After spending the day cheerfully playing with Hope, Ye-jin visited her management company’s office at around two in the afternoon to discuss her return schedule seriously with the director.

When the meeting ended, she stepped outside and took out her phone to call the babysitter and check on Hope.

Just as she pressed the call button, her hand slipped, the phone dropped to the ground with a sharp thud.

A crack split across the screen.

“Ah… seriously…”

Ye-jin grimaced in dismay.

Ji-hee, who was beside her, quickly bent down and picked up the phone.

“I think this one’s dead.”

The display was shattered, and the power wouldn’t turn on.

Ye-jin let out a deep sigh.

“Should I arrange for a courier to take it in for repair?”

“No, I’ll just go myself.”

Since she was already outside, there was no need to send someone else.

Ye-jin got into the car that Ji-hee was driving. A Volvo followed closely behind.

Two broad-shouldered bodyguards shadowed her wherever she went, even within the confines of the mansion.

When they arrived at the service center, Ye-jin handed her damaged phone to the technician.

“I dropped it earlier. The screen cracked, and now it won’t turn on.”

“I’ll open it up and take a look.”

The technician carefully dismantled the device and examined the tiny internal parts one by one.

“It looks like only the components and the screen need replacing.”

“Alright, please go ahead.”

The technician swiftly replaced the necessary parts and screen with great skill. When he pressed the power button, the phone sprang back into action.

He began checking a few apps to ensure that everything was working properly. However, then his expression stiffened and his brows knitted together.

“There’s a surveillance app installed here. Were you aware of that?”

“…What?”

Ye-jin’s eyes widened, her voice catching with confusion at his cautious words.

“This one right here,” the technician said, pointing at the screen. “It looks like a default application, but it’s actually a surveillance app.”

“……”

“With this, someone could eavesdrop on your calls, read your messages, even track your location.”

Ye-jin froze, the color draining from her face. Suddenly, she was flooded with a vivid memory of him throwing her the phone while smiling coldly and composedly.

‘He did it on purpose… to keep tabs on me.’

He handed her the phone in an act of benevolence, but it was nothing more than a tool of control.

Unbelievable. He already had two bodyguards shadowing her every move, and he’d even made Secretary Song Ji-hee accompany her to the toilet. Yet that still wasn’t enough for him. Had he installed a surveillance app as well?

A chill ran down her spine, shuddering through her entire body. Just how far did this man intend to go?

‘How tight do you plan to squeeze my throat? Will you only stop once I’ve suffocated completely?’

⟡⟡⟡⟡⟡⟡

“The CEO probably just did it out of worry.”

Ji-hee said cautiously as they exited the service center, stealing nervous glances at Ye-jin.

“After what happened last time, when you suddenly disappeared… he was really shaken. Maybe he was just scared it might happen again.”

It sounded more like an attempt to calm Ye-jin down than genuine defense of her husband.

“Ji-hee, did you know about this?”

“Huh? No, I didn’t!”

Ji-hee frantically waved her hands. Though she’d been ordered to monitor Ye-jin closely wherever she went, even Ji-hee hadn’t imagined he would go as far as planting spyware on her phone.

“He’s… really something.”

Ye-jin muttered bitterly.

How had she ever fallen into this man’s trap? It was becoming increasingly difficult to endure.

He was the kind of man who crushed every hope she dared to have, who turned her light into despair. And she was slowly breaking apart in his arms.

“What does he even want from me?”

“……”

“Why is he doing all this for?”

Ji-hee almost answered, Because he loves you. He just doesn’t know how. But she swallowed the words. In moments like this, silence was the only safe choice.

⟡⟡⟡⟡⟡⟡

That night, after Seo Junghoo had finished work and returned to the bedroom, Ye-jin, who had been waiting for him, threw her phone to the floor as hard as she could.

It hit the floor with a loud, splintering crack, shattering into pieces.

“What are you doing?”

His voice was flat, his expression blank, as though this were nothing new. The same deep, indifferent tone he always used.

To him, this was probably just another one of his wife’s fits.

“You wiretapped my calls, read my messages, and tracked where I went—is that true?”

