By Zephyria As expected, Winston was standing outside the door. Yu-jin’s face paled as soon as he saw him, but Winston opened his mouth indifferently.
“Need anything else?”
There was no point in saying more. Yu-jin finally drooped his shoulders and mumbled, “No,” softly. As soon as the word left his lips, Winston picked Yu-jin up and returned to the bed. This time, he laid Yu-jin down on the inside, taking the side closest to the door for himself.
“Go to sleep.”
With those words, he wrapped his arms around Yu-jin’s waist. This time, he even intertwined their legs, leaving no room for escape. Yu-jin’s heart pounded with anxiety.
Did he notice that I was trying to run away?
No way, there’s no way he could have. Yu-jin immediately denied it. This man is just doing this because he doubts my fidelity. He had no choice but to marry me because of the inheritance, but his reputation would be tarnished if rumors of a promiscuous partner spread.
Of course, it was just a grand delusion, but the problem was that there was no opening with this going on. What should I do? Yu-jin couldn’t sleep because of his worries.
By the time morning dawned, he was already exhausted. But he had to keep his promise to his daughter. He tried to lift his heavy body, but Winston grabbed him from behind without fail.
“I told you that you couldn’t leave.”
“It’s morning now.”
Yu-jin said in a tired voice.
“No matter how many men want to sleep with me, they still have to work to make a living.”
It was a way of saying to stop now that it was daylight, but of course, it didn’t work. Just how much of a femme fatale does this man think I am? Yu-jin wondered suddenly.
To think that everyone in the world wants to sleep with me, it’s ridiculous.
An irritated sneer rose up, but he didn’t even have the energy to laugh. Yu-jin honestly confessed to Winston, who continued to try to keep him from leaving.
“I promised Angela that we’d have breakfast in her room. She’ll worry if I don’t go.”
Winston’s reaction changed slightly at those words. Yu-jin spoke in a weary voice, under the intense gaze that was fixed on him.
“I don’t lie using my child. If you really don’t trust me, why don’t you check with Cain? I asked him yesterday to prepare breakfast in her room.”
Winston, who had been staring at Yu-jin’s face until then, got up. Yu-jin watched him pick up the phone on the side table and confirm with Cain, his face completely drained.
“May I wash up now, Your Majesty?”
Yu-jin asked Winston sarcastically after he hung up the phone. Of course, Winston’s only reaction was to slightly furrow his brow. Taking that as an answer, Yu-jin hurriedly jumped out of bed and dashed towards the bathroom. Just as he was about to open the door, he turned around and sneered.
“If you’re going to wake up the moment I do anything all night, wouldn’t it be better to sleep separately?”
Winston’s face was just as marked with fatigue as Yu-jin’s. But he got out of bed and replied in an indifferent voice.
“It doesn’t matter, I hardly sleep anyway.”
No way.
Yu-jin thought he was lying. extreme alpha pheromones are said to make them physically superior to ordinary people, but that doesn’t mean they don’t need to sleep.
Yu-jin entered the bathroom, his last sight of him was pouring himself another drink from the bottle on the tea table. Thinking that it was none of his business.
No wonder he looked so pale.
Yu-jin ran a hand over his face and recalled it ruefully. If every night was like that, his body would give out first. He couldn’t figure out what Winston was up to at all. Why was he so stubbornly continuing to do something that was also painful for himself?
“…Haa.”
He was startled by the sigh that came out without him realizing it when he looked at Angela. The child’s attention shifted elsewhere at the sudden knock. He inwardly breathed a sigh of relief, but the moment he saw who came in, Yu-jin was flustered and quickly checked Angela’s face. Seeing the child frozen in place, staring at the door, he quickly said.
“Angie, come here.”
As he whispered, reaching out his hand, his daughter hurriedly got off the chair and burrowed into Yu-jin’s arms. Winston, who had taken a few steps inside, stopped in his tracks at the sight of the gaze that was full of fear as she looked at the uninvited guest. An uncomfortable silence descended.
