Chapter 490
Chapter 490
Chapter 490 Go Get a Divorce
The moment the idea occurred to her, even Elspeth couldn't keep a straight face. Noticing Callum's expression had darkened, she couldn't help but ask, "Are you all right?"
"How can I be all right?" Callum countered as his expression turned thunderous. Exclusive content © by Nô(v)el/Dr/ama.Org.
If what Helia told them was true, then Elspeth and he might be cousins. The world has gone mad.
"By the way, Elsie, is he your boyfriend?" Helia was overjoyed to reunite with her daughter. She wasn't aware of the situation going on.
Even though Elspeth was having difficulty keeping her emotions from showing on her face, she nodded nevertheless.
"Nice to meet you, young man. What's your name?" At learning the man was her daughter's boyfriend, Helia smiled wildly.
"Nice to meet you too, Miss Joneson. I'm Callum Winthrop."
Her smile froze at his introduction. "Did you say 'Winthrop'?"
"That's right, Miss Joneson. I'm the nephew of the man who assaulted you many years ago."
The smile vanished from her face in an instant.
As Callum said, it was years ago. The ripples in her heart at the moment had nothing to do with the anguish of being assaulted many years ago but with the pain to see Elspeth dating such a man.
Even though Callum wasn't the mastermind of the whole thing, Helia still remembered herself being extremely disgusted by the way the Winthrop Family reacted to it.
She couldn't entrust her daughter to a man born in such a family.
Besides, if Elspeth's biological father was the man who assaulted Helia years ago, Elspeth would be Callum's cousin.
"How long have you been together? Which stage of relationship are you in?"
Don't tell me she's pregnant. Helia shifted her gaze to Elspeth's belly. Her daughter had a flat stomach, showing no signs of pregnancy.
Elspeth was both shy and embarrassed at her mother's assumption. "Mom, we haven't reached the home base."
"I'm glad to hear that. Now that you know what happened in the past and that the both of you might be cousins, you need to break up right now. I see no reason for such a ridiculous thing to continue."
Elspeth parted her lips to counter that, but the words got stuck on her tongue as she realized the right words didn't exist.
"What is it? You don't want to break up, do you?"
She shook her head. "It's not about that. I'm just not ready to do it."
Furthermore, Elspeth knew that if she and Callum continued to be together at this point, it would only make the situation very absurd.
She turned to the side and looked at Callum, whose expression mirrored hers. "But now we have a bigger problem."
"I think nothing can be worse than this." Helia tried her best to keep calm and stay strong, so she wouldn't freak out at Elspeth's announcement.
"We are married."
Helia gasped in disbelief. "What? You're married?"
She thought Callum and Elspeth were only seeing each other. Thus, they could simply break up and no particular harm was done.
It was indeed a surprise to learn they were now husband and wife instead of boyfriend and girlfriend.
"If so, hurry up and get a divorce!" Helia urged, but the pair remained seated on the couch.
Their hesitation and reluctance hit home for Helia even if she couldn't quite pin her feelings down. "Elspeth, you have to understand that even though the Winthrops hurt me, I would never force my thoughts upon you and hold you back from finding love. However, what worries me is you two may be related by blood. The relationship itself is outrageous. Do you understand?"
She's right. Helia's words hit a sore spot and Elspeth could taste the bile rising in her throat. "I understand, Mom. I get what you mean."
"I believe both you and Callum can see the reason behind my words, and you are well aware of what to do. Please, just do what I ask, will you?"
Helia was genuine about hoping for a better life for Elspeth. Even though she was absent in Elspeth's life before, as Elspeth's mother, she still hoped Elspeth could live a happy future.
Once the blood relation between Callum and Elspeth was found out by the others, Helia knew Elspeth would struggle for the rest of her life as invective and ridicule followed her everywhere.
Elspeth sat on the couch, trying to gather her thoughts. After a while, she rose to her feet and tugged on Callum's hand. "Let's go."
Even at this point, she still couldn't believe the fact that she might be Callum's cousin.
Callum didn't let the emotions linger on his face, but she could tell he was stressed. When he noticed the disappointment on her face, he could only give her a weak smile. "I don't think the City Hall operates on weekends."
Somehow, the idea that they wouldn't be separated right away greatly relieved Elspeth.
"Then, you should find a time and go there together." Most times, Helia would handle things with a soft approach. However, she was quite assertive and refused to back down from this matter.
"Mom, you don't have to worry. We know exactly what to do, hmm?" Elspeth comforted her mother in a gentle tone.
After all, the idea of Elspeth staying with the Winthrop Family alone was enough to bring back the bad memories to Helia.
"Are you living together?"
Something isn't right. How have they not carried out the final act if they're married?
"We are sleeping in different rooms. Miss Joneson, you can rest assured. I won't make a move on Elspeth without her permission. The worst thing has yet to happen," Callum explained in a serious tone.
His words provided Helia with an opportunity to see him in a new light. After all, most men gave in to temptation easily. However, he was different as he chose to respect Elspeth's wishes. Without a doubt, he was a man whom one could entrust the rest of their life with.
Truth was, Helia felt sorry for them. If they aren't relatives, they won't face such a dilemma in the first place.
"Since you are sensible, I'll stop nagging. I believe you know what is best for you." She couldn't hide the bitterness in her tone.
The discussion ended there as Elspeth changed the topic to ease the mood. "How did you come across the McGrath Family?"
Helia sighed deeply. "At first, I was doing just fine in another country. One day, a local thug had his eye on me and wanted me to marry him. At that time, almost everyone knew I lived alone. Thus, I was moving away to avoid him. However, he learned it from somebody, so he barged into my house and forced himself on me."
She was sharing another tragic story, but Elspeth could tell there was more than that.
"I grabbed the vase from the side and smashed him in the head, but I accidentally killed him with that. Even though I was afraid, I turned myself in. Due to it being an act of self-defense and I surrendered voluntarily, I was sentenced to fifteen years of imprisonment."
Elspeth could never imagine such a weak woman like Helia would toughen up one day. After hearing Helia's story, she had mixed feelings as she was both upset that Helia had to suffer many mishaps in life and felt bad for the woman for being unable to settle down in one place.
"What happened after you got out of jail?"