“Sergei! Are you going to treat me like a child until the end? Just wait and see! I’ll make you fall in love with me!”

Yuhyeon shook her head. She was twenty-one this year, but her immaturity was incredible.

As Ivan’s girlfriend, he had treated her like a younger sister, but at some point she had started to confess her feelings for him.

She didn’t even feel like a woman to him, not even like a girlfriend. Of course, his adoptive father wanted him to be with Lydia, but for him, there was only one woman in the world.

Han Soo-min…

‘The final chapter of my life will be written in vengeance—against you.’

***

Back in her room, Soo-min angrily took off her dress. Even though she told herself there was no need to dwell on it, the image of the two individuals remained in her mind.

“What is this feeling… Is it jealousy?”

The unfamiliar emotion made Soo-min feel melancholy.

She went to the bathroom and turned on the faucet to fill the large bath tub. As the water rose quickly, she rushed to immerse herself.

The hot water seemed to relieve the tension in her muscles.

The front wall was glass, revealing an endless expanse of ocean under a star-studded night sky.

The reception had been an unmitigated disaster.

His wife – the other woman – had shown up without warning, clinging to him, mocking him in front of their guests.

“This isn’t even an arranged marriage…”

The media had woven a fairy tale, portraying Beom Yuhyeon as a man who fell in love with Soo-min at first sight, and left everything behind, including his previous marriage, to be with her.

They had painted it as a love that transcended all boundaries, a romance so powerful it eclipsed the past.

But tonight, under the open sky and the eyes of countless onlookers, that carefully crafted illusion crumbled.

A woman – his woman – embracing Yuhyeon at her own reception?

Even Byeon Yedo, for all his faults, had at least pretended to love her in public. But Yuhyeon… he had completely changed the moment the wedding was over.

He wasn’t playing with her anymore, not exactly. But still – was she really nothing more than a body to warm his bed?

Soo-min’s chest tightened with pain.

Even her second husband was attracted to other women.

‘Was something wrong with her? Had she lost what it was that made a woman desirable?’

Just then, she heard the sound of the door opening. Soo-min pressed the spa button.

Soon, the bathroom was filled with the loud bubbling sound of water jets.

She heard the bathroom door open but kept her eyes closed.

Then she heard the soft rustle of clothes being taken off.

‘…He’s undressing? H-he’s really… ‘

Soo-min’s heart started pounding.

To bathe with him-!

This was her chance to finally see the initials Junhwan had tattooed on his pelvis.

He wasn’t Junhwan, but still… she wanted to know. She had to see for herself.

Although her eyes were closed, Soo-min focused her ears in the direction of the movement.

Moments later, she felt the water shift as someone entered the tub and slowly opened her eyes.

Bubbles!

The tub was half bubbles and half water. Just as she had a chance to see his body, the foam conveniently hid him.

“She’s Ivan’s girlfriend. Her name isLydia.”

“Ah, her name is Lydia.”

“She had a crush on me for years and always wanted my attention. Last year alone, she proposed five times.”

She was surprised to hear that he had received a proposal at all.

“She is a young and beautiful woman…and yet you chose to marry me instead. I just don’t get it.”

“I have a business to run in Korea. And I wanted to marry a Korean.”

“Oh, right. I forgot. You had to get married because of your business.”

Her forgetfulness got worse every day. She didn’t understand why she kept forgetting things about Yuhyeon – it made her feel like something was wrong with her.

“Are you jealous?”

“Jealous? Why should I be? There’s no reason to be jealous if there are no feelings between us.”

Soo-min let out a hollow laugh.

“But… you look angry, don’t you?”

“You’re imagining things, Yuhyeon. I’m completely fine… ah…”

His gaze turned cold.

“If you’re really okay, that’s good… but honestly, it doesn’t feel good. You’re my wife now – can’t you at least pretend to be jealous?”

“I’m not capable of that.”

Even if Yedo had been unfaithful all the time, as long as she didn’t witness it, it had never really bothered her. Maybe she just didn’t have the emotion called jealousy.

