When Winston first stepped out of the car and realized he had arrived at Delights, he felt a quiet sense of relief.
Thank God… At least my family kept their promise to me.
If it was Delights, then it was safer than anywhere else. Even if Yu-jin hadn’t been treated well here, at the very least, he wouldn’t have been in danger. That was the only small comfort Winston could cling to.
I have to find Yu-jin. Now.
He must be so worried. He might even be crying right now. Winston needed to hurry and find him, hold him tight and tell him everything was okay. That he was safe now, that Yu-jin didn’t need to worry anymore—because he was here, and he would protect him.
He had to say those words.
But strangely, the house was silent. Not even the usual servants were in sight. Winston frowned, puzzled, but quickly pushed the thought aside. Finding Yu-jin came first.
…Huh?
It happened just as he looked up without thinking. Someone was walking up the stairs.
It was Yu-jin.
“Yu-jin…”
He tried to call out, but the breath caught in his throat and died there.
Panting, shoulders heaving, Winston raised his head again—but Yu-jin was already gone.
Without another thought, Winston made for the elevator.
Haa… Haa…
It seemed he’d blacked out for a moment. A short chime snapped him back to awareness, and the elevator doors opened.
And in that moment, he was hit by a thick wave of pheromones.
His father’s scent.
…What the hell is this?
He couldn’t think straight.
Stumbling on his crutches, Winston forced himself forward. He’d followed Yu-jin here—he was certain of that—but the scene unfolding before him was utterly beyond expectation.
Why did I get off here?
This was the floor where his father’s room was located.
A chill ran down his spine. A terrible premonition crept over him.
And that’s when it hit him—why the house was so quiet. Why there hadn’t been a single person in sight.
Harold was releasing pheromones.
To avoid the risk of mutation from an Extreme Alpha’s pheromones, the servants must have all cleared out. They were likely all holed up somewhere, waiting for his rut to end.
Which meant…
Winston felt cold sweat trickle down his back as he forced his body forward, step by step.
The person his father was going through rut with…
No.
A scream of denial echoed from deep inside him.
There’s no way the Omega with him… is Yu-jin. I must’ve been seeing things. I wanted to see him so badly that I hallucinated. There’s no way. Not my Yu-jin. No way…
No way something like that…
The door slowly creaked open.
Winston stepped inside as if under a spell.
The intensified scent of pheromones made his stomach churn. But it wasn’t just the scent of another Extreme Alpha—it was also thickly laced with the pheromones of an Omega.
And then Winston saw them.
Two naked bodies, entangled on the bed.
Winston stood frozen in place, eyes wide, unable even to blink.
In his paralyzed vision, he saw his father lift his head.
Those golden eyes—burning with pheromones and lust—locked onto Winston’s.
Then the man beneath him reached up and cupped Harold’s cheek.
Winston saw it clearly.
He saw Yu-jin pull Harold down into a kiss.
Saw those long, slender arms wrap around his father’s back.
The world spun around him.
How… how could this be happening?
It’s the pheromones, right?
Yes, that’s it. Yu-jin’s an Omega. He must’ve been overpowered by the pheromones. There’s no way this is real. It can’t be—
“WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU’RE DOING? GET OUT, NOW!”
His father’s furious roar cut through the haze.
And still, Winston couldn’t move.
He had to run to Yu-jin, had to drag him out of there—but the shock had rooted him to the spot.
He just stood there, utterly lost.
Then suddenly, Yu-jin turned his head.
Their eyes met.
Yu-jin looked at him.
“…Yu-jin.”
Winston barely managed to speak his name.
Now that he’d seen him, surely Yu-jin would snap out of it.
If he just reached out his hand, Yu-jin would take it.
Think, Yu-jin. You hated my father. You cried in my arms, saying how disgusted you were by his touch, how terrified you were when he came near…!
“Heheh.”
Yu-jin laughed.
That smiling face—the very one Winston had loved so deeply—was right there in front of him.
And yet Winston felt his blood run cold.
Yu-jin pulled Harold close, nuzzling into his shoulder.
Just like he always did with Winston.
That affectionate gesture… now shown to another man.
To his father.
Had he… done that with everyone?
Was it like that… for anyone?
