Winston looked down at her coldly and stretched out his hand.
“Give it to me, Mother.”
His tone was slow, but that only made Mrs. Campbell feel more threatened. Seeing the fine hairs on the back of his hand stand up, she was dumbfounded and let out a hollow laugh. But soon she regained her usual composure. In fact, she grew angry at herself for losing her nerve even for a moment and felt a bitter sense of indignation. How dare he show me such an attitude? Mrs. Campbell lifted her chin and glared at her son.
“Go to the bathroom right now and take a cold shower. I won’t stand to see you like this anymore.”
She urged him to hurry, but Winston didn’t budge.
“I said, give it to me.”
Even though he spoke firmly as usual, it had no effect on his mother. On the contrary, seeing him grit his teeth and growl as he repeated the same words made Mrs. Campbell even more incredulous.
“What on earth is your reason for this?”
Finally, she snapped in a sharp voice.
“Is this the time to just sit around like this? If that lowlife is gone and you can’t receive the inheritance, then find another way. What good does drinking do when you look this pathetic! Are you giving up on yourself? Pull yourself together—you need to be more rational now than ever!”
At his mother’s icy rebuke, Winston frowned.
“Inheritance?”
Looking away with disbelief, Winston gave a short sigh and twisted his mouth into a crooked smile before turning his gaze back to his mother.
“I don’t care about that. Just give me the drink already.”
“What did you say?”
Mrs. Campbell moved her lips a few times, then narrowed her eyes fiercely and growled.
“It’s not because of the inheritance? Then what is this state of yours? You’re not seriously saying it’s because of that lowlife, are you?”
The last words were clearly laced with mockery. Even she found it absurd enough to laugh at. But seeing Winston’s expressionless reaction, her laughter quickly faded and her face hardened.
“No way... it can’t be. No, that’s....”
Mrs. Campbell wanted to deny reality, but the face of her son before her made it impossible.
“Winston, tell me it’s not true.”
Her voice trembled faintly with rage. This was unthinkable, impossible. My son, my perfect child, fallen to that scumbag.
How dare you betray me again.
Her breath grew harsh with anger. Her shoulders trembled faintly as she bit her lip. An uncontrollable fury boiled inside her.
Because of that lowlife scumbag.
“Winston!”
Unable to contain her wrath, she shouted. Not stopping there, Mrs. Campbell kept yelling at her son.
“Get a grip, Winston Campbell! Are you planning to disappoint me again? Have you forgotten what you went through because of him? Are you going to ruin your life all over again because of that scumbag? How, how can you do this to me!”
Her anger was unbearable. Eventually, she uttered words she shouldn’t have.
“He must have left you for another man. Holding onto him like this is foolish. You can’t have that scumbag, and you must never have him! Absolutely not!”
For a moment, Winston’s eyes flashed gold. The pheromone scent that had been faintly mingled with the smell of alcohol suddenly intensified, enveloping the room. Startled, Mrs. Campbell shrank her shoulders. She had completely forgotten that she was angry.
“Why?”
Winston finally spoke. His voice was low and deep in contrast to Mrs. Campbell’s, but his bloodshot eyes glared at her with extreme fury. For Mrs. Campbell, the shock was enormous. Frozen in place, Winston continued.
“Why not? Why can’t I have Yujin?”
For a moment, Mrs. Campbell was left speechless. It was more like her mind went completely blank. Seeing her like that, Winston did not give up but pressed her rapidly.
“Tell me, Mother. I have everything in the world. So why can’t I have Yujin? Why?”
Blinking at her silently standing mother, Winston sneered and asked.
“Father is dead now, too.”
At those words, the last bit of Mrs. Campbell’s reason vanished. A sharp slap echoed through the room. Her pale, discolored skin gradually reddened. For the first time, she struck her son hard across the cheek. Her palm stung, but her anger was far from over. As she raised her other hand to strike the opposite cheek, Winston stretched out his hand.
“...Hik!”
The moment the large palm appeared in her sight, Mrs. Campbell flinched in terror. Thinking she was about to be hit, her mind froze in instinctive fear and she tightly shut her eyes. Expecting sparks to fly before her eyes, she was terrified—but unexpectedly, the room remained silent. Hesitating, she opened her eyes and found Winston looking down at her. The scornful look in his eyes shocked Mrs. Campbell again.
Frozen in place, Winston reached out his hand again. {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} Ignoring her startled reaction once more, he boldly grabbed the bottle of liquor. Mrs. Campbell could do nothing but watch helplessly as her son slumped onto the sofa and poured himself another glass.
“...Hah.”
As reason slowly returned, humiliation swept over her. She exhaled a choked breath and turned her back without waiting any longer. She stormed out of the room as if running, but Winston did not call her back. That made her feel even more shameful.
How dare you, how dare you, how could you.
Mrs. Campbell’s face burned red with rage as she quickly walked down the hallway like a warning alarm. How could she resolve this anger? There was only one answer. The reason her precious son disobeyed her and insulted her like this was all because of Yujin.
She should have killed him then.
She repeated that regret once again. If she had killed him then, Harold would never have left such a will, and Winston would never have betrayed her again now. It was all because of that lowlife scumbag.
I have to find him.
She already knew how desperately Winston was searching for Yujin. But no matter where he hid, Winston could not find a trace.
He must be somewhere in this country.
Now the inheritance was a secondary matter. What mattered most to her was her wounded pride.
That idiot, such a failure.
Thinking of Charlotte, her anger rose once more. There had been many chances to eliminate Yujin, but he always somehow survived. What a lucky bastard.
But it won’t happen anymore.
Mrs. Campbell stood in front of the elevator and took a deep breath. After all, Yujin was gone now. If he disappeared from Winston’s life forever, that would be fine. And if Winston found him again or Yujin came out on his own—then.
Just then, the elevator doors opened. She stepped in with a cold expression, vowing.
This time, I will kill him for sure.
The face visible beyond the closing doors was filled with murderous intent. Like a wounded snake.
“Thank you for coming, Mr. Grant.”
Yujin welcomed him warmly inside and brought tea. Grant was not alone. He had come with his daughter and smiled gently as he spoke.
“Sorry for dropping by without notice. I called but you didn’t answer.”
“Oh, I must have missed it.”
Feeling embarrassed, Yujin apologized, and Grant smiled kindly.
“I was just passing nearby and thought I’d check on the manuscript’s progress, see if anything was lacking. I hope I’m not disturbing your writing.”
“No, not at all.”
Yujin quickly shook his head. While the adults talked, children of similar age began playing together, sitting across from each other in a corner of the living room.
“This is Princess Diane’s castle. A dragon is guarding the castle.”
Angela showed off the toy castle Yujin had bought and explained eagerly.
