Hiding Behind Her Superficiality by Kyla Olson

Chapter 23 Is Elspeth a Playgirl?
Callum answered in his cold voice, “Well, I’m giving priority to company matters. Is there a problem with that?”
Having been rejected again, Ophelia bit her lip and stayed quiet.
After she left, Elspeth watched her crying figure and could not help laughing. “Are you sure you’re going to hurt your childhood sweetheart like that? She seems to be crying quite miserably.”
Callum gave her a sideways glance and ordered, “Look at the plan.”
Chuckling, she said, “Looks like Edmund was right. You are an inconsiderate workaholic.”
Instead of answering her, he lowered his head and looked at the plan. The sun’s rays shone down on his face, and through the vague reflection, Elspeth could see that his pupils were as deep as the blackhole.
When the two finished revising their plan, it was already 3.00PM and Elspeth’s tummy just happened to rumble at an inappropriate time. With a raised brow, Callum offered, “Let’s go. We’ll have something nice.”
They tidied up and coincidentally bumped into Ophelia on their way out of the building before Elspeth smiled at her.
At this point, Ophelia’s already puffy eyes reddened even more as she ran inside while wiping her tears. The small incident did not affect their mood as Callum brought Elspeth to a noodle shack he frequented and ordered two bowls of ramen.
While biting the end of her fork, Elspeth giggled. “I didn’t expect the oldest young master of the Winthrop Family would enjoy this sort of delicacy.”
Although Callum was slurping noodles, his actions remained elegant as ever. He ate a mouthful of noodles and asked, “What do you think I eat on a daily basis? Steaks? Caviar? Lobsters?”
“I just didn’t expect that you’d enjoy such hearty meals.” Elspeth’s smile became even more unrestrained, but she suddenly looked at him with bright eyes while stating, “But… I like them too. Although I’d eat them almost every day, I still think that no food can compare to the noodles my dad made.”

Unfortunately, all of that has passed and I can’t return to those days.
Meanwhile, Callum stayed silent and lowered his head to eat his noodles, but his mood was slightly affected. This was the first time he heard her mention her family; though it was just a brief sentence, he was still deeply moved.
The two went back to the company and a colleague patted Elspeth on the shoulder when she was just about to get off work. “Elspeth, log on to your Twitter. Something happened!”
Feeling her heart sink, she logged onto her Twitter account and scanned through the contents with some large, attention-grabbing words.
‘Elspeth Lynwood acts intimately with a foreign man while being engaged to the Winthrop Family.’
‘Though Elspeth Lynwood looks obedient, she’s actually a playgirl who plays with the Winthrop men’s feelings.’
‘Having been surrounded by so many men, who will get Elspeth Lynwood in the end?’
…
There was also a blurry picture on Twitter circling around. From it, Elspeth could make out that it was taken on the day of the auction when Theo was touching her head; they were smiling happily and seemed very close.
Although they were both wearing sunglasses, it was not difficult to make out that the woman in the picture was herself.
Squinting her eyes, Elspeth felt a cold sensation pass through her. She seemed to know who was behind all of this, so she immediately called Harper to get rid of those news articles. In the meantime, she was called home by Theodore.
When she came out of the company, she just happened to bump into Callum, who was going home as well. However, he merely glanced at her before walking away. It seemed like he had also found out about the hottest news articles.
At last, Elspeth returned to the Winthrop Residence under everyone’s presence and was immediately met with Margot’s lecture. “Elspeth! I thought you were a good kid. I cannot believe that you’re such a sl*t!”
Frowning, Elspeth did not retort but tried to explain instead, “It’s all just a misunderstanding.”
However, Margot was not having it. “I can understand it if you don’t like any of my sons, but how can you agree to spend time with my sons while secretly dating another man? Elspeth, do you think you’re being fair to Theodore?”
Elspeth knew that if she could not explain this situation clearly, perhaps even Theodore would be disappointed in her.
“Elspeth, all the evidence is crystal clear, so I suggest you admit your doings!” Max had long since despised Elspeth’s aloof attitude and sneered, “You’d better get out of here as soon as possible. Maybe, by then, I’ll be the bigger person and forgive you.”
Shaking her head, Elspeth explained again, “It’s not what you guys think. That man is my senior.”
A senior? Who are you kidding?
While staring at her with his cold gaze, Max reprimanded, “Even if he’s your senior, someone who’s able to interact so intimately with you must be someone close to you, right? Elspeth, things have already gotten to this point, yet you’re still trying to reason your way out of this.”
Meanwhile, Theodore was frowning with mixed emotions surging within him. He stared at Elspeth and asked calmly, “Elsie, are they telling the truth? Are you and that man—”
She replied in a deep tone, “Mr. Winthrop, that person is really only a senior to me. I can call him right now if you don’t believe me.”
At that moment, Margot smirked. “What can you prove by calling him? Wouldn’t you be able to trick everyone by getting your story straightened out with him?”