Even knowing it would hurt, she couldn’t let go of the last hope.

Had she ever been this angry in her life?

Arin couldn’t suppress the rising anger.

“Mother, didn’t I tell you three years ago? I’m going to divorce this man. How could you do this?”

Before boarding the plane to Jeju, Arin had called Kyung-sook.

She wanted to part ways.

She couldn’t continue because it was too hard.

[Kyung-sook had said, “Arin, are you out of your mind? Why did you leave? Aren’t you going to come back?”]

Arin, crying profusely, received these words from Kyung-sook.

Kyung-sook tried to change her mind, citing the well-being of Choi and the family.

[Sorry, mother. I’m going to divorce Jae-hyuk. I want to live my life.] [Arin, without you, we’ll all die.]

Kyung-sook tried threats and persuasion, but Arin had no intention of changing her decision.

“Is this your answer to what I said, mother?”

“Arin, what did I do now that you’re accusing me? Since you were little, you’ve been like this. Don’t throw a tantrum, come here and sit.”

Arin was astounded by Kyung-sook’s emotionless face. To Arin, Kyung-sook seemed utterly indifferent to her feelings.

“Who is ‘husband’ to me?”

“Arin, your husband is right here. Didn’t mom tell you? Just because you live separately doesn’t mean you’re not a couple.”

Arin saw Kyung-sook’s gaze briefly shift to Jae-hyuk.

“Mother, how could you do this to me?”

“Arin, what are you saying I did now? You’ve always been like this. Don’t be like a child, come here and sit.”
At Kyung-sook’s response, Arin clenched her fist tightly.

‘Is this the answer you wanted to hear, Choi Arin? Is this the response you were hoping for?’

Maybe, no. It had been from the beginning.

From the moment she learned she wasn’t their blood, maybe this was the destined conclusion.

She could never be a family to them.

Tears quickly filled her large eyes.

Blinking slightly, it seemed as if tears would soon spill out. Trying to hold back the tears, Arin bit her lower lip hard. A bitter taste of blood swirled in her mouth.

A part of her heart felt like it had been cut away, leaving an emptiness.

“Now, that man and I are strangers. I told you I wanted a divorce. You shouldn’t have used him.”

“Arin.”

“Is this why you made me marry him? Did you pretend not to know when I said I wanted a divorce? When I insisted on a divorce, did you contact him behind my back?”

“Sit down, mom told you to sit, didn’t she?”

“Mother. Do you love me?”

A crack appeared on Kyung-sook’s face, which had been calm until now. Her eyes quickly scanned Jae-hyuk.

“How can you say that? If a mother doesn’t love her daughter…….”

Kyung-sook’s emotional gap wasn’t due to regret or any reason towards Arin. It was because she was worried about Jae-hyuk’s reaction.

Kyung-sook had never imagined that Arin knew ‘that fact’. She was annoyed that Arin, who should have shown love in front of Jae-hyuk, was not listening to her.

Kyung-sook always thought if only Arin had just endured, she wouldn’t have had to go through all this trouble. She resented Arin for crying and talking about divorce. After all the effort to raise her!

‘It’s all over, you’re not really my mother……. Don’t be hurt, Choi Arin. You knew you were just a means to an end.’

Arin read the flickering emotions in Kyung-sook’s black eyes.

She accepted the cruel reality that Kyung-sook was a heartless mother who unleashed her anger when her plans to satisfy her greed were thwarted.

All the time she struggled to become a real daughter turned into a mirage, disappearing into thin air.

“You’re behaving like this, what does that make mom? Ban is misunderstanding.”

Kyung-sook tried to pretend to be a ‘good mother’, but as always, she was speaking to Jae-hyuk, not her.

Fear that Jae-hyuk might misunderstand and refuse to fulfill his promises was all that was in Kyung-sook’s mind.

“You shouldn’t have done this. No matter what…… This isn’t how it should have been. If it was going to be like this…….”

Arin finally collapsed to the floor. Kyung-sook’s gaze at her grew colder.

Kyung-sook approached Arin as if swallowing her rising anger, biting her lower lip. She tried to lift Arin by grabbing her arm.

“Get up, Arin. Mom said I would explain. You’re misunderstanding.”

But Arin heard nothing.

Though she didn’t receive as much love as she gave, she felt secure within the family’s fence.

Arin felt a void in her heart, a sense of emptiness and desperation. Tears that had been brimming in her large eyes fell onto the floor.

Arin looked up at Kyung-sook, who was pulling her arm roughly. Tears trickled down Arin’s pale cheeks under Kyung-sook’s irritated gaze.

Kyung-sook let go of Arin’s arm, not standing up, and approached Jae-hyuk.

“Sorry, let’s talk about what I couldn’t say next time.”
“……Wait a moment.”

Jae-hyuk, with a pained expression, spoke to Kyung-sook, then bypassed her to kneel in front of Arin.

As Jae-hyuk approached her, Arin sharply turned her head away. Seeing her reaction, Jae-hyuk bit his lower lip hard.

“I will tell you everything… whatever you want to ask. So, Arin… please just give me a little of your time.”