21
For a while, they stared at each other without saying a word. Winston, dressed in a neat suit as usual, was, in a word, perfect. He had spent the night up just like Yu-jin, but there was no trace of fatigue to be seen. Yu-jin inwardly admired that this was the difference in the traits that they praised so much.
“Daddy.”
Angela called him in a small voice from his arms. Yu-jin belatedly came to his senses and spoke first.
“What’s wrong? Do you have something to say to me?”
He couldn’t help but speak in a sharp tone. At Yu-jin’s question, Winston glanced at the tea table without a word, then fixed his eyes back on them. In that instant, Angela, who was being held in his arms, flinched and soon her eyes began to fill with tears.
“Angie, it’s okay. Calm down.”
Yu-jin hurriedly tried to soothe his daughter, but that only served as a trigger, and the child burst into tears. At Angela’s reaction, who was wailing loudly and burying her face in his arms, Yu-jin quickly hugged her tightly and spat out sharply.
“If you have nothing to say, get out, you’re making her cry! It’s because of you!”
“What?”
Winston looked at him as if he was dumbfounded. In fact, all he had done was come into the room and look at them. But for the child, that alone was enough to be terrified. Yu-jin continued to try to soothe Angela, but his daughter didn’t stop crying easily.
“I don’t like it, that smell, I don’t like it! Scary… Waaah!”
At the sound of the child’s voice, who was crying as if she was about to faint, Winston finally turned around and left. Yu-jin was surprised to see him declare defeat for the first time, but soothing the child was his priority.
“It’s okay, Angie. He’s gone. Mr. Campbell is gone, so you can rest assured now. Let’s stop crying, okay?”
As he kissed her head and tried hard to soothe her, the child’s sobs gradually subsided. His daughter, who barely raised her eyes while sniffling, glanced around the room. Only after confirming that Winston was gone did Angela stop crying, but it turned into violent sobbing.
“Drink some water, Angie. Here.”
When he quickly brought the cup to her mouth, Angela obediently accepted it. She was still out of breath, but it was a relief that she wasn’t crying anymore.
“Is Mr. Campbell that scary?”
When Yu-jin asked after confirming that she had calmed down to some extent, Angela nodded briefly. It seemed that Winston’s pheromone scent had given Angela trauma. Yu-jin sighed and hugged the child tightly.
* * *
After causing a commotion, Yu-jin was completely exhausted by the afternoon. Angela, who was reading a fairy tale book, spoke to him as he sat in a chair, nodding off.
“Daddy, what’s wrong? Are you sleepy?”
Yu-jin opened his eyes at the child’s voice and answered with a sigh, “Yeah.”
“I’m sorry, Angie. I’m a little tired.”
“It’s okay, Daddy. Come on, hurry. I’ll lend you my bed.”
Angela bravely grabbed Yu-jin’s arm and pulled him. Yu-jin gave a wry smile and lay down on the bed as the child told him to. Angela climbed onto the bed, covered Yu-jin up to his neck with the blanket, and patted his chest on top of it.
“Lullaby, lullaby.”
“Thank you, Angie. Then Daddy will sleep for an hour and wake up.”
“Okay, go to sleep quickly. Close your eyes.”
The child lowered Yu-jin’s eyelids with her small hands. Yu-jin closed his eyes as he was told and soon fell into a deep sleep. Angela carefully got off the bed so that he wouldn’t wake up.
Daddy must be very tired.
Angela was lost in thought as she looked at his pale face. Was there anything she could do to cheer him up?
Hmm, the child, who had a serious expression on her face, thought of something and her eyes sparkled. Angela tiptoed out of the room so that Yu-jin wouldn’t wake up. As soon as she closed the door, she ran down the hallway at full speed.
“Angie, where are you going?”
Cain, who happened to be passing by, saw the child and asked. Angela hurriedly ran down the stairs and shouted.
“I’m going to get Daddy a present!”
“Angie!”
Cain shouted as he looked down at the child running across the wide hall.
“They said it’s going to rain in the afternoon, don’t go too far!”
“Yes!”
Angela opened the front door and went outside with her answer. An ominous sound echoed from the sky where black clouds were gathering, along with a clear light.