KISS THE SCUMBAG Chapter 24

Winston stared at his mother’s face in silence. Meeting his son’s direct gaze, her anger wavered for a moment, replaced by a sense of awkwardness.

“…Am I not the mistress of this house until you marry? I should know about everything that happens within these walls.”

Mrs. Campbell said, avoiding his eyes as if making an excuse. Winston twisted the corner of his lips into a sneer.

“Of course you should.”

She wasn’t wrong. The problem was that she used that as an excuse to take too much interest in every trivial matter, and the fact that most of that interest was concentrated entirely on Winston.

As his son began to spread butter evenly over his bread again, Mrs. Campbell cleared her throat with an “Ahem” and spoke hurriedly.

“Answer what I asked first. It’s not true, is it? Caine must be mistaken, of course.”

She asked with conviction. To hear Winston say that it was absolutely not true, she was on edge, all her nerves sharpened, not just her ears. Mrs. Campbell was fully prepared—prepared to laugh in relief, saying she knew it all along, the moment her son denied it with a stern face.

But unfortunately, her expectations collapsed pointlessly.

“It is true.”

“What?”

Mrs. Campbell’s voice rose. Winston set down his bread and butter knife and stared straight at her.

“What Caine told you is true. I am going to marry—Yujin.”

Every trace of expression vanished from Mrs. Campbell’s face. Watching his mother’s face freeze in an instant, Winston showed no reaction.

“Say that again. What did you just say?”

Her voice was cold, completely devoid of the affection that was always present when she spoke to her special youngest son. Even sensing the murderous intent in her tone, he replied calmly.

“You heard me clearly. I said I would marry Yujin.”

“What on earth is that insane talk!”

An anger greater than when she had cursed her husband on the day the will was made public seized Mrs. Campbell. It was only natural. How could the son she had cherished so terribly betray her like this?

Winston watched with an expressionless face as his mother raised her voice, her neck veins popping, letting out a roar that echoed through the breakfast room. As if he had already expected this reaction. His cold, detached attitude made it even harder for Mrs. Campbell to maintain her composure. She continued to shout with ferocious intensity.

“Are you out of your mind to marry that thing? Have you gone mad because of pheromones just like your father? How can you even think of such a thing, daring to bring that into the Campbell family—how! How could you do such a thing!”

“I am perfectly normal, Mother.”

Winston was utterly tired of people bringing up pheromones whenever they couldn’t understand him. He was also tired of having to prove every time that he wasn’t crazy with similar explanations.

“And Father wasn’t crazy, either. Even if that’s hard for you to accept.”

Mrs. Campbell was momentarily rendered speechless, staring at her son in a daze. Her expression rarely revealed her inner thoughts so clearly.

How dare you take Harold’s side in front of me.

Strictly speaking, Winston wasn’t on either side. He acknowledged that his mother had suffered her whole life because of his father, but as a Beta, she should have been prepared for that part when she married an Alpha of the highest order. Given the nature of a constitution that required regular pheromone relief, the reality was that a Beta alone could not handle it, and no matter how heartless or cold his mother might consider Winston’s way of thinking, the situation remained unchanged. Only Winston, who possessed the same trait, could truly understand his father.

Although, in the same situation, Winston’s choice was entirely different from his father’s.

Instead, his father had tried to grant most of what she wanted. If one looked back at the beginning of their marriage, which was a political one, one could say it was a reasonably decent contractual relationship. However, his mother’s view was entirely different.

It must have been hard to endure because of her pride.

If Harold had only had affairs for the sole purpose of pheromone relief without a specific partner, like other top-tier Alphas, she might have taken it lightly. The problem was that his father had brought his affair partner into the house. That was a fact difficult to endure, not just because the partner was a top-tier Alpha. It was not entirely impossible to understand why she had grown to hate Harold over her entire life.

But now, her most cherished son was saying he would marry that very mistress of Harold’s and have a child. It was only natural that she was on the verge of madness. Winston understood her reaction well enough, but he wasn’t the type of person to silently endure someone shouting and pouring their rage out at him.

“Please calm down, Mother.”

“Calm down? Did you just tell me to calm down? You, to me?”

“Yes.”

Winston interrupted her coldly.

“Looking at it realistically, there is no other way but this. You know the contents of the will, don’t you? I assume you don’t want us to end up penniless and out on the street.”

At his son’s point, Mrs. Campbell faltered for a moment. Of course, she knew it all too well. It was because she knew it so well that it was all the more frustrating to be unable to move and forced to follow Harold’s wishes. Watching her, Winston continued.

“If you think about it, it’s not that difficult a condition. We just need to marry and bear a child within a year, right? Once the condition is met, in a year, everyone will get what they want.”

There was no flaw in his logic. Rationally, it was an incredibly easy and wise choice, but emotionally, it was difficult to accept.

“But Winston, does that mean you’re going to sleep with that brat? With that filthy thing?”

To his mother, who was shuddering, Winston asked back with narrowed eyes.

“How is that any different from taking a hustler at a pheromone party?”

It was exactly what he had told Yujin. Hearing those words, his mother’s momentum was broken, just like Yujin’s. Of course, her face didn’t stiffen with the same sense of humiliation as Yujin’s.

“That… is true, but.”

Seeing her reaction as she took a step back with a sour look, Winston opened his mouth in a slow, languid tone.

“I have already looked into the will from all angles. This is the only way. Don’t worry; it will all be over if you just endure it for one year.”

Mrs. Campbell looked at her son with a skeptical expression and spoke with difficulty.

“Is that true? Can you promise me?”

“Of course.”

Winston replied readily, the corner of his mouth twisting.

“You don’t seriously think I made this decision because I genuinely want to marry Yujin, do you?”

“No, of course not, but.”

Mrs. Campbell calmed her agitation and fell into thought. It wasn’t the result she had hoped for, but it was true that it was the only unavoidable choice. Nevertheless, lingering regrets remained.

“Evelyn… then what about Evelyn?”

To her anxious question, Winston’s reaction was indifferent.

“Evelyn and I have no relationship. Even if I married her, it wouldn’t change the contents of the will.”

His following words made Mrs. Campbell feel awkward. Winston had already made his decision. There was absolutely no way to turn it back.

“…I’ll have to cancel the party.”

Mrs. Campbell muttered in a dejected voice. She had been intending to arrange a space to restart the relationship between Winston and Evelyn, but if things stood this way, it was a meaningless act. She had no choice but to shift her thinking.

One year.

Thinking about it, it was an incredibly short time. Nothing would happen in that time, right?

“That kid was your father’s mistress.”

As if to leave no room for even a shred of possibility, Mrs. Campbell warned him sternly. Winston only stared at her with an expressionless face.

“Do you really think I would forget that?”

Winston’s voice was as usual, but his face was filled with cynicism. Perhaps it was self-mockery regarding this situation. Nevertheless, Mrs. Campbell continued in a reluctant tone.

“If you say there’s really no other way, I suppose I have no choice, but…”

“Then let’s stop here. I believe you understand, Mother.”