By Zephyria “Then good night, Georgina. See you in the morning.”
Georgina smiled brightly at the child lying in bed and said, “Okay.” Winston kissed the child on the forehead, confirmed that Angela was hugging her doll tightly and closing her eyes, and then turned off the bedside lamp. Even after getting up, he needed a little more time before he could finally turn away, as if he couldn’t bear to leave. Georgina watched every moment of it, then followed Winston out of Angela’s room. Winston held the doorknob and waited, then closed the door himself after Georgina came out. As if to make sure Georgina was out of the room.
He’s acting like I’m going to hurt Angie.
Georgina was upset, but she didn’t have the courage to complain.
“Well, then, I’m going to go to bed…”
“Wait.”
As she was about to say a quick greeting and go to her room, Winston called her. Georgina, who had turned halfway around at the low voice, flinched and stopped. When she glanced back, Winston was staring at her with a cold expression, the gentle face he had shown to Angela nowhere to be seen.
“I have something to talk about, so come with me.”
Without any of the usual formalities, like asking if it was too late or if she could spare a moment, he commanded. Georgina stared at him in disbelief, but Winston didn’t care at all and strode past Georgina. A rebellious feeling rose up for a moment, but the result was obvious. Georgina followed Winston with a contorted face.
The regular footsteps echoing through the quiet mansion were eerie. Georgina felt that the mansion was particularly large. Should I just say I’m tired and go to sleep? She had a sudden impulse, but soon gave up. He wasn’t someone who would listen anyway. It was better to just ask him to get to the point quickly. Without even checking to see if Georgina was following, Winston walked without hesitation. He walked down the long, wide hallway to the lower floor, and only after walking for a while longer did he finally stop in front of a door. It was the study.
He opened the door himself, and only then did he look at Georgina for the first time. As if telling her to follow him in, Georgina unconsciously swallowed hard and followed Winston, who had entered first. The smell of paper from the stacks of books was faintly noticeable. But that was only for a moment. Soon, a familiar sweet scent mixed in.
Huh.
Georgina tilted her head. Now that she thought about it, it was strange. From the moment she greeted him at the entrance when he returned home until just now, she hadn’t felt the subtle pheromone scent that Winston always had. This was the first time he had released his pheromones. As if it was okay to release pheromones now. Maybe it was just her imagination, but Winston seemed somehow relaxed. If he had been consciously suppressing his pheromones until now, it made sense.
He was deliberately suppressing his pheromones? Why?
“Georgina.”
She could only blink in the face of the incomprehensible situation, but Winston opened his mouth. Startled, she fixed her gaze on him, and Winston slowly continued.
“Thank you for playing with my daughter. Angie seems to like you a lot.”
“Oh, well… I just like Angie, so I’m just playing with her.”Heh heh, Georgina gave an awkward laugh, but Winston didn’t laugh. Still with a blank face, he stared at her, and Georgina, embarrassed by his indifferent reaction, cleared her throat. Soon, an uncomfortable silence fell. Her eyes wandered around, and she mustered up the courage to speak.
“So, what did you want to talk about?”
Is he going to talk about Angela?
She made a guess, but she was completely wrong. Winston, who had been quietly looking at Georgina, slowly opened his mouth.
“Catherine was worried that your grades weren’t good on the last exam.”
“Huh?”
Georgina made a dumb sound at the unexpected words. Watching his niece’s face contorted in a bizarre way, Winston continued slowly.
“She said you seem to be distracted by something else, and she’s worried you might be making bad friends.”
“You called me here to talk about that?”
Suddenly, she felt drained. She had been imagining all sorts of ominous things and was nervous, but he had called her here just to give her a lecture like an old fogey. Even as he saw Georgina’s disgusted reaction, Winston still answered indifferently.
“It could happen. It doesn’t matter how old you are, you can still fall into bad ways by making the wrong friends.”
“Don’t worry, that’s not going to happen.”
Why do adults always blame their children’s friends when something happens to their children? Their own children could be leading their friends down the wrong path.
As she was thinking with a rebellious attitude, Winston suddenly twisted the corner of his mouth and smiled. Georgina, who reflexively felt goosebumps run down her spine and hunched her shoulders, watched him slowly move his lips.
“Buying drugs is bad enough.”
“Cough.”
Surprised, she coughed reflexively. Georgina heaved her shoulders and coughed a couple more times before finally catching her breath. Winston narrowed his eyes as he spoke to his niece, who was staring at him with wide, surprised eyes.
“Of course, Catherine doesn’t know yet. But depending on the situation, she might find out.”
“H-How… how did you find out?”
She stammered in embarrassment. Winston just looked at his niece with a look of disdain.
“That’s not important, Georgina. What you need to worry about now is how to quietly bury this fact and get into college without any problems.”
He was right. If this got out, the school would definitely make an issue of it, and even the Campbell family would be sanctioned. Even if it was a minor disciplinary action, it was impossible not to be afraid from the perspective of someone preparing for college. Georgina groaned and reluctantly answered.
“Okay, what do you want? If it’s money, wait until I’m twenty, until I can receive my trust.”
At those words, Winston let out a short laugh. Of course, it was by no means a pleasant laugh.
“Georgina, you’re the first person who’s ever tried to bribe me with money.”
Of course, she knew she had said something stupid. But she couldn’t think of anything else to offer. Georgina, her face red with shame, snapped.
“Then what do you want from me? You’re not going to blackmail me for nothing. I’m sorry, but there’s not much I can do, I’m just a high school student.”
“You can, you’re a smart girl.”
Georgina snapped back quickly, but Winston still calmly denied her words. What is he trying to say? Georgina stared at Winston with a nervous look. In the fearful gaze, Winston opened his mouth.
“You’ve heard that Andrew is locked up in a psychiatric ward, right?”
Coincidentally, Georgina reacted immediately. Realizing that she had missed her chance to deny it, she answered listlessly.
“I know. He got locked up for doing drugs again…”
As soon as she answered, she realized it. Almost at the same time, Winston raised the corner of his mouth.
“So it was you.”
The voice asking with certainty was trembling slightly. But her guess was completely off.
“I knew it was you.”
At the low voice, Georgina realized that she had done something stupid again. Overwhelmed by the pressure, she fell into the trap without realizing it was a leading question. Winston said, looking at Georgina, who was stunned.
“It’s not that difficult to guess. After hearing the report that Andrew was locked up in a psychiatric ward for doing drugs, I guessed who had given him the drugs. Among the people Andrew met around that time, you were the least likely person.”
“But how did you know it was me?”
Georgina asked, feeling wronged, and Winston answered nonchalantly.
“It’s nothing. I just investigated everyone who visited around that time.”
And he deliberately paused and added.
“Without exception.”
Georgina felt resentful, but she was more afraid. She couldn’t figure out what that man wanted from her that he was blackmailing her.
“So what do you want from me? If you need drugs, you can find a drug dealer! I only bought them once!”
Georgina shouted urgently, as if asking him to believe in her innocence even now. Winston opened his mouth, watching his niece, who was breathing heavily with tension.
“Information.”
“What?”
Winston continued slowly to Georgina, who paused for a moment.
“The psychiatric ward where Andrew is locked up. Find out where it is.”