His eyes turned razor-sharp as he grabbed her by the chest.

‘What is…?’

Startled by the sudden aggression, Yeon-ha quickly realized the misunderstanding Tae-moo had reached and hurried to explain.

“That’s not what he meant. He wanted me to have a child… I mean, get pregnant and use it to gain my biological father’s favor. Then I was supposed to find out the security key to the hidden estate.”

“So he intended to bargain with my child.”

The anger taking shape within him shifted in a different direction.

“I’ll deal with him. Don’t worry.”

“Please don’t.”

She didn’t want to provoke Heo Il-woo unnecessarily and put her innocent mother in danger.

“Why? Have you grown attached to him?”

The moment she tried to stop him, suspicion flashed across his face.

So that was it.

He had been suppressing his foul mood this entire time, watching to see how she would react.

“My mother could be put in danger.”

There wasn’t even time to mend her heart, which felt as though it were being torn apart.

The problem in front of her was more urgent.

“I’ll tighten security.”

“Even so. You can’t guarantee her safety one hundred percent.”

She couldn’t bear the thought of exposing her mother to even the slightest risk.

Her mother wasn’t capable of moving on her own.

Perfect protection didn’t exist.

“So you don’t trust me.”

“That’s not the issue.”

If he believed she didn’t trust him, then perhaps he also believed she doubted the feelings she held for him.

The distance between them struck painfully, making her chest ache.

“Anything can happen.”

She had no reason to doubt his ability to place the right people in the right positions.

But…

“He’s more frightening than you think. Even if we move my mother to another hospital, I still won’t feel safe.”

Heo Il-woo had served her biological father for years.

He was patient, meticulous, and capable of concealing his vicious nature until the perfect moment.

If someone interfered with his plans, there was no telling how he would retaliate.

“Please.”

Worried for him, Yeon-ha reached out and grabbed Tae-moo’s arm.

His gaze dropped to the hand clutching him.

Then he smiled crookedly.

“That’s hardly the way to ask someone for a favor.”

The fact that he seemed to find the entire situation amusing left her speechless. Her hand slowly fell away, helplessly.

‘Why did I trust him?’

Because he was her husband.

Because she had believed he was on her side.

The man who held her feelings hostage and toyed with them.

The man who had once saved her.

She had wanted to believe in him.

More than anything, she had wanted to trust him.

When her mother had first been moved to the hospital, it had been before he learned how she felt about him.

‘He didn’t do it for me.’

He had done it solely to satisfy his own desires.

And she had never realized it.

‘I…’

She had been thoroughly deceived by the man who sought to bind her heart.

The misery was beyond words.

As though collapsing beneath its weight, Yeon-ha dropped to her knees.

With despair hanging heavily across her face, she looked up at him.

“Please.”

She clasped her hands together and begged.

The sight of her pleading made his brow furrow.

“Get up.”

Despite the cold glance he cast toward the bed, Yeon-ha remained kneeling.

She had no intention of standing until he gave her a clear answer.

In response, he grabbed her arm and forcibly pulled her to her feet.

“…Ah.”

A faint sound escaped her lips.

Yeon-ha bit down on it immediately.

She didn’t want to show him weakness.

Not when weakness never worked on him.

“Who told you to do this?”

Releasing her arm, he spoke firmly.

“You only need to do your part.”

As though reminding her to fulfill her role as his wife.

“Then there won’t be any problems.”

If she did only that, he seemed to say, he would continue treating her kindly.

His hand brushed through her hair.

“What are you doing?”

What difference was there between her and a toy meant only to spread its legs when commanded?

Yeon-ha climbed onto the bed and removed her clothes.

She already knew what would come next.

Lying down, she closed her eyes in resignation.

For the first time, what followed felt dreadful.

***

The bed, which had trembled beneath his movements just moments earlier, finally fell silent.

Shortly afterwards, Yeon-ha was alone in the bathroom, dealing with the lingering traces of the intimacy she had begged for.

Although she had faithfully taken the contraceptives that Madam Go had given her, this was the first time he had come inside her.

A heavy sense of unease settled in her chest.

Ignoring her discomfort, she carefully washed away every trace she could.

If only her feelings could be scrubbed away just as easily.

The truth was that she had never truly had him in the first place.

And yet, somehow, they felt further apart now than in the early days of their marriage.

Sleep remained stubbornly out of reach.

All she could do was close her eyes and wait for nightfall.

Then she sensed movement beside her.

Tae-moo, who had been lying next to her, slowly sat up.

It seemed he couldn’t sleep either.

A moment later, he got up and walked over to the door.

Although she could hear his footsteps, Yeon-ha kept her eyes closed.

The soft click of the door shutting behind him drew a bitter smile to her lips.

His refusal to offer her warmth when she needed it most felt almost cruel.

After lying awake and turning restlessly in bed for what felt like hours, Yeon-ha finally got up.

In the end, she couldn’t let go.

