“It’s just an early heir trial. You rushed him to the hospital like it was the end of the world. Didn't your son say he wanted to take over for me and make the Collins Family better? Then let him prove it. If he can't pass the trial in three days, don’t ever call him my son again.”

“I even sent him a set of his favorite clothes—what more do you want? Don’t bring your pathetic tricks from the outside world into my house. I’m busy handling company affairs. Don’t bother me again!”

I glanced down at the dog-print clothes that had fallen to the floor. Not only were they too small—more fitting for a toddler than a five-year-old—but they were also painfully inappropriate.

When Bastian was three, he was bitten by Billie’s dog. Ever since then, he hated anything with dogs on it.

And yet Shena—his own mother—had no idea.

When the nurse finished cleaning Bastian’s body, Hardy, who had moments ago been gasping for breath, suddenly fell silent. With trembling hands, he lifted the white sheet from Bastian’s face. His eyes turned red in an instant.

“This is all my fault... I failed to raise Shena properly. That’s why this happened to Bastian.”

Then he turned to me, voice hoarse with emotion.

“Theo, we agreed to eight years… But Shena isn’t completely heartless. No matter what tricks Billie plays, the Collins Family will only recognize you as our son-in-law. Please, give her another chance. I’ll make sure she sees that man’s true nature!”

Eight years ago, he had said something similar.

Back then, he found me working part-time at the company—ragged, grieving, barely holding on—and begged me to help care for Shena, who was in a coma.

When my parents were murdered by enemies, it was Hardy who helped handle the aftermath. In return, I accepted his arrangement: to join the Collins Family and care for his granddaughter.

Day after day, I gave her acupuncture, massages, medication. Slowly, she woke up. I thought with Bastian’s birth, our eight-year contract might become a lifelong bond.

But I never imagined it would all end like this.

Now he still wanted me to stay in the Collins Family?

Without hesitation, I gripped Bastian’s cold little hand and replied firmly, “We made a deal for eight years. Now that Shena has fully recovered, the debt is paid. Your favor to my family has been returned.”

“And Bastian... he shouldn’t have come into this world. It was my selfishness that made me keep him. But now that he’s gone, so am I.”

I stayed by Bastian’s side in the funeral parlor all night. At dawn, I changed him into fresh clothes, organized everything for the cremation and watched quietly as the staff sent his small body into the incinerator.

Hardy stood beside me, holding my hand with a long sigh.

“Bastian’s funeral is tomorrow. After it's done, you may go. I’ll stay here—you should head to the Collins estate and pack your things.”

Tears welled up in my eyes. I quickly turned my back to Bastian, unwilling to let him see his father break down.

Ever since Billie appeared, I often cried in secret. And every time I was sad, Bastian would feel it, too.

When I returned to the Collins mansion and pushed open the bedroom door, I was met with a scene that crushed the last remnants of my soul.

Shena and Billie lay tangled in our bed, their clothes disheveled. She was gently stroking her belly.

“Baby, grow strong and obedient,” she whispered. “Soon, Mommy will be able to give you a rightful place in the Collins Family.”

Shena, smiling faintly, turned to Billie.

“Thank you for letting me have your child. But I don’t want to make things hard for you. Bastian acted out last time and bumped into you at the banquet… If he knew I was pregnant with your baby, who knows what he’d do. Maybe... we should terminate it.”

Shena suddenly straddled him, pressing a finger to his lips. Her tone turned soft, but her words cut like knives.

“No. I promised to give you a child and I will. As for Bastian… he was raised entirely by that man. He never had the composure or grace of a Collins Family heir. I never liked him. If I could choose, I’d rather he was never my son at all.”

Hearing her insult Bastian so cruelly, I couldn’t stop my fists from clenching, my nails digging deep into my palms.

It was only after some time that the two finally noticed me standing silently in the doorway. Shena didn’t even bother fixing her disheveled clothes. Instead, she smugly pulled Billie’s hand and sauntered toward me, her expression dripping with contempt.

“Well, look who finally decided to show up. You disappear all night with the child and this is what you call being a father? Teaching him to pull stunts and play sick to get sympathy?”

Her eyes narrowed, voice sharper than ever.

“Don’t think I don’t know you ran off to complain to Grandpa again. You manipulated him into denying his own bloodline and used Bastian’s life to threaten me into keeping Billie out of this house.”

“In that case, pack up your things and take your precious Bastian back to the old mansion where you can go play the perfect little son-in-law. From now on, this house belongs to Billie and me. And where is Bastian, anyway? Bring him out now and make him kneel and apologize to Billie. Don’t think a little hospital stunt will make this go away.”

As I looked at her, this woman who had utterly abandoned all love for her son, I couldn’t stop the image from flashing in my mind—Bastian, alone and starving on that desolate island, terrified and clinging to hope.

I almost lunged at her, but then Bastian’s soft voice echoed in my memory, from the day before he was sent away.

“Dad, it’s my fault. I didn’t learn the house rules properly and I made Mom angry.”

“But don’t worry, okay? Mom said I’ll only be gone for five days. When I come back, I’ll be the rightful heir. Then Mom won’t have to work so hard anymore and she can be with you again, like before.”

I bit down hard, forcing myself to swallow the fury in my throat. I turned silently to leave—but she grabbed me by the arm.

“What’s this attitude? You’re just a glorified servant—how dare you act like you’re above us?”

Her voice turned venomous.

“If you and Grandpa hadn’t schemed to push Billie out, you’d never have become the Collins Family’s son-in-law. A bastard whose own parents were murdered dares to dream of marriage and children?”

