Gi Cheol seemed momentarily flustered by Do Jun’s question and couldn’t give any answer.

“I’ll visit you soon, father-in-law.”

Do Jun hung up the phone abruptly, as if he didn’t want to hear Gi Cheol’s excuses. After ending the call, Do Jun’s mind became complicated. Since Ga Eun left his side, Do Jun had been focusing all his attention on her for a while.

Even after Ga Eun left his side, Do Jun was still arrogantly thinking that the only place for her to return to was beside him.

He had always thought she was in the palm of his hand. However, in this situation, even Do Jun couldn’t easily guess what her intentions were.

Thoughts of Ga Eun disrupted Do Jun’s life to the point of interfering with his work at the company. Just as he was deep in thought about her, Do Jun’s phone rang loudly.

[I prepared the meal as you instructed, but she said she had no appetite.]

Oh Jipsa’s voice trailed off at the end, as if it was her fault that Ga Eun didn’t finish her meal properly.

“Please continue to take good care of her.”

Do Jun was about to hang up but put the phone back to his ear.

“What is she doing now?”

At Do Jun’s question, Oh Jipsa hurriedly came out of the kitchen to the living room. Just then, there was a loud sound of the front door closing.

[It seems she just left the house.]

Oh Jipsa held back, fearing she might be blamed for Ga Eun’s sudden disappearance. Upon hearing Oh Jipsa’s words, Do Jun’s brow furrowed instantly.

“Did she take her bag with her?”

Oh Jipsa quickly made her way to the room where Ga Eun had been staying. Opening the door and entering, fortunately, the large luggage bag was still placed under the dressing table. Oh Jipsa’s words quickened with urgency.

[The bag is still here.]

Do Jun hurriedly ended the call, as if trying not to reveal his emotions.

“Report to me again when she returns home.”

Do Jun suddenly felt anxious that Ga Eun might disappear from his side again. He slowly opened his drawer.

Inside were the divorce papers she had left on the table before leaving. Contrary to his initial plan, Do Jun had not handed over the divorce papers he had prepared to the lawyer.

Strangely, when he thought that Ga Eun desperately wanted a divorce, Do Jun’s intention to let her go easily disappeared. Rather, his heart hardened with the desire to keep her by his side for a very long time, despite her rejection of him.

Do Jun locked the drawer tightly with a key, as if vowing never to open it again.

[This is the timeline separator]

As soon as Ga Eun came out of the apartment entrance, she repeatedly pressed the close button on the elevator door. She was worried that Oh Jipsa, who was on the phone in the kitchen, might hear the door and follow her outside.

After completely leaving the apartment, she quickly hailed a taxi.

Feeling that Oh Jipsa was monitoring her movements at home, Ga Eun felt suffocated. She thought that besides Do Jun, there was now one more person she had to deceive in the house.

She resolved to leave this house as soon as possible, even if it was just a day earlier. At that moment, her phone rang loudly as if urging her.

When Yoon Gi Cheol’s name appeared on the phone screen, Ga Eun hesitated for a while before not answering his call. But Yoon Gi Cheol persistently kept calling, determined to reach her until she picked up.

Usually, Gi Cheol never called her first, not even on her birthday, except when he wanted her to ask Do Jun for business favors.

Only after three consecutive missed calls were recorded on her phone did Ga Eun leisurely answer Gi Cheol’s call.

[You, what did you say to your husband?]

As soon as he hung up with Do Jun, Yoon Gi Cheol, frightened by Do Jun’s suddenly cold attitude, immediately called Ga Eun.

“What do you mean?”

As Ga Eun asked back, pretending not to know anything, the highly agitated Gi Cheol spoke rapidly.

[This is all because of you. You should have just gone on a three-month business trip to the provinces without causing such an incident.]

Ga Eun had no intention of listening to Gi Cheol’s complaints, so she cut him off abruptly.

“Explain clearly so I can understand.”

Gi Cheol raised his voice, as if blaming Ga Eun.

[Your husband’s attitude towards me has suddenly changed. Did you say something bad about me to him?]

Yoon Gi Cheol called suddenly as if there was an urgent matter, but what he asked about was not Ga Eun’s health condition, but Do Jun’s mood.

Ga Eun found it ridiculous that Yoon Gi Cheol was making such a fuss over Do Jun’s tone of voice and even calling her.

Although it was a contract marriage, he always fulfilled his responsibilities as a son-in-law to Yoon Gi Cheol. It wasn’t out of affection. To him, even dealing with Yoon Gi Cheol seemed no different from performing the duties of his position as a son-in-law.

However, Ga Eun was also concerned about Do Jun’s suddenly changed attitude.

“I’ll go home now. Wait for me.”

