Hiding Behind Her Superficiality

Chapter 69

Chapter 69 Stay Away from Callum

Admittedly, he could not tolerate this even for a minute.

“He’s got something against me, so I need to endure this for the next two days.” Elspeth lifted her head. She was not sure why she was explaining things to Callum, but as she was confronted with his current state, she inexplicably felt guilty.

“What does he have?” © 2024 Nôv/el/Dram/a.Org.

“Previously, I helped that young girl to save her mom, and now, Callum is using this to threaten me. That’s why I need to transfer her mom out of the hospital before I break up with him. Otherwise, I’m worried he’ll do something to her.”

Elspeth had already planned everything, and all she had to do was send him away on a pretext. Then, she could organize the transfer to a different hospital. After completing all that, she would then break up with Arthur right away.

“I’ll help you,” Callum said out of instinct.

“I can manage by myself.” She revealed an awkward expression as she looked at him. With a smile, she asked, “Callum, have you… fallen for me?”

This time, he was not in a hurry to deny it but stared at her intently. “I have to admit that I’ve fallen for you indeed.”

Shocked, Elspeth did not expect him to come clean so frankly. “Callum, you’ve fallen for me?”

He took a step forward and lifted her chin gently. “That’s right. I’ve fallen for you, so I don’t want you to be with him.”

He had originally thought that his feelings for Elspeth were barely there and might even be nonexistent. However, he did not expect the turbulent emotions that arose within him upon seeing her with someone else.

He experienced jealousy, sadness, and confusion. It was quite a while since he had experienced such complicated emotions.

“What about you? How do you feel about me?” Callum did not let her off the hook but pursued the topic relentlessly.

At that moment, Elspeth was taken aback. She had been wondering about this in her mind for some time, but she persistently refused to admit it.

She parted her lips as she attempted to say something, but suddenly, a glaring light shone at them. “Stop making noise in the corridor and return to your rooms.”

Elspeth looked down and noticed they were currently in an intimate position. Furthermore, they were caught ‘red-handed’, so her face immediately flushed pink before she shoved Callum aside and left.

Ophelia, who was hiding by the corner, overheard their entire conversation. She never expected to encounter such a situation just by coming over to see Callum.

She was just about to rejoice that Elspeth had started dating Arthur, but she did not expect Callum to confess his feelings to Elspeth!

At that point, she panicked. After all, if Elspeth broke up with Arthur, it would not take long for Elspeth to be with Callum. I’ll never allow this to happen!

As Ophelia realized this, she unlocked her phone to find Arthur’s phone number before dialing it.

In the meantime, he was drinking at a pub, so he sent his geolocation to her and requested a meetup.

Once she arrived at the pub, she saw Arthur enjoying his drink and appeared to be lost in thought. Of course, there was no way of knowing what was on his mind.

“Arthur, I came to see you today because I have something to discuss with you.”

He lifted his brows quizzically. “What’s the matter?”

Ophelia noticed he did not seem to get it, so she clenched her teeth and said, “I wanna team up with you.”

He revealed a slight sneer. She’s risen to the bait.

“Team up on?”

“Callum is in love with Elspeth. Are you aware of that?”

She kept her eyes on Arthur’s face but noticed no change in his expression, so she continued, “Most importantly, Elspeth is also in love with Callum, so if the two of them date, it would be disadvantageous to us.” She was betting on the fact that Arthur had something going on with Elspeth.

“Elspeth is now my girlfriend, so I’m not worried about that.” He remained disinterested in teaming up with her.

“But then, I just overheard her saying something about transferring hospitals and breaking up. Are you sure you guys would last long together?”

As soon as he heard that, his expression instantly darkened. “What did you overhear exactly?”

She continued her sentence only after noticing that he had some reaction to the news. “I think you should reconsider teaming up with me. By doing so, both of us would be able to achieve what we’re after.”

She was after Callum, while Arthur wanted Elspeth for himself, so it would undoubtedly be a win-win situation if they teamed up.

Naturally, he revealed a smirk by then. “Since you’ve spoken, then… let’s work well together.”

He slowly stretched out his hand as Ophelia revealed a faint smile and sealed the deal.

The following morning, an uninvited guest turned up in Elspeth’s ward.

She glanced at the woman, who had a slight resemblance to Ophelia, and somehow, she was wary of the guest. “You are?”

“I’m Ophelia’s mother, and my name is Grace.” She had a naturally elegant air to her and was full of poise as she articulated herself.

“May I know the reason for your visit today?” Elspeth was unsure why Grace came over to see her, but she had a bad premonition upon seeing her confident smile.

After all, a person who had brought up a daughter like Ophelia was surely a challenging person to deal with.

“I’m here because of Ophelia. I realize that she has committed a lot of mistakes in the past and caused plenty of emotional damage to you. However, that’s all because she’s too infatuated with Callum. You should be aware that the Winthrops and Flemings have been family friends since ages ago, so they grew up in each other’s company. Everyone hopes that the two of them will tie the knot with each other. However, ever since your appearance in Callum’s life, he has no longer paid much attention to Ophelia, so…”

Grace had made things clear, so if Elspeth continued to feign ignorance, it would be pretty evident that she was acting dumb.

“So, does that mean you hope I’ll stay away from Callum and give your daughter a chance with him?” She went straight to the point and pointed out Grace’s intention.

The woman revealed a smirk. “I know you’re an intelligent woman, Miss Lynwood. Nonetheless, I won’t let you suffer any losses. How about this? You can have however much you want as long as you stay away from Callum. Our family would be happy to pay any amount you seek.”

Any amount?

“I would like to have the entire Fleming Group. How does that sound to you?” Elspeth immediately asked for an exorbitant sum while Grace’s expression stiffened slightly upon hearing that.

“Miss Lynwood, I’m here quite sincerely to discuss this so we can come to a mutual understanding. Feel free to mention a reasonable figure.” She ran a hand through her hair and continued, “After all, I’m doing this purely for the sake of my child, so I trust that you should be able to understand my feelings as a mother.”

Elspeth took her time to respond, “But then, do you know about Callum’s first love? Even if I were out of the picture, he would not fall for Ophelia either. Don’t you think they would never work out?”

Unexpectedly, though, Grace’s smile deepened upon hearing her words. “That happened when he was young and immature. I don’t think anyone would remember their puppy love back when they were a kid. Besides, Ophelia studied abroad, so she didn’t even get the chance to interact with him. Therefore, it would be normal for him to fall for someone else.”

“So, you’re intent on getting rid of me, then.”