By Zephyria 
“Thank you, Grayson. You made it very well.”
Koi was about to move on after the compliment, but suddenly Grayson held out a fork.
“You have to eat it now, Daddy.”
He was momentarily flustered but soon understood. The boy had worked hard to make it, so he probably wanted to hear his thoughts.
“Alright, I’ll eat it.”
With a smile, Koi took a piece of the cake and put it in his mouth. Grayson stared intently at him as he slowly chewed the piece.
“How does it taste?”
Sensing that the boy was expecting something, Koi nodded and answered.
“Hmm… it’s delicious.”
In truth, he could barely taste anything. Perhaps Grayson didn’t believe that? Then again, it would be hard for children to understand. Just as he was trying to rationalize it, Grayson asked again.
“Does it smell okay?”
“Uh… yes…”
The strange thing was the texture. He tilted his head as he felt small, gritty particles in his mouth, as if he were chewing sand.
What is this…?
The moment he tried to drink some water, his throat became searingly hot, as if it were burning. Along with that, the powder that had been bubbling in his mouth flowed down the corners of his lips as white foam.
“Gra-Grayson.”
Koi coughed and called out his son’s name.
“What did you… put in the cake…?”
He looked at the boy, his face turning pale, but Grayson was interested in something entirely different.
“It’s true. Daddy can’t smell anything and can’t taste anything. How fascinating.”
“Cough, cough!”
Koi’s coughing grew more violent. A burning pain stimulated his esophagus along with agonizing retching. Grayson and Stacey watched this scene with curiosity. With an excited expression, Grayson asked the suffering Koi:
“Daddy, can you eat rotten things too?”
The child’s eyes were sparkling with curiosity. The moment the image of the child smiling with the corners of his mouth curled up sent a shiver of mortal terror down his spine—
Suddenly, someone violently struck Grayson. Koi’s eyes widened in surprise as he saw the small body roll across the floor, but he didn’t have the luxury to approach the child.
“Koi, Koi! Damn it, you little bastard!”
Bright red rage flared up to the top of Ashley’s head. Shouting harsh curses at the child, he slapped Grayson’s cheek again. The small cheek swelled and turned red, but Ashley did not stop. Finally, he grabbed the boy’s neck, about to choke the life out of him.
“Kh, ghk, ack…!”
As Grayson struggled, letting out stifled breaths, his ears twitched violently. The moment Ashley saw this, he froze. Perhaps sensing his father’s hesitation, the child’s ears flickered back and forth again. This time more clearly, as if letting out a desperate cry.
“Haa…”
The strength left his hands, and a stunned sigh escaped him. After simply watching Grayson gasp for air while coughing, he belatedly remembered Koi and hurriedly turned around.
“Koi!”
Koi already looked as if he had half-lost consciousness. Seeing him shudder intermittently and gasp for breath, Ashley screamed, his face turning white.
“Koi, wake up! Open your eyes, Koi!”
There was no time to waste. Ashley urgently scooped Koi up in his arms and ran with all his might. He could see nothing before him. His mind was filled only with Koi, so he just ran blindly.
The sounds of the father, who had vanished in an instant across the hallway, shouting for the servants followed. Listening to the sound of a helicopter hastily taking off toward the hospital, Grayson sat there, rubbing his burning cheek.
After the sound of the helicopter propellers completely vanished, Grayson suddenly turned his head. At the end of his gaze, while still heaving with ragged breaths, was a presence he had forgotten. It was Nathaniel. From the moment he first came here with Koi until now, he hadn’t said a single word. He had simply watched his siblings’ actions. He had remained motionless, leaning his back against the panel the entire time. Only when their eyes met did he finally speak with his usual cold face.
“How stupid. You should have only thought about doing that.”
Speaking as if he were pathetic, Nathaniel looked at his younger brother, who was still sitting on the floor, with eyes full of contempt, and then turned and walked away.
“Fortunately, there are no major problems. If he gets some rest and eats soft foods like soup for a while to soothe his stomach, he will recover soon.”
At the doctor’s words, Ashley finally released the tension in his shoulders, but his complexion did not return to normal. Still pale, he looked down at Koi and asked.
“Will he be in pain when he wakes up? He seemed to be suffering a lot earlier.”
“It likely won’t be pleasant. Still, he’ll feel better after a deep sleep. I’ve administered a sedative, so don’t worry. It could be more painful if he’s awake…”
After the medical staff left and he was alone with Koi, Ashley let out a deep sigh and sank into a side chair.
Just thinking about it made his heart ache with fear. He had simply come home from work as usual, but how shocked he had been by the scene unfolding before him. Even though there were three children there, no one had tried to help the suffering Koi. Looking back, Grayson, who caused the accident, was the worst, but Nathaniel, who just stood there watching, was no different. Perhaps he had already anticipated what would happen.
Because I’m the only one who treasures Koi like my own life.
At this point, he had a thought that wasn’t very pleasant. Ashley was equally indifferent toward the children. Only Koi cherished both Ashley and the children dearly.
I have to make a decision.
He had played along and remained vague until now for the sake of Koi’s feelings, but he couldn’t do that anymore. If he didn’t take action now, he didn’t know what would happen next. That said, he didn’t intend to throw the children away entirely. After all, Ashley also bore responsibility for fathering them, and he didn’t want to treat his children the way his own father had. Therefore, he was prepared to do his best in his own way, even if it differed from Koi’s.
If so, there was only one way. Ashley hardened his heart and waited for Koi to wake up. He stayed in that spot, motionless, throughout the night.
Having fallen into a peaceful sleep thanks to the injection, Koi opened his eyes late the next morning. Staring blankly at the man who entered his blurred vision, he slowly smiled and called his name.
“Ash.”
“…Koi.”
Ashley called him back with difficulty, as if exhaling a stifled breath, and then covered his face with both hands.
“Thank god, you opened your eyes. Thank god…”
“Ash.”
Feeling guilty at his trembling voice, Koi raised his hand.
“I’m sorry, Ash. For making you worry.”
“Why are you apologizing? You did nothing wrong.”
When the sharp voice returned, Koi flinched and withdrew his hand. Grabbing Koi’s hand before it could pull away and bringing it to his cheek, Ashley let out another deep, deep sigh and muttered.
“My god, I thought something had happened to you…”
“I’m okay, Ash. It’s nothing.”
Barely swallowing the words “I’m sorry” that he had instinctively tried to say, Koi changed his expression to “I’m okay.”
“It was a relief that this happened around the time you were getting off work. The kids are still young, so they don’t really know better…”
“They don’t know? Those damn brats? Koi, are you serious?”
Koi, who had tried to brush it off as if it were no big deal, shrank his shoulders again at Ashley’s immediate and harsh interrogation.
“No, it was just an accident…”
“Conor Niles.”
Suddenly, Ashley called him by his full name. To Koi, who widened his eyes in surprise, he spat out through gritted teeth:
“Don’t think about hiding it and tell me honestly. From beginning to end, every single detail without leaving anything out. If you don’t tell me exactly what happened, I’ll handle this my own way. Do you understand?”
For once, Koi felt fear from Ashley. It was rare for him to be this angry with Koi. No, it was probably the first time. Facing an Ashley who was this enraged, Koi instinctively became terrified. If he could have smelled, he might have burst into tears from fear. The room was heavily saturated with Ashley’s anger-filled Pheromone scent, and even Koi, who couldn’t smell, felt the hairs on his body stand up instinctively.