Author’s POV

“Tao,” you began, lifting your arms trying to calm him down. But of course it was no use.   “Yah! Huang Xinlei, have you completely lost it?! How could you go get married?! When did you even get a boyfriend? Especially one who looks so damn angry all the time?” he snarled, pointing at Kris.   Your eyes widened, as you saw the displeasing expression your boss had on due to your brother’s snide comment. You quickly cupped his mouth and pushed him into his room.   As you slammed the door shut, you stood in front of it panting.   “Noona move! I’m going to beat that guy up for marrying you!”   “No Tao just listen first, it’s not what you think!” you defended.   You swallowed when you felt the door vibrating against you as the handle was being jiggled.   “I think it is inappropriate for a man and a woman to be alone in a room together, especially if one of the participants is married.” Kris pointed out.   You slapped your forehead realizing Kris’ remark was only feeding to Tao’s fury.   Before you could react, Tao had lifted you up squarely off the ground and tossed you onto his bed. Never before had he used such force on you and to be honest, you were shocked at how overdramatic he was being.   It’s not like you were going to stay single for the rest of your life anyways.   As Tao threw the door open, he gritted his teeth. “Why can’t I be in the same room with Lei?! We’re in the same room most of the time anyways. We live together for crying out loud, you idiot.”   Kris rolled his eyes as he shoved past your brother. “Get up.” He ordered you. You stared blankly at him as you sat there comfortably on the bed.   “She doesn’t have to get up. Lei sleeps there from time to time too. What’s mine is hers. Who are you to order her around?” Tao barked, pulling Kris back around to face him.   Kris turned to you and in his eyes you could see emptiness. “Didn’t you hear me before? I said I am her husband therefore I can tell her to do whatever I want.”   “She’s not a pack mule! That’s it, I’m filing for a divorce!” Tao declared. Yeah because he's the one married to Kris.   At the sound of that word you snapped out of your daze. You quickly leaped off the bed and grabbed your brother’s arm.   “Don’t.” you managed to say as you begged him one last time with your eyes. “Just let me explain.”   With the pleading and desperation taken into account, Tao was aware that you really needed him to listen. He yanked his arm away and punched the wall before leaving.   You sighed in relief knowing that Tao was calming down. Suddenly, you heard a scoff. You slowly spun around and saw Kris eyeing the room.   “Your boyfriend seems rather abusive, Miss Huang. If I knew you were in a relationship already I wouldn’t have asked you to marry me.” He stated in an icy tone.   Boyfriend? Then you caught on to what he was getting at. Immediately you burst out into a storm of laughter, clutching onto the side of your stomach.   Soon you had one palm rested on your knee as you pointed at your boss. Not understanding what was so amusing, Kris raised both of his brows at you.   At last you stopped your laughing as you straightened yourself out, wiping away some of the tears that had formed.   “You kept saying you were my husband because you thought Zitao was my boyfriend? Do you realize how sick that is, President?”   The corners of his lips tugged downwards as he scratched his head. You dismissed him with a wave as you went and searched for your brother.   How should I start it off? You pondered when you finally found Tao in the kitchen, chugging down a cold glass of water. With the truth.    As you inched closer to him he spoke first, “Did he force you, noona? Because if he did we could go to the police.”   You were startled by his comment and instantly reconsidered your idea. If Tao figured you were pretending to be married to Kris because of him, he would reject the deal, ignore the threat and prefer to live life as a homeless person.   When there were no words coming from your lips, he turned to face you. “Tell me, noona. Do you love him?”   As you fumbled around for words, Kris had been wandering around your cramped up, sad-excuse for a home. He stopped at a few photos of you and Tao and it was then that he caught the facial similarities between the two of you.   He ruffled his hair and shook his head, realizing that you were siblings. “I should really pay closer attention to the employee files.”   Still giving himself a tour of the place, Kris stumbled upon your conversation with Tao.   He knew it was wrong to eavesdrop on the conversations of others’ but the subject was himself therefore curiosity got the better of him.   “Yes, Tao, I love him.” You answered, playing with your fingers. Little did you know, your boss was listening.   “Then why do you love him? And why didn’t you tell me about him, Lei? I thought we told each other everything. What’s next? You’re going to abandon me and run off with mister prince charming?” Tao blurted out.   And those words, his words, hurt you. You couldn’t believe what he had just said. You were never going to abandon him, ever. You loved him too dearly to do that.   But the fact that he believed that was what you were planning to do was heartbreaking. Was that the kind of person Tao made you to be? Someone who threw away her family for love and riches?   You were far from that, you weren’t your parents.   You pulled him in for a hug and his back. “I would never leave you, Tao. Everywhere noona goes, you will go too.” You assured.   “In fact President—I mean Kris?” you paused, finding it peculiar to say your boss’s business name when you were supposedly his wife. “I mean Yifan and I are going on a trip, why don’t you come?”   “Trip to where?” Tao questioned, breaking the embrace.   “Jeju Island.” Kris answered, entering the same room. You squinted your eyes at him wondering how long he had been standing there.   When he ignored your staring, you shrugged it off, thinking he hadn’t heard much of what you and your brother discussed.   “Jinjja?!” Tao gawked at you. You smiled and nodded.   “But tickets are expensive, noona. I think I’ll stay home.” He frowned. You looked at Kris who sighed.   “That’s what private jets are for.” He pointed out in a matter of fact tone.   “Does it look like we have one of those just lying around?!” Tao retorted.   “You don’t, but I do. Just hurry up and pack before I change my mind. Oh and Miss Hua— I mean Lei? Yes Lei, can I have a word with you?”   Your face scrunched up hearing the nickname only Tao used with you before following Kris outside.   Right as the door closed, you heard a sigh escaping his lips. “Why didn’t you tell me you had a brother? If I knew that I would have been more respectful. Not even a day of being married and my in-laws despise me already.”   “It’s actually in-law, singular.” You corrected, fixing your glasses. “Tao is my only relative. And yes, he despises you. If you paid attention to my profile at all sir, you would have seen that I listed him as my younger brother.”   “Younger? He’s younger than you?! What’d you feed him growing up?!” he exclaimed in disbelief.   Look who’s talking. You sighed, twisting the knob again but then a hand stopped you. You glanced at the hand resting on top of yours and then blinked.   You followed the limb to discover the owner was your boss. Realizing the skinship he had just initiated, you felt odd once more. Sensing the discomfort and straight out awkwardness, he retracted his arm and cleared his throat.   This was something he was doing more frequently around you. “When we get to Jeju, you can spend time with your brother. I have meetings to attend.”   “I tho