Perhaps he saw the deep hatred that rose on my face, along with the stained despair, and approached me.

A chilly wind blew from the river.

His body scent mixed with the oncoming wind tickled my nose.

“I know you had a hard time.”

He quietly approached and embraced me.

“I know it’s still very hard for you. I also know what my younger brother did to you.”

He gently stroked the back of my head.

Like it was the only expression of comfort that the clumsy Jae Ha could offer.

“After my mother passed away, and when I came to my senses, there was no one by my side.”

“……”

“So, I’ve never received comfort, nor have I comforted anyone.”

A story of his that I had never heard before.

I had my head buried in his chest, so I couldn’t see the expression on his face as he continued talking.

I could only feel that his voice, which carried on with the conversation calmly, was quieter than before.

“Maybe it’s because I’ve lived a life where actions speak louder than words. To be honest, I’m not sure what to do in times like this.”

Jae Ha’s soft voice as he continued speaking warmed my heart.

It wasn’t comfort, but within his embrace, where I could feel his warmth, I slowly felt my heart calming down.

“So, I’ll offer you the comfort I can. Should I give Seo Ji Han a good scratch?”

“……?”

I unintentionally lifted my head from his chest at his words.

Then, I met Jae Ha’s eyes, which were steady.

“He proposed, right.”

His voice, sweeter than ever, echoed in my ears.

“Marry me, Mr. Seo Jae Ha.”

“But if it’s the Seo Jae Ha I know, he would naturally hate to get married.”

It was something I had said to him at some point.

As if he had not forgotten my offhand remark, he continued speaking to me.

“Shall we, that marriage.”

It felt like dozens of fireworks had exploded in my head.

What did I just hear? This can’t be a dream.

“There seems to be no better revenge than that.”

Jae Ha’s unfathomable dark gaze met mine.

Looking at him, loosening his lips to smile, my mouth was completely dry.

‘Ah… what should I do?’

I wanted to get drunk so I wouldn’t remember today’s events when I woke up tomorrow.

But why was my mind becoming clearer and clearer under his deeply entwined gaze?

“I can’t…”

Unconsciously, I clenched the sleeve of his shirt that I had grabbed.

“Why am I doing this? I’m trying to sober up. Ah…”

When I let go of his sleeve, my heart pounded like crazy.

I embraced Jae Ha, who seemed like he would say it was all nothing by tomorrow.

Unconsciously, my steps faltered.

Contrary to my clear mind, my body still lacked strength.

“You’ll fall again, at this rate.”

I was led by Jae Ha, who strongly gripped my waist as I was about to fall.

I could feel his familiar breath without looking. It seemed like if I opened my tightly shut eyes, it would be truly irreversible.

“Mr. Seo Jae Ha. Normally, when I’m drunk, I can’t remember well.”

Even though I was definitely drunk, my drunkenness evaporated in an instant.

No, it felt like my mind was clearer than before I drank.

“I think I’ll remember today.”

I removed the hand that had been covering my face slowly.

Jae Ha, looking at me from a distance where our noses could almost touch, came into view.

“Are you serious about that?”

And not long after, I heard his answer at another location.

With a short breath, I opened the firmly closed door.

“Have you arrived?”

A late afternoon on the weekend.

As soon as I opened the elegant sliding door of the office, Vice Chairman Seo Min Guk, who was sitting down and looking at me, was there.

He was the vice chairman of Hojin Group and the father of Seo Ji Han.

The vice chairman had been contacting me to meet separately since the shareholders’ meeting.

It was an urgent contact, unlike my indifferent stepfather.

“Yes, Mr. Vice Chairman. It feels like it’s been a long time since we’ve met like this.”

I had called him father for five years.

Had we ever met alone like this?

Judging by the fact that I couldn’t recall any such memory, it seemed this was the first time.

“I heard about the divorce.”

I came to my senses at the familiar low voice that reached my ears as I was lost in thought.

“Do you really intend to part ways with Ji Han?”

On the surface, he seemed to be asking about the divorce, but what he really wanted to know was probably about the merger with W.

I tilted the glass that I received from him and wet my lips.

“If you’re talking about Mr. Ji Han, it’s over. We’ve decided to end our engagement.”

“Ha, divorce seems so easy. Ji Han seemed to think otherwise.”

What worried him more than my divorce was probably the disruption of the merger between the groups.

He drank cold water instead of the empty alcohol glass.

His discomfort was apparent.

It seemed that the fact that I unilaterally notified him of the divorce had upset him.

“A man can be tempted once or twice. That’s something that happened before marriage.”

“……”

“I think Chairman Seo is not a bad guy except for that.”

He was saying that I was trying to end a marriage tied within the family just because of a single indiscretion.

And he looked at me with a puzzled expression and shook his head.

“Can’t you just let it pass? It’s something that will pass soon. My dear, if you forgive him, a new future will be created.”

Suddenly, he was calling me his daughterinlaw.

It had always been like this. He, who had been my stepfather, still handed me hypocritical words pretending to care for me.

In the end, what he wanted to talk about was the group’s merger.

Feeling nauseous at his calm demeanor, I turned my head and drank the cold water.

“I’ve decided on the divorce, and Jae Ha will take over the W Group as planned.”

“Yeo Jin, there’s a world of difference between your husband taking over the group and having a professional manager! I’m saying all this for your sake.”

At my firm demeanor, the vice chairman raised his voice abruptly.

“You’re right. As you say, there is no relationship as solid and reliable as family.”

“Yes, exactly!”

A small smile blossomed on his face, which had been stiff, as if he thought we were finally on the same page.

I raised the corner of my mouth into a twisted smile and said towards him,

“Then he should become my husband. The manager who will be responsible for W.”

“What?”

His hand, which was holding the glass, began to shake.

His face turned bewildered as he asked me back.

Then, at the sudden sound of a knock, he turned his head.

Jae Ha, dressed in a suit, could be seen through the opening door.

“Jae Ha. What brings you here?”

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