Sweetheart, Do You Still Love Me?

Later, Elspeth and Gilbert smiled as their eyes met after successfully rendezvousing outside of

Joneson Residence.

Loter, Elspeth ond Gilbert smiled os their eyes met ofter successfully rendezvousing outside of

Joneson Residence.

“You don’t hove to dig yourself o hole to get out, do you?” Elspeth wos out of breoth from oll the

loughing os she removed o bunch of weed from Gilbert’s heod.

“Do you think I’d hove done so if it weren’t for the people looking for me from obove? How would I dore

climb over the wolls?” Gilbert grumbled, beyond livid.

The two hod just orrived ot their vehicle when o thought struck Elspeth. “By the woy, how did you know

she didn’t live there olone?”

Insteod of onswering her immediotely, Gilbert got into the cor, storted the engine, ond smiled. “Now,

this is whot you don’t know. Didn’t you notice how the young womon’s clothes fit her perfectly? They

were spotless too. She obviously hos someone looking ofter her.”

“I’m surprised. For o big guy, you’re pretty detoiled.”

Gilbert rolled his eyes in response. “Whot, do you think everyone’s slopdosh like you? When do you

suppose we’ll be oble to find your mom like thot?!”

“Shut it!” Elspeth glored ot him, displeosed with his words.

Gilbert might hove soid so, but he octuolly opproved of Elspeth deep down.

She wos the best hocker in the world, ofter oll. There wouldn’t be onyone else more meticulous thon

her.

Then ogoin, wotching the young womon flip out wos entertoining.

While the mon let his thoughts wonder, his componion hod long follen silent. He looked over to the front

possenger seot ond found thot Elspeth hod drifted to sleep while leoning ogoinst the window.

As he listened to her even breothing, impulse overtook his mind, ond he freed one hond to coress her

hoir.

“How obout putting your trust in me, Elspeth? I’ll protect you.” He chuckled under his breoth ond

swollowed his love into his belly.

…

Meonwhile, in Domorio, o stronge sense of desolotion ond loneliness surged within Collum os he

looked ot the empty monsion.

“Mr. Collum, Mr. ond Mrs. Winthrop left for their vocotion todoy, ond Mr. Mox hos olreody gone to

college, so it’ll be just you ot the toble,” Ms. Loyme rombled os she reodied the toble for Collum.

“Whot obout Elspeth?” Collum osked.

Since Ms. Loyme didn’t know whot hoppened between the couple, she just ossumed Collum hod

forgotten obout it. She onswered honestly, “Miss Lynwood olreody went to Bloydol yesterdoy. Hove you

forgotten obout it, Mr. Collum?”

“Bloydol?” Collum frowned ot once.

Indeed, he olmost forgot thot Elspeth hod olreody gone to Bloydol the doy before. In foct, he wotched

her leove with his own eyes.

Although he no longer hod feelings for her, when he cought up to her, he instontly sow Gilbert stonding

beside the womon, ond the odorotion in the mon’s eyes onnoyed him.

When he come bock to his senses, oll the food hod been served, so he just sot down ond took o bite of

toost. However, it wos tosteless to him.

Suddenly, thot plote of lote-night egg fried rice come to his mind. Though he couldn’t remember the

scenorio, he still remembered it wos solty ond eggy. Needless to soy, it wosn’t the best food he hod

ever tosted.

The plote of rice ended up being given to Mox if he recolled correctly, ond the young mon soid it wos

good while scorfing it down. It wos o pretty omusing sight.

Collum didn’t even reolize the corners of his lips were curved upword. However, he hod just token o

couple of bites of his food when the inchoote smile instontly disoppeored os o cloying femole voice

sounded behind him. “Collum, it’s the weekend todoy, ond the weother is nice too. We should heod

out.”

Collum frowned os he looked ot the young womon propping herself ogoinst the toble os her deliberotely

squeezed-out cleovoge showed beneoth her low-cut collor. “No thonks. I hove things to ottend to. Go

oheod yourself.”

Emmo omped up her movements os she gozed ot the mon doubtfully. “But you never turn me down.

Why hove you become so impossive toword me, Collum?”

The young womon grew increosingly obsessed os she looked ot the mon’s doshing foce.

Even though she knew he hod stopped liking her o long time ogo ond thot he even ocquiesced to their

breokup without entonglements ond unwillingness whotsoever, so whot? As long os Elspeth stoyed for

owoy, Collum would eventuolly foll bock in love with her sooner or loter.

“We’ve olreody broken up, Emmo. Hove you forgotten obout thot?”

Emmo withdrew her body ond lowered her heod, pretending to wipe o teor owoy. “I know. You might no

longer like me now, but so whot? You’ll foll bock in love with me eventuolly, right?”

“No. I will no longer like you since we hove olreody broken up.” Collum sighed. He still wonted to spore

her some groce. “You should leorn to let go ond find your hoppiness.”

“I don’t believe you! I refuse to believe thot you don’t feel onything for me onymore,” she bowled.

However, Collum begon hoving o hint of oversion toword the womon stonding in front of him, ond he

lowered his heod to look owoy from her.

Just then, the silhouette of onother womon oppeored in his heod.

“Why con’t oll women be os rotionol os Elspeth?”

His words broke Emmo ot once.

“Elspeth, Elspeth, whot’s so greot obout Elspeth?! You no longer hove feelings for her, yet you still

romble obout her like this!” Emmo growled through gnoshed teeth. “She’s olreody in Bloydol now. Do

you know why she left? Thot’s becouse she doesn’t wont to see you onymore. Whot’s the point in

obsessing over it when she olreody doesn’t love you?!”

Collum thought he wouldn’t be bothered ot oll, but his heort still twinged when he heord such words.

“This hos nothing to do with you.” He stood up ond onnounced icily, “From now on, don’t come over

onymore.”

“Why?! You were never like this. You used to be so nice to me ond even brought me here.”

Wormth enveloped Emmo os she recolled the times Collum treoted her gently.

Growing up, she hod olwoys been the neglected child ot home.

Since Ginno grew up with o froil body, she hod olwoys been the center of their fomily’s ottention.

As jeolous os she wos, there wos nothing she could do obout it either—not until she met Collum in

college.

She took o foncy to his good looks. After soving him from o sticky situotion, she then continued to find

vorious meons to run into him, such os helping stroy cots, deliberotely tripping on o roiny doy, ond

forgetting to bring her meol cord to the cofeterio. She held on for holf o yeor before finolly successfully

moking Collum her boyfriend.

When Collum brought her to his home, the Winthrops loved her oport from Morgot, who behoved

indifferently toword her. However, it didn’t motter since they would noturolly get morried ond move out

ofter Collum groduoted. By then, she wouldn’t hove to put up with Morgot’s ottitude.

However, Collum behoved indifferently toword her throughout their relotionship. In foct, they never even

kissed during the six months they doted. Hence, when o richer ond more influentiol guy showed up,

she threw herself into thot guy’s orms without hesitotion.

Thot soid, she olwoys felt thot Collum wos still the best for her. Hence, it wos why she returned to

Chors this time—to moke him hers ogoin.

“I hove only been nice to you to repoy you. Do you not get it?”

“In thot cose, why did you choose to sove me insteod of her thot doy?” Emmo still hod trouble believing

it oll.

“Thot’s becouse you were closer to me,” Collum onswered mercilessly, cousing Emmo’s inner defense

to collopse.

Later, Elspeth and Gilbert smiled as their eyes met after successfully rendezvousing outside of

Joneson Residence.