poster thanks to Sooheelocker of sooheelocker poster request shop!!

Chapter 5

Jiyong sat on the beach, scooping up handfuls of sand and letting it fall between his fingers. He'd never thought that his honeymoon would be filled with so much damn introspection, but here he was, sitting alone on the beach, watching the sun setting over the water and thinking about how he'd never screwed up anything as badly as he'd screwed up his marriage to Dara.

After one week in paradise, he hadn't gotten any further with her than when they first arrived. He'd taken her to one of his favorite places in the world, Tahiti. Being rich had afforded him the luxury of visiting many different places, and he definitely thought Tahiti was heaven on earth. He owned a property in Toahotu that he'd never shared with anyone else. He liked his privacy and space, but he'd wanted Dara to share it with him. He thought that the relaxation might do her good. Even if it just meant her sitting on the beach day in, day out.

To be fair, at the time he'd also been thinking about him and Dara sipping cocktails, watching the sunset, and perhaps skinny dipping. That was before he knew he would have to threaten her to get her to walk down the aisle. He sipped at the glass in his hand.

After the wedding, she'd had something akin to a breakdown. She'd called him morally bankrupt and a controlling egomaniac. Normally he didn't give a damn what anyone thought of him, but he hated that Dara thought he was those things.

He'd done things he regretted before; he'd made mistakes, but never one like this. Blackmailing Dara was about the worst thing he'd ever done and now it looked as if she intended to make him pay for a very long time. She was miserable, and he in turn was miserable.

He'd severely overestimated his ability to win her over. He had no idea what to do with her. She wouldn't eat. She wouldn't talk to him. Hell, she wouldn't even look at him most of the time.

He was starting to worry. No, he was more than worried. At moments he'd had thoughts of coming clean and telling her he never would have hurt her family, but the damage was done. Besides, would she really think of him in any better light if he told her the truth? He could see it now, 'So Dara, you remember how I told you I'd take everything away from your family if you didn't marry me, well I lied. I lied to get you to marry me.' Yeah, he didn't think it would go down much better than the threat itself.

The most concerning thing was that she wouldn't eat. She looked like she was losing weight; something she could not afford to do. He didn't know how to get her to eat, short of forcing food into or threatening her. Neither of those options appealed, but nothing else was working.

He'd tried charming her and he'd tried keeping his distance. He'd been nice and polite, but that was getting him no where fast. He had to change track. Anything was worth a go at this point. Perhaps he had to say goodbye to the idea of her liking him at all. She saw him as a controlling anyway. He might as well be one and get her to eat. So that was it then; no more playing mister nice guy.

He pulled out his phone and dialled a number he knew off by heart. If anyone could make Dara eat, it would be Han Byul. He finished his conversation and stood up. He had a stop to make before he returned home.

Dara sat on her bed, listening to her iPod. She had a book sitting open on her stomach, but she didn't feel like reading. She didn't feel like doing much of anything at all. Jiyong had brought her to what he called 'his little slice of heaven,' but she didn't want to see or explore any of it. If she were completely honest, she was too busy indulging in self-pity to pay any attention to the scenery outside.

She was managing to avoid Jiyong by never going outside and not eating. He'd given her a bedroom of her own, and other than letting her know when their food was ready and trying to convince her to eat, she never saw him. For a week, she'd been in these four walls. Instead of thinking of it as a prison, though, it felt more like a safe haven.

She drifted off to sleep for a while and when she woke up she knew straight away he was there. He was standing in the doorway, watching her. She sat up quickly, feeling far too exposed in her short shorts and bikini top, and feeling slightly vulnerable because she was still groggy from her slumber. Even casually leaning in the doorway, he looked imposing. His facial expression was quite dark, she noted. Her gaze travelled from his bare feet, over his black shorts and black polo shirt, to his eyes, which seemed cool compared to normal.

"It's time for dinner," he said simply.

"I'm not hungry," she told him.

"Too bad," he told her, "I have the best cuisine on the island and I promised my friend that I would tell her exactly what you think of her food."

She was about to refuse, when she smelt something divine. watered and her stomach rumbled.

He raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure you're not hungry, because I'm happy to throw yours…"

"Okay, maybe I am a little bit hungry." She expected him to gloat or do a victory dance, but instead he just left her room. She slipped on a tank top and walked out to the patio.

The table had been set up with everything they'd need, including two full glasses of white wine and candles lit up all over the place. She wanted to see what was for dinner, but she was momentarily distracted by the color of the sky. The sun looked as if it had gone down, but there were fingers or pink and red over the water.

"Sit," Jiyong told her. She sat down in front on a plate of salad, fish and very large chips. It looked good, but it smelt amazing. She picked up her fork and attacked the fish on her plate. She moaned out loud when she tasted it. The fish melted in , a delicious combination of butter and herbs she didn't recognize. Her taste buds felt as if they were dancing.

Jiyong tried not to let her moan of satisfaction affect him too much, but it was a swift reminder that it had been far too long since he'd had . As if he needed a reminder.

"This is incredible," she told him.

"I know," he said, before he popped one of the chips into his mouth. She reached for her glass and tasted the refreshing chardonnay. She didn't know whether it was the scrumptious food, or the mouthful of wine on an almost empty stomach, but when Jiyong smiled at her, she smiled back.

"It's nice to see you smile, Dara,"

As soon as he said it, she felt a nervous tension spread throughout her body.

"Don't think that just because I smiled, I'm going to fall into bed with you now."

Jiyong looked at her but didn't bat an eyelid.

"Us going to bed together is inevitable. The sooner you get used to that idea, the easier it will be for you."

She glared at him, and put down her fork, her appetite suddenly gone. "Easier for you, or easier for me?" she asked him.

"Easier for you," he told her, not skipping a beat. "It's going to happen sooner or later, and you'll be more comfortable if you come to accept it."

"No, you'll be more comfortable if I accept it. You don't want to bed an unwilling woman, Jiyong, but guess what, you're going to have to, because I'm not willing to go to bed with you. I won't willingly sleep with a man who cares for no-one but himself. The only reason I'm here is because you blackmailed me, and if you think I'm going to just melt into your arms, you have another thing coming."

"Let me be perfectly clear, Dara, I have not touched you since we arrived. I have respected the fact that you are not entirely happy with me…"

"Not happy! I'm…"

"I'm not finished," he cut in. His voice was quiet but something in it told her he would brook no further argument from her. "I know you are not entirely happy with me at the moment, but you made me a deal, and you were going to back out of it. How I responded was unfair, yes, but you would never have been able to pay me back. You know it and I know it. What should I have done?"

"I don't care what you should have done!" Her voice was rising but it didn't stop her. "What kind of man threatens a woman's family so she marries him? What you did was despicable, and I will never forgive you, Jiyong. Never. And when we do go to bed, I will hate you even more for forcing me to do that!"

She stood up and threw her napkin on the table, before turning to storm away. Unfortunately he captured her wrist in his hand and turned her roughly to face him, ruining her attempt at a dramatic exit.

"Let go of me," she cried out; his fingers biting into the soft flesh at her wrist.

"Listen carefully, Dara. I will never force you into bed with me, but I