Hiding Behind Her Superficiality

Chapter 126

Just like that, Theodore dumped it on Elspeth to make the tough decision.

She felt a painful headache hit her as she looked at the people in front of her.

Logically speaking, she should choose Callum. But now that she saw how expectant the four men were looking at her, she couldn’t say Callum’s name for some reason.

“Take a good look, Elspeth. Whom will you choose?”

Blake’s sinister eyes fell on Callum as he urged unrelentingly, “You must think carefully.”

She sucked in a deep breath. “I won’t choose.”

“Why not?” asked Callum, whose face instantly fell when he heard that.

Seeing how dark his face turned, she realized that she had unknowingly offended the young master, and her heart skipped a beat.

“Elspeth, don’t hesitate to choose whomever you want.” Edmund’s words were always tinged with a hint of displeasure.

“Fine. I choose Callum.”

Hmph.” Edmund huffed. “That’s more like it.”

She instantly understood what he meant.

He was just trying to make her come to terms with her feelings quicker and make them public.

She remembered that he didn’t like her at all. He must have deliberately said so just now to compete with Callum.

Edmund might be a tad evil and foul-mouthed, but he wasn’t a bad person.

Blake, on the other hand, was not happy, and even his breathing suddenly became silent as he looked at Elspeth with his eyes filled with pain.

As for Arthur, it was as if nothing had happened. His emotionless smile remained plastered to his face, and Elspeth couldn’t tell how he felt at this moment.

Satisfied, Theodore nodded. “There we have it, then. In that case, when are you and Callum going to get engaged?”

Not only Elspeth but even Callum was startled by the unexpected question.

“I’m afraid it’s too early for that. Callum and I are not even a couple. Why are we getting engaged so soon?” Elspeth choked.

Margot wanted nothing more than to see the two of them together. “Callum is already 24. He’s neither too young nor too old to get married. Even though you are only 20, you can already get married according to the law. You can get engaged this year and get married at the end of the year. Who knows? I might have a grandchild in a year!”

Her words shocked Elspeth so badly she could barely squeak. “That’s too rushed, Mrs. Winthrop…”

Margot rolled her eyes at Elspeth. “Geez, don’t get all shy on us now. It’s alright. You can slowly let your feelings grow. You can even do that after marriage!”

Rendered speechless, Elspeth stole a glance at Callum.

He cleared his throat. “Well, I don’t think Mom’s wrong”

Judging from his approving tone, it seemed that he was satisfied with his mother’s arrangement.

Elspeth only forced a laugh without saying another word.

“Mom, don’t worry about our marriage. We are still young, so we should work on our careers

first.”

Still, Callum was clear-headed enough to say the things that calmed Elspeth down. For a moment there, she thought that he would urge the two of them to get married as soon as possible as Margot did.

However, his next words made her regret ever quietly complimenting him for what he said just a second ago.

“Nonetheless, it’d be great if we get engaged early on.”

As long as they were engaged, Elspeth would no longer be known as the Winthrops’ fiancée. Instead, she would be Callum’s fiancée.

She would be his and only his.

She couldn’t stay in this awkwardness any longer, so she blurted out an excuse to leave.

She sat outside by the flower bed for a while. Not long after, a figure suddenly emerged from not far away and sat down beside her.

The person who came was Blake. It was as though he had just had his heart broken.

Despite the sadness oozing out of him, he still forced himself to smile in front of Elspeth.

“That’s because it’s all happening too quickly. After all, Callum and I don’t know each other well. I can’t just get engaged to him now.”

She admitted that she liked Callum. However, she had reservations about whether they could live the rest of their lives together.

“I envy you guys for being so clear-headed. Unlike me, I’m just blindly rushing forward, and I don’t hide the fact that I like you. I’m not as brilliant as Callum, and I’m not as rich as him. I’m a disappointment. I understand if you don’t like me.”

Elspeth only noticed Blake holding a bottle of wine when he brought it up and took a swig of it while smiling sadly.

“You’re not bad at all, Blake. You are someone tons of people pursue, and you are every young girl’s dream. You’re not a disappointment.” She offered a smile and comforted him, “The reason I don’t like you is that we didn’t meet at the right time and place. The Big Man up there probably doesn’t think I’m the one for you. The right woman might be waiting just around the corner!”

Touched by these words, Blake raised his head with expectations and doubts written all over his face. “Really?” he muttered. Nôvel(D)rama.Org's content.

“Of course! You’re only 20 years old. You have a whole future ahead of you. Surely, you’re not worried you can’t meet someone you’ll fall in love with, are you?”

She stretched out her hand and offered him a candy that appeared out of nowhere. “Here, you will cheer up after eating this candy. I truly appreciate you for all the things you’ve helped me with. We will become good friends, right?”

Good friends…

Blake stared at the candy before hesitantly accepting it.

Instead of eating it, he held it tightly in his palm before he let out a chuckle. “Am I a child you’re coaxing? You even bring candy around. I’m too old to have candy still.”

She raised her eyebrows and refused to comment on his words. “What’s wrong with having candy? I like candy. Life is as tough as it is. How are you supposed to make life better if you don’t have something sweet to balance out the bitterness of life?”

Blake knew that the hardships she had gone through couldn’t be summed up in a few words. After all, she started from nothing, but still, she got to where she was today.

That being the case, it was indeed a little naive for him to be caught up in the pure and innocent ideas of love he had.

“Do you understand where I’m coming from?

With her head cocked and a bright smile on her face, she looked especially gentle under the moonlight.

“Yes.”

He suddenly stood up and put one hand in the pocket of his pants. “I think I should work on my own business now.”

Elspeth couldn’t help feeling proud of him.

“If you’re getting signed to Luminous, we can’t use the manager assigned to you before.” Elspeth immediately became serious when they talked about work.

Blake had also noticed the problem. “Well then, will you be my manager now?” He smiled.

However, he immediately realized how he had asked a stupid question.