Sweetheart, Do You Still Love Me?

“I’m not too sure either. I always thought it was Edmund who did it, or else he wouldn’t have made fun

of me every time. But I’ve asked him about it before and he said it wasn’t him.”

Elspeth didn’t look convinced at all. “How do you know he wasn’t lying?”

“No. Even though Edmund has a sharp tongue and he likes to gloat, he never lies. When he does, the

tips of his ears turn red. He can’t hide it for more than three seconds.”

With his understanding of Edmund, Callum knew that Arthur was the one responsible for all of this.

Does this mean that Arthur has been setting people up since he was a child? Surprised, Elspeth looked

at Callum and asked, “In other words, Arthur has been jealous of you since way back. He’s not making

a break with the Winthrop Family because he thought that Mr. Winthrop caused his parents’ death. This

is solely him acting on his long-time grudge, correct?”

Seeing how quick she was on the uptake, Callum looked at her with an approving look.

“Mhm. You guessed it right. That’s what I was thinking as well. Arthur’s reconciliation with the

Winthrops probably has something to do with Alphascape. It might be bad for the Winthrops.”

Elspeth suddenly thought of something. “Have you told Mr. Winthrop to be careful?”

“It’s useless. My father will never want to be wary of Arthur. After all, Arthur is the child he brought up.

He won’t think badly of Arthur even if Arthur were to hurt him.”

Callum knew Theodore all too well. Although he could be brutal in business, as a father, he was just a

kind, loving man.

“We need to get ready, then. We must not let him get ideas on Mr. Winthrop.”

The corners of Callum’s mouth curled into a smile. “Oh? You’re worrying about your future father-in-law

already even though we’re not officially married. Is this a case of love me, love my dog?”

“My foot! I’m just concerned about Mr. Winthrop. He has been nothing but nice to me. I don’t want

anything to happen to him.”

Callum patted her head and comforted her in a soft voice, “I know that you are worried about my father,

but you have worked too hard, Elspeth. You are always thinking about this and that every day. I think

you should start to think about yourself.”

“What do you mean?”

He pulled Elspeth into his arms and rested his chin on her forehead. “Our couple’s lovey-dovey time, of

course! Don’t you agree, Mrs. Winthrop?”

He’s doing it again! Feeling flushed and worked up, she felt like a cooked prawn.

She couldn’t understand how a man who had never dated anyone was so skilled at flirting and teasing.

“Callum, you pretend to be indifferent, but you’re actually a surprise package, aren’t you?”

This was a term that Callum had never heard of.

After pausing for a moment, he asked in return, “What’s a ‘surprise package’?”

Elspeth held her forehead in resignation. “Pretend I never said that,” she muttered.

“Say it!” He held her wrists in a tight grip. “Tell me, what does a ‘surprise package’ mean?”

It didn’t sound like a compliment to him.

Finding it hard to say it, she shook her head and blushed. “I don’t know. I was just guessing.”

Callum pursed his lips and the next second…

Elspeth felt like hiding in a hole when he found the meaning on Google.

He read out loud, “A ‘surprise package’ generally refers to people who are quiet on the outside and

passionate on the inside. ‘Surprise packages’ don’t easily express and show their emotions and

emotional changes, but they would perform in unexpected ways in specific occasions or environments.”

After that, he glanced at Elspeth with intrigued eyes. “Oh, so you think I’m ‘passionate on the inside’

and I ‘perform in unexpected ways’.”

Hearing him say the word ‘passionate’ immediately made her turn red in the face.

“That’s not what I mean…”

She struggled to get out of his hold on her wrists, but he only held on tighter.

“Elspeth, are you trying to do something different with me?”

The woman quickly froze. She couldn’t even begin to imagine what he was talking about.

The way his Adam’s apple rolled and the clear and distinct sound of him gulping made her imagination

run wild.

“Let’s put everything aside first. I will take you to Waterside tomorrow.”

“Why are we going to Waterside? Are we going to watch the filming?”

She didn’t like that place very much.

“Of course not.” Callum lightly knocked on her forehead with a knuckle. “Other than the film and

television industry, Waterside is a famous tourism spot. I’m going to take you there to have fun.”

“But… I don’t want to…”

She could never get used to traveling.

“You don’t seem very happy about the idea,” he commented.

When she thought about her childhood experience, she couldn’t help but have a bitter expression. “If

only you knew. I went to the beach with my father when I was young and I was stung by a jellyfish. And

when I went to play in a forest, I was caught in a bear trap. There was this other time when I went to a

ropeway, but I almost died because it hadn’t been maintained for a very long time—”

“Stop! So, what you’re saying is, you get bad luck whenever you travel?”

Callum couldn’t help laughing. Just the thought of her ‘sad experiences’ made him laugh.

“Exactly! That’s why I don’t like to travel. I would rather have you kill me than bring me on a trip.”

Elspeth was going to meet her end anyway.

“Fine. I’ll take you somewhere completely safe.”

“I sure hope so!” She giggled. “But where are we going?”

He had a mysterious look. “You’ll see when we get there.”

He was indeed mysterious enough to not tell her this secret even when they boarded the plane the next

morning.

Elspeth had always been a curious one. She couldn’t sleep well the whole night because none of her

guesses were right.

The next day, she, with dark circles around her eyes, went to meet up with Callum.

Callum both felt sorry and entertained when he saw the unconcealable exhaustion in her eyes even

though she had full makeup on.

“Alright, alright. You can catch some sleep on the plane. I’ll wake you up when we get there.”

She then nodded and fell into a deep sleep against his shoulder.

When he saw how docile she was when she slept, he felt a strange feeling spread across his chest.

The feeling prompted him to lean forward and press a chaste kiss on her forehead.

He thought that she had fallen asleep at first, but the jolting of her fingers out of nervousness gave her

away.

He only noticed the moisture on his shoulder when they got off the plane.

She was perspiring? Was the air conditioner not cold enough?

Even though he was surprised, he didn’t say anything and took her directly to the hotel first, but when

they arrived, the front desk told them that there was only one room left.

Elspeth glanced at Callum. “How about we get another hotel?” she asked.

The man didn’t even hesitate to answer. “We’ll stay here.”

She was then dragged all the way to their room.

Despite the lack of emotions on his face, Elspeth couldn’t help feeling a little apprehensive. “Callum, I

really think that men and women should keep their distance from one another…”