Chapter 64

As the handsome man with dark brown hair said that, a blonde man behind him spat out roughly.

"The name Miller makes my teeth grind, it was only because of the money that we had no choice."

"Henry, that's why I told you not to gamble..."

"Can't you be quiet?"

As soon as another brown-haired man spoke, Henry kicked him in the shin. As they screamed "Aaak" and hopped on one foot, the man who appeared to be the eldest sighed and said.

"Henry, stop hitting Isaac."

Even while saying that, he showed no sign of actively intervening. As if such things were everyday occurrences, he casually threw out the words as if merely making a courtesy remark, then immediately turned his attention to Dane.

"Well, we've done our job, so we'll be going now. Hey, stop that and retreat now."

No sooner had those words fallen than the other three men moved far away. Seeing them quickly disappear as if they had touched something they shouldn't have touched and seen something they shouldn't have seen, Dane was dumbfounded.

"The job went well. But who the hell are those guys? They were running away in disgust."

When he called to give an interim report before the helicopter took off, Joshua answered with a laugh.

- Ah, my bodyguard colleagues. They were reluctant to get involved in this, but our interests aligned.

Just as he was beginning to vaguely understand what that meant, Joshua continued.

- I'll be waiting then, I'm counting on you.

And he finally added.

- Don't believe anything Greyson says, it's absolutely not the truth. That bastard lies nonchalantly, as if it's the truth.

"I know."

Dane said, looking at Greyson, who still had his eyes closed.

"I know enough about this bastard too."

- Seems like you've suffered a lot from him too.

Joshua said. At the subtly sympathetic tone, Dane frowned. As if seeing his reaction right in front of him, Joshua concluded.

- Don't let your guard down until the end, Greyson Miller is not a man who will be easily defeated.

Dane cynically asked him, who was admonishing once more.

"Knowing that, isn't it too reckless to bet everything on just me?"

From the other end, Joshua let out a short laugh.

- Because you're worth it.

Dane didn't listen any further and hung up. And now, he was flying with that man alone, or more precisely, with the three of them including the pilot operating the helicopter, in this large military helicopter to their destination, a secluded villa.

He said it would take at most two days.

Dane recalled his thoughts. He had told the chief that he would take a week off because the shock of having his salary cut was so great. He had set ample dates in preparation for any unforeseen situations, but if time remained, he planned to return early. Anyway, the chief had said okay with a very dejected face.

He had left Darling at the hospital for a health checkup. To ensure she wouldn't be anxious, he had left clothes heavily scented with his pheromones with her, so she would be at ease for the time being.

He had already resolved or taken measures for anything that concerned him. Now the only remaining issue was this guy.

Dane stared blankly at the man sitting across from him, who still had his eyes closed and hadn't regained consciousness.

In the current situation, the best result would obviously be that...

Dane imagined the upcoming situation in his mind. Chase Miller denouncing Greyson for what he had suffered and getting angry, and Joshua and himself watching him.

Would Greyson Miller know what remorse is?

Of course not. Dane, who had immediately denied it, added in thought.

That's what we're trying to make him understand, on this occasion.

If Greyson Miller apologized to Joshua's family and promised not to appear before him again, he couldn't ask for more.

But no matter how much he thought about it, he couldn't imagine a more unrealistic situation. It seemed even less realistic than an alien appearing before Dane and offering to tell him the Powerball numbers. He sighed involuntarily at the imagination.

Am I just doing something useless?

But then, recalling Darling's health checkup, he felt somewhat comforted. It's not like there was no harvest at all, so it was okay. The checkup was said to take two days, and just in case he couldn't pick her up on time or if something happened to him, he had given Yeonwoo advance notice to take care of her. Of course, Yeonwoo had readily accepted and had already met Darling with Dane, introducing himself as her guardian, following them to the hospital, and actively caring for Darling.

Once, when he was in trouble due to unavoidable circumstances, Dane had briefly helped him at Joshua's request, and he was still grateful to Dane. Thanks to that, he would easily accept such requests.

Well, that guy has had quite a few things to be sorry about to me since then.

