KISS THE SCUMBAG Chapter 16

Winston gritted his teeth. It made no sense for Yujin to be the one rejecting him. It should have been Winston who rejected him, raining down contemptuous words, telling him he would never marry or have a child with a slut like him.

Yujin had done all of that instead. It was utterly absurd.

Because of this, Winston was forced to admit something to himself: that his father had been of sound mind. He had to admit it, if only to deny Yujin.

There’s still a way.

Winston relaxed his jaw and sank into thought. He had to resolve this situation rationally, no matter what. More than anything, he was confident.

“Don’t worry, I won’t just stand there and take it.”

Having said that in a low voice, Winston fell silent again. Sensing the heavy atmosphere, Gordon plucked up the courage to speak.

“Uh, then let’s call it a day for now. Winston needs time to think.”

“Indeed. It’s an abrupt situation, so we need to keep cool heads.”

As George agreed and stood up, Lady Catherine followed suit. One by one, they left the drawing room. Mrs. Campbell, who was the last to leave, stopped beside the sofa where Winston was sitting and spoke in a low voice.

“You aren’t swayed by that thing, are you?”

Winston furrowed his brow and glanced up at her diagonally. Mrs. Campbell continued, revealing the suspicion she had been harboring.

“Back in the study, your pheromone scent intensified. The others noticed it, not just me.”

“Mother, pheromones strengthen when I’m angry, too.”

Winston brushed it off expertly. Relieved by his usual composed demeanor, she said in a slightly relaxed tone:

“Of course, that must be it.”

She grabbed the shoulder of her beloved youngest son and kissed his cheek. As if to say, I believe in you.

Leaving more of the inheritance to that thing than to me.

As she left the drawing room, she gnashed her teeth again. She would never forgive them. Not Harold, and not his mistress.

Only after everyone had left and he was finally alone could Winston collect his thoughts more coolly. The contents of the will were clear: marry Yujin and have a child within a year. After that, divorce was possible, and he could keep the inheritance. At first glance, it seemed easy. But the conditions were the problem.

‘Yujin, I love you.’

Recalling Harold’s final words, he nearly let out a string of curses. Even at the end, Harold couldn’t let go of his feelings for his young mistress. He had been desperate enough to confess it in his will.

A father passing his mistress on to his son—what kind of deranged nonsense was this?

Was that why Harold had tried to make Winston marry Yujin? He couldn’t help but sneer—the cynicism came before any sense of being moved by a “thoughtful heart” concerned for the future of the mistress Harold cherished most. Where was the consideration for the rest of his family? And if he cherished him that much, why hadn’t he found him and kept him by his side sooner? Wasn’t Harold the one who played the biggest role in sending Yujin away in the first place?

If you hadn’t slept with Yujin, I wouldn’t have given up on him until the end.

He ground his teeth and forced his thoughts back. Now was not the time to be distracted. How would he overcome this pathetic situation? That was the only problem he needed to focus on. Not who the father of the child Yujin already had was, but the child they would have in the future.

That child is mine.

It was a conclusion that felt entirely natural. He could not permit such a cheap slut to raise his child. If he paid him enough, Yujin would give up both custody and parental rights.

Did he give birth to the child he’s raising now just hoping for child support?

His thoughts flowed back to Yujin. Without realizing it, he continued to ruminate.

Well, if he knew who the father was, he would have done that.

Thinking that far, doubts immediately surfaced. If that were the case, he was raising a child that was of no use to him—that part didn’t make sense.

There are many cases where people give birth because they find out too late to terminate the pregnancy.

Omegas often don’t show a belly even during pregnancy and sometimes don’t even know they are pregnant until just before birth. Winston surmised without difficulty that Yujin had likely lived a reckless life and then ended up giving birth one day.

Looking at Yujin’s current state, it was hard to believe he had any money. According to what he’d heard through the lawyer, the house he lived in had burned down and he was living in a church, so he was clearly pushed to the brink. The inheritance Harold left behind must be all the more desperate.

But why wouldn’t he abandon the child?

Winston ruled out the possibility that he knew the biological father. If he did, he would have naturally demanded money and wouldn’t be living in such poverty. It was common for affection for a child to sprout suddenly after birth. But that didn’t apply to Yujin.

It must be because the child has utility.

Perhaps it was a wild card to be used if the father ever appeared. That was likely it. Otherwise, there was no reason for Yujin to be raising the child.

When he reached that point, a chilling thought suddenly crossed his mind.

If so.

Could it be that he raised that child…

He didn’t want to admit it, but that was the only hypothesis that held any possibility. Winston accepted it with a displeased expression.

Because it’s my father’s child.

It was a perfectly clear reason. If that were true, it explained why he hadn’t been able to demand child support while knowing who the biological father was. Yujin was probably waiting for the right moment. The moment when the father’s anger had subsided enough to reveal the existence of the child and walk away with an enormous sum of money.

But Harold died, so that opportunity vanished.

If that was the case, there was only one reason Yujin was keeping his mouth shut about the child now. He was being cautious, fearing that if he made a clumsy move, he would lose his only remaining opportunity.

‘No way. Did you forget what you said? It was a lie from the start.’

That was what Yujin had said when he asked if he had truly been pregnant. There was a sufficient possibility that this side was the lie. After all, Yujin was a male prostitute and a con artist.

To think you’d try to deceive me again with such a shallow trick.

‘Winny.’

The apparition flickered again. The stark-white naked body opening its arms toward him on the bed, his faintly smiling face, and the voice whispering softly.

As the sweet scent spread in his mind, the wrinkles between Winston’s brows deepened even further.

‘The others noticed it, not just me.’

The pheromone scent had been that strong, yet Yujin hadn’t reacted at all. As if he had made a desperate resolve never to respond to Winston’s pheromones. Remembering that, Winston felt even more disgusted.

His father was under the ground now. It made no sense to dig up his grave for a DNA test at this point. Instead, he decided to use a different method. He took out his phone, dialed a number, and heard a voice on the other end. Winston got straight to the point without preamble.

“Find out the birth date of Yujin’s child.”

“Understood.”

After hearing the response, Winston hung up. Silence descended once more.

Things will never go your way.

He rested one arm on the armrest, placed his thumb against his chin, and slowly stroked his lower lip with his index finger. The sun had long since dipped, and darkness was beginning to settle in the drawing room, but he sat there motionless, lost in thought.

∞ ∞ ∞

How can he be so cold-blooded?

Yujin chewed on his thumbnail and paced around the room. Winston hadn’t even twitched an eyebrow after hearing such earth-shattering news. He was, Yujin thought, a cold-blooded man without blood or tears.

Even though it had been hours since he returned to the room, the Winston he had seen in the study was stuck in his head and wouldn’t leave.

Winston Campbell means nothing to my life anymore.

That was what he had thought until he arrived here—how had it come to this? The more he thought about it, the more absurd it felt. What on earth was Harold thinking, leaving such a will? And then, to say he loved him? To say he was sorry?

If he felt that way, he shouldn’t have left a will like that.