“Is this really a house?” he voiced out unknowingly when they settled themselves down on the mini conference room. “It’s more like an event center for me.”

 

“The second floor’s mostly made of conference rooms,” Dara answered casually, all stiff and tensed.

 

Jiyong looked at her closely. There was a faint red mark on her cheek where her mother’s hand made contact. Her eyes looked strained and her lips were in a firm line, the corners slightly trembling. “You can cry, you know,” he quietly said.

 

“I can’t,” she said.

 

“Of course you can”, he remarked. “If you remember, you cried in the motel room a while ago.”

 

“It’s because my family’s not there,” she said, still in that casual tone.

 

“So what? They can’t control your tears. You can’t control your tears. If you want to cry, you should. It’s-”

 

“I said I can’t!” she gritted this time.

 

“Why not?” he demanded.

 

Dara’s eyes then lifted to him, giving him a sharp look. “It’s none of your business!” she snapped.

 

“Are you really like that?” he irritably asked. “You act so calm and collected in front of your family but you-”

 

“I’m not allowed,” she cut off.

 

“What?” he blankly asked.

 

“I can’t cry because I’m not allowed to!” she suddenly raised her voice. “Are you happy now, huh?”

 

“That’s unbelievable.”

 

As if not hearing him, she continued. “I can’t even laugh out loud. I can’t do anything I want because I’m not allowed!”

 

“Why would you let them control you?” he asked softly upon seeing tears streaming down her eyes.

 

“I can’t cry, I can’t cry, I can’t. . .” she sobbed. “I should not cry. I’m not allowed. They’ll be angry,” she went on in a tone as if scolding herself for letting her tears fall down.

 

Jiyong closed the distance between them and pulled her into his arms, glad that he made the decision of helping her and relaying it to his father. “You can cry,” he whispered.

 

“I can’t,” she weakly said. “And who are you to tell me that?”

 

“I’m your husband remember?” he reminded her. “As your husband, I want you to cry. I’m allowing you to cry.”

 

Childishly, Dara cried in his chest, her arms stubbornly clinging to the front of his shirt. She knew she’ll be punished for disobeying the rules imposed on her but weirdly and for the first time, she didn’t care of what her family would think. She felt selfish and rebellious for doing so, but the way this Jiyong guy held her made her feel that he doesn’t give a damn if she’s selfish or rebellious, like all that matters to him right now was for her to cry all her pain and humiliation out. Strangely, she felt that way and she can’t help but feel fear. He was a stranger and yet, he already got some sort of influence on her! Realizing this, she suddenly pushed him away but he only pulled her back.

 

“Let me go!”

 

“Are you done crying already?” he asked. When she didn’t answer, he went on. “If not yet, then I won’t let you go.”

 

A warm feeling suddenly spread through Dara’s being. For the first time, the cold feeling inside her was dissolved by the warmth she’s feeling. Stranger to this, she could only manage a frown and a few more tears.

 

A knock on the door sounded. In that instant, he felt her tensed up. “In a minute!” he called out.

 

The girl pulled away from him and turned away. She quickly dried her tears up and took mouthfuls of breath. She silently wished that her eyes aren’t that puffy.

 

“You really are a skeleton.”

 

“What?” she asked, facing the guy.

 

“I said you’re a SKELETON,” he repeated. “When I hugged you, all I felt were bones.”

 

“How dare you call me that?!?” she angrily demanded.

 

He smirked. “Why don’t you show that kind of attitude to your family?” he asked. “If you won’t stand up for yourself, no one would.”

 

“You don’t know anything!” she hissed.

 

Another knock came on the door. After a stare battle, Jiyong finally sighed. “I think that’s our cue to go back in there,” he informed her. Seeing the fear in her brown orbs, he finally felt a sudden urge to take her hand and run away.

 

“Let’s go,” she quietly said and went to the door without waiting for him or his answer.

 

Jiyong quietly followed her out. There’s something about the way she held herself that unnerved him. Nevertheless, she kept his silence. In a way, he pitied her. To be caged was one thing but to be caged by one’s own family was entirely a different matter to which he sees impossible to be endured by anyone. A thought then brushed his mind as his eyes were glued to her back. What have they done to you?

 

The moment he stepped in back to the room where her family and his father were, he suddenly felt the invisible charge of tension in the air. He glanced at his father and noticed that he seemed older than his age.

 

“It is quite obvious that you two are at fault for dragging both the Parks and the Kwons name into this fiasco,” the patriarch of the Parks started. “More than that, we are gravelly ashamed of how Sandara acted and participated in making our family the latest laughingstock in the country, not to mention tarnishing my charity centers. Both parties have decided that in order to save both our names and reputations, we will weave a lie to the public. We will let the people believe that you two have known each other for quite some time but got separated. When you two met again, let’s just say you were both smitten with each other. In short, we can’t allow you both to file for a divorce until all these talks die down. You are to live together as husband and wife. After the scandal, a divorce can then be an option.”

