poster thanks to Sooheelocker of sooheelocker poster request shop!!

Chapter 10

Jiyong fiddled with the combination of the safe in his study. He'd actually put his foot into the sitting room when he'd paused for a moment. Before he went barrelling in there he needed something first; ammunition for the execution he was about to perform. In his agitated rush to get back to his wife, he made a mistake on the combination. He started over now, trying to remain patient as he put in the numbers of his wife's birthday and their wedding anniversary. Finally, the door swung open and he pulled out the manila envelope with Jaejoong's name on it. He closed the safe behind him and walked quickly back to the parlor.

The first thing he noticed when he entered the room was that his wife looked extremely pale and she was wringing her hands in her lap. As her eyes landed on him, he saw relief in them for one small moment, before it disappeared and he saw the fear in them. The fear was almost enough to distract him from all else, but then the reason for it turned around and glared at him.

"Jiyong," Jaejoong said with a slight sneer.

His first instinct was to go for the jugular and shred Jaejoong to pieces, but he was going to enjoy the kill, and that meant appreciating the hunt and the chase. If his brother had just come after him, he would have been…lenient; but going after Dara, bad move.

"Hello dongsaeng," Jiyong said with a smile so cold his brother stopped sneering and looked worried for a second. Good, his brother should be worried. Jiyong dropped the envelope on the nearest surface before walking across the room to kiss his wife.

"Jiyong," she whispered anxiously, "he's going to…"

"Shhh," he told her gently, giving her hands a quick squeeze.

Then he poured himself a drink, not bothering to offer Jaejoong one. After he'd taken one long sip, he sat next to his wife and put an arm around her.

"Jaejoong-ah, take a seat." He motioned for Jaejoong to sit opposite them.

His brother looked like he was going to refuse as first, but then complied, sitting with a huff.

"Why are you here Jae?"

"Can't a man just decide to pay his brother a visit?" Jaejoong asked, sneer back in place.

"No, not in your case."

"I wanted to see how this little domestic union was fairing." His brother was wearing a look of arrogance now that suggested he thought he had the upper hand.

Jiyong turned to his wife. "I'd say this union is fairing quite well, wouldn't you?" he asked her softly, her face just inches from his.

Her eyes were wide with confusion. They searched his for a moment before she gave him a small smile. "Yes," Dara told him quietly, "I think it's going well." Her words filled him with pleasure and confidence. They sat there for a moment, wrapped up in each other, until Jaejoong snorted.

"I know exactly what this is, Jiyong. You don't fool me. Forcing a woman to marry you is a new low, even for you."

"Dara and I have an arrangement; an agreement, one we are both happy with."

"I'll bet. It's the only way you'd find someone to marry you. Sohee was smart enough to run in the other direction."

He felt Dara flinch beside him. It was the type of comment Jiyong had expected his brother to make. Sohee had always been Jaejoong’s trump card. With Dara curled into his side, however, her name didn't bring up the bitterness it usually did. Jiyong wondered if he was doing the right thing, drawing this out, perhaps it was time to go straight for the kill. It was unfair on Dara to be carrying on like this, and it could get worse.

"I'll bet he hasn't even told you about Sohee."

This time it was Jiyong who wanted to flinch. He should have told her about Sohee earlier.

"Jiyong will tell me when he's ready," Dara told Jaejoong coldly.

"So he hasn't told you? I shouldn't be surprised, not really. He never told Park Bom or any of his other girlfriends about her. I shouldn't have assumed things would be different with you. See you may love him, Dara, but he'll never love again. So you can sit here and pretend to be happy, locked in your loveless marriage, but I know the truth. I know you. You can't be happy when you're with someone who will never love you back."

The comment stung as if she'd been slapped. To be compared to Jiyong's other girlfriends; to be told Jiyong would never love her and she was locked in some loveless marriage was just awful, but it didn't change the fact that she was happy in her marriage. She was aware of Jiyong sitting tensely beside her; had felt him tense up when Jaejoong had mentioned her love. She hadn't told Jiyong she loved him, hadn't thought the time right, but now he knew, and she was glad he did. She didn't want to hold it in or keep it a secret anymore. She did love him, and she would love him for the rest of her life, even if he couldn't love her back.

"See that's where you're wrong, Jaejoong. You don't know me, because I am happy. I'm happier than I've ever been."

Jaejoong laughed angrily and stood up. "It doesn't matter what you say, this farce is ridiculous and I intend to tell everyone about it. You'll be the laughing stock of the city."