Following the stubborn pull of her heart, she left the room and went in search of Tae-moo.

‘Where did he go?’

For some reason, she felt certain he would be in the study.

‘I just need to check.’

Perhaps she had adopted his suspicious nature.

Dark thoughts kept creeping into her mind.

Absurd thoughts.

Like the possibility that he had gone to see Ryu Jin-hee.

What if he desired her the way he desired Ryu Jin-hee?

She could no longer trust him.

“Whether she comes or not, why should I care? If anyone does, it would be her.”

Seong Tae-moo would never open his heart to anyone.

And the twisted heart he carried was something even she could not see inside.

‘What if he ends up holding Ryu Jin-hee in his arms?’

Despite not having a solution of her own, Yeon-ha couldn’t let him go or turn back.

Following her lingering emotions, she reached the end of the corridor where Ryu Jin-hee was standing.

Without realizing it, Yeon-ha stopped.

She stared blankly as Jin-hee knocked on the study door.

Knock. Knock.

The sound echoed loudly in her ears.

Then came the click of the door opening.

“What is it?”

“I saw you go into the study.”

“So?”

“I want to talk to you.”

“I have nothing to say.”

“I do. Ah-jin’s having a hard time.”

“…”

“She’s your sister. Pay a little attention to her.”

“If I pay attention to her twice, she’ll start running wild like an untamed colt.”

“I think she’s upset because she’s the only one who didn’t receive an inheritance. But why is that?”

“…Come in.”

Tae-moo stepped aside to let Jin-hee enter the room.

Her gaze shifted to the side.

Towards Yeon-ha.

The corners of her lips curled up into a triumphant smile.

***

“Why won’t you tell me? Is it something I’m not supposed to know?”

With his back still turned to her, Tae-moo tilted his head slightly, his brow furrowing at the irritating question.

“The two of them praise you so much that you’ve started getting the wrong idea. You’re not family. You’re nothing.”

“Oh? So it’s something only family members are allowed to know?”

‘I didn’t realize.’

Her footsteps were confident as she approached him.

“You’re right. To you, I’m probably still just your little sister’s friend.”

Without hesitation, Jin-hee placed both hands on Tae-moo’s back.

“That’s why I’m trying to become something more.”

Her voice softened.

“Your woman.”

The unwanted touch instantly soured his mood.

Tae-moo jerked his elbow backwards and turned around.

He brushed away the hand that had deliberately traced the muscles along his back.

“Who told you that you could touch me?”

“Why are you acting like this? I’ve always been allowed to do this much.”

Tae-moo’s brows furrowed.

This wasn’t the first time she had been so obvious.

She would casually run her hand along his arm.

She would hook her arm around his.

She would lean against him under the pretense of innocent contact.

Yet none of it had ever affected him.

To him, she was simply a woman incapable of stirring any feelings.

So he chose to ignore it.

Now, however, every uninvited touch left him with a strange sense of discomfort.

An unsettling guilt had settled over him, as though he had done something wrong.

“Don’t tell me you’re reacting to it?”

At her suggestive look, Tae-moo let out a disbelieving laugh.

“What a ridiculous fantasy you’ve built up in your head.”

The sight of her practically drooling at the thought of having him was filthy enough to make him sick.

“You know how I feel about you.”

“Oh, I know. I know very well.”

His voice was merciless.

“That’s why I wasn’t attracted to you then, and I’m not attracted to you now.”

A body that had likely been passed around among countless men.

Tae-moo didn’t even want to brush against her.

He deliberately widened the distance between them.

“My woman? Please.”

A cold laugh escaped him.

“If you need a man that badly, go find one of the idiots obsessed with your body.”

For a moment, he felt as though the strong perfume she was wearing had seeped into him.

The comparison with the natural scent of the woman he called his own irritated him.

As though brushing off dirt, Tae-moo ran a hand over his silk shirt.

Then he turned away, left the study, and opened the bedroom door.

The moment he did so, he saw her.

“Why are you standing there?”

He had expected to find her asleep in bed.

Instead, she was standing silently and watching him.

The sight of her clear, delicate face glowing softly in the darkness like a flower stirred something within him once more.

How many seconds had passed?

Yet the urge to look away was already growing inside him.

He hated this feeling.

He hated losing control.

Ji Yeon-ha.

And the emotions that kept gravitating towards her.

It felt as though his body no longer belonged to him, as though it had ceased to obey his will.

This had never been part of the plan.

‘Then just get rid of her.’

There was a simple solution.

Remove Ji Yeon-ha from his sight.

‘The problem is that I can’t.’

It was absurd that he was being swayed by a woman who was less than half his size.

He hated admitting it.

He hated the fact that he was genuinely worried about losing complete control.

But what could he do?

It was the truth.

“Are you not going to answer me?”

If he couldn’t fire her, then only one option remained.

He would make sure that she belonged entirely to him.

He would possess her so completely that she would never be able to escape.