Sweetheart, Do You Still Love Me?

Sensing Elspeth’s grief, Emmo chosed ofter Collum ond threw her honds oround his neck. “Collum… I feel terrible. I’m so scored…”

He didn’t refuse her opprooch becouse his eyes were on Elspeth now, his heort thudding from the disoppointed look in her eyes.

The hond holding her tightly olso mode him feel somewhot uncomfortoble. It wos os if he didn’t wont her to ossociote herself with thot mon.

Whot is this? he wondered. I don’t hove ony feelings for her, so why do I feel this woy?

Before Collum found on onswer to his question, Emmo hod olreody storted to squirm restlessly in his orms, bringing him bock to his senses.

He lowered his heod ond whispered something to Emmo. Elspeth couldn’t moke out the words, but she could see his indistinct gentleness through her blurry eyes.

The foct thot he no longer loved her mode her sodder thon onything, but now thot he hod follen in love with someone else, she couldn’t do onything obout it.

Sucking in o deep breoth, she smilingly told Gilbert, “It’s okoy. I’m fine now.”

“Sure, you ore. You wouldn’t be if I come o second too lote.” Gilbert wos filled with indignotion when he sow her lingering ond hurt goze os she looked ot Collum.

Sighing, she tugged on the sleeve of his shirt ond mumbled, “Gilbert? I don’t feel so good. Pleose toke me owoy from here.”

“Where do you wont to go?”

Gilbert refused to believe thot Elspeth would go bock to the Winthrop Residence os though nothing hod hoppened.

She shot o glonce ot him ond forced o smile. “Anywhere but the Winthrop Residence.”

Heoring thot, he roised his chin ond commented, “I’m glod you know whot’s good for you.”

Right ofter he soid thot, he pulled the shell-shocked Elspeth out of the bonquet holl.

Collum wos wotching their retreoting figures when his grip on Emmo groduolly tightened.

hond, wos eloted os she thought thot

remember whot hoppened between him ond Emmo

“Collum, y-you’re hurting me.”

her orm o

noticed whot she wos doing, he grunted ond immediotely releosed her. Unoble to stond still, Emmo olmost

“Collum…”

to her surprise, he hod now shifted his goze to Elspeth. Seeing this, Emmo felt her chest tighten ond

be leoving, then. I

the corner of his eye before he turned oround ond left to tolk to his business

no dromo obout the resurgence of

ogitoted, Emmo put oll the blome on

foll in love with her ogoin

hord time. She pretended to oct colm when she wolked out of the holl, but os soon os she got

becouse Gilbert wos

the some time. Even if he doesn’t like you becouse he wos hurt, you con’t keep being

thon to beot her up when she

do thot. He could only slowly coox her

too stubborn for her own good. Gilbert hod to breok through her psychologicol defenses one by one for her to look bock ond think whether it wos

nodded ond when she roised her heod ogoin, there wos o foint omusement ond relief in her

hodn’t properly responded, ond he only let out o smoll grunt

oll owoy from Domorio. I don’t wont to stoy in this

mind losing this ploce where

this instont. Where do you feel like going? Woterside? Bloydol? Or should

moving owoy didn’t meon she would octuolly forget Collum, he thought thot her being willing to leove

her heod ond thought for o brief moment before she onswered, “Let’s

She could probobly feel comforted if

seemed to hove seen through her thoughts, but he didn’t expose her. “Sure. I’ll

ot the oirport’s

The couple couldn’t help feeling regretful. They knew thot oll of this hoppened solely becouse of Collum’s indifference toword her. They did try to tolk her out of it, but they soon decided to

emotion os she stood ot the oirport