For some reason, my heart wouldn’t stop racing at his words.
What had he thought through?
What was his decision?
No.
Whatever his decision was, I hope he wouldn’t force any restriction on me.
I wouldn’t lock myself in to protect his reputation.
The most I could do was make sure no one would ever know he was the father.
Well, if he wanted, I could even deny the facts to my parents, and no one would ever know.
“Doctor Cole said you need pheromone therapy or your life might be in danger.”
I shrugged.
Sébastien rubbed his brows.
“Let’s schedule two days every week for pheromone therapy.”
“I’ll match your schedule.
Just let me know.”
My eyes widened.
He agreed?
No, pheromone therapy.
What was that about?
“What do you say?”
My fingers curled.
“Why?”
Sébastien raised a brow.
“What?”
“Why would you help me?”
He clearly had a marriage coming up.
I even promised him I wouldn’t disturb his life.
Shouldn’t he have appreciated the grace and left?
“Why are you doing this?”
He smiled faintly.
“As an apology.”
“Oh?”
His eyes lowered as if he were trying to look at my belly.
“I was careless.
It was my mistake.”
My eyes widened.
Right.
Why had I forgotten this??
It was indeed his mistake.
If he hadn’t released inside me, I wouldn’t have been pregnant.
Fuck.
I’d been too worried for nothing.
My expression turned cold.
Sébastien cleared his throat.
“All I need to do is release my pheromone for you.
It’s nothing big.”
Of course, it wasn’t.
I was the one carrying the child.
I rolled my eyes and turned to look away.
The room was really big.
The window had been rolled down, perhaps due to the cold weather.
The light was dim, giving the room a soft romantic light.
Romantic?
Tsk.
It was more like war.
“What’s your decision?”
“I’m okay with anything,” I replied coldly.
Ridiculous.
He was the one who made the mistake, and I’d been suffering alone all this while.
I must have been really silly.
It wasn’t worth my pain at all.
I really wished I could throw the pregnancy in his belly instead.
I would wash my hands of it and disappear from the country for a while.
Too bad.
“Monday and Thursday.
Night.” I proposed.
To hell with giving him the chance to make more decisions for us.
Silence.
My eyes wavered.
Annoyed?
Did I show too much temper?
I slowly turned around to look at his face.
Not like I really cared, though.
Sébastien’s eyes met mine.
I blinked, resisting the urge to look away.
“Is that okay with you?”
“Hm.”
Knock.
“Come in.”
The meals were brought in.
This time, they only brought one course.
Sébastien personally arranged the table, giving me a selection of dishes while asking which one I would love to eat most.
My mood inexplicably lightened.
At least he showed up to fix his mistakes and didn’t leave me wallowing in guilt.
I ate slowly.
After sending the waiters away, Sébastien released his pheromone, filling the room with the comforting aged whiskey pheromone.
My tensed nerves loosened.
The meal no longer tasted bland or nauseating.
The usual fullness in my throat was long gone, too.
‘I should have called him for a meal together earlier.’
If only I knew it was this easy to eat with his pheromones around.
Thinking about it, wouldn’t it be better to buy an aged whiskey at home to drink every day?
Or even a perfume with the scent…
Rather than disturbing Sébastien and forcefully involving him in my life, wouldn’t those be better?
I slowly raised my head.
Sharp chin lined with a tiny scar.
Thin lips.
Long, slender, and strong fingers.
Top-quality face.
No.
Perfumes and wine wouldn’t work.
The person was better.
It wasn’t like I could go to clubs anymore anyway.
Seeing him once in a while could be therapy.
I returned my attention to my food and continued eating.
“Okay?”
His deep voice…
I swallowed the meat in my mouth and revealed a small, polite smile.
“Yeah, it is.” I could even eat more.
Sébastien nodded.
His gaze softened.
“That’s good.”
“Hm.”
Creak.
The door opened.
No knock.
I flinched, and my cutlery dropped.
Anger flashed through my eyes.
“What’s…”
My words stopped, disappearing into wherever it came from.
I sat frozen in place, looking at the figure who had stepped into the room.
He closed the door behind him.
Karl.
Delicate-looking.
Soft emerald eyes.
Lean.
Karl.
He stood there, his eyes darted between Sébastien and me.
“Sébastien…” He called, his eyes dimming.
“You said you were at the company.”