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," her husband said beside her. His voice held so much confidence that Dara wondered if he realized exactly what Jaejoong was threatening to do – ruin their lives without any thought of the consequences.

"Why not?" Jaejoong asked belligerently.

"I thought you'd never ask," Jiyong said. He stood up and made his way across the room, picking up an envelope.

"What's this?" Jaejoong asked as Jiyong handed it to him.

"Why don't you open it up and find out," Jiyong told him, walking back across the room to refill his now empty glass.

Dara had to admit her curiosity had been piqued and she wished she was standing next to Jaejoong so she could see what was in there. He pulled out a handful of photos. Jaejoong's face turned white as he looked at them, and for a moment she believed he might faint.

"Where did you get these?" he asked his brother in a voice barely louder than a whisper.

She turned her head so that she could see Jiyong, who was taking a leisurely sip from his glass.

"Where I got them from is irrelevant. The point is that I have them."

"What are you going to do with them?"

"I'm done keeping you out of trouble. I made a promise a while ago, but I can only stand for so much. Coming after my marriage and my wife were your biggest mistakes yet. You'll get nothing more from me. If you so much as breathe a word about our marriage to anybody, I will be sure to send those photos to everyone who would have an interest in the matter."

The smile on her husband's face now was so sinister right now that she actually felt afraid for Jaejoong.

"I wouldn't want to see you go to jail, Jae. You wouldn't last a day. Not to mention that with your face, you'd get a lot of…attention."

She watched Jaejoong stalk across the room slowly. Jaejoong never took his eyes off his brother. Dara understood she was seeing a side to her husband that she knew was there, but had never seen before; the predator. This was the man who would dominate any boardroom, corporate takeover and conquer his business rivals with ease. Few would get the upper hand on her husband. She felt as if she were seeing his strength, his dominance, his virility and potency in high definition. He was the typical alpha male and absurdly she felt slightly aroused as he bested his opponent.

Jiyong was now standing in front of Jaejoong. Jaejoong swallowed hard. "Stay away from Dara's family," Jiyong told him. She watched Jaejoong step backwards. Jiyong followed. "Stay away from my wife." Jaejoong stepped back once more. Jiyong again followed. "And know this; if you threaten my marriage ever again, I'll make sure you wish you were dead." He said it so softly, yet the impact was lethal.

Dara believed he meant every word. So did Jaejoong, judging by the look on his face.

"You have my word, Jiyong. I won't tell anybody about this." Jaejoong's voice was almost pleading now.

If it had been anybody else, Dara would have felt sorry for them, but Jaejoong had no obvious concern for ruining her life. She wondered again what was in that envelope. Obviously her ex-boyfriend had done something that would be cause for jail time. Had she known Jaejoong at all?

"I'm glad we understand each other," Jiyong told him. "You can go now."

The dismissal was a blatant insult, but Jaejoong just nodded.

"Goodbye, Dara," Jaejoong said to her. Dara felt the finality behind the words.

"Goodbye," she said stiffly.

"I'll see you out," Jiyong said.

"No need," Jaejoong told him quickly.

"Oh, I insist," Jiyong replied.

Once she could no longer hear either voices or footsteps, Dara took a deep breath. She knew Jiyong had something left to say to Jaejoong that he didn't want to say in front of her, and while she wouldn't mind knowing what was being said, she felt relieved that the confrontation was over. She would be okay, Jiyong would be okay, and their marriage would be okay. She hoped. She had yet to talk to him about what Jaejoong had said, and a conversation about Sohee was long overdue.

She took a deep breath and moved her head from one side to the other, stretching her neck. It was when she stood up that her gaze fell upon the now discarded envelope. She looked for Jiyong but when she couldn't see him coming she moved quickly towards it. It felt wrong to look, but her curiosity was too strong to ignore. The photo she pulled out was of Jaejoong in a compromising position with someone. At first she couldn't pick who the girl was but then she recognized her as the Mayor's underage daughter, Sulli. The photo had the time and date marked on it. According to the date, this photo had been taken during the time she'd been involved with Jaejoong. So Jaejoong had been cheating on her. Why had Jiyong never told her?

Hearing her husband's footsteps, she tried to shove the photo back into the envelope but failed in her rush.

"Couldn't resist?" Jiyong asked her, raising one eyebrow when he saw her.

She flushed guiltily

"I…I tried."

He smirked.

"He was cheating on me," she told him. "You knew?"

"Yes."

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"I didn't see the point in hurting you when you were no longer with him."

"Why didn't you tell me when I was still with him?"

"Would you have believe