Chapter 54

Most of Taeheon’s scars came from his father. Whether it was for looking at him the wrong way, not greeting him properly, or simply because he was in a bad mood, Seonghwan mercilessly abused Taeheon.  

And he would do it again. The moment he confirmed that Taeheon couldn’t resist, he would cruelly destroy him without any reason.  

“Is that brat acting like he’s in pain? What did I do? He should be grateful I raised him. The little bastard, acting all high and mighty when he wouldn’t even have made a living without the company I built.”  

“Taeheon would have lived better without you.”  

She couldn’t hold back anymore.  

In the past, she tried to tolerate it because he was Taeheon’s father. She thought it was only natural for him to be harsh since she was the one who lied first.  

But what he did to Taeheon was unforgivable. She hated Seonghwan.  

Seonghwan’s upper lip twitched. Yaein gritted her teeth, preparing for the explosion of his fury.  

“Ah…!”  

A pointed chopstick stabbed down into the back of her hand. The sharp pain made Yaein fall forward.  

Immediately, a rough hand grabbed the back of her head, pressing down as if to crush her skull. When she tried to twist away, the brutal strength forced her head sideways, making both her neck and head throb painfully.  

“A sl*t born from a wh*re dares to lecture me? A b*tch without any backing.”  

Ever since her birth secret was exposed, she had endured countless insults like this. She tried to stay calm, but her insides burned.  

“My mother was not a wh*re.”  

Yaein forced out the words, staring back at him despite her face being pushed against the table. Seonghwan’s expression twisted with a terrifying rage.  

He pulled the chopstick out of her hand. A small, red dot formed like a branding mark where the sharp end had punctured her skin.  

“Apologize.”  

The sharp tip of the chopstick moved closer to her eye.  

“If I feel like it, I could gut your belly open right now and sell the brat and your organs to the highest bidder.”  

The chopstick, now stained with a drop of blood, looked sharper than before. It pricked her eyelid, stinging painfully. Yaein clenched her trembling jaw.  

I won’t beg this kind of person.  

She could never forgive him for what he did to Taeheon.  

“You can’t do that. This child…”  

Seonghwan grabbed her hair and slammed her head onto the table.  

Her skull rang, and the sounds around her seemed to grow distant. The area from above her ear to her cheekbone throbbed as if burned. Her scalp felt like it was being torn out, and Yaein let out a faint groan.  

“Do you even know how much your greedy family has taken from mine? You money-hungry bastards! I spent a fortune bringing in a defective product, but maybe I could break even if I sell it off piece by piece.”  

Seonghwan’s angry rant didn’t stop. His booming voice crashed down from above like a roaring beast’s. Yaein bit down on her lip.  

She knew her father had constantly asked Taeheon’s family for money, but it wasn’t like her father-in-law hadn’t demanded things from her family too. They used each other.  

She wanted to argue, but keeping quiet was wiser. If she provoked him further, the baby might truly be in danger.  

Unlike Taeheon, Seonghwan was a ticking time bomb, always ready to explode. He seemed like a person without a limit to his rage.  

Judging from how he treated Taeheon, it was clear that he could commit any atrocious act if his mood soured.  

When Yaein fell silent, seemingly satisfied, Seonghwan loosened his grip.  

“If you want to keep living peacefully with that brat of yours, just do as I say.”  

He dusted off his hands and released her. Yaein slowly lifted her head from where it had been pinned, trying to calm her pounding heart while straightening her disheveled hair.  

Was she really going to have to introduce this man as the grandfather to her child? The thought made her feel dizzy.  

She wanted to leave as soon as possible. Yaein began to gather herself to go.  

“Aren’t you going to thank me?”  

Seonghwan, sitting calmly as if nothing had happened, looked smug. Disgust rose in her throat, but she knew what she had to do.  

“…Thank you for the meal, Father. I appreciate it.”

Yaein bowed deeply, her waist bending low. Her eyelids throbbed with sharp pain.  

She stood up without looking back at Seonghwan and stepped over the threshold. He was probably smiling. She didn’t want to see that expression.  

Covering her sore temple with one hand, Yaein walked out of the restaurant. Every time the gravel crunched underfoot, it felt like her skull was rattling.  

“You’re out.”  

The man who had driven her here spoke up as soon as she passed through the exit.  

From her disheveled appearance, he could likely guess what had happened inside, but he just smirked, casually tapping his finger against the cast on his injured hand. He gestured to the car.  

“Hop in.”  

“No, I’ll take a taxi. Just give me my phone.”  

He didn’t try to stop her and handed over her phone without resistance.  

Dragging her heavy legs, Yaein moved toward the road. Fortunately, she was able to hail a taxi quickly.  

As she got inside, her whole body started trembling like a leaf, already exhausted. She couldn’t bring herself to look back at the restaurant.  