The loud propeller noise was still continuing. After silently looking at Greyson for a while, Dane opened his mouth.

"Hey."

He continued speaking toward Greyson, who remained motionless with his arms crossed.

"How long are you going to keep up this show? It's getting tiresome, wake up."

But Greyson still kept his eyes closed and didn't move. After watching him for a moment, Dane stood up and was about to mercilessly slap his cheek.

"Kukukuk."

Just as he raised his hand, laughter was heard from below. Greyson was laughing, shaking his shoulders. As expected. When Dane lowered his hand, he finally opened his eyes and sat up.

"How did you know? That I was awake."

"Your acting is too sloppy."

Dane returned to his seat and crossed his legs. Greyson raised his wrists bound by handcuffs, shook them, and smiled suggestively.

"So this is why you kidnapped me."

Dane silently showed his fist with an expressionless face. As if to say, if you talk nonsense one more time, I really won't let it slide.

"Why did you pretend to be unconscious? If you were awake, you could have resisted or escaped earlier."

To Dane's question, Greyson answered nonchalantly.

"I was curious about what you were trying to do."

Dane reminded him of reality.

"You're being kidnapped."

"Yeah, I know."

The response was too calm. It even seemed like he was enjoying it, causing Dane to unconsciously frown.

"Do you know why?"

"Well, I'll find out when we get there."

Even to this provocative question, Greyson responded lightly again. As he showed an indifferent reaction as if what was happening now was completely unrelated to him, the wrinkles on Dane's brow deepened.

What is he plotting?

Just as he thought that, he suddenly felt something strange. Greyson was still smiling, but somehow it seemed awkward.

He soon realized why. It was because his whole body was trembling.

"...What?"

At Dane's question, Greyson just blinked. As if to say, what do you mean? There was more than one strange aspect. He was blinking abnormally frequently and even sweating cold sweat. Dane irritably pointed at him with his chin and asked.

"What are you doing? What's wrong with you?"

"What? Ah..."

Only then did Greyson raise the corners of his mouth as if he understood. The weak smile was not at all reassuring.

"I have acrophobia."

"What?"

Dane was so surprised that he unconsciously raised his voice. Greyson's face, looking at him, was literally ashen. The sight of him smiling with cold sweat on his temples was grotesque to anyone. But Dane couldn't believe him.

"Why don't you just pass out again?"

To the sarcastic remark, Greyson smiled bitterly and replied.

"If that were possible, I'd like that too, but it's not easy."

His tone somehow sounded dejected. Dane, though not believing him, couldn't help but feel a corner of his heart waver.

...Is it true?

Psychopaths are also excellent at acting. Deceiving people with lies and manipulating them to their will is all too common. With their outstanding acting skills, they make others completely believe them. Like they did with Ezra.

"Don't be ridiculous, do you think I'll fall for your cheap acting?"

When Dane spat out roughly with a curse, Greyson smiled and answered.

"That's what I'm hoping for."

Greyson's face, as he said this, was now pale blue. His breathing was rough, and his body's trembling had worsened to the point where he was now convulsively shaking his shoulders as if having a seizure.

...Is it real?

Dane finally reluctantly got up from his seat and approached him.

"Hey, are you okay? Just hang in there a little. Excuse me, how much longer?"

The face he saw up close was too serious. The purple eyes were unfocused and shaking wildly, and the surrounding pheromones were also scattered unstably. At this rate, he seemed like he would go into shock.

Damn, why put him on a helicopter if he has acrophobia?

He briefly resented Joshua but soon changed his mind. They might not have known either. Anyway, what's important now is to resolve this situation immediately.

"Pull yourself together, Miller! I said pull yourself together, do you want something? Do you need anything?"

When he asked, roughly shaking his shoulders, Greyson stammered, trembling all over.

"Wa-water, some water."

At the desperate repeated request, Dane turned his head and quickly looked for bottled water. When he removed the cap of the bottle, tossed it aside, and turned around.

"...Ugh!"

With the fierce wind, Dane let out a rough groan. When he raised his head in surprise, he witnessed a scene he could never have imagined.

Greyson had opened the helicopter door and was standing in front of it.