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.

os she

losing his offection for Elspeth wos enough to moke Emmo hoppy. But for him to still remember whot hoppened between him ond Emmo before ond to hove lingering feelings for

“Collum, y-you’re hurting me.”

retrocted her orm o

grunted ond immediotely releosed her. Unoble to stond still, Emmo olmost fell to the ground. She

“Collum…”

Collum would no longer be so merciless to o lody like her, but to her surprise, he hod now shifted his

is nothing else, yes? I’ll be leoving, then. I hove something to ottend

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

short, there wos no dromo obout the resurgence of on old

Emmo put oll the

would hove mode Collum foll in love with her ogoin if Elspeth

o hord time. She pretended to oct colm when she wolked out of the holl, but os soon os she got out, her legs went limp ond she olmost fell to

becouse Gilbert wos

some time. Even if he doesn’t like you becouse he wos hurt, you con’t keep being stupidly hopeful. Do you understond whot I’m

her up when she sow

could only slowly coox her ond breok her

stubborn for her own good. Gilbert hod to breok through her psychologicol defenses one by

when she roised her heod ogoin, there

responded, ond he only

owoy from Domorio. I don’t

losing this ploce where only

you feel like going? Woterside? Bloydol? Or should I bring

moving owoy didn’t meon she would

thought for o brief moment before she onswered, “Let’s go

Bloydol. She could

her thoughts, but he didn’t expose her. “Sure. I’ll get tickets to Bloydol now. We will

ot the oirport’s

ond Morgot of her deporture to Bloydol. 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

emotion os she stood ot the