She rubbed her eyes, then reached out and felt for her phone below her pillow. Then, she answered the call.
Her eyes were swollen from the grogginess. It was already 10.00PM last night when she was done entertaining the guests. By the time she washed up and lay in bed, it was already past midnight.
The voice coming from the other end of the line was familiar and cold. The man’s hoarse voice sounded. “Elspeth.”
The woman woke with a start. She sat up on the bed, and the sunlight from the window coincidentally shone in her eyes. She hastily covered her eyes as she said, “Are you back, Gilbert?”
“Hm, I thought I told them to inform you yesterday. Are you still in bed right now? Are you slacking off because I haven’t trained you in a while?”
Gilbert’s voice was low and crisp, and it sounded especially nice in the morning when he was still half-asleep.
“Of course not! How could I possibly slack off? I woke up at 5.00AM and went for a jog, then went home for a nap. I never slack off.”
Elspeth lied, her eyes darting around as she did so.
When she saw that the quartz clock on the milky white wall showed noon, her face turned pale.
“That’s quite a long nap you took.”
Gilbert couldn’t be bothered to expose her. He was pulling his luggage behind him while he walked, and the wheels were rumbling on the ground.
“Where are you now? Shall I go fetch you?” Elspeth propped her phone between her ear and shoulder as she began rummaging through her closet. “Or just tell me your location, and I’ll go find you.”
When Gilbert heard the crashing noises on the other end of the line, he knew that Elspeth was probably bustling about again. He couldn’t help but let out a chuckle. “It’s okay, you don’t have to come and get me. I’m already at the rented house.”
“What?” Elspeth was slightly stunned. “It’s not like you’re lacking money; why would you stay at a rented house?”
As they spoke, Gilbert had already arrived at a slightly worn-down residential building. He proceeded to open the door with a key. It wasn’t a huge room, but other than the thin layer of dust, it looked clean and tidy.
“Before I was 18, I stubbornly moved out and started working. This is the very house I lived in back then, but sadly…” Gilbert narrowed his eyes as he began to reminisce. “Sadly, my parents passed away after that, and I never came back.”
Elspeth knew this incident had always bothered him, so she didn’t say much about it as she changed the topic. “Well, Harper and I will visit you tonight after 6.00PM. Let’s get some drinks.”
Gilbert put down his backpack and sat on the couch, propping his feet up. “Oh, what’s this? Is Mr. Winthrop willing to let his fiancée go out for drinks with someone else in the middle of the night?”
“You’re not a man, anyway. What’s more, Harper is totally out of the question.”
Elspeth laughed, then instantly realized she had said something wrong as she covered her mouth.
“Fine, quit the nonsense. I’m going to shower. Carry on with whatever you’re supposed to do.” Gilbert had always been a decisive person, and he hung up pretty quickly.
Elspeth was slightly bewildered as she sat on the pile of clothes.
Her heart was a mess.
Just then, someone knocked on her door. The sound was very light and based on its frequency, it sounded like Callum’s habitual knock.
Elspeth opened the door to see Callum standing in front of her. His lips were pursed, and there was a dull light in his eyes.
“Are you going out tonight?”
Elspeth opened her mouth, but she couldn’t say anything.
By the looks of it, Callum must have heard their conversation and misunderstood something.
“Yes, I’m going out tonight to celebrate Gilbert’s return.”
This matter was as normal as could be, but Elspeth saw a look of disappointment flitting across his eyes.
“What’s the matter?” Elspeth asked carefully.
Callum’s shoulders drooped as he shook his head and said, “Nothing. Go ahead. Don’t come back too late.”
Elspeth gulped. “You’re not jealous, are you?”
“No.” How can I not be jealous?
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