Sweetheart, Do You Still Love Me?

“One month?” Elspeth asked.

Anya scoffed. “I knew it. You can’t do it at all. One month is a long time. If you can’t make any changes

by then, how dare you claim that you can heal him?!”

“One month is too long. His wound would’ve healed on its own by then. All I need is two weeks,”

Elspeth replied. The other woman was shocked to hear this. “Two weeks? That’s fast. You’re lying,

aren’t you? You’re just trying to run away, right?”

“If I wanted to run, I could’ve done it the moment he got injured. Frank saved me, so I’ll make sure he is

completely healed.” Even though Elspeth sounded convincing, Michael immediately protested against

her words, “You’re just a young lady. What do you know about treating others? I know you’re an

impressive woman, but you don’t have to take responsibility for everything. You’re getting too big for

your boots.” He clearly didn’t believe Elspeth. “I’ve already contacted another doctor, and the doctor will

come over to treat Frank after we’ve come to an agreement.”

“Who’s the doctor?” she asked.

Michael told her the doctor’s full name in case she didn’t know who he was. “It’s Sonny Schwartz,” he

uttered. It was Sonny again. She gazed at the older man as she replied in a calm tone, “It has been

seven years since Sonny emerged from the hills. He’s not going to come out to save anyone.” Only if

I’m the one who asks him, she thought.

“I don’t care how much it costs. I’m going to get the man to come over.” Michael had an abundance of

money. He was willing to spend anything for his precious grandson. Elspeth felt like laughing at his

words. “If you don’t believe me, you can always try calling him. You can ask if he is willing to come

over.”

Michael sensed a challenge, and he didn’t want to be shamed in front of others. So, he dialed Sonny’s

number and put him on loudspeaker. “Am I speaking to Mr. Schwartz?” he asked politely once the call

connected.

It sounded rather chaotic on the other end of the line. People were arguing with one another. “Hey!

You’re not allowed to change your move in chess. What are you doing, Sonny?!”

Sonny heard the other man on the line, but he had to shout to get his voice across the call. “Yes, this is

Sonny speaking. What’s the matter?”

“I’m Michael Joneson, and I’d like to hire you to treat my grandson. Would you be free to do that?”

Sonny rejected the request without any hesitation. “I don’t have time, and I’m not in the country. I won’t

be able to treat your grandson.”

“Tell me how much you want me to pay. I’ll pay you any amount you want,” Michael uttered.

“This isn’t about money! I don’t need money, and I don’t like money. I’m impressed that you managed

to get my phone number. Anyway, I haven’t left the hills in a long while, and I have no intention of doing

so,” Sonny replied.

Sonny made himself clear, and Michael’s face turned sour when he heard the other man’s words. He

was about to end the call when Elspeth edged closer to speak in her clear and crisp voice, “You’re

playing chess again, aren’t you, Sonny?” Sonny froze for a moment before he changed to a playful

tone. “Oh, it’s Elspeth! What’s going on? What are you doing there?”

He had sounded stern and icy just moments earlier, but he seemed a lot warmer after hearing Elspeth’s

voice. Everyone apart from Spencer seemed utterly shocked. “It doesn’t matter what I’m doing here,

but could you come back to help treat my brother? They don’t trust my skills,” she uttered with a

helpless look on her face while shrugging her shoulders.

“Who’s the one questioning your abilities? You’re my very own mentee, and you’re a smart girl. I’d be

honored if you told others you were my student after you treated them… Wait, your brother? Are you

from the Joneson Family?” Sonny knew about the Jonesons—they were famous in Blaydal.

“I’ll tell you more about this when you’re back. Just let me know if you’ll be able to make it,” Elspeth

said. However, Sonny rejected her again. “No, no. I’m not going back. I feel like I’m just a tool you

summon whenever you need me! You can treat whatever illness your brother has. I trust you. I’m going

to end the call now. I need to get back to my chess… Hey! Why did you move your piece!”

Sonny ended the call hurriedly, and he sounded like he was rushing to get back to playing chess.

Michael was completely silent at that point. He parted his lips to speak, but when he saw the

nonchalant look on Elspeth’s face, he couldn’t bring himself to say much. Meanwhile, Anya, who had

intended to strike a bet with Elspeth earlier, looked utterly embarrassed by herself. I can’t believe she is

Sonny’s mentee. Most people never get to meet the legendary doctor in their lives, yet Elspeth simply

orders him around so casually! What other secrets is this woman hiding?

“Well, am I allowed to treat Frank now, Grandfather?” Elspeth asked.

Michael had no choice but to let out a sigh. “The youngsters nowadays are pretty impressive after all…

Fine. I’ll trust you with Frank.” Despite saying that, he couldn’t help but question Elspeth, “How exactly

did you meet Sonny? How did you become his student?”

“I met him while I was studying overseas,” she replied. She had no intention of explaining herself to the

man—all she could think of now was how she should treat Frank. “I think you guys shouldn’t visit Frank

for the next few days. Even if you guys show up, you will have to look at him through the glass window

without entering the room. I don’t want anyone to be in contact with him. His wounds are still fresh, and

I’m worried he might get an infection if we’re too careless with him.”

Everyone was aware of the situation, but after what just happened, people seemed to take her words

more seriously as they were all impressed with her. “Where should we go now, then?” Michael asked.

“You guys should head home. You all can come over once I’m done treating him,” Elspeth suggested.

He took another glance at Frank, who was in the ward. Then, he nodded. “Alright. Let’s head home,” he

uttered in a rather hesitant tone.

After the Jonesons were sent home, Spencer was the only one who remained. He took a seat beside

Elspeth. “Why aren’t you leaving?” She turned to give him a faint smile.

He froze for a moment when he saw her smile. “Because I want to stay with… Frank.” He nearly told

her he wanted to stay with her, but he held his tongue back and used Frank’s name in the end.

“Alright. It seems like I misunderstood you in the past.” Elspeth’s statement came out of nowhere, and

Spencer was confused at first. “What do you mean?” he asked.

“Frankly speaking, I used to have a rather bad impression of you. I thought you were the type of person

who only seemed gentle and warm on the outside but was secretly mean on the inside. I hadn’t

expected you to be so nice to your friends,” she explained. She realized how Spencer started blushing

after hearing her words, and she couldn’t help but giggle at the look on his face. “I can’t believe you’re

such a shy person, too. Are you blushing after hearing my compliment?”

He had no idea why he was blushing, but his face felt hot when he saw the girl smiling. “Stop grinning

at me like that. It’s almost as if you have a crush on me,” Elspeth protested. “Yeah. I do have a crush

on you.” The words slipped out of his mouth before he realized what he was saying.

She had been joking at first, but she turned silent after hearing the man’s response. Spencer then

realized that he might have said the wrong thing, so he quickly clarified, “Why are you keeping quiet? I

was just kidding. I’d never like you. I already have a love interest.”

“That’s good to hear.” She let out a sigh of relief. All of a sudden, she noticed how Frank’s finger was

moving a little when she gazed into the ward. It seemed like he was about to wake up.