At that moment, Winston clutched his head and let out a ragged, guttural scream.
***
“…Turn. Winston!”
A voice kept calling him back. Slowly, his consciousness returned.
As his blurred vision focused, familiar faces came into view.
His family.
“Winston, are you alright? This is why we tried to stop you…”
Lady Catherine’s voice trembled as she dabbed at her eyes with a handkerchief, softly sobbing.
Winston blinked blankly, lying there in a daze. He tried to sit up but immediately groaned and collapsed back down.
“Don’t push yourself. That kind of shock doesn’t just pass,” Gordon said, his voice unusually gentle.
“Now you see it, don’t you? That bastard was lying to you all along.”
But Winston’s eyes were still filled with torment.
Maybe it had all been a dream. Maybe he was still in the hospital…
Yet everything he saw told him otherwise.
The room around him was unmistakably his.
The familiar space he’d stayed in before leaving Delights.
He began to doubt again.
Is this the dream? Or did I fall into another dream while dreaming?
As Winston continued to deny the truth before him, Gordon spoke again.
“Can we finally tell you what happened to the ones who attacked you? They’ve all been caught. And they confessed—it was Yu-jin who lured them into the house.”
Winston’s brow furrowed deeply.
Still clearly in disbelief, he stared as Gordon continued speaking.
“It’s true. Even the security guard testified. Think about it—how could anyone break into a mansion with that level of security? Someone had to let them in. It was because Yu-jin invited them that the guard allowed them through.”
Gordon pulled a phone from his jacket pocket and tapped the screen before holding it out to Winston.
“Here. This is the proof.”
The screen was filled with an endless string of messages.
Winston stared at it, unblinking, as Gordon added,
“The phone belongs to one of the guys we caught. Look at the messages—it’s clearly Yu-jin who sent them, right?”
The messages were riddled with obscene conversations and photos, one after another, stretching on and on.
Winston turned his head away, unable to keep looking.
Gordon slipped the phone back into his pocket and went on.
“That bastard’s been playing you this whole time. A lot of stuff went missing from the house—you didn’t notice, did you? He was using those thugs to fence stolen goods. He acted all innocent, like he didn’t care about money, but come on.”
“…Why?”
Winston finally spoke.
“Why would Yu-jin lie to me? If he needed money, I would’ve given him as much as he wanted.”
“Because you liked that version of him, didn’t you?”
Gordon shrugged as he answered.
“Wasn’t it that sweet, innocent act that made you fall for him in the first place? He probably thought if you found out how greedy he was, you’d lose interest. It’s not hard to pull off, right? A used-up slut who’s slept with half the men in the world, putting on that clueless little lamb act just for you.”
Winston’s face twisted with confusion and pain.
He had seen it—heard it—himself.
And yet… he still couldn’t believe it.
Then, for the first time, Madam Campbell spoke.
“It’s enough that you know now. It was a steep price to pay, yes… but every lesson in life comes with a cost.”
“You never know what kind of story that bastard will try to spin next,” Gordon quickly added after his mother.
“He might even lie and say he’s pregnant. It’s a classic trick, really.”
“Even if it’s true, who’s to say it’s your child, Winston? Don’t be fooled. It’s probably a lie too.”
Catherine interjected softly, and then Madam Campbell cut in, her voice stern.
“Unless you intended to impregnate him, it’s not even possible. If that fool dares to pull a scam like that, it’ll only prove we were right all along.”
She had a point.
If Yu-jin were pregnant, it couldn’t be Winston’s child.
And maybe, just maybe… that would become the final test—for both Yu-jin and Winston.
As Winston sat in silence, unmoving, Madam Campbell’s voice softened.
“This time, you need to meet a woman who’s truly right for you. Start over.
Poor boy… bad memories must be washed away with better ones.”
It was what she had wished for all along.
Winston had always refused because of Yu-jin, but now… he couldn’t say a word.
His mind was consumed by just one thing— the image of his father and Yu-jin tangled together on that bed.
If he could, he would’ve ripped his brain out and crushed it to pieces.
When he eventually lost consciousness again and sank into a deep sleep,
he awoke to find that his heart—once warm—had turned to cold, lifeless stone.
Hmmmm. Something isn’t making sense.