“Whoo.”
Yujin exhaled audibly, then carefully placed the child on the bed. Still half-asleep, Angela mumbled toward him.
“Where are we, Daddy? Why did we come here?”
“Uh, well... sorry, we couldn’t stay at that house.”
“Uhh...?”
The child seemed puzzled but too sleepy to respond properly. Yujin kissed her forehead and whispered kindly.
“I’ll tell you tomorrow. Sleep more, Angie. It’s still a long way until morning.”
“Mmm...”
Angela murmured like in a sleep talk and fell back asleep. Seeing his daughter breathe peacefully without worry eased his anxious heart a little. He exhaled deeply but soon worry crept back.
Where should I go now?
He had only brought a small suitcase and had little money. He left behind the doll Angela treasured. How awkward would it be if Angela woke and asked for her doll?
His head ached; he sighed and closed his eyes. For now, he had to sleep. Sudden fatigue overwhelmed him, and he simply escaped reality. Though it seemed impossible to fall asleep, unexpectedly, Yujin quickly slipped into a near-unconscious sleep.
Grant felt like he was going crazy from sleepiness but couldn’t rest peacefully. It was because of the man with purple eyes sitting across the sofa.
After a wild ruckus, he barely returned home, took a worried shower, and prepared for bed. Just as he lay down and closed his eyes, the loud ringing of the doorbell and knocking sounded.
He tried ignoring it and going back to sleep, but it was impossible. The doorbell echoed loudly through the house, and though he covered his face with a pillow trying to ignore it, he gave up and headed to the door.
“Who the hell is it—oh, ugh.”
Grant shouted as he flung open the door but froze, eyes wide in shock at the huge man standing before him. Before he could say anything, the man grabbed his neck, and Grant struggled, pushed back by the force. The man entered the house calmly, still holding his neck, looked around briefly, then headed straight to the living room.
“Ugh!”
Thrown onto the sofa abruptly, Grant screamed. Struggling to compose his crumpled body, the man looked down and spoke.
“Where is he?”
The low voice immediately woke him. Swallowing dryly, Grant looked up. Winston Campbell stood tall, bathed in moonlight streaming through the window. A chill ran down his spine, but no words came to mind. Swallowing again and moving his lips, Grant finally spoke with difficulty.
“Wh-what? Why?”
“Hah.”
Winston exhaled in disbelief at the incoherent words. Seeing him turn around, Grant briefly hoped, but it was a false hope. When Winston sat down across from him, a sigh escaped him. An ominous premonition followed—that man wouldn’t leave until he got what he wanted. And it became reality.
“Tell me where Yujin is.”
Winston growled in a low voice. Feeling goosebumps on his hand, Grant hastily rubbed his palm on his thigh.
“I-I don’t know.”
Fortunately, Yujin had apparently escaped well. But he did not expect Winston to come back for him. Or was he just too naive? Grant grimly thought. He should have ❖ Nоvеl𝚒ght ❖ (Exclusive on Nоvеl𝚒ght) expected that if Winston failed to find Yujin, he’d interrogate Grant again. Of course, even if he’d known earlier, Grant would have called Yujin to warn him.
He never dreamed it would become such a terrifying situation.
Like a mouse shrinking before a cat, Grant shrank and tried to read the mood, but Winston simply waited silently. As time passed, the tension gradually eased, and drowsiness crept in. Suddenly, Grant’s head jerked back, and he gasped, hurriedly wiping his mouth. Winston chuckled softly at his startled reaction and slowly spoke.
“You told Yujin, didn’t you?”
He was already certain; denial was just a waste of time. It was true.
“I-I'm sorry.”
“For what?”
Surprised by the sudden apology, Winston sneered.
“You slept with my partner?”
“Huh?”
Startled, Grant jumped up as if bounced from the sofa.
“Wh-what are you saying? I have an ex-wife!”
“You’re divorced.”
Winston twisted his mouth and said slowly.
“It’s fine. Yujin probably seduced you anyway. I know you’re just a victim.”
What kind of nonsense was this man talking?
Grant just opened his mouth then sank back into the sofa, rubbing his face hard.
“No, I really don’t know what you’re talking about. Yujin said we slept together? Did he say that?”
“Break up with that trash and come to me.”
Hearing his own words thrown back in the dark, Grant swallowed hard. The shameful past made his limbs cringe and his hair stand on end. Winston calmly continued.
“Yujin must have told you awful stories about me. How abused and miserable he was. Did he cry? It’s okay, he did the same to me. That’s just his method. No need to be ashamed.”
At such unimaginable accusations, Grant gasped again.
“No, that’s not it, it’s not like that.”
“Not like that?”
Frowning, Winston chuckled.
“So you seriously love Yujin?”
“No, no! That’s not it! I do like Yujin, but not in that way...”
“You weren’t hiding him at the villa to enjoy secret meetings? Even stole him right in front of me?”
Winston kept asking, as if no more decisive evidence existed. Grasping his head, Grant finally tore at his hair.
“Wait a moment.”
He immediately got up and headed to his study with a bodyguard following. Being under close watch in his own house was absurd. Holding back curses, Grant picked a book from the shelf and went outside.
“Here, look.”
Placing the book on the table with a thud, Grant looked Winston straight in the eye.
“I did this for Yujin’s convenience.”
Winston frowned and looked down. Following the book’s title with his gaze, Grant continued.
“This is a book Yujin wrote.”
For a moment, Winston hesitated. Seeing his broad shoulders twitch, Grant felt satisfied for the first time and crossed his arms confidently.
“Yujin is a writer at our publishing company. We’ve already contracted his next book. So I provided him an environment to write as part of managing our authors.”
Winston said nothing. He only stared intently at the book on the table. Now, what will you say? Imagining his apology for his rudeness and baseless suspicions made Grant smile. Waiting with a pleased face, Winston slowly spoke.
“I heard you left the family to start a publishing company.”
His slow tone drew Grant’s attention as he leaned back leisurely on the sofa, fixing his gaze on Grant.
“Publishing nothing but your lover’s shabby writing to create an alibi—have you thought how pathetic your father would feel if he knew?”
“What did you say?”
Grant’s face flushed red with anger. What kind of man was this? For the first time, he felt he understood why Yujin ran away from this man.
“I don’t want to talk to you anymore.”
Grinding his teeth, Grant declared.
“You don’t know what your partner does and don’t want to know. People like you are a waste of Yujin. Even if you knew where he is, you wouldn’t tell him. If possible, I’d rather hide him more tightly on my side!”
The more he spoke, the angrier he got, raising his voice. After his last declaration came heavy breaths. Winston only looked at him with narrowed eyes.
