“Divorce is not something just anyone can do.”
재혁 roughly tousled his hair. Frustrated, he loosened his necktie.
아린’s gaze deepened.
“The fertility clinic isn’t the answer either. I don’t understand why you’re acting like this. Don’t do this, talk to me.”
Every word he spoke was a wound to her.
“Did you really not know?”
She tried to make it obvious.
“You never said anything. You have to speak for me to know.”
While she never explicitly said it, she begged with her whole body for him to understand.
The conclusion was the same. 반재혁 had no interest in 최아린. He knew nothing about her. No, he chose not to know.
아린’s heart, once burning hot, had completely cooled.
Then it happened.
“아린아.”
Her heart sank.
He never called her ‘아린아’ so tenderly before…
Why call her so tenderly now, at the end, making her heart waver?
Despite knowing she shouldn’t resent him, 아린 couldn’t help feeling betrayed by his last-minute tenderness.
Every negative pregnancy test brought scolding from 정 여사, glances from 재혁, and endured insults and contempt from his family.
The hardest part was the contempt and hatred in the eyes of the man she loved. Small words and actions accumulated, leaving indelible scars.
If you’re not going to love me, why can’t you let me go?
I’m not needed as a shield anymore.
So why can’t you just abandon me?
[Don’t see anything, don’t hear anything, don’t do anything. Just stay where you are.]It was what 재혁 had asked before their marriage.
“I’m running out of time.”
재혁 checked the time and continued.
“Fine. If you don’t want to talk now, we’ll talk later.”
But later never came. It had to end now.
아린 said,
“I’m tired of saying sorry. I’m tired of watching other people. I just want to live like a human being.”
She didn’t want to live a life that was killing her anymore.
아린 had never called him ‘오빠’ since their marriage.
For the last time, and to let him know her words were sincere, she said,
“So let’s stop hurting each other. Let’s end it, us.”
For the first time since their marriage, 아린 called him ‘오빠’. His expression became indescribably complex.
“Okay, I get it. But we can’t divorce.”
“오빠.”
“…Don’t do this too.”
재혁 avoided her gaze.
“Let’s cool off and talk later.”
He turned away from her, unaware of her expression, her trembling slender shoulders, her lips bitten to avoid crying, and the many wounds there.
As soon as 재혁 left, 아린 collapsed on the spot.
Memories of 재혁 floated in her mind.
“Happy birthday, 아린아.”
On her 10th birthday, ignored by her parents, 재혁 was the first in her life to celebrate it.
“아린아, want to get married when we’re adults?”
At 14, during a summer when her family didn’t provide love, he was the first to share emotions and promise a future.
“I’ll… try to do something about it. Don’t cry too much, okay?”
Four years ago, when her father was accused of stealing from Chairman 반 and expelled, 재혁 had followed her, holding her cheeks, and spoke those words.
There was no romantic relationship between 아린 and 재혁, but subconsciously, she believed 재혁 would come for her when the time was right.
Even though there was no contact from 재혁 after that day, she still waited, believing he would return.
“오빠… 재혁 오빠.”
But when they met again, the person who smiled warmly and genuinely was no longer there.
“If you want money, I’ll give you as much as you want. But don’t expect love from me. Live like a doll. Don’t hope for anything.”
It was all a misconception from the beginning.
She was the only one who had romantic feelings, and 재혁 might have just felt sympathy or seen her as a younger sister… The marriage proposal was just a childish play.
His tenderness wasn’t for her as a woman.
“It’s over. It’s all over now. I knew 오빠 loved another woman…”
Her face, bowed down, created a large puddle as she cupped her face with her small hands, crying alone in a place where no one understood her.
Late at night, 재혁 left the main house and got into the waiting car.
“Go to 폴스.”
“Yes, sir.”
폴스 was a members-only establishment.
That night, 재혁 had a gathering with third-generation chaebols. It seemed like leisure, but it was an extension of work for networking.
He called his mother, 정 여사, who had left that morning for a trip to 남해 with friends.
“Ah, son.”
정 여사’s affectionate voice flowed from the speaker.
“You came home and now leaving again?”
“Yes.”
“Why did you come home if you’re busy? It must have been tiring.”
With his father’s health deteriorating, 재혁 was busier than ever, virtually leading the group.
He had come home because 아린’s voice sounded off the night before.
A headache hit, and 재혁 pressed his temples.
정 여사’s voice was cheerful, but then,
“I’ll have lunch with 아린 tomorrow.”
“…Why?”
Her tone instantly chilled at 재혁’s words.
When scheming men desperately battle for her favor in the male harem
This one’s also on my reread list! The rivalry, scheming between the men in the imperial harem are just as intense and thrilling as in classic palace drama novels, where concubines fight to the death. Give it a read, girls! I promise you won’t be disappointed.
Synopsis:
“I am not worthy of her… but I still want to be by her side, even if only as a loyal dog…”
Those were the painful whispers of Yue Guanyi – the proud Crown Prince of the Great Qi, who was torn between deep love and a guilty conscience. Despite holding the supreme power of the Imperial Guard, he still could not forget the dark past when he was sold into a brothel.
Fate played a cruel twist when Qiu Shuzhi – a young female official who had just passed the imperial examinations with top honors – stepped into his life. She did not know that she was the one who had saved him from a tragic fate many years ago. And now, her heart was the target of pursuit for both Yue Guanyi and the powerful Empress Dowager Qin Qing.
While Yue Guanyi only dared to silently care for and protect the one he loved from afar, the Empress Dowager Qin Qing openly expressed his feelings and did not hesitate to take advantage of his power to approach Qiu Shuzhi. The covert struggle between the two most powerful forces in the imperial court began…
Trigger warning: All men in this novel are yandere style.
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