Hiding Behind Her Superficiality by Kyla Olson

Chapter 21 The Hiking Incident
Hiking... A tiring and hot activity in which they all had no interest.
“Dad, I have a few operations scheduled, so it might not be convenient.”
Raising to his feet, Arthur was about to leave when he was grabbed by his father. “So? Does your hospital not have other
doctors besides you?”
Arthur let out a nervous laugh while tapping his nose. That naturally made Blake and Max, who were about to make up their own
excuses, keep quiet as well.
“So, it’s settled. We’ll leave in a short while.”
No one could reject Theodore’s orders, so they all changed into appropriate clothes and went to the most famous hiking spot in
the city. When they arrived, Elspeth immediately spotted Ophelia, who was all smiles and wearing a gentle-looking dress.
Margot beamed when she saw her favorite ‘daughter-in-law’. “Ophelia, I didn’t expect you to come. I thought you wouldn’t make
it.”
“Mrs. Winthrop, how can I say no to your invitation?” While tugging on Margot’s hand, Ophelia replied obediently.
The straightforward Max took a look at Ophelia’s clothes and pursed his lips. “When do people ever wear such a long dress for
hiking? How do you expect to hike up the hill in this getup?”
Elspeth, on the other hand, grinned slightly. Max, you’re starting to be interesting.
Ophelia turned pale as she bit her lower lip. “I’m sorry. I don’t hike that often, so I didn’t know...”
Sensing her incoming crocodile tears, Elspeth felt a headache arriving. This woman might be up to something. I wouldn’t have
come if I had known she was coming.
“That’s enough. Why do you care about what she wears?” Margot rolled her eyes and tugged on Ophelia’s hand. “Ophelia, let’s
go. We’ll take the lead.”
She smiled through her tears. “Sure.”
Later, the two walked in front while Elspeth and the five trailed behind them, leaving Theodore at the back of the line.
Along the way, Callum stayed silent, which prompted Elspeth to joke with a raised eyebrow. “Callum, you’re as quiet as a mouse,
which is exactly what your name means, peace.”
He looked at the scenery in the distance and ignored her taunts. Not paying attention to her track, she accidentally stepped and
slipped on a rock, which then sprained her ankle.
“Ouch!” She clutched her ankle with her brows furrowed.
Callum noticed her situation and looked down at her with inquiry. “What happened?”
“I sprained my ankle.”
“Can you still walk?”

Seeing that Elspeth was breaking out in cold sweat, Callum decided to carry her into his arms when he saw her pained state.
Last time, she was half-conscious when she was in his embrace due to her menstrual cramp. This time, she was fully awake, so
she could feel his strong heartbeat and smell the fragrance of fresh mint wafting from him. “Set me down. I can walk on my own.”
“Your ankle is so swollen, yet you’re still so stubborn.” With a cold expression on his face, he disregarded her resistance and
continued walking. “There’s a hospital at the peak. I’ll let Arthur help you with the swelling when we get there.”
Hearing that, Elspeth obediently stayed in his arms.
Edmund, who was standing nearby, noticed what had happened and smiled wickedly. “Oh, Callum. I didn’t expect you to have a
soft side. Has your cold heart finally been thawed?”
So, a woman whom Callum cares about actually exists!
“Stop the nonsense,” Callum reprimanded him sharply.
Max rolled his eyes. “Phoney.”
In the meantime, Arthur was busy dealing with hospital matters while Blake was talking to his manager on the phone, so both of
them did not have the time to care about what was happening there.
Yet, that was not the case for Ophelia as she had to witness the love of her life carrying Elspeth in his arms. Elspeth, you b*tch!
As she thought of that, her mood significantly fell, which alerted Margot. Seeing that Ophelia was upset, Margot asked, “What’s
the matter, Ophelia? You don’t seem happy.”
“Callum... Does he like Elspeth?”
Margot turned her head sharply and saw Elspeth being carried in Callum’s arms, which made her frown as well. “Don’t worry,
Ophelia. I’ll give you an explanation.”
Once they arrived at the peak, Elspeth was sent to the hospital to receive treatment. Then, Margot took advantage of the group’s
absence and entered the ward.
“Elspeth, I have something to say to you.”
Ever since they made amends last time, Elspeth almost never talked to Margot. Therefore, when she saw Margot entering the
room, she began to wonder whether an issue had grown between them again. Smiling, she replied, “Sure.”
“You and Callum seem to be quite close recently.” Margot tried to make it as subtle as she could, but Elspeth caught on
immediately. “No, we’re not. Callum and I barely talked to each other.”
With a straight face, Margot warned, “I’ve told you before that he belongs to Ophelia. I don’t care what thoughts you have about
him, nor do I care about your relationship with him, but let me make it clear that I will never agree to the idea of you being with
Callum. You can stop with the daydream.”
It turns out she came here with a warning. Casually smiling, Elspeth promised her. “Mrs. Winthrop, you can rest assured that I
have no feelings about Callum.”
“That would be the best.” Now that Margot had spoken her mind and gotten Elspeth’s promise, she felt assured and revealed a

satisfied smile. “To tell you the truth, my other four sons are equally excellent, so you can choose any of them. Elspeth, you’re a
smart child. You know what to do, right?”
However, this incident did not affect Elspeth’s mood as she sat on her bed and began messaging Harper on her laptop.
‘You there?’
‘What’s the matter, Elspeth?’
‘Send me a few of those great medicinal liquor. They’re in the warehouse’s bottom drawer.”
‘Have you hurt yourself again? Elspeth, your luck sucks.”
She was at a loss for words. Thanks for making me feel better, dude.
Just as she finished chatting with him, Edmund came in. “Miss Lynwood, are you feeling better?”
He casually sat down beside the bed as if they were very close friends. However, Elspeth was unfazed, “Mr. Edmund, may I ask
why you’re here?”
“I’m here out of concern for you, Elspeth.” While saying that, he wore an indecipherable smile.
She was clear that both of them had not gone past the acquaintance stage, so he must have conjured up a plan by coming here.
“Just spill. I’m not interested in playing charades with you.”
Hooking his lips, Edmund replied, “Then, what if I say that I’m interested in you?”
When Elspeth heard that, her lips twitched uncontrollably. “And you think I’d just innocently believe that?”
He then leaned toward her while the smile on his face became wider. “Why don’t you believe me? It makes me sad.”
Feeling grossed out by his approach, she backed away to avoid any physical contact with him. “Please behave yourself.”
Not minding her words, he asked, “What are you afraid of?”
At that moment, Callum came in through the door and saw the two in an intimate position. His eyes darkened a little. “Am I
disturbing your moment?”
The scene before him was quite an eyesore for him, but Edmund was overjoyed when he noticed the slight changes on Callum’s
countenance. “Nope. Just like you, I came here to visit Elsie.”
Edmund deliberately used a nickname to imply that they had a close relationship. He even spoke the word ‘Elsie’ in such an
ambiguous, playful way.