Ye-jin’s eyes blazed as she shot the words at him.

For the first time, his expression changed. A faint ripple crossed his dark eyes, as if he’d finally realized the weight of the situation.

“Then tell me, what was I supposed to do? How am I meant to trust a woman who gave birth to another man’s child?”

She hadn’t expected an apology, but his brazenness still hit her like a slap. Her lips trembled.

“I can’t live with you anymore!”

She couldn’t do it—not with a man so warped, so dark inside. He might even become a danger to her child. And if her daughter grew up watching him, learning his cruelty—

“Let’s get divorced.”

Her voice was firm and resolute. She still loved him, but she could no longer bear to be around him.

He stepped closer.

A heavy shadow fell over her face. Even though he hadn’t touched her, his presence pressed down on her like a weight, suffocating her.

His fingers brushed slowly across her red lips.

“Ye-jin… don’t let that pretty mouth of yours say things that filthy.”

His tone sounded gentle, coaxing almost but beneath it pulsed a terrifying authority, the kind that crushed resistance.

“You already know it’s impossible.”

“……”

“You know I’ll never let you go. You know you’ll never escape me.”

“……”

“Then why do you keep saying such reckless things, hmm?”

He snorted, a laugh utterly cold and cruel. His smile lit a stubborn fire in Ye-jin, and she clenched her fist so hard her knuckles went white, shouting with resolve.

“Don’t be so sure. I’ll find a way. I’ll find a way to leave you.”

For an instant his eyes flashed like an angry wolf, and he knocked her down onto the bed. He seized both her wrists hard enough to bind them, pinning her thighs with his knee so she couldn’t get away.

“And what are you going to do? Go find some punk and stage a little s*icide show?”

He spat, the venom in his voice icy.

“Go ahead. I’ve gotten d*mn good at finding people. If you want to play hide-and-seek, fine—play. I’ll entertain you as much as you like.”

Leaving him was a vow Ye-jin had sworn with everything she had, yet he treated that vow like a jest—sneering, as if it meant nothing at all.

And as if that weren’t cruel enough, he began to toy with her body like a man admiring his possession, his large hand gliding over her curves with deliberate slowness.

His touch lingered over her br*asts, traced the narrow line of her waist, slid down to cup her thigh—and without a moment’s hesitation, he lifted her pajama skirt.

His thick-fingered hand moved with an atrocious familiarity. He shoved one side of her underwear aside and worked his way in.

Ye-jin flinched and cried out with a metallic sound as she jerked her hips.

“I despise men like you.”

“Is that so? But your body sure seems to like me.”

Just a touch, and her body was already betraying her. He withdrew his hand from under her skirt and raised his middle finger. Sticky fl*id glistened at its tip.

“Look at this. You’re crying out because you like it.”

He taunted, and then, with a lewd curl of his tongue, he licked the damp finger. Ye-jin scowled; his obscene licking only grew more voracious. He pressed his saliva-slick hand back under her skirt.

“Ha…”

Ye-jin let out a wild cry and curled her toes when she felt a touch exactly where she was most sensitive. Hating herself for the pleasure that flared up despite everything, she bit her lip so hard that it stung. But no matter how hard she tried to stop them, the impetuous m*ans slipped out.

⟡⟡⟡⟡⟡⟡

Morning came. When he left for work, he found two bodyguards standing guard at the bedroom door. Ye-jin called Ji-hee into the room. Given how often Ji-hee was in the bedroom, the guards wouldn’t find it strange.

“You called?”

Ji-hee asked politely as she entered.

Ye-jin’s face was grim. She was about to try the game of escape again, and this time she swore she would not be caught.

“Ji-hee… wait.”

Before she could speak, a flicker of caution caused her to scan the room from corner to corner, just in case there were any hidden cameras or microphones. Thankfully, she found nothing suspicious and relaxed slightly.

“Ji-hee, I need a favor.”

“What is it?”

“I know it’s shameless, but there’s no one else I can ask.”

Ye-jin suddenly dropped to her knees before Ji-hee.

“I want to run away from him.”

“M-Madam?”

Ji-hee stammered.

“Please—help me.”