Ga Eun didn’t cower at Gi Cheol’s harsh words, but instead demanded more confidently.

[How dare you order me around.]

Gi Cheol seemed even more agitated than before at his daughter Ga Eun’s completely different attitude.

“Do you want Ji Do Jun to know about this side of you as a father?”

At Ga Eun’s cold counterattack, Gi Cheol could only clench his mouth shut.

“I’m getting in a taxi right now.”

Before hanging up, Ga Eun commanded Gi Cheol once more.

“Don’t forget to text me the home address.”

Ga Eun emphasized her voice as if to remind Gi Cheol once again that she had lost her memory. As soon as she hung up, a text message arrived from the chairman’s secretary’s office.

Ga Eun hurriedly hailed a taxi. Soon after the taxi arrived in front of the mansion, she couldn’t immediately ring the doorbell of the mansion.

Before entering the mansion, Ga Eun fiddled with the white pill bottle she had brought from home. Although her feelings were completely different from before, entering through the massive front gate was still difficult for her.

After taking a few deep breaths, Ga Eun mustered the courage to ring the doorbell. Despite the doorbell ringing several times, the tightly closed gate did not open. Only when Ga Eun calmly put her hand on the doorbell button once more did the door open.

As soon as she entered through the gate, she could feel the grandeur of the mansion, as if reflecting her stepmother’s extravagant personality.

The famous sculptor’s statues and mini fountain seemed to speak for how much her stepmother cherished the mansion. Ga Eun scanned every corner of the garden with her eyes as if she were truly visiting this house for the first time.

It seemed there was no space in the mansion untouched by her stepmother’s hand.

Her stepmother, who had come out to the front door in advance as if to show that she was the owner of this house, observed Ga Eun’s behavior with a furrowed brow.

“What brings you here without any notice?”

Her stepmother expressed her displeasure with her whole body, as if unhappy about an uninvited guest entering her palace.

“Do I need to give notice before coming to my own home?”

Ga Eun was not intimidated at all by her stepmother’s sharp expression. Instead, she further irritated her stepmother’s nerves.

“The house is really beautiful.”

Ga Eun ignored her stepmother’s condescending behavior and hurriedly entered the house.

“Our house.”

Her stepmother was extremely annoyed but couldn’t say a word due to Ga Eun’s confident attitude and just followed behind her. Ga Eun sat down on the living room sofa.

“Father will be home soon. Let’s have dinner together, mother.”

Ga Eun maintained a confident attitude as if to say that she was the real owner of this place.

“I’m asking why you suddenly came here.”

Her stepmother looked over Ga Eun’s face several times as if to check if she really didn’t recognize her.

Unlike before when she couldn’t even look at her face properly while talking, Ga Eun sitting on the living room sofa felt like a completely different person.

“Father said he had something to tell me.”

“The chairman? Directly?”

Her stepmother’s face showed disbelief at the fact that they had a conversation just between the two of them, not through her.

“Is it so surprising for a father and daughter to be in contact?”

Ga Eun turned her gaze to the family portrait hanging on the center wall of the living room. Her own image, forcing a smile while looking straight ahead, seemed quite ridiculous to her.

Her stepmother, who had been glancing at Ga Eun’s face, belatedly seemed to have a good idea and couldn’t hide the smile spreading across her lips. Seeing that smile made Ga Eun feel an ominous premonition, as if goosebumps were rising on her back.

“That’s true. Mom was so upset that you didn’t come home often after getting married.”

Her stepmother seemed to exchange glances with Butler Moon as if she was about to execute her plan now.

“Please bring some tea.”

A moment later, coffee and chocolate were placed in front of her.

“It’s chocolate I made myself. I was going to let the chairman taste it first.”

An almond was nicely embedded in the center of the chocolate. For a very brief moment, Ga Eun’s eyes wavered.

“Try just one, considering my sincerity.”

Her stepmother picked up the chocolate herself and held it in front of Ga Eun’s mouth. Ga Eun’s hand, placed under the table, trembled very slightly.

“Alright.”

Ga Eun looked at the chocolate in her hand with the brightest smile she could manage.

“If you chew it, you’ll taste the nutty flavor of the almond, making it even more delicious.”

Her stepmother moved her lips mischievously, waiting for Ga Eun’s lips to part.

Just as she was about to put the chocolate in her mouth under her stepmother’s pressure, the mansion’s doorbell rang.

– Ding dong.

“Who could it be at this hour?”

Her stepmother raised her voice, thinking her plan had been interrupted.

“It’s CEO Ji Do Jun.”

At the butler’s words, her stepmother got up from her seat and hurriedly turned her steps towards the front door.

As soon as her stepmother disappeared towards the entrance, Ga Eun let out a rough sigh.