Winston silently stared at his mother’s face. When their eyes met, her anger dulled for a brief moment, replaced by an awkward sense of discomfort.
“…Until you get married, am I not still the mistress of this household? I have the right to know everything that happens in this family.”
Madam Campbell averted her gaze as she spoke, almost as if making an excuse. Winston twisted his lips into a sneer.
“Of course, Mother.”
She wasn’t wrong. The problem wasn’t that she was using her position as an excuse to involve herself in every trivial matter—it was that most of her excessive interest was always focused on him.
As she watched her son evenly spread butter over his bread once again, Madam Campbell cleared her throat and hurriedly spoke.
“Now, answer me properly. Kane must have misunderstood, isn’t that right? Of course he did.”
Her voice brimmed with certainty. She was waiting, straining her ears, ready to hear Winston refute the claim outright. She had already prepared herself for the moment—ready to smile in satisfaction when her son denied everything with a serious expression.
But unfortunately, her expectations crumbled into nothing.
“It’s true.”
“What did you just say?”
Madam Campbell’s voice rose sharply. Winston placed the bread and butter knife down, then met her gaze directly.
“What Kane told you is true. I’m getting married—to Yu-jin.”
All expressions drained from Madam Campbell’s face. It froze over in an instant, turning deathly cold, yet Winston showed no reaction.
“Say that again. What did you just say?”
There was none of the usual warmth that she reserved for her beloved youngest son. Her voice was frigid, laced with a chilling intensity that bordered on murderous. But Winston remained unshaken as he responded.
“You heard me perfectly well. I said I’m going to marry Yu-jin.”
“What kind of insane nonsense is this?!”
Madam Campbell’s fury burned even hotter than the day her late husband’s will was revealed and she had cursed his very name. And of course, it was only natural. How could her most cherished son betray her like this?
Her voice thundered through the breakfast room, sharp and enraged, as veins bulged in her neck. But Winston simply observed her impassively, as if he had anticipated this reaction all along. His indifference only pushed her further over the edge. She kept screaming, her rage growing ever more uncontrollable.
“You’re going to marry that thing? Have you lost your mind?! Are you out of your wits because of pheromones, just like your father? How could you even think of such a thing? How dare you try to bring that into the Campbell family?! How could you do this?!”
“I am perfectly sane, Mother.”
Winston was utterly sick of people using pheromones as an excuse whenever they failed to understand him. And he was even more exhausted by the need to constantly prove, again and again, that he was not out of his mind.
“Father wasn’t insane either. I know it’s difficult for you to accept, but that’s the truth.”
Madam Campbell stared at her son in stunned disbelief. For once, her expression betrayed her exact thoughts.
How dare you stand before me and take Harold’s side.
Strictly speaking, however, Winston wasn’t taking anyone’s side. He fully acknowledged that his mother had suffered all her life because of his father. But from the very beginning, she should have known what she was getting into when she, a Beta, chose to marry an Extreme Alpha. A Beta alone could never have been enough for someone who needed regular pheromone release. Even if his mother found Winston’s view heartless and cold, it wouldn’t change the reality of the situation. Only Winston, who shared the same genetic trait, could truly understand his father.
Of course, when Winston had faced the same circumstances, his decision had been entirely different from Harold’s.
Even so, his father had at least tried to give her everything else she wanted. Given that their marriage had started as a political arrangement, it could have been considered a relatively decent contract. But Madam Campbell had never seen it that way.
Her pride must have made it unbearable.
If Harold had been like other Extreme Alphas and sought out partners solely for the purpose of pheromone release, she might have been able to turn a blind eye. But the problem was that he had brought his lover into their home. And that was something she could never tolerate—not just because the other person was an Extreme Alpha, but because of what it represented. It wasn’t hard to understand why she had come to despise Harold with every fiber of her being.
And now, the son she loved most was telling her he was going to marry that very same lover and have a child with him. It was no wonder she was on the verge of losing her mind. Winston fully understood why his mother was reacting this way, but that didn’t mean he was the type to quietly endure being screamed at.
“Calm down, Mother.”
“Calm down? Did you just tell me to calm down? You?”
“Yes.”
Winston’s cold voice cut through her outrage without hesitation.
“Think realistically—there’s no other option. You know what the will says. You don’t want to be thrown out onto the streets, do you?”
Madam Campbell stiffened for a moment at his pointed remark. Of course, she knew. She knew too well, and that was exactly why she was so furious—because she had no choice but to follow Harold’s will, no matter how much she loathed it. Winston, seeing her reaction, continued speaking.
“When you think about it, it’s not even that difficult of a condition. All I have to do is get married and have a child within a year. Once that’s done, everyone gets what they want.”
There was no flaw in his logic. Rationally, it was the simplest and smartest choice. But emotionally, it was impossible to accept.
“But Winston… does that mean you’re going to sleep with that thing? That filthy creature?”
His mother shuddered in disgust, but Winston merely narrowed his eyes and asked,
“How is it any different from bedding a whore at a pheromone party?”
It was the same response he had given to Yu-jin. And just like Yu-jin, his mother momentarily faltered at his words. Of course, unlike Yu-jin, her expression wasn’t frozen in humiliation.
“Well, I suppose… but…”
As she hesitated, her face twisted with reluctance. Winston took his time, drawing out his next words in a slow, deliberate tone.
“I’ve already looked into every possible option regarding the will. This is the only way. Don’t worry—just endure for a year, and it will all be over.”
Madam Campbell studied her son with a skeptical expression before reluctantly speaking.
“Are you certain? Can you promise me that?”
“Of course.”
Winston answered without hesitation, a smirk tugging at the corner of his lips.
“Surely, Mother, you don’t actually believe I want to marry Yu-jin, do you?”
“No, of course not.”
Madam Campbell let out a slow breath, forcing herself to calm down and think. This wasn’t the outcome she had wanted, but she had to admit there was no other choice. Even so, she still had lingering regrets.
“…Evelyn. Then what about Evelyn?”
Her voice wavered with anxious hope, but Winston’s reaction was indifferent at best.
“There’s nothing between Evelyn and me. Marrying her wouldn’t change the will.”
The finality in his tone left Madam Campbell speechless. It was clear that Winston had already made up his mind, and there was no way to reverse his decision.
“…I suppose I’ll have to cancel the party.”
Her voice lacked its usual strength. She had intended to use the event as an opportunity to push Winston and Evelyn closer together, but there was no point anymore. Left with no other options, she forced herself to shift her perspective.
One year.
In the grand scheme of things, it was an incredibly short amount of time. Surely, nothing irreversible would happen in that period.
“That boy was your father’s concubine.”
Madam Campbell’s voice hardened with warning, leaving no room for ambiguity. But Winston only met her gaze with a blank expression.
“Do you really think I could ever forget that?”
His tone was as calm as ever, but his face twisted with unmistakable cynicism—perhaps even self-mockery. Even so, Madam Campbell remained visibly dissatisfied as she continued.
“If you insist that this is the only way, then I suppose I have no choice…”
“Then let’s end this conversation here. It seems you understand now, Mother.”
