KTS 23

Winston stared silently at his mother’s face. Meeting her son’s direct gaze, her anger dulled for a moment, replaced by embarrassment.

“…Am I not the lady of the house until you get married? I should know everything that happens in this house.”

Mrs. Campbell muttered, avoiding his gaze, as if making an excuse. Winston twisted his lips and sneered.

“Of course, you would.”

Her words weren’t wrong. The problem was that she paid too much attention to every trivial matter for that reason, and most of that attention was focused on Winston.

Seeing her son spreading butter evenly on his bread again, Mrs. Campbell cleared her throat and hurriedly spoke.

“Answer the question I asked first, isn’t it? Kane must be mistaken, of course.”

She asked with certainty. Every nerve in her body was on edge, waiting to hear Winston say it was absolutely not true. Mrs. Campbell was fully prepared. Prepared to hear her son deny it with a serious face, and then to smile pleasantly, saying she knew it all along.

But unfortunately, her expectations were shattered in vain.

“It’s true.”

“What?”

Mrs. Campbell’s voice rose. Winston put down the bread and butter knife and stared straight at her.

“What Kane told you is true. I’m going to marry Yu-jin.”

The expression completely disappeared from Mrs. Campbell’s face. Winston showed no particular reaction even as he watched his mother’s face turn coldly rigid in an instant.

“Say that again, what did you just say?”

It was a cold voice, devoid of the usual affection she always felt when dealing with her special youngest son. Hearing the murderous tone, he answered calmly.

“You heard me clearly. I said I’m going to marry Yu-jin.”

“What the hell are you talking about!”

Mrs. Campbell was seized by a greater rage than when she had cursed her husband on the day his will was revealed. It was only natural. How could her beloved son betray her like this?

Winston watched his mother, her neck veins bulging as she roared loud enough to shake the breakfast room, with a blank face. As if he had already expected this reaction. His cold attitude made it even harder for Mrs. Campbell to maintain her composure.

She continued to shout with fierce intensity.

“Are you crazy, marrying that thing? Have you gone mad because of pheromones like your father? How could you even think of such a thing, daring to bring that thing into the Campbell family! How could you do such a thing!”

“I’m perfectly normal, Mother.”

Winston was utterly fed up with people bringing up pheromones whenever they had trouble understanding him. And also with having to prove that he wasn’t crazy every time with similar words.

“Father wasn’t crazy either. Though it may be hard for you to accept.”

Mrs. Campbell was momentarily dumbfounded and stared blankly at her son. Her expression unusually revealed her thoughts.

How dare you take Harold’s side in front of me.

In fact, strictly speaking, Winston wasn’t on either side. He acknowledged that his mother had suffered her whole life because of his father, but she should have been prepared for that when she, a beta, married an extreme alpha in the first place. In reality, a beta alone couldn’t handle the constitution that required pheromones to be released periodically, and even if his mother considered Winston’s thoughts callous and cold, the situation wouldn’t change. Only Winston, who had the same traits, could understand his father.

Of course, Winston’s choice in the same situation was completely different from his father’s.

Instead, his father tried to grant her most of what she wanted. Considering the arranged marriage that was their beginning, it could be said to have been a fairly decent contractual relationship. However, his mother’s thoughts were completely different.

It must have been hard to bear because of her pride.

If Harold had simply had affairs with other extreme alphas for the sole purpose of releasing pheromones without a specific partner, his mother might have lightly overlooked it. The problem was that his father brought the affair partner into the house. That was a fact that was hard to endure for any reason, let alone just because the partner was an extreme alpha. It wasn’t incomprehensible that she had hated Harold her entire life.

But now, her most beloved son was saying that he would marry and have a child with that Harold’s lover. It was only natural that she was on the verge of madness. Winston fully understood his mother’s reaction, but that didn’t mean he was the type to silently accept her shouting and pouring out her anger at him.

“Calm down, Mother.”

“Calm down? Are you telling me to calm down? You’re telling me?”

“Yes.”

Winston still coldly cut her off.

“Realistically, there’s no other way. You know the contents of the will. You don’t want to become a beggar and end up on the streets, do you?”

Mrs. Campbell momentarily paused at her son’s point. Of course, she knew it well. She knew it so well that she was even more resentful that she had to follow Harold’s wishes without being able to do anything. Seeing her, Winston continued.

“If you think about it, it’s not that difficult of a condition. All we have to do is get married and have a child within a year, right? If we meet the conditions, everyone will get what they want in a year.”

There were no loopholes in his words. Rationally, it was a very easy and wise choice, but emotionally, it was difficult to accept.

“But Winston, does that mean you’re going to sleep with that thing? With that filthy thing?”

Winston narrowed his eyes and asked back at his mother, who was shuddering.

“What’s the difference between sleeping with a whore at a pheromone party?”

It was the same thing he had said to Yu-jin. Hearing those words, his mother’s momentum was also broken, just like Yu-jin. Of course, her face didn’t harden with humiliation like Yu-jin’s.

“That’s true, but.”

Seeing his mother take a step back with a reluctant expression, Winston opened his mouth in a slow tone.

“I’ve already looked into the will in many ways. This is the only way. Don’t worry, everything will be over if you just bear with it for a year.”

Mrs. Campbell looked at her son with a doubtful expression and spoke with difficulty.

“Really? Can you promise?”

“Of course.”

Winston, who readily answered, twisted his lips.

“Surely, Mother, you don’t think I’m making this decision because I sincerely want to marry Yu-jin, do you?”

“No, of course not, but.”

Mrs. Campbell calmed down and pondered. It wasn’t the result she wanted, but it was also true that it was an unavoidable choice. Nevertheless, she still had lingering feelings.

“Evelyn… then what about Evelyn?”

Winston only reacted indifferently to her anxious question.

“Evelyn and I are nothing. It’s not like the contents of the will will change if I marry her.”

Her last words embarrassed Mrs. Campbell. Winston had already made his decision. There was no way to reverse it at all.

“…I’ll have to cancel the party.”

Mrs. Campbell muttered in a dispirited voice. Her intention was to create an opportunity to restart the relationship between Winston and Evelyn, but it was a meaningless act now. She had no choice but to change her mind.

One year.

When she thought about it, it was an incredibly short time. Surely nothing would happen in that time.

“That child was your father’s lover.”

As if not wanting to leave any room for possibility, Mrs. Campbell sternly warned. Winston only stared at her with a blank face.

“Do you think I would forget that?”

Winston’s voice was the same as usual, but his face was full of cynicism. Perhaps it was self-deprecation about this situation. Nevertheless, Mrs. Campbell continued with a reluctant face.

“If you really think that’s the only way, then I can’t help it, but…”

“Then let’s stop talking about it. It seems like you understand too, Mother.”