Ashley asked Dane in a cold tone, as if she was still interrogating him.
“Anyway, it was your choice to date Grayson, right? It wasn’t because he forced you or because there was an unpleasant incident.”
“......It was my choice.”
In any case, it was true that it was your own choice. When Dane admitted with a trembling face, Ashley continued.
“He was so confident that you taught him emotions. Do you agree?”
“What?”
Ashley narrowed her eyes at Dane’s frowning question.
“Do you really think Grayson feels emotions?”
The man’s voice was filled with distrust. As if he was certain that such a thing could never happen to his son. Seeing that reaction, a rebellious spirit rose inside Dane.
“Of course. I don’t know why you think not. After all, they say that parents know their children the least.”
The backbiting was clearly sarcastic. Ashley’s brow furrowed. It was obvious that he was not happy, but of course Dane didn’t care at all. All his life, he had lived without caring whether others liked him or not. He had bought snacks or made cooing sounds to animals to try to win their favor, but that was out of the question for people.
Ashley slowly opened her mouth, looking down at the omega with blue eyes that were staring straight at her.
“Really? You seem to be proud of knowing a lot about my son.”
“I don’t know as much as you, but I think I know things you don’t.”
Ashley Miller narrowed her eyes. You could clearly see that he was displeased, but surprisingly, the pheromones floating around him were stable. Dane was inwardly surprised that he wasn’t angry at all. He had thought that he would naturally be angry if he met someone who dared to contradict him like this.
Was this man unexpectedly cold, or was this just not worth getting angry about?
“Is that all you have to say?”
Suddenly hearing Ashley’s voice, Dane came back to reality. He took the case out of his suit jacket pocket and picked out a cigar.
“I’m glad someone who knows my son that well is by my side. I don’t ★ 𝐍𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 ★ know how long he’ll last.”
Dane watched him silently as he cut the end of his cigar and lit it while talking.
“Well, it’s good to have hope.”
Contrary to his words, he twisted his mouth into a cynical smile. Dane frowned at the face that seemed to be mocking him. It seemed as if he had suddenly heard Ashley’s hidden feelings that she hadn’t expressed.
It probably didn’t mean much, though.
“I have a question.”
The words came out before he thought. Still facing Ashley’s cold gaze, Dane opened his mouth.
“Have you ever abused Grayson?”
Ashley, who had taken the cigar out of her mouth, stopped moving. Instead of being embarrassed or apologetic, Dane furrowed his brows and waited for his reaction. As if telling him to say something if he had something to say.
Ashley slowly lowered her hand, keeping the cool tension between them. He stared at Dane with an emotionless gaze and remained silent for a moment before slowly moving his lips.
“Did Grayson say that? That I abused him?”
The low voice sank even deeper. It was almost creepy, but Dane answered without caring.
“No, he didn’t even know he was abused.”
“But?”
Ashley asked, putting the cigar back in her mouth.
“Why do you think I abused him?”
“I saw it and heard it myself.”
Dane answered without hesitation.
“Grayson said he was locked in the basement. But he didn’t know if it was abuse.”
Ashley finally understood the situation and let out a short laugh. As if it was ridiculous.
“Do you trust him?”
“Tell me yourself, did that really happen?”
Dane asked persistently. He had to resolve this question. He waited for Ashley’s answer, feeling a strange sense of pressure. But instead, he frowned and asked back, as if he was annoyed.
“Do you suspect me of hitting him?”
“Including that.”
“......Ha.”
Ashley let out a breathless exclamation. For the first time, his cold expression wavered. He had stared off into the distance with his mouth wide open as if he was truly astonished, but when he turned his gaze back to Dane, his face was filled with an emotion close to contempt.
“If I hit the kids, I would have divorced them. Do you think I would have done something that would make Koi hate me?”
“You mean I didn’t hit them?”
“Of course I hit them, I didn’t abuse them!”
His voice finally rose. Ashley took a deep breath as if she was really frustrated, and inhaled the smoke from her cigar repeatedly. After a while, he seemed to have calmed down and added, glaring at Dane with a frown.
“I just taught them how to protect themselves. Yes, it may have been too much. But what else can I do? Even if you speak kindly and teach them nicely, they won’t understand! Grayson was a ticking time bomb from the day he was born, because of his damned traits!”
Ashley, who seemed to be speaking increasingly passionately, suddenly stopped talking. Suddenly, there was silence. In the silence, Ashley spoke in a broken voice.
“Striker, we live in gratitude that he doesn’t cause irreparable harm to others.”
He took another sip of his cigar smoke and asked.
“In that basement, what did he do? Did he do something ridiculous to help someone?”
Dane couldn’t answer right away. Ashley snickered at his first hesitation. It was as if she had expected his reaction.
“I guess so.”
In a cynical voice, Dane had no choice but to briefly explain what had happened.
“There was a child trapped in the basement, and Grayson chose to be locked in the basement with him, saying he would help the child. He said it was better to have someone with him than to be left alone in the dark. He said he was just trying to help the child.”
Ashley inhaled the cigar smoke without saying a word. Dane immediately noticed his indifferent reaction.
“You’re not surprised.”
Ashley let out a short laugh. Of course, he didn’t look happy at all.
“Do you think I’ve experienced that kind of thing before?”
He reacted nervously and just smoked his cigar for a while. After some time, Ashley spoke.
“You asked me if I abused Grayson? Yes, I was strict with discipline. Do you know why?”
Ashley didn’t wait for him to answer.
“He almost killed someone before he was ten, twice. The first time, he did it himself.”
Dane froze at the unexpected words. Ashley looked at him and said.
“Who do you think it was? It was Koi. He tried to kill his family.”
Ashley continued.
“Koi can’t smell. He can’t taste much. Grayson wondered if that was true. So you know what he did? He made a cake and put detergent in it. He almost died after eating it.”
His voice, which had sounded extremely businesslike, gradually wavered. Then Ashley spat out harshly.
“If I had arrived a little later, I would have found Koi’s body.”
Ashley’s hand holding the cigar was trembling slightly. As Dane watched, Ashley continued.
“There were three of my children there, and no one called an ambulance. They just watched in wonder as Koi died.”
He was silent for a moment, as if trying to calm his emotions. He simply inhaled the smoke from the cigar deep into his lungs. After some time had passed, he recalled the memory in a low voice as before.
“Grayson was punished severely, of course. So what do you think the kid did when he realized he shouldn’t kill people?”
Of course, Dane couldn’t guess. Ashley sneered at him, who remained silent.
“He tried to have someone else kill him.”
Dane’s blue eyes swung wildly.
