Seoha’s POV

"Didn’t I ask you to leave?" he asks and I stand my ground.

My instincts have taken over, a hurting pup comes first, I will be sooner taken out of here dead than let the child suffer.

"Kang Taesan-ssi" I say his name like he’s a stranger and we both hiss as our mating mark burns.

Oh...he hurts as much as I do?

I am forcing my part of the bond shut, just like he has been doing to his side of the bond.

It hurts, but I need to do this for Sooin.

"How dare you?" he growls, taking a step forward, his alpha eyes are red and threatening but I don’t move.

I turn my head away, not wanting to take in his angry scent, or looking into his terrifying eyes.

"Who do you think you are to defy me?" he asks and my bottom lip trembles, I don’t try to hide it that I’m scared of him, but I still don’t move.

I’m not brave, I have never been.

"I am...nothing to you, Taesan-ssi" I say, feeling a drop of tear fall down my cheek, and I wipe it with the back of my hand, sniffling and holding myself together.

"But we have a deal, I owe you and I have to pay my debt, you said I stay as long as Sooin wants me" I keep talking, forcing myself to speak through the tears.

"Shut up" he growls at me but doesn’t touch me.

"So you...you have to wait, I want to do my part, then I leave, I walk out...I come to work and..." I say and fall to my knees.

Taesan steps away from me, and I don’t lift my head, I just stay there.

"Get up" he says roughly, still moving away from me, "get the fuck up" he spits out, but I can’t, the pain in my ankle is overwhelming.

"She...she’s in her room" he says, and I hear the defeat in his voice as he leans against the wall.

The mood between us has changed, it’s no longer predator and prey, it’s the broken and the breaking.

Does he want me here too? Is he seeing his mother’s killer in me right now?

"She didn’t throw a tantrum, but...but she misses you" he says and I wince.

Too many unhealed wounds in this house, and the worst of it right now is Sooin’s, that child witnessed her mother leave...will she take me in again?

I hold on to the wall, pulling myself up with difficulty, it hurts but I do it eventually, swallowing my groan to keep the pain down.

I walk past him with my head held up, it hurts me so bad, my body and my soul...everything, want him to hold me.

But I understand, he hates me...I hate me too.

Once I open the door, a loud cry reaches my ear, and as if I wasn’t in pain, I surge forward and hug the pup that is sitting on the pink bed.

Sooin holds on to me, pressing her face into my neck, her whole body is shaking as she cries.

"It’s okay, it’s going to be okay, daddy I’m here" I say to her, fighting back my own tears.

I soften my scent as much as I can, giving her my comfort, rocking her back and forth in our hug.

Her scent is full of bottled sadness, the amount of sadness I have never smelled on a child before.

Her suppressed hurt is so much that even my heartbroken omega comes forward to scent the child, rubbing our scent over her, taking away the sadness.

"Don’t leave us" she says, holding to me even tighter.

It reminds me of myself, the child whose father left, the child who wasn’t wanted, I know exactly what she is feeling.

"Don’t leave, please daddy" she sobs even harder and my heart clenches.

"No, no, I can never leave you, I swear" I say and she keeps on holding on to me, wetting my neck with tears and snot.

I feel her little hand kneading the parts on me she’s holding on to, like she’s checking if I’m really here.

Oh poor angel, I will fight Taesan as hard as I can for her, I will never leave.

I don’t care if I’m dragged out of here dead, but I will never walk out on her.

"Everything is going to be okay" I whisper, running my hand up and down her back, squeezing my eyes shut to ward off the dizziness that is returning to me again.

The internal heat that was building inside me a few minutes ago has cooled slightly, but everything still hurt, my head, my ankle...

"I’m sleepy" the child says, and I chuckle softly at her lisp, goddess...why does a child this precious have to suffer this much?

"You can sleep" I say and she shakes her head, "you would go away" she murmurs, still trying to feel if I’m real.

"I’ll visit you a lot" I say and she hiccups, "thank you" she whispers and I feel even more sorry for her.

The way I always say ’sorry’ is the way she says ’thank you’, and it hurts my heart a lot.

"Go to sleep little one, I love you so much" I whisper and she shudders, her eyes closing and opening as she tries harder to stay awake.

When she finally sleeps off, I put her in her bed, resting my head against the sheet to calm my heart.

I’m feeling so many emotions at once, but I am too slow at processing them, my chest hurts.

I lift my head and wipe off the remaining tears on my face.

Steeling myself to face Taesan again, I get up to leave Sooin’s room, but not after leaving a kiss on her cheek.

I missed her too...it hasn’t been up to two days yet and I already miss her this much; I can’t bear the thought of losing her.

With my jaw clenched, I pull myself up and leave the room, and as soon as I step out, I find Taesan leaning against the wall.

"How is she?" he asks and I nod, trying to make it past him, maybe if I lay my head for a few seconds, everything will be okay.

"Excuse me" I say and as I take the first step to leave, and my head snaps up at the smell of strong perfume filling the hallway.

"I’m sorry I came late, where is my daughter?" Jaemin’s voice says and my heart stops for a second.

The omega man, my idol, is standing at the end of the hallway holding a bag.

He is dressed in the red dress I designed; he is fully made up, he looks so beautiful and unreal...and his eyes are on Taesan.

Oh...he must have called him...after all he’s Sooin’s real mother.

"I’m sorry, I’ll leave now" I say and Taesan starts to talk, but his words don’t make sense to me.

I take one more step and my ears start to ring, every single strength I used to get here disappears, and before I know it...

My vision goes black and I’m falling.