Sweetheart, Do You Still Love Me?

At ten o'clock the next morning, Elspeth was still deep in slumber when her sleep was interrupted by a

phone call. She impatiently picked up, but when she heard an unknown yet familiar voice from the

other end, she immediately jolted awake.

"Miss Lynwood, I'd like to treat you to lunch this afternoon. Would that be all right?" the person asked

courteously.

Instantly, any remaining grumpiness she felt disappeared without a trace, and she got up to dress

properly before going downstairs.

As Arthur watched Elspeth descend the stairs in a short, black off-shoulder dress from the living room,

his expression became inscrutable.

"Don't tell me you dressed up so nicely just to meet Rayan Adler?"

"Yes, I did. It's the last day of the time limit Logan gave me. If I don't complete my mission by today, he

might not give me the herb."

At that, Elspeth twirled in a circle, the hem of her dress rising and falling with the air. After such a long

time, she essentially understood what kind of a person Logan was.

"Do you need me to come with you?" Arthur offered to tag along, which was a rare occasion for him.

"It's fine. It'll be too obvious if we go together; I can handle it alone." She carelessly grabbed a piece of

toast from the table and took a bite to fill her stomach, saying, "I'm not stupid."

"I'm just worried you'd get taken advantage of," he replied gently.

"Don't worry about that. There's no way he'd be able to take advantage of me."

Naturally, she had her own methods to deal with old perverts like Rayan.

Elspeth had just descended the stairs when she saw a black Maybach parked at the entrance. An

ominous sensation looming over her, she hastened toward the car, and when she saw the person

inside, her face instantly fell. Callum was currently sitting inside, his glum gaze fixed intently on her.

Dammit, he still found out!

When she saw his expression that clearly said he would get out of the car to drag her in if she didn't

come in herself, she helplessly got into the car.

"Do you mind explaining why you're here?" Callum asked in an aloof tone, but Elspeth could sense a

thick and menacing undertone in his voice.

"I-I can explain." She gulped before saying in a small voice, "I'm forced to stay here because Arthur has

something on me."

"It's because of your mother, right?"

His words hit the nail on the head. He had heard on the grapevine that Arthur was treating someone

from the Joneson Family, but he didn't expect it to be Elspeth's mother.

"If you need a cure, I can hire the best doctor in the world for you. Why must you cling to him?" Callum

frowned at Elspeth, indicating that he could help her.

She raised her eyebrows slightly and said in a soft voice, "I don't want to stay here, really, but it's

because this disease can't be treated by anyone but him."

The words that Callum was about to blurt out clogged in his throat.

"So, Mr. Schwartz is powerless too?"

"Yes." Elspeth let out a helpless sigh, her voice sounding weak as she continued, "I have no other

choice but to fool him for now until he treats my mother. I'll come up with another plan then."

The word 'fool' immediately caused Callum's expression to darken, as if a storm was about to come.

"Fool him? What did he threaten you with?"

"He told me to get engaged to him." Left with no other choice, Elspeth could only tell him the truth.

"And you agreed, right?"

Callum's expression suddenly changed, as if shrouded in a layer of cold frost. Even if he knew that she

was just trying to look at the big picture, his heart still inevitably hurt a little at her words.

"I can't help it either. I can only fool him for now. Besides, you lost memories of our feelings back then

and treated me coldly, so I had to agree."

Elspeth hastily averted her gaze and fixed her eyes onto the glass window in front of her, afraid to meet

his stare.

"What are you going to do now? Are you going to look for Rayan?"

As Callum looked at the seductive, sensual clothes she was wearing, his anger flared.

"Yes, I'm going over to meet him now."

"Then I'll come with you."

He planned to keep an eye on the greasy man while he was there to prevent him from having any

improper ideas about Elspeth.

"Fine."

Elspeth clawed at her hair with an annoyed look. She knew she could refuse Arthur, but she couldn't

resist Callum. Just the look in his eyes alone was scary enough. Left with no choice, she could only

take him with her to the restaurant.

As it was not appropriate for Callum to head in, he waited at the door while Elspeth walked in alone and

found a window seat that was facing the parking entrance, allowing Callum to have a clear view of their

actions. Not long after, Rayan arrived at the scene. When he saw the brilliantly dressed Elspeth, a

devious smile appeared on his face.

"It's been a while, Miss Lynwood."

What is he saying? It hasn't even been 24 hours.

However, since it was just pleasantries, she was willing to play along. She said frivolously, "Indeed, it's

been a long time."

"Miss Lynwood, I assume you know why I invited you here," Rayan said, cutting straight to the chase.

Elspeth lifted her glass and took a sip of wine. "Please, do tell me."

Rayan was not willing to beat around the bush any longer and said bluntly, "I've been smitten with you

the first moment I saw you. After our conversation yesterday, I'd like to get to know you even better. So,

would you like to try going out with me?"

With those words, he made it clear that he was pursuing her.

Elspeth frowned, as if feeling displeased by his words. "Mr. Adler, I didn't agree to meet you with such

intentions."

She had just the right amount of reservation, and Rayan was aware that he had spoken out of turn as

well. He smiled, his chubby cheeks quivering with his movements as he said, "It's fine. I'm willing to

court you, Miss Lynwood."

With a simple sentence, he induced their relationship from getting along as equals to a one-sided

courtship. However, what Elspeth wanted was not the status of Rayan's girlfriend; she only wanted his

scimitar.

Alas, Rayan didn't know what she was thinking and assumed that she was still hesitating upon seeing

her tightly furrowed brows. Hence, he added, "Don't worry, as long as you want it, I'll give you

anything."

Straight to the point. Not bad.

It was only then that her expression eased. "I can tell that you're sincere, but you might not be willing to

give me what I want."

"What is it?" Rayan looked at her with a frown.

"I want…" Elspeth lifted her thin hand and pointed at the scimitar at his waist. "That."