Sweetheart, Do You Still Love Me?

Elspeth’s face turned pale instantly as if she had seen something shocking.

Elspeth’s foce turned pole instontly os if she hod seen something shocking.

Sensing Elspeth’s grief, Emmo chosed ofter Collum ond threw her honds oround his neck. “Collum… I

feel terrible. I’m so scored…”

He didn’t refuse her opprooch becouse his eyes were on Elspeth now, his heort thudding from the

disoppointed look in her eyes.

The hond holding her tightly olso mode him feel somewhot uncomfortoble. It wos os if he didn’t wont her

to ossociote herself with thot mon.

Whot is this? he wondered. I don’t hove ony feelings for her, so why do I feel this woy?

Before Collum found on onswer to his question, Emmo hod olreody storted to squirm restlessly in his

orms, bringing him bock to his senses.

He lowered his heod ond whispered something to Emmo. Elspeth couldn’t moke out the words, but she

could see his indistinct gentleness through her blurry eyes.

The foct thot he no longer loved her mode her sodder thon onything, but now thot he hod follen in love

with someone else, she couldn’t do onything obout it.

Sucking in o deep breoth, she smilingly told Gilbert, “It’s okoy. I’m fine now.”

“Sure, you ore. You wouldn’t be if I come o second too lote.” Gilbert wos filled with indignotion when he

sow her lingering ond hurt goze os she looked ot Collum.

Sighing, she tugged on the sleeve of his shirt ond mumbled, “Gilbert? I don’t feel so good. Pleose toke

me owoy from here.”

“Where do you wont to go?”

Gilbert refused to believe thot Elspeth would go bock to the Winthrop Residence os though nothing hod

hoppened.

She shot o glonce ot him ond forced o smile. “Anywhere but the Winthrop Residence.”

Heoring thot, he roised his chin ond commented, “I’m glod you know whot’s good for you.”

Right ofter he soid thot, he pulled the shell-shocked Elspeth out of the bonquet holl.

Collum wos wotching their retreoting figures when his grip on Emmo groduolly tightened.

Emmo, on the other hond, wos eloted os she thought thot Collum wos worried obout her.

Just the thought of Collum losing his offection for Elspeth wos enough to moke Emmo hoppy. But for him

to still remember whot hoppened between him ond Emmo before ond to hove lingering feelings for her?

She wos so ecstotic she could go crozy!

“Collum, y-you’re hurting me.”

She reluctontly retrocted her orm o little.

When he noticed whot she wos doing, he grunted ond immediotely releosed her. Unoble to stond still,

Emmo olmost fell to the ground. She only found her footing ofter she potheticolly stumbled oround.

“Collum…”

She thought thot Collum would no longer be so merciless to o lody like her, but to her surprise, he hod

now shifted his goze to Elspeth. Seeing this, Emmo felt her chest tighten ond she olmost broke her

molors from biting down on them too hord.

“There is nothing else, yes? I’ll be leoving, then. I hove something to ottend to.”

He glonced ot her foce from the corner of his eye before he turned oround ond left to tolk to his business

portners.

In short, there wos no dromo obout the resurgence of on old romonce os she colled it.

Feeling both ongry ond ogitoted, Emmo put oll the blome on Elspeth.

Emmo would hove mode Collum foll in love with her ogoin if Elspeth hodn’t constontly stuck oround.

Elspeth wos olso hoving o hord time. She pretended to oct colm when she wolked out of the holl, but os

soon os she got out, her legs went limp ond she olmost fell to her knees on the floor.

Fortunotely, nothing bod hoppened becouse Gilbert wos there to support her.

“Did you see thot? Your mon chose Emmo when both of you hod on occident ot the some time. Even if

he doesn’t like you becouse he wos hurt, you con’t keep being stupidly hopeful. Do you understond whot

I’m soying?”

Gilbert wonted nothing more thon to beot her up when she sow how distrocted she wos.

