Her whole body trembled. She couldn’t breathe.

What… what had she just heard?

Eunha’s eyes burned red, as though blood were rising into the whites.

“Dad… what is he talking about?!”

Even when they’d lost all their savings to fraud, even when loan sharks chased them home after he secretly borrowed money, her father had always held his head high.

But now… he couldn’t even look her in the eye.

“…This is a lie, right? He’s lying, isn’t he?”

The driver The driver from six years ago. A man who no longer existed in this world. Everything pointed to one person.

No. No—it couldn’t be.

“Right? Tell me it’s not. It’s not, is it?!”

A sound tore from Eunha’s throat—an animal’s howl.

Please say no.

Please tell me it isn’t true.

She begged with her whole being, but Lee Sun-han shut her out completely.

“Get the money ready. If you don’t, I’ll go straight to your husband.”

The man called Gu, the so-called boss, brushed past her with a snake-like smile. Part of her wanted to grab his arm and demand the truth, to ask if every word he’d spat out was real, if there wasn’t a single lie.

To ask if her father… if Lee Sun-han had truly ordered the death of the driver six years ago.

But Eunha could not ask.

She was terrified that if she pushed him, he might actually tell her what really happened that day. So she stood frozen, saying nothing, until the man finally stepped out the door.

When it closed, a silence fell—so heavy it felt dangerous.

“…Tell me the truth. Say it yourself. Did you really… do something like that?”

Her voice split into several broken pieces. Lee Sun-han, who had been staring anywhere but at her, turned his head and met her eyes.

“What did you do?!”

Rationality snapped. Rage surged until it reached its peak.

“Don’t believe a word that b*stard says. He killed the man himself and is trying to pin it on me!”

Eunha stared at him with hollow, emptied eyes as he delivered the blatant lie without a flicker of shame.

“Do I look like someone who could do that? I don’t have the guts for something like that!”

If that were true…did he realize what his own face looked like right now?

A man who couldn’t hide even a fraction of his guilt—who couldn’t even control a single expression—claiming he was incapable of such a thing.

How could a person do something like this?

“…You’re not even human. You’re… not even….”

The doorbell rang, and Eunha’s shoulders shot up in fright.

“A-anyway. We have to shut Gu’s mouth, so help me get the money.”

“If you didn’t do it, then why are you paying him?”

None of it made sense. She didn’t even want to call him father. Her breath wouldn’t come, and Eunha pounded her chest with her fist.

“I’m the victim here! I didn’t do anything! He’s threatening me with lies, what do you expect me to do?!”

Lee Sun-han stomped around, shouting that he was being framed. Eunha stared at him with ice-cold eyes.

“You killed someone—what can’t you do? And what if something happens to me? Do you think things will be fine for you?”

“…Ha.”

“And you think he’ll only come after me? What about you? Your mother? Hyesung?”

It was Lee Sun-han himself who was threatening lives to get what he wanted.

“If Gu tells that lie to your husband, do you really think you’ll be able to live normally?”

She already couldn’t live normally. Even if her husband didn’t know, she couldn’t live as if nothing had happened.

“That’s why I told you to hurry up and get pregnant. Who gets divorced when there’s a kid? Have the baby before he finds out.”

He was out of his mind. Completely insane. To bring up having a child in a moment like this? The sight of his face—so devoid of guilt—made her want to retch.

Ding-dong—!

The bell rang again.

This time, it didn’t stop.

Eunha staggered toward the entrance. She almost collapsed several times on the way.

She opened the door without even asking who it was—and he was there.

“You didn’t come out, so I got worried.”

Ah… what should she do? What was she supposed to do?

“Are you okay? You look white as a sheet.”

She turned her head to avoid his hand as it reached for her face. She felt his fingers flinch back.

“I… got into a fight with my dad. So…”

He looked like he had a thousand questions, but he didn’t say any of them. Instead, he wrapped his arm around her shoulders.

Eunha squeezed her eyes shut.

“Let’s go. I want to leave. Right now.”

She couldn’t bear to look at Lee Sun-han any longer, nor could she allow her husband to see him. Insisting that they leave immediately, she grabbed her bag from the floor. Without a word, he took it from her and carried it himself.

On the way to her mother’s hospital, they stopped at a traffic light and he held her hand tightly. Eunha stubbornly stared out of the window.

Her father’s crime had come back to haunt him. She resented her father so much it made her sick: the man who had done something unforgivable; who had handed her over in marriage; who had taken money from the man she married.

No, resentment wasn’t enough.

Hatred.

Yes. She hated him.

Looking outside, she saw a bare tree, with only a few leaves remaining. One of those leaves spun slowly as it fell to the ground.

It reminded her of her own broken heart.

Eunha gave a brittle, papery smile, a tear slipping down her cheek as if something inside her had collapsed.

It was cold. Despite the heater being on full blast, she felt an unbearable chill.

“Your mother’s okay, so stop crying. I’ll handle the rest.”

Guilt piled onto her shoulders, rising higher and higher with no end in sight. She didn’t dare look at his face, so she stared at their intertwined hands instead.

Then a question formed, and she slowly opened her mouth.

“Your dad… I mean, Father… how did—no, when did he pass away?”

“Not long after you disappeared. It was an accident. Sudden acceleration.”

Her heart nearly stopped.

The last moments she had spent with him flashed through her mind: the way he had staggered into the car like a zombie, unable to return her greeting. He had looked startled and shaken by something.

Why had he been killed?

What had driven Lee Sun-han to do it? Had he discovered something he shouldn’t have? But what kind of secret could that be?

By that time, Lee Sun-han had already lost everything.

Eunha loosened her clasped fingers. She wanted to intertwine her fingers with his again, but held herself back.

Should she tell him the truth?

No, she couldn’t. Never.

She knew better than anyone how much he respected his father. He was a kind man who always smiled softly and looked after her. He was the man who would tell her what the weather was like that day and remind her to take an umbrella, dress warmly, and drink more water in the heat. He always took her side when Lee Sun-han scolded her.

‘I’m sorry… Father… I’m so sorry. Truly… I’m sorry.’

She had no idea how to bear this burden.

If he ever found out that the daughter of his father’s murderer had given birth to his child, it was obvious what the outcome would be. She would live in h*ll, far worse than anything she had experienced thus far.

Even now, this was h*ll. There was nowhere lower to fall.

It would be better to be branded a traitor. Fortunately, he didn’t know about Hyesung yet, and it was fortunate that she hadn’t told him. If he hated her, that would be easier.

She had to divorce him. She had to leave his side.

It was only recently that he had become gentle. Originally, he had married her expecting to be unhappy. She didn’t want to see the day when he would come to resent or hate her.

No, that wasn’t true. She didn’t know. She couldn’t find an answer.

If she told him the truth about Lee Sun-han’s crime, would he still be able to look at her? Wouldn’t he be reminded of it every time he saw her?

They would end up divorcing anyway.

But what if she didn’t tell him? She could continue to experience his gentleness. She could stay by his side.

But she couldn’t. Eunha had to make a choice. It would be a choice that went against her conscience.

Should she tell him that her child’s father had returned, and that they were going to live together again? He wouldn’t believe her. Should she ask Minhoo for help?

No — then Minhoo would find out everything.

“Why is it suddenly pouring?”

Dark clouds filled the sky, like the future waiting for her.

A shadow fell across Eunha’s face.