By Zephyria Fuck, fuck, fuck!
Sitting alone in his room, Andrew was pale and distraught, tearing at his hair. He could barely comprehend what he had done. What if that bastard told Winston? The damn male prostitute. Tricking and mocking me…
“Andrew.”
“Hiiiik!”
Andrew screamed and jumped up at the sudden female voice. Lady Catherine, who had opened the door and entered, stared at him with wide, surprised eyes. For a moment, they simply looked at each other in silence. Lady Catherine sighed first, breaking the silence.
“What on earth are you doing? You didn’t even hear me knock. Are you doing drugs again?”
Andrew, who had been blankly blinking, finally snapped back with anger at his sister’s question, which was mixed with contempt and worry.
“Don’t say stupid things when you don’t know anything!”
“How could you say that, Andrew.”
Lady Catherine’s eyes widened in shock, and she covered her mouth with her hand. Remembering how his sister often fainted, Andrew gritted his teeth.
“I don’t care if you faint or not, just get out, leave me alone!”
“Andrew.”
Lady Catherine didn’t feel any affection for her younger brother, who was no better than a thug, but she did feel a sense of pity out of familial affection. Despite being infuriated by his rude and vulgar tone, she spoke with patience.
“What’s wrong? Cain said you suddenly ran in and started shouting, looking completely panicked? Did something worrying happen?”
“Just leave me alone, I’m done for! It’s all over…!”
Andrew finally collapsed onto the couch and burst into tears. Unable to bear seeing her brother like this, Lady Catherine quickly approached him, patted his back, and continued in a worried tone.
“Andrew, tell me what’s wrong. Maybe I can help you, okay?”
If he had done something that could harm the Campbell family, she needed to know even more. Stopping a scandal as quickly as possible was her immediate task.
As she tried to soothe Andrew with a sense of duty, Andrew, who had been sobbing without answering, finally spoke after a long time.
“Mother won’t forgive me…”
“I’ll talk to Mother for you, Andrew.”
Lady Catherine said quickly.
“Trust me, I’m the eldest daughter of this family, after all. Mother is strict, but she still loves us, doesn’t she? If I talk to her, she won’t be too angry.”
It was a tactic that wouldn’t work even on a teenager, but it worked on Andrew, who was exhausted and terrified by an unknown anxiety and fear. Andrew, who seemed to be contemplating with his mouth tightly shut for a while, finally opened his mouth.
“Actually…”
* * *
That crazy bastard, that insane drug addict, that moron with nothing but air in his head.
Lady Catherine cursed her brother with every curse and insult she could think of as she hurried down the hallway. She couldn’t stand the frustration.
She felt even more angry because she could only repeat the unspeakable words in her mind. But she couldn’t calm her anger because she was so disgusted and pathetic that her brother was so stupid.
How could he touch that boy? What’s wrong with him?
The family atmosphere was already tense enough because Winston had taken his father’s mistress, so how could he do something so foolish as to try to sleep with that mistress?
If Mrs. Campbell found out about this, she would be furious. She might even go to Yu-jin and shoot him.
Even though she could clearly foresee what would happen, Lady Catherine had no choice but to go to Mrs. Campbell. She would find out sooner or later anyway. There was nothing that happened within the Campbell family that she didn’t know. If Mrs. Campbell was going to hear about it sooner or later, it was better to confess quickly. From her experience since she was very young, she believed that her judgment was accurate. So, Lady Catherine rushed to her mother’s room and knocked on the door.
“Mother, Mother! It’s Catherine, I have something urgent to tell you!”
Her voice naturally rose with anxiety. After a pause, a cold voice came from the other side.
“Come in.”
Although she had been granted permission, Lady Catherine couldn’t open the door right away and took two deep breaths. She raised and lowered her shoulders greatly, and finally made up her mind and opened the door to face Mrs. Campbell.
“I’m sorry for the sudden intrusion, Mother.”
Mrs. Campbell, who had been sitting on the sofa reading a book, placed the book she was reading on her lap and stared intently at her daughter’s face. Lady Catherine, who had apologized first, waited anxiously, and Mrs. Campbell, who had been silent until then, finally opened her mouth.
“What on earth is going on that you’re making such a racket?””I’m sorry, but it’s urgent.”
Lady Catherine took another breath and then dropped a bombshell.
“Andrew tried to assault him, but he failed. If Winston finds out, he might try to kill Andrew.”
Mrs. Campbell’s eyebrows twitched briefly. It was only that, but Lady Catherine could clearly see how greatly her emotions were fluctuating. Having experienced a chill down her spine, Mrs. Campbell slowly opened her mouth.
“Explain yourself so I can understand what you’re talking about.”
Her voice wasn’t much different from usual, but the speed was noticeably slower. Lady Catherine thought she was suppressing herself as much as possible to control her emotions.
“It seems Andrew went to see him and drugged him a few times…”
While she rattled off what she had heard from her brother, Mrs. Campbell said nothing. She just listened, sitting perfectly still with her back straight. Lady Catherine was inwardly anxious about her reaction, but she had no choice but to continue speaking.
“…So now Andrew is very worried.”
When she finally finished speaking and closed her mouth, silence immediately followed. Mrs. Campbell just sat there with a blank face. Lady Catherine couldn’t even guess what her mother was thinking. She was just watching her, holding her breath in the suffocating silence, when suddenly Mrs. Campbell slightly shrugged her shoulders. Just as she seemed to let out a short sigh, she suddenly threw the book that was on her lap.
“Eek!”
Thud, the book hit the wall with a dull sound and fell to the floor. Startled, Lady Catherine screamed and cowered. She cautiously opened her eyes, which she had reflexively closed, and as she looked around, Mrs. Campbell stared blankly at the wall and opened her mouth.
“Men, why are they so simple and vulgar?”
The words she muttered as if to herself were a mixture of pity, hatred, and resignation towards her son. Including her husband, who had treated her like nothing more than a shell her entire life. Hesitantly, Lady Catherine, who was only watching her mother’s expression, carefully asked.
“Um, Mother… what are you going to do now…?”
Mrs. Campbell, still staring at the wall, replied.
“What am I going to do? If several people stumble over a weed that’s grown wrong, then I have to pull that weed out.”
So, what are you going to do?
As Lady Catherine waited for her mother’s next words, holding back her curiosity, Mrs. Campbell ordered.
“Bring Andrew to me, tell him I have something to say.”
* * *
“Pardon?”
Andrew was momentarily flustered and asked again. For a moment, he suspected he had misheard something. Could his mother really say such a thing to him? How? Why?
Mrs. Campbell repeated what she had just said to her son, who was staring at her with a bewildered expression.
“To rape him. Don’t you have plenty of friends you could use for that purpose?”
Mother, I just do drugs, I’m not a criminal.
Andrew was momentarily wronged, but he couldn’t bring himself to argue with his mother. Instead, he asked a different question.
“Why, why? Doing that will only earn Winston’s hatred…”
Suddenly, Yu-jin’s words came to mind. Immediately, the wound in his heart ached, and his face contorted.
“If you’re thinking of lying to break them up, it won’t work. No matter what, Winston will believe Yu-jin, because he loves him.”
Andrew said it even though he knew it would upset his mother. As expected, Mrs. Campbell glared at her son with a cold gaze. Andrew flinched and cowered.
“Andrew.”
Mrs. Campbell slowly opened her mouth. As Andrew looked at her nervously, Mrs. Campbell continued.
“If you believe because you love, what happens to love when that belief is broken?”
“…Huh?”
Andrew just blinked, looking dazed.