We’re in a Contract Marriage, But I’ve Imprinted - Chapter 178

“Do you have something to say…?”

It was almost time for the child, who had been peacefully napping, to wake up. I hoped that the second child’s existence would remain unknown to him.

Their connection had already been severed, but I didn’t want to witness her being dismissed for being an omega. He momentarily stiffened in surprise at my indifferent words before slowly responding.

“…Día has been asking for his mom more often.”

Hearing the name of my first child I had tried so hard to forget made me pause my work.

It felt as if my insides were torn apart. Why bring up the child’s name now? He had coldly rejected my plea to let him stay with me, even if only for a moment!

“But…”

As he stepped closer to me, who was glaring silently, he lowered his head and took a deep breath, his expression mixed with confusion. After inhaling several times, he looked at me with eyes filled with embarrassment. His pupils were shaking uncontrollably.

“Wh, why… the pheromone…?”

Seeing him stutter, I felt an unexpected gratitude for having lost my sense of smell and the pheromone gland. I responded with a bright smile directed at him.

“What does that have to do with you?”

I could no longer smell his pheromones, nor did I feel any fluttering in my chest upon seeing him. I was completely certain I had broken free from the imprinting that had tormented me so much.

It was a feeling so….exhilarating that it felt like I could fly away.

* * *

What lay before him was just a door, yet he felt an overwhelming sense of anxiety. He slowly knocked with trembling hands and took a deep breath.

After a moment, the door opened, revealing Melissa, whom he had longed for so much.

Contrary to his concerns about her suffering due to the side effects of the imprinting, her face remained as beautiful and lovely as ever, and the breath he had been holding escaped me.

“Mel…”

The thought of finding his Omega made his heart race, and he felt the blood rushing rapidly through his veins. In contrast to his overwhelming joy, her small face was calm.

Though it felt a bit strange that she remained silent, he assumed she was momentarily stunned to see him and decided to speak first.

“May I take a moment of your time?”

“Of course.”

He didn’t think he needed to make a grand statement, but he regretted the words he had just uttered. How could he have said something so unremarkable?

He followed her into the room, which was disheveled and shabby. As he looked around with a stiff expression, he unknowingly asked and immediately regretted it.

“Have you been living in a place like this?”

It was not the kind of remark one should make to someone precious who had merely survived.

He felt he deserved any unpleasant looks he might receive, so he subtly glanced at Melissa, but she merely nodded slowly as if it didn’t matter.

From the moment the door opened and they briefly made eye contact, she had yet to direct her gaze toward him, and now her dry voice pierced the silence.

“Do you have something to say…?”

In truth, he didn’t even know what expectations he had held.

For example, she could burst into tears upon their reunion, or perhaps she could be angry, questioning why he has only now come to find her.

Regardless, his expectations of her being joyful at their reunion were quickly dashed, leaving him momentarily dazed.

So, he uttered a second clumsy remark—more of an excuse, really.

“…Día has been asking for his mom more often.”

At that moment, her hands, which had been moving diligently, paused for just a moment. In that instant, he felt he understood her anguish, and a wave of self-reproach washed over him.

Using the child as an excuse to elicit a reaction felt pathetic. He felt an uncomfortable tension as he tried to apologize to Melissa.

“But…”

Even if her pheromones were weak, they shouldn’t be completely absent. The faint presence of his Omega’s pheromones that he once found comforting was nowhere to be felt, and his heart began to race for a different reason this time.

Even though his Omega stood right before him, he felt a strange sensation as if she was a stranger. Without realizing it, he found himself stepping closer and inhaled deeply.

Yet, even as he pressed his nose close, there was no trace of her pheromones. He knew it was rude, but he kept inhaling. However, he couldn’t find that fresh and fragrant scent he once cherished.

In this bizarre situation, Ian looked at Melissa with trembling eyes. Only then could he truly gaze into her dry, violet eyes.

Melissa was looking at him, yet it felt like she wasn’t seeing him at all. He could sense no warmth from her, as if the familiar heat had vanished.

Something was off. His mind and heart buzzed with alarm. After a few moments of faltering, he managed to utter a word.

“Wh, why… the pheromone…?”

It felt as if her pheromones had vanished entirely, like the cracked ground during a long drought. In this unbelievable reality, he felt a tightening in his throat and his eyes began to burn. While he gasped for breath, Melissa responded with a calm tone that contrasted sharply with his own distress.

“What does that have to do with you?”

In her words, it felt as if life had been injected into her otherwise lifeless expression. He couldn’t take his eyes off from her now radiant face, like a single rose blooming in a barren land.

This was the smile of his longed-for Omega, yet it sent a chill down his spine.

It frightened him. Seeing her smile was terrifying.

He was afraid that it might already be too late.

He was unable to utter a single word, his lips merely trembled as he slowly knelt before her. Like a guilty sinner, he huddled his shoulders and apologized in a weak voice.

“I’m sorry…”

It was the first thing he should have said upon seeing her. He shouldn’t have avoided it, as he had in the past.

“It’s all my fault. It’s my mistake.”

Why hadn’t he properly apologized to her until now? Something so simple.

“If you could give me just one chance, just one chance, I would spend my life making amends.”