CBTB | MW [✔]

07.

I slump onto the settee, exhausted after an hour of brutal grilling from Mingyu's brothers and cousins.

They pulled no punches, and everything had come out about Jaekyung, Donghun, my lack of sexual history before Mingyu, the details of my Heat, the drugs, and my medical records.

It almost made me regret not taking the money and running.

"I'm sorry they put you through that." Mingyu settles on the couch beside me and strokes my hair. "I knew they'd be like this, which is why I wanted to keep you locked away from them. But I overestimated how long they were willing to look the other way."

"No, it's okay." I cuddle against his side. "They're just looking out for you. It's admirable that they care so much."

"It doesn't help that I'm one of the babies of the group." His arm wraps around me. "They always jump in to fix things for me, even though I'm almost thirty."

I take his hand and focus on playing with his fingers. "If it helps, I'll sign an NDA and a contract that acknowledges I have no claim on your wealth."

His intense gaze raises goosebumps all over my body. "That's not necessary."

Turning his hand, I trace the healing scabs on his knuckles. "With my family history, I wouldn't hold it against you. You've run your own background check on me, right?"

"Every employee at Velvet Oasis undergoes a background check prior to being hired." A long sigh leaves him. "I was waiting for you to trust me more before I asked, but it's time for us to be honest with each other."

With a kiss on top of my head, he stands and walks to his office.

Cold air rushes into the empty spot where he had sat, and the anxiety from earlier rushes back. I pull my knees up to my chest, hugging them to stop the shivers that make me want to hide. The bubble of happiness I lived in with Mingyu couldn't last forever, but I had hoped to have a few more days.

When he returns, he carries the laptop, and nausea rolls in my stomach, threatening to send the salad I ate back up.

He sits, then pulls me onto his lap, the warmth of his body and pheromones helping to settle my nerves, but they don't dispel them.

With the computer balanced on my thighs, he opens it and types in the password for his profile, then selects a file simply labeled Wonwoo.

"I have the same report that you saw earlier, so yes, I'm aware of the environment you grew up in, and the only thing I worry about on that front is their ability to hurt you." He rubs his cheek against the side of my head. "The family I was born into cares deeply about each other, and I will be the first to admit that I was lucky. You can't choose your blood, but you can cut out toxic relations."

Eyes stinging, I swallow down the lump forming in my throat. "It's not always easy to cut them out."

"You tried, though." He clicks on a file. "Emancipation at sixteen, scholarships to a private high school for your senior year and then university... You're intelligent, determined, and a survivor."

My throat tightens as I see everything I lost spread out before me. "Why do you have that?"

"Several months ago, I noticed a higher-than-average turnover rate of the back-room boys at Velvet Oasis." He opens another document, this one with names, and hire and departure dates. "There's usually a trial period to make sure employees are comfortable with the job before they're put under a five-year contract."

The blood drains from my face. "Donghun never mentioned that."

"If someone is going to leave, it's within the trial period." He scrolls down the list to the records for the last year. "The consequences for breaking a contract are not kind."