When she told the driver her destination, which would take a few hours to reach, he quickly entered it into the GPS. It was only long after the car had started moving that she felt strong enough to check her phone.  

There were numerous missed calls, all from Taeheon.  

She wanted to hear his voice right away, but if she called now, he would definitely notice something was wrong and become distressed.  

Even though he would see her battered state when they met, she wanted to delay that moment as much as possible.  

Just as she was about to call, she stopped herself and decided to send a text instead.  

“I’m heading home now.”  

Even as she typed, her eyes stung with the urge to cry.  

I can’t just leave things like this.  

Yaein touched the back of her hand, where a small round bruise had formed.  

I can’t let my husband or child be near someone like that anymore.  

***  

Yaein checked her reflection using her phone’s camera and sighed.  

During the car ride, a bruise had bloomed around her temple, and her hand, still throbbing with pain, had scabbed over. The edge of her eye was swollen and red, where tiny blood vessels had burst.  

She looked terrible.  

She worried about how Taeheon would react when he saw her. She tried to cover the bruises with her hair, but it was no use.  

Her phone rang. She hesitated before picking it up, shifting it to her other hand since the injured one hurt too much to hold it.  

“Why are you just standing there?”  

Taeheon’s voice came through.  

“Are you watching me right now?”  

Yaein looked around, glancing down the long, straight road.  

Far ahead, she saw Taeheon standing with his phone in hand.  

She had asked the taxi driver to drop her off a bit away from home to calm down before going inside, but it seemed that plan was pointless now.  

As Taeheon approached, worry gripped her even tighter. She tried to wave with a weak smile.  

“You should’ve waited inside—it’s cold out. I was going to make you something you like, but I left all the groceries behind…”  

“Was it my father?”  

Moonlight highlighted the bruises on Yaein’s face, and Taeheon’s expression twisted with pain.  

She saw it then—the raw, vulnerable side of him that he only showed her. Not anger, but grief surfaced first.  

Despair painted his face.  

This was what she feared. She never wanted to make him feel like this.  

When did I start thinking that hurting me would make him sad?  

Taeheon covered his eyes with one hand, pressing his fingers into his face hard enough to leave marks.  

“Taeheon, look at me.”  

Yaein gently pulled his hand away from his face. His fingertips were red from gripping too tightly.  

Even after lowering his hand, Taeheon’s face was hard to read. It was like shadows had settled over him, making his expression look darker than usual. He lowered his head and spoke in a low, grim voice.  

“Don’t worry. I’ll take care of it.”  

His tone was meant to reassure her, but it felt ominous, almost murderous.  

Whatever he was planning, she couldn’t let him do it. Yaein squeezed his hand tightly, even though the pain flared in her injured hand. She was more worried about his state of mind than her own pain.  

“What about taking Mr. Park’s advice and going abroad for a while?”  

Taeheon’s voice was unnaturally calm as he replied.  

“Nothing’s going to happen.”  

There was a metallic edge to his tone. He clicked his tongue softly, irritated with himself.  

It had been a long time since he lied to his wife, but now even that seemed beyond him. He couldn’t lie properly anymore.  

The bruise spreading across Yaein’s temple stayed in his sight. His throat felt dry, and his stomach churned with acid.  

Why did I bother enduring all of it?  

The only rule he asked his father to follow was not to lay a hand on Yaein.  

If he had just kept that one promise, Taeheon would have silently tolerated everything else.  

I chose the wrong method.  

From the beginning, I shouldn’t have held back. If I had handled it differently, she wouldn’t have been hurt.  

“Taeheon, look at me.”  

Yaein cupped his face and made him look at her. His eyes seemed out of focus, as if he wasn’t truly seeing her.  

“You don’t have to handle everything alone.”  

Even as she spoke, she could see he wasn’t really listening.  

“I won’t let you get caught up in your father’s schemes anymore.”

An unexpected shock, one he had felt before, pierced through Taeheon’s insides.  

He had never considered himself as being swept away by his father, just as he had never acknowledged his own loneliness while growing up.  

Until now, he hadn’t really thought about the fact that this seething murderous intent came from his father.  

Only after marrying Yaein did he finally understand why he hesitated to follow through with his plan to cut his father’s throat.  

Because if he used his father’s methods, he would become just like him.  

He couldn’t bear the thought of becoming that kind of person and staying by Yaein’s side.  

“I… will protect you.”  

Yaein’s words broke through his thoughts.  

Taeheon didn’t immediately grasp what he had heard.  

Protect? Who would protect whom?  

Yaein was far more delicate than him—slender and small, with nothing to her name.  

No money, no authority, no power. No claws or teeth to defend herself, no scales to shield her body.  

And yet, even though she must have known all of this, she spoke with unwavering conviction.  

“I chose you. So you choose me too. Don’t stay with your father, just stay with me.”