Chapter 84 - Fear

“My, what brings you all the way here?”

Naomi greeted me brightly, having already expected me after being contacted by the security guard at the front gate. She quickly eyed what I was holding. Since she was quick to catch on, she might have even realized what was going on right away. I nervously awaited her reaction, hoping that it wouldn’t result in her hitting me.

Contrary to my expectations, Naomi’s attitude didn’t change all that much. “Come in. Would you like a cup of coffee?”

Still anxious, I replied, “That would be great. Thank you.”

It didn’t seem like she would hit me or anything. However, I soon remembered how Annabel had stolen Keith’s sperm, and how Naomi had once told me that she wasn’t looking forward to having to break up with Keith.

‘What if she took a picture of Keith’s sword and got a d*ldo modeled after it?’ I thought for a moment, but I hurriedly put away that thought. Even if she did, I couldn’t say anything about something like that.

When I walked into the reception room after Naomi, lost in my imagination, another guest was sitting there, sipping on a cup of black tea. I noticed his scent first.

“Oh?” he exclaimed rather dramatically when our eyes met. At that moment, I froze on the spot. Chills ran down my spine, and my palms became soaked in a cold sweat.

Grayson was sitting on the couch without moving an inch. He was watching me curiously as if he were waiting for my response—as if he had bet on whether or not I would get a panic attack.

‘It’s going to be all right,’ I told myself as I frantically tried to recollect my breath. ‘I’m all better now. I’m fine even without the meds.’

Moreover, this was Naomi’s place. There were security guards outside the door, and even Grayson wouldn’t try to make any commotion at a place like this while risking his own reputation.

…But was that really true?

It crossed my mind that Grayson wouldn’t care at all how others thought of him. I couldn’t move at all from my spot.

“Hahh, hahh…” My head went blank. I accidentally let go of what I was holding, but I didn’t even notice them falling.

“Oh my, what’s wrong?” Naomi’s surprised face floated around in front of my eyes, but that was all I remembered. When I came to my senses, I was already sprinting out of the mansion.

The car was waiting outside the building. The driver, who was waiting for me by the sedan, saw me and immediately opened the back-seat door for me.

“T-Thank you,” I squeezed out between huffs. When I sat down, my entire body started to tremble. As I closed my eyes and leaned my head back, I heard the driver’s seat door open. I squinted my eyes and saw the driver sit down and start the car. In the car that barely rattled, I hugged myself with both arms and closed my eyes once again.

As always, Keith’s pheromones lingered faintly inside the car. With my eyes closed, I inhaled deeply. I took many deep breaths until my body stopped trembling. However, no matter how much I tried to breathe, my body couldn’t seem to calm down.

His scent that always managed to stabilize my state failed to do so today. It was probably because my heat was near.

When I pried open my eyelids, I saw the landscape flying past outside the window. I couldn’t stand the dizziness; it was as if my brain was vibrating. I desperately tried to inhale Keith’s scent, but my breaths kept circulating inside my mouth and refused to enter my body.

“Yeonwoo, are you okay? Yeonwoo!” the driver shouted, his head turned toward me. I couldn’t answer. My breathing spurred out of control and soon stopped entirely.

*

*

‘…?’

A sweet scent fluttered in from afar. I frantically breathed in. My body absorbed a scent that was incomparably stronger than before.

“Yes, take another deep breath,” murmured the quiet voice from above my head. I obeyed and inhaled deeply once more.

“Kegh!” I coughed abruptly. He quietly held me as my entire body convulsed with shallow coughs.

“Hahh, hahh…” When I finally opened my eyes, brimming with tears, a familiar scenery welcomed me. I was still sitting in the car. The only difference was that I was being held against Keith’s chest.

“…!” I belatedly processed what was going on and tried to straighten up my body but failed. Keith had tightly embraced me as soon as I had tried to escape. He was pressing down on my head, immobilizing me. Unable to free myself, I had no choice but to be frozen stiff, trapped in Keith’s arms. While I sat like a log with my face buried in his chest, I felt Keith pouring out his pheromones. A sweet scent took over the air within the enclosed space of the car. I slowly exhaled a trembling breath.

As the tension in my body gave way, Keith continued to keep me in a tight embrace until I was completely relaxed.

“Do you feel better now?” he asked.

“Yes…” I muttered.

I was still quite out of it from the dizziness that hit me after the panic attack. Through my hazy consciousness, I thought, ‘I should have told Naomi the news. How do I tell him that I failed my job? If Keith finds out that I came back without telling her, he…’

While I was lost in my train of thought, Keith spoke up first. “What was it? What happened?”

The calmness in his voice wasn’t particularly different from usual. He didn’t seem to be criticizing me yet. I opened my mouth in an attempt to speak, but I couldn’t come up with an appropriate way to break the news to him. Keith patiently waited for me.