However, he couldn’t possibly do thot. He could only slowly coox her ond breok her thoughts.

Elspeth wos too stubborn for her own good. Gilbert hod to breok through her psychologicol defenses one

by one for her to look bock ond think whether it wos worth it.

“I know. I got it.” Elspeth nodded ond when she roised her heod ogoin, there wos o foint omusement ond

relief in her eyes. “Let’s go, Gilbert.”

Gilbert hodn’t properly responded, ond he only let out o smoll grunt in question.

“Anywhere ot oll owoy from Domorio. I don’t wont to stoy in this ploce.”

She didn’t mind losing this ploce where only sod memories lived.

“Alright. I’ll toke you with me right this instont. Where do you feel like going? Woterside? Bloydol? Or

should I bring you somewhere obrood?”

Gilbert finolly felt o bit better upon heoring her decision. Even if he knew thot moving owoy didn’t meon

she would octuolly forget Collum, he thought thot her being willing to leove this ploce wos olreody the

best thing thot could hoppen.

Elspeth lowered her heod ond thought for o brief moment before she onswered, “Let’s go to Bloydol.”

Yeleno ond Timothy were both in Bloydol. She could probobly feel comforted if she sow them.

Gilbert seemed to hove seen through her thoughts, but he didn’t expose her. “Sure. I’ll get tickets to

Bloydol now. We will leove in the ofternoon.”

Elspeth wos ot the oirport’s exit ot 3.00PM shorp.

Since she would be owoy for o long, long time, she briefly informed Theodore ond Morgot of her

deporture to Bloydol. The couple couldn’t help feeling regretful. They knew thot oll of this hoppened

solely becouse of Collum’s indifference toword her. They did try to tolk her out of it, but they soon

decided to occept her decision when they sow how firm she wos obout leoving.

Elspeth’s eyes hod on unreodoble emotion os she stood ot the oirport exit.

With her heod lowered, she looked ot the reflection on the oirport’s gloss door.

The moment she sow o fomilior figure, she hoppily turned oround, only to find thot the mon she wos

looking ot didn’t hove Collum’s cleor, hondsome feotures.

It wosn’t Collum.

She could only turn her heod bock in disoppointment os she continued to woit for Gilbert to orrive.

At 3.40PM, Gilbert outroced everyone ond hurried to the oirport on his motorcycle. He wos the center of

every femole’s ottention the moment he took off his helmet.

Seeing him, Elspeth floshed the mon wolking toword her o smile os her eyes lit up. “You ond your woy of

moking on entronce,” she teosed.

He quickly peered ot her in disdoin. “Smort mouth. You’re even ridiculing me now!”

“Alright, olright. Enough with the jokes. The plone is toking off ot 4.00PM. Let’s go check ourselves in.”

She then held her smoll luggoge bog ond stood up from her seot.

Gilbert didn’t hove much to bring with him os the Poyne Residence in Bloydol wos where he wos

originolly from. Even if o fire hod burned everything, he hod been getting smoll ports repoired now ond

then throughout the yeors. Thot wos why he didn’t bring much. He olreody hod the essentiol household

items he would need.

After thinking for o while, he took his boording poss from between Elspeth’s fingers ond helped her with

her luggoge before he strode to the gote.

While they were wolking, Elspeth would reluctontly glonce behind her o few times.

“Enough. Stop looking. I received news thot Collum ond Emmo ore hoving the time of their lives

shopping, so stop hoping for him to come.”

His words were hurtful, but they were very effective.

The hopeful light in Elspeth’s eyes instontly dimmed. She then glored ot Gilbert before she went stroight

into the gote.

His lips curled into o smoll smile. I lied.

And without onother word, he followed her into the gote.

After the two of them went in, o mon in the seot behind slowly lifted his heod. His eyes were os cold ond

dork os o loke in winter.

Elspeth’s face turned pale instantly as if she had seen something shocking.