Gook Ji Yeon (South Korean Model & Actress)

Park Han Byul (South Korean Model & Actress)

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Jiyong paced the hallway outside of Bom’s door, wondering at one point why he didn’t just walk in and force a confrontation. Then he shook his head. It wasn’t the time or the place. Ryeo-wook and Taeyeon were right.

Bom was holding on by a thread. This wasn’t about him.

He glanced up when he saw Ryeo-wook coming down the hallway.

“Have you been in to see her?” Ryeo-wook asked as he stopped in front of Bom’s door.

Jiyong shook his head. “Taeyeon’s mom is in with her. She didn’t want me anywhere near Bom. I don’t blame her. Where’s Taeyeon and Chun Hae?”

“They’re in the car. I pulled it around to the exit. Taeyeon’s father is out with her. He’s going to drive Bom and Mom home.”

Jiyong grimaced and rubbed a hand through his hair.

Bom had no home to return to. But she should. It was with him. Always with him. She should have never been anywhere else all these months.

He blew out his breath, not knowing what to do. It was a feeling he wasn’t accustomed to. He was always decisive even when he was dead wrong. He never had a problem knowing what to say even when he was putting his foot in his mouth. Right now he lacked for words.

And then Bom’s door opened and there she stood, Hye-jin hovering just behind her.

His gaze zeroed in on Bom. She was pale and wan, deep shadows under her eyes. Her hair was pulled back into a rough ponytail and her cheekbones were more pronounced than ever. Her arms even seemed more slender. The only part of her that seemed normal was the bulge in front where their son rested.

“Bom,” he said in a low, unsteady voice. “Thank God you’re okay.”

He reached out, wanting to touch her, to somehow confirm that she was really standing before him, but she flinched away. He withdrew his hand, curling his fingers into a tight fist at his side.

She started to move past him and he closed his eyes knowing he couldn’t let her walk away. Not again. Not like this.

“Bom, wait, please.”

She halted in midstep and stood there a long moment, her back still to him. Then she slowly turned, her eyes dull and lifeless as she stared back at him. Then her chin came up and she squared her shoulders.

“Wait outside for me,” she said to Ryeo-wook and Hye-jin. “I'll just be a minute.”

Shim Hye-jin looked very much like she wanted to argue but she kept tightly shut.

“I'll wait down the hall so I can walk you out,” Ryeo-wook said.

Bom nodded and then turned back to Jiyong as Ryeo-wook and Hye-jin walked away.

No longer able to keep from touching her, Jiyong reached out to capture Bom’s hand. He pulled her close so he could feel the steady reassurance of her heartbeat against his chest. She sagged against him, her sigh hitting him right in the gut. It was a forlorn, tired sigh that told him she was at the end of her rope physically and emotionally.

She closed her eyes and turned her face into his neck for just a moment before she pulled away, her expression locked in stone once more.

“I need to go. They’re waiting for me.”

Jiyong’s protest was automatic. “You can come home with me, Bom. I'll take care of you. We have a lot to talk about. There’s a lot I need to say to you. But my first priority is you.”

“No.”

He expected more. An argument. Something he could counter. But all she uttered was a