Sohee stepped back and stared at Mark.

“What…was that?” She voiced, Mark’s brows met before making her sit on one of the couches.

“The police.” Mark nodded at her, Sohee looked up, he smiled before plopping down beside her.

“Mark, you don’t understand, he could…Ella~”

“I know. I know everything.” Mark said quietly as he took her hand in his.

“What?”

“That video he has of Ella, he tried to blackmail you with it, right?”

Sohee swallowed, Mark smiled and gently caressed her cheek.

“You tried to fix things for me, knowing you’ll get hurt.” He said sadly.

“I didn’t want Ella…to see that clip. Mark, I..I..”

“The Choi Group approached your parents when they realized they needed money. And, they knew about your dilemma, being an only daughter facing issues with your ist BOD.”

Sohee’s brows met briefly, somehow it all made sense now.

“They needed to secure their company, that’s why he was so adamant about marrying you. He even used Ella against you.”

“Mark, I~”

“And you so willingly ran to him. To his trap.” Mark exhaled and put his hand down. Sohee bit her lip, a little worried.

But Mark looked up and smiled at her.

“As usual, I have to literally pick you out of the mess.” He teased, Sohee’s eyes narrowed at him.

“You’re laughing? Do you even know how worried I was when you disappeared? Just where the heck did you hide? I thought you had been kidnapped and~”

Mark just leaned forward and pressed his lips against hers.

“I was trying to break your engagement…again. But this time, I succeeded.” He chuckled before pulling away from her.

Ella stepped in Johnny’s office; she put her bag down and started to walk around. She puffed her cheeks and went to Johnny’s table, her brows rose as she noticed his laptop, she opened the gadget and leaned against her palms, then she saw it.

She staggered back as the video started playing in front of her.

She started to shake as she pulled away from the desk, then she landed on the carpeted floor with a thud.

It was all coming back to her, what happened that night. Minho….He was touching her, her eyes went to the screen again. She could see Minho pushing her towards the bed while slowly taking off her clothes.

“Ella!”

Johnny rushed in the room, his eyes widened when he saw her on the floor.

“Elle~” He shut the laptop close; she looked up to meet his gaze. Johnny knelt down across her, Ella flinched away from him.

“That….that…How..When did you..” She let out a shaky breath.

“He used that file to blackmail Sohee noona.” Johnny said carefully, he so badly wanted to wipe the tears away from her cheeks and hold her, but Ella wasn’t even meeting his gaze.

“Elle, I’m sorry. I know I should have told you sooner, but I…you kept on having these nightmares, and I was worried you’d,”

Ella moved closer to him, she gently cupped his cheek.

“You don’t have to apologize. I..understand you. I…Thank you.” She said as more tears lined her eyes.

“But, I need….some air right now. I’ll see you at home.” She took a deep breath before kissing him. Ella pulled away and stood up.

“Elle,” Johnny spoke.

“Don’t worry, I’ll be home later. Cook mozzarella ramen for me.” She smiled at him before leaving the office.

Mark watched as Minho was being hauled into the police car, he leaned against the windows as reporters and cameramen started to close in around him. He smirked.

“But, with what’s happening..is this okay?” Sohee asked quietly, Mark looked at her.

“Don’t worry, you’re name or Lotte wont even be mentioned. I made sure of that.” Mark walked to her.

“No, I..I know that, I know how you do things, but with Ella…and he…”

Mark sighed and gently wrapped his arms around her.

“You don’t have to worry about him. Everything’s going to be fine. We’ll be fine.”

Sohee just exhaled before pressing her cheek against his chest, Mark just smiled and kissed the top of her head.

“So, are we going to talk about your great escape in Hawaii?” Mark started, Sohee slowly pulled away from him with a sheepish smile on her face.

“Uhmmmm.” She mumbled, Mark grinned at her.

“I’m sorry. It…Well, not really one of my most shining moments, but you still love me, right?” Sohee looked at him, Mark just chuckled before squeezing her waist.

“I do. I kind of need to check on Ella. Wanna come?”

Ella stepped out of the elevator, she was still in a daze. It was all starting to make sense to her, her brother’s hostility towards Minho, Johnny’s brusque treatment towards Sohee and Minho right after their engagement was announced and her nightmares. It was all him, Minho. He had almost succeeded in taking advantage of her.

Her fists curled, she was trying so hard to remain calm and have a breakdown.

“Ella?”

She halted and looked up, Hansol was walking towards her, she paused.

“Oh, o—oppa,” She faced him, Hansol’s brows rose when he saw how tensed she was.

“Are you okay?”

“Oppa, I..I don’t think..About what happened,”

Hansol just shrugged at her.

“I know. It will always be him, right?” He said, Ella just looked away.

“But, I really did try to help you, Elle.”  Hansol spoke again, Ella was about to speak when she felt a painful sting on her shoulder, and then she grew dizzy. Her knees started to betray her as she tried to walk towards him.

“H—Hansol~”

The world turned black.

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