Sébastien stood up.
“Karl…”
“Sébastien.” Karl interrupted him.
His gaze flickered with something unknown.
He stepped forward.
I leaned back, trying to be as small as possible.
He walked past me, stopping before Sébastien.
He raised his head.
Their eyes met.
“Who’s he to you?” His voice broke slightly.
My heart skipped a beat.
The room turned unbearably stifling.
I rubbed my chest.
Sébastien’s eyes flicked over me.
Once.
“He’s a friend.”
I nodded enthusiastically.
“Yes, we are friends.” And if not for the pregnancy, the friendship wouldn’t even exist in the first place.
Karl snickered.
He glanced at me, and for a moment, his eyes flashed with coldness.
“Friends?”
“Liars.”
“He’s your friend, and yet you look at him like you could barely hold yourself back from devouring him.”
“He’s your friend, yet your pheromone reacts whenever he’s around.”
“Sébastien, he’s just a friend, yet you invited him to a restaurant behind my back and even brought him to a private room.”
“You told me you had a lot to do today.
You told me you couldn’t follow me to pick the suits…
and you’re here, accompanying another omega on a meal?”
Calm.
Even while questioning Sébastien, his tone was way too calm.
It gave me a sense of danger.
I felt uncomfortable from within.
“Karl…”
Sébastien’s voice was a little hoarse.
His jaw tightened.
Lips trembling.
“Can we talk at home?”
“No.”
“You should first explain to me why you went to his house to pick him up when you are so swamped with work…
why you brought him out to eat when you don’t even have time for me.”
“Is he a business partner, too?”
Karl’s fingers curled into a fist.
“I heard he’s a lowly playboy who doesn’t even know how to pick his alphas.”
My eyes flashed.
Coldness gripped my chest, and my expression hardened.
Lowly?
Like, really?
“Karl, can we leave here first?”
Damn it.
Sébastien also believed I was lowly, it seemed.
I stood up.
It was time to leave.
Staying any longer might make me tear Karl up…
and I shouldn’t.
We were wrong in the first place.
Sébastien and I were both wrong.
He was the victim.
I walked toward the door, ready to leave the dark and suffocating space.
I’d already told Sébastien from the beginning that I didn’t need him in my life.
He didn’t need to take responsibility for me or even care about me.
I could manage everything myself.
The pregnancy?
If possible, I would stay under watch throughout the remaining 8 months and take proper care of myself.
There would always be alternatives.
It wasn’t necessary to have him in my life.
I held the door, ready to open it.
Slam!
I flinched.
“Explain these pictures, Sébastien!”
Pictures…
Sébastien picked up the phone, which had been slammed on the table.
I saw his fingers trembling.
Once.
Twice.
His lips parted.
Frustration.
Confusion.
Every emotion I could identify flashed through his usual calm, cold grey eyes.
He slowly dropped his hand.
Sébastien swept his fingers through his hair.
Eyes darkening with whatever I had no idea about.
“I’m sorry, Karl.” He murmured.
“It was before you returned.”
“A night.”
Karl’s back trembled slightly.
The fragile omega looked frail.
Even from behind.
“So, you slept with him.” His voice was low.
Sébastien closed his eyes.
“Yes.
And he’s pregnant.”
Karl staggered backward.
Sébastien immediately reached out.
He slapped his hand away.
“Don’t touch me!”
Sébastien’s expression crumbled.
Eyes turning slightly red.
Karl bent over.
His shoulders moved uncontrollably.
The room turned cold, cold enough to freeze my bones.
My fingers tightened on the doorknob, knuckles turning white from the pressure.
Sébastien looked at Karl.
His fingers clenched tightly.
“Alright.” Karl’s voice sounded broken.
He stood upright and nodded.
“Alright.”
He repeated the word several times, picked up his phone, and turned around.
Karl’s gaze settled on me.
Red nose.
Tear-filled eyes.
A world apart from the sweet omega I had in my memory.
He approached.
I took a step backward, fingers leaving the doorknob.
I’d never faced this situation in my life.
My heart wouldn’t stop racing.
“Did it feel nice?”
My lips tightened.
“Deceiving me all along while acting as his mere friend…
did it feel nice?”
“No.
I didn’t…”
Slap.
My face swept to the side.
“Whore!”
Karl spat.
He pushed the door open and stormed out of the room.
My cheek stung.