... ... Huh?
A faintly spicy smell. Then he remembered that the familiar scent was the smell of the cigarettes he usually smoked. As he slowly lifted his eyelids in his hazy consciousness, he saw a man sitting right next to him.
Dane... ... ?
Grayson blinked his half-open eyes a couple of times. Is this a dream? ... ... Is it reality?
He had to come to his senses and check, but he couldn’t wake up. He was half-asleep, his eyes just blinking, but Dane noticed his presence and turned his head. Soon their eyes met, and he smiled faintly at Grayson’s blank face still half asleep.
“Did you sleep well, pretty?”
It was a dream.
Grayson was sure of it the moment he heard his voice. There was no way Dane would smile at him and speak to him in such an affectionate voice.
It was a happy dream... ... .
Grayson soon closed his eyes. He didn’t want to wake up from the dream. Consciousness faded away again, and the hand that had been hanging down felt around the mattress as if it had free will and climbed up Dane's body. The purpose was obvious. He laughed bashfully as he grabbed the chest that had been holding onto him throughout the rut.
Dane let out a breathless sigh as he felt the hand caressing his chest even as he fell asleep. He stopped his hand in midair as he was about to knock on Grayson's head with his fingers curled, and looked down at Grayson. Just then, his ear moved back and forth briefly. Dane stopped his hand for a while and eventually lowered it. And Grayson fell into a deep sleep as if he had fainted again.
“Yes? Is that true?”
Koi raised her voice in surprise at the unexpected report. A familiar voice continued to flow out from the other end of the phone. Koi held her breath and listened to her words, occasionally repeating answers like ❖ Nоvеl𝚒ght ❖ (Exclusive on Nоvеl𝚒ght) “Yes.”, “I see.......” When the story was over, Koi let out a short sigh and nodded.
“Yes, I understand. Thank you for telling me, yes.......”
After exchanging a few standard greetings, he ended the call. Suddenly, silence came. Koi paced around the living room with a serious expression. The Eiffel Tower was visible outside the window. He had come here with Ashley, who had come to France on official business. Koi’s mind became complicated after hearing about what had happened while he was away in the United States.
He slowly walked from one end of the living room to the other with a worried face, when he suddenly heard the sound of the door lock being unlocked. He stopped walking and turned his head, and soon the door opened and Ashley came in.
“Ash.”
Koi approached him with a bright smile as if he had been waiting for him. Naturally, they hugged each other tightly and kissed, and Ashley took a deep breath. She was smelling Koi’s pheromone scent. Koi stood there for a moment, waiting for a series of moments to pass, and then opened his mouth.
“Did you finish your work well?”
“Just roughly.”
Ashley answered dryly, burying her nose in Koi’s neck. Koi lightly scolded him with a bitter smile.
“What if you just do it roughly?”
“You’re just talking nonsense, so that’s okay.”
Ashley still spoke with an uninterested tone. In the end, Koi had no choice but to laugh and shake her head. Then, when Ashley rubbed her neck with her nose, he shrugged his shoulders and burst into laughter.
“It tickles, stop.”
Koi grabbed Ashley’s face with a smile still on his face and kissed her lips. Ashley also laughed and lightly bit his nose. Since he showed no sign of letting go, Koi carefully brought up the matter.
“Hey, I have something to tell you.”
“Tell me.”
Usually, unpleasant news comes out at times like this. Ashley waited for Koi to speak without revealing her feelings. He hesitated for a moment, then made up his mind and opened his mouth.
“I got a call from Bernice.”
“Bernice.”
“Yes.”
Koi nodded as if confirming Ashley’s words as she repeated the name Koi had just heard.
Bernice was the secretary of Ashley’s father, Dominic Miller. She had been in charge of reporting Ashley’s condition and handling related matters under his orders, and after Dominic’s death, she had been working as Ashley’s personal secretary. She was currently in charge of the overall management of the children, so the fact that she had contacted her meant that something was wrong with the children.
Koi continued to speak to Ashley, who was silently waiting for her next words.
“It was about Grayson.......”
Ashley didn’t press him as he hesitated. Despite the numerous ominous thoughts already running through his head. Waiting patiently, Koi finally made up his mind and confessed.
“Grayson went to the party.”
Ashley frowned for the first time. What was the problem? Isn’t it too late? When did you tell him to remove the pheromones? As if he noticed Ashley’s doubts, Koi continued.
“I removed the pheromones with an injection.”
Koi felt the arm that had been holding Koi until then flinch. Koi continued with a worried expression.
“Ms. Bernice said that Grayson went to the party, but he only removed the pheromones with an injection and went back. I followed him and confirmed that he went home safely, but she said that he must have had a rut. He didn’t come out of the house for three days after that....... Oh, Bernice contacted the fire department. She said that he had to rest for a few days because of the aftereffects of the rut.”
Ashley didn’t respond until Koi finished explaining. She just stared at Koi. Without even blinking.
“......Why?”
After a long time, he moved his lips. Ashley continued with a frown as if she didn’t understand at all.
“Why would you do something like that?”
Koi took a deep breath before answering. Then he brought up the conclusion he had shared with Bernice.
“Because I really like someone.”
Ashley didn’t respond right away. For a while, he just stared at Koi without moving, and then he let out a short breath.
“When Chase refuses like that, the guy who tried to bond with a dog does that?”
Koi hurriedly explained the reason in response to the sarcastic words that came back without fail.
“Now Grayson knows what it means to like someone.”
Ashley’s face was filled with disbelief. Koi continued to desperately try to convince him.
“You know, Ash. Grayson’s emotional organs are broken. But we don’t know if he can’t feel them, or if he can feel them but can’t realize them. If Grayson just can’t realize them...then this time, he’s really going to be different.”
“Make sense.”
“Ash, please listen to me.”
Koi grabbed Ashley’s arm and pleaded.
“She’s doing exactly what you did when you were little. Don’t you remember? When you took the shot to remove your pheromones after we broke up?”
Ashley fell silent. Koi continued, enthusiastically, supported by his silence.
“We never told her about it, and she’s doing it on her own, on her own. Isn’t that amazing? What do you think that means?”
He couldn’t hide his joy, and raised his voice.
“Grayson has feelings for Dane!”
“Koi, calm down.”
Ashley stopped him in a cold voice.
“I know Grayson better. I’ve been to every hospital and doctor he’s met with. Grayson has no feelings, he doesn’t have any!”
“We could be wrong!”
Ashley’s eyes widened in surprise at Koi’s shout. Koi contradicted her. Looking at his shocked and dazed face, Koi desperately repeated her words.
“Please, Ash. Think again. I know you did your best. But maybe we were trying in the wrong direction.”
His eyes immediately became moist. Koi asked with tears in his eyes.
“It’s a thousand times better if we admit our mistakes than if we conclude that our child was wrong.”
Ashley was silent for a moment. He just stared at Koi's distorted face, holding back tears.
"...ha."
After a long time, he let out a sigh. Ashley, who had suddenly held Koi in her arms, who was expecting an answer, whispered in a low voice.
"I can't lose you."