 

“Shouldn’t Sandara have a say on this matter?” Jiyong asked, despite the fact that he asked his father to do everything he can to convince the Parks to let them stay married for the meantime. It’s not because he wanted to be tied with her, he just wanted to take the girl out of the clutches of her family. His intent was born out of pity and compassion. He will help her in dealing with her family.

 

“Do you have any disagreement, Sandara?”

 

“None,” she answered steadily. “I will do as you say. Also, I sincerely apologize for what I have brought to out family. I am in deep regret for-”

 

“Oh, for Pete’s sake!” Jiyong exclaimed.

 

“If you have any decency young man, you should keep your mouth shut!” Dara’s mother remarked.

 

Jiyong was about to say something back when Dara beat him to it. “Can I have one simple request?” she asked.

 

The room went awfully quiet.

 

“What is it?”

 

“I. . . I think there’s no need for a grand wedding since we’ll get divorce in the end, anyways so, if that’s not too much to ask, I don’t like to have a-”

 

“I was just about to say that but you beat me to it,” Lady Eun Jo said. “Oh, I already told the maids to pack your things up. You’ll be living with your husband from now on.”

 

“B-but. . . it’s too sudden, I-”

 

“You dare question OUR decision?”

 

“I’m sorry, that’s not what I meant”.

 

“How can you talk to your daughter like that?” Jiyong asked. “She’s not a robot, you can’t-”

 

“With what she did, I could have disowned her,” she sneered. “She should be grateful we didn’t do that.”

 

“Grateful?!” Jiyong exclaimed, “How can you-?”

 

“Stop!” Dara firmly said. “My mo- I mean, Lady Eun Jo is right. I should be grateful and I am MORE than grateful they still consider me as a part of the family.”

 

“Everything’s settled then,” Eun Jo said. “Sandara, I want new designs for my summer collection.”

 

“I already passed a portfolio for-”

 

“I didn’t like any of your designs”, she bluntly cut off.

 

“I’m sorry. I’ll try to work better for-”

 

“You always say you’ll try better but you never really meet my expectations. Tell me, how many of your designs have I approved?”

 

“N-none.”

 

“Eun Jo, give my granddaughter a break,” an old lady spoke up. “Sandara, come with me. I want to have a word with you,” she turned to Dara, standing up. With a tiny nod, the girl followed her grandmother out of the room.

 

The moment the old lady and Dara left the room, the Parks also left one by one without saying anything.

 

“What’s going on, Jiyong?” his father asked. “Why did you want to get stuck with. . . that girl? Her family. . . most especially her mother was very eager after hearing my suggestion. It’s like she wanted to get rid of her. They even said they’ll consider my debts to their bank paid because-”

 

“Debts?” Jiyong repeated.

 

His father sighed. “I made bad decisions in the past, Jiyong. Those bad decisions put our company into a compromising. . . situation”.

 

Silence.

 

“Is that the reason why you’ve been forcing me to take my position in the company?”

 

“Yes,” his father sighed wearily. “I trust your judgment more than I trust mine.”

 

“Really?” Jiyong cynically asked. “If you do, then why did you marry her?”

 

“Jiyong, that’s entirely a different matter. The-”

 

“Expect me in the office this Monday,” he cut off. “For the meantime, you should go home and take a rest,” he added, giving his stepmother a pointed look.

 

“And why would you be staying?”

 

A slow smirk curved his lips. “I need to wait for my wife.”

 

Mr. Kwon stared at his son for a long time. “Jiyong, marriage is not a game,” he then said.

 

“I know that, Dad,” he said. “Mom never failed to tell me the VALUE of marriage.”

 

“Are you trying to imply something?” his stepmother heated.

 

“I don’t know,” he shrugged. “Maybe.”

 

“Jiyong, she’s my wife now. You should respect her!”

 

“I’m sorry Dad but I don’t trust her.”

 

“Excuse me,” a tiny voice came in. All eyes then went to Dara. “I’m ready to leave.”

 

“Where are your things?” Jiyong asked.

 

“They’re already at the main door,” she answered. “Lady Eun Jo said it’s better if we leave at once because the press people they invited will be arriving for the rendering of our family’s official statement any moment from now.”

 

“Why do you call your mother Lady Eun Jo?”

 

Dara’s chin jutted. “It’s-”

 

“It’s what she wanted, isn’t it?” he concluded. “And you’re okay with that?”

 

“You do not have the right to question my mother’s decisions!” she stubbornly said.

 

Jiyong could only stare at her in disbelief.