.
Now that she was immersed in her thoughts, she was abruptly brought back to the present by the sound of knocking resonating through the door. Despite the audibility of the knocking, she could discern a sense of restraint in it.
Whom could it be at this late hour? Then, she stood up and, out of self-preservation, peered through the peephole, revealing a towering visage that filled her field of vision. The sight of it startled her, so she retreated a few steps. In the meantime, the figure outside knocked again, driven by a growing unease due to the absence of a response.
When Elspeth realized it was Callum, she quickly opened the door, and he leaned forward as soon as the door was open. The sudden and tremendous force nearly sent her sprawling backward, but she regained her balance with the wall behind her, and with a look of annoyance on her face, she pushed him upright. “What is the meaning of this, Callum? Why are you drunk late at night?” She frowned at the stench of alcohol and glared at him, urging, “Hey, say something!”
“I… I miss you.”
In contrast to his earlier demeanor, the man leaned heavily against her, his face flushed from the effects of heavy intoxication. In a peculiar manner reminiscent of a cat, he rubbed himself against her, which triggered a sense of familiarity within her.
“Get up. I can’t breathe when you are so heavy.” While saying this, Elspeth pushed him away in disgust. It wasn’t that she harbored hatred toward him, but rather a strong distaste for those who indulged in excessive drinking. At this moment, Callum, in his current state, was pushing his luck.
“You have to trust me, Elspeth. Slevin isn’t a good person. He is trying to drift us apart to have you by himself. Yet, rather than loving you, he is just using you. I am the only one who truly loves you-“
Meanwhile, his words stirred something within her for some inexplicable reason, and she couldn’t resist playfully poking his cheek. As his eyebrows knitted together, a reaction to her playful gesture, a surge of awe flooded her heart, leaving her utterly captivated by his enigmatic charm. Then, she said softly, “I know, Callum. I know everything.”