“What is it now? Found another rich heiress to con into marrying you by flaunting that little life-saving act again? Having a father like you was the greatest misfortune of Bastian’s life!”

I let the words fall on me without reaction. But the calmer I remained, the more enraged she became.

With a snarl, she grabbed a whip from the wall and kicked my knees out from under me.

I collapsed to the floor and the whip lashed down hard, splitting my skin open in an instant.

“You still think you’re right? You’re the one who raised that unruly brat. If you won’t accept your mistakes, then I’ll beat them into you!”

“Grandpa might be blinded by your honeyed words, but I’m not. I see you for what you are—a greedy, low-born climber who only got here by stealing Billie’s credit. If it weren’t for you falsely claiming it was you who woke me up, I never would’ve married you.”

“I owe Billie too much. I won’t let him suffer even a fraction more because of you. Now get Bastian out here and make him kneel—both of you owe Billie an apology! If you won’t comply, I can assure you there are plenty of others waiting to claim the Collins Family heir’s title.”

At that moment, the pain in my body couldn’t compare to the pain tearing through my heart.

I couldn’t bear it anymore. I grabbed the whip mid-swing and flung it aside with all my strength. She stumbled backward, barely caught by Billie.

“Theo, how dare you resist?! So you finally drop the act, huh?”

I rose to my feet despite the blood and pain, meeting her gaze with icy clarity.

“You want Bastian to apologize?” I said with a hollow laugh.

“Fine. Then go find him—underground—and take Billie with you.”

“Bastian is dead.”

Shena froze. For a brief moment, her expression cracked. But then she burst into mocking laughter, flinging the whip aside.

“You really are a monster, Theo. You’d curse your own child to death just to threaten me?”

“Isn’t this all because you found out I’m pregnant with Billie’s baby? You’re afraid I’ll revoke Bastian’s heir status and that your little claim to the Collins Family will vanish with it. So you went and hid Bastian somewhere with Grandpa, didn’t you?”

"I won't let you get away with this."

As she spoke, she pulled out a handkerchief and wiped the blood from her hands with exaggerated force, as if afraid of catching some kind of disease.

"If it weren’t for you, Billie’s child and mine would already be in elementary school by now. Theo, you stole his credit, his future, his place. I’m merely setting things back to how they should’ve been. You should be thanking me for being so polite about it."

With that, she flung the bloodied handkerchief at my face and dragged Billie away without another word.

I silently tossed the handkerchief into the overflowing box in the corner of the room. My chest tightened with grief so intense, I could barely breathe.

When Shena fell into a vegetative state after the accident, the Collins Family spared no expense seeking doctors both at home and abroad. But nothing helped—her condition only worsened.

Eventually, Master Collins remembered the Marvin family’s ancient acupuncture techniques said to revive those on the brink of death. And because he had once helped me handle my parents’ affairs after their murder, I owed him a great debt.

So I agreed to marry Shena—not for love, but to repay kindness and honor my parents’ dying wish that I never practice medicine for profit.

Even though I was still young, I spent countless sleepless nights experimenting on myself before I dared treat her.

The final time I collapsed from exhaustion, Shena had already opened her eyes and could sit up on her own.

Master Collins was overjoyed. He arranged a grand wedding for us and I devoted myself to caring for her—body and soul.

But three years later, she entered my room on her own, saying she wanted to deepen our bond. That night, she wept in my arms, swearing she'd fallen in love with me over those three years.

I believed her.

I gave in willingly, letting myself drown in the illusion of love.

Especially after we had Bastian, I was more desperate than ever to hold on, convinced that our child was the salvation I had been seeking all along.

But after Billie returned to US, everything changed. Her affection grew cold. She barely looked at me anymore—and worse, her gaze toward Bastian became empty, almost resentful.

Then came the lie that broke me: she told everyone that it was Billie who had brought her back to life. That he, who had fled overseas to treat his failing health before she even woke up, was her true savior.

And I—who had stayed and sacrificed everything—became the schemer who tricked Master Collins and stole another man’s honor.

Even the contract we signed, agreeing to eight years, was twisted into a scheme used to manipulate her.

Every time Billie fell ill, she’d take it out on me. Her people would restrain me, strip me and she’d whip me with that special lash she kept just for these moments.

The moment Shena left the house, my thoughts were interrupted by the thick stench of smoke.

I followed the trail to the backyard—and what I saw nearly drove me mad.

Billie, cradling his dog, stood smugly by the fire while servants tossed Bastian’s belongings into the flames one by one.

“Move it! Shena said this house is under my control now. Anyone who doesn’t like it can get out.”

My eyes turned blood-red. I rushed forward to stop them, but his hired men blocked my way.

“Who gave you the right to burn Bastian’s things?!”

Billie just smiled coldly as he stroked his dog’s back.

“Pudding likes Bastian’s room,” he said casually. “So Shena gave it to him as a kennel. But he doesn't like used things—they’re filthy.”

Then, as if to drive the knife in deeper, he picked up Bastian’s last cherished item, held it in front of me for a moment... and threw it into the fire without hesitation.

In that moment, I realized something terrifying.

To Shena, Bastian was worth less than one of Billie’s dogs.

I went numb.

I stood there, watching the flames die down and gave up struggling.

Then I laughed—wildly, bitterly.

“Burn it all,” I said. “Burn it good.”

And with that, my legs gave out beneath me and I collapsed to the ground.

When I opened my eyes again, I was lying in bed in my old room.