Yuhyeon tilted her head with a slight smile.

“You really are something. Being able to stand your husband holding another woman… I guess that’s how you managed to stay married even when your ex-husband cheated on you.”

Soo-min winced.

“How did you…?”

“No need to be so shocked. Korean social circles are full of loose-lipped people. Everyone thinks you got divorced because your husband cheated on you.”

It might have been her imagination, but the smile on his lips seemed genuinely amused.

“It almost seems as if you find my unfortunate past entertaining.”

“If that’s what you think, I won’t bother correcting you.”

“…”

Yuhyeon stretched out both arms along the edge of the bathtub, his gaze fixed intently on Soo-min.

That piercing look made her instinctively shrink back like a turtle retreating into its shell. A silent tension filled the room – here it came again.

Whenever the two of them were in the same place, it always ended in caresses. This time they had entered the tub completely n*ked.

“This is the first time we’ve been n*ked in the bath together. I like that you got undressed first and waited for me.”

“You said I could do whatever I wanted with my body, but I hope you’ll still take care of how I feel. Like you always say – we have a long life ahead of us…”

“No.”

When he suddenly stood up, Soo-min’s eyes instinctively fell to his lower body – only to find that the bubbles still covered the most intimate part.

He moved through the water towards her and reached out to take her hand.

In one swift movement, he lifted her waist and placed her on his thigh. His touch was gentle as he ran his hand down her back, then leaned in to gently brush her shoulder with his teeth. Her whole body tensed.

“If you can stand my touch… then I will consider it.”

“Yuhyeon… wait…”

A shiver ran through her as his lips trailed from her shoulder to her neck. Beneath her, the firm pressure of his *rousal pressed insistently against her, heat radiating between them.

“Doesn’t it feel good? Skin against skin, sliding like this…touch it. I’m hard already.”

He ran her hand down and over his p*nis. It twitched under her touch, pulsating with life.

“Ahh…”

“Luckily, I only lose control when it’s you, so you don’t have to worry about me cheating.”

His fingers moved gently between her legs, drawing a sharp gasp from Soo-min as her back arched.

“…Ugh…Ah…”

“Someone once said that the passion between newlyweds fades after a year. I’d like to prove them wrong. So don’t you think we should get used to each other’s touch?”

He cupped her br*ast in one hand and teased her with his mouth. His teeth grazed her sensitive skin, and the sensation sent waves of pleasure through him.

“Ah… That way of yours earlier… made me uncomfortable…”

“You were the one who left. If you had stayed a little longer, you would have seen how I handled it.”

“Don’t mock me. My second marriage has to look happier than anyone else’s…”

“You don’t have to worry about that.”

He gently grabbed Soo-min’s damp, disheveled hair and pulled her into a kiss.

His tongue swept through her mouth, sucking carefully to the base of her tongue.

The sound of his tongue moving and saliva spilling over her lips was intensely sensual.

“Mmph…mm…”

His tongue wrapped around hers in slow circles, embracing and releasing in a gentle rhythm. Every touch felt alive.

He gently bit down on her lips, focusing only on them, sucking and nibbling with persistent intent.

Then he spread Soo-min’s thighs wide and settled between them. The heat between her legs was intense, her body hypersensitive.

He pressed his *rousal between her b*ttocks, pressing hard. The burning desire made her feel parched.

She needed something stronger to quench that burning thirst called desire – but she felt that if they went as far as actual intercourse, something inside her might break.

With him – she knew that through him – who resembled Junhwan – she would end up trying to feel Junhwan again.

No. That would be unforgivable for both him and Junhwan.

Soo-min held back with every ounce of strength she had.

His movements gradually accelerated, his hips rocking back and forth, sending waves over the edge of the tub.

“Ahhh…”

Soo-min gasped roughly with each thrust of his body. The heat between them was intense and it felt like he could enter her at any moment – yet surprisingly, he never slipped, not even once.

Ugh… ugh…