Chapter Three

The media couldn't offend the Crowns, even though they didn’t understand why Crown Empire was helping Tiffany.

Even Sunny didn’t understand why their plan had run so smoothly. She had originally expected it to take a few days, "Tiff, tell me, are you being supported by another company?"

"No," Tiffany replied as she glanced at the man beside her. "However, there is indeed a person that has been assisting me behind the scenes. But, I can’t reveal who it is yet."

"Hahaha…that’s ok. We will talk about it later. Just the thought of Nichkhun’s distraught face is enough to satisfy me!" Sunny assumed Tiffany had help from her family.

She had no idea that Tiffany had, in fact, suddenly become the wife of the King of Entertainment: Kim Taeyeon.

"Are you trying to use this opportunity to leave Horvjk?" Taeyeon asked as he elegantly sliced the steak in front of him.

"No, I would be letting them off too easy if I was to leave so simply. I am going to tear them down from their perch," Tiffany explained. "Plus, I have already decided to return to the modeling industry. Unfortunately, my popularity isn't as great as before; which is why Horvjk may come of use."

"You are like this right now because you are angry. What if one day you no longer hate..."

"What I have decided on, I will not regret, let alone turn back," Tiffany told Taeyeon in certainty. When in love, she could love with all her heart. When in hate, she could tear the other person apart with her bare hands.

On top of everything, quite a decent amount of time had passed since news of Tiffany’s exposure on stage had gotten out, yet, Nichkhun hadn't even made a single phone call to check on her. Instead, he had released news that could easily ruin Tifffany. There was no way she was going to let Nichkhun hurt her again.

Taeyeon remained silent, but he was already intrigued by Tiffany.

Tiffany wasn't stupid, in fact, she was very smart. She knew she couldn't hide anything from Taeyeon, so she quickly revealed everything in front of him. Whether good or bad, there was no holding back - all that existed was trust.

"I've asked my assistant to prepare a room in this hotel. Tonight, we will be staying here. My home is no fun..."

Tiffany’s ears flushed red as she nodded: "Up to you..."

Meanwhile, Nichkhun was all over the place, trying to come to a truce with the media and his business partners. Coupled with the news of Hyuna’s pregnancy, the thought of Tiffany didn't even cross his mind nor did he care where she was right now.

After a romantic dinner, Tiffany followed closely behind Taeyeon as he led her to the presidential suite. Surprisingly, it wasn't just any normal presidential suite, it was actually a wedding suite.

Under such rushed conditions, Taeyeon somehow managed to prepare so much for her - she couldn't help but feel touched by his consideration. If it was someone else, there was no way they would have done the same.

Taeyeon could sense the nervousness coming from Tiffany. He removed his suit jacket as he turned to her and said, "I'll have a shower first so you can have some time to make a decision. If you are still unsure...we can delay our wedding night indefinitely."

Tiffany was thankful for his thoughtfulness as she watched him head into the bathroom. But...they were already married, what right did she have to make Taeyeon accommodate for her childish indecisiveness?

Thinking this, Tiffany threw open the door and headed into the bathroom. Taeyeon looked at her in surprise as she reached out and embraced him in a tight hug, "I do not regret!"

"Are you sure? Once I've made you mine, you will no longer have the chance to change your mind," Taeyeon restrained himself. His deep y voice was enough to strike a chord in anyone's heart putting them into a daze.

"I am certain."

Hearing her response, Taeyeon let himself go. With one hand, he grabbed Tiffany by the waist and pressed his lips against hers. With his other hand, he undid her dress, which was now soaking wet.

Tiffany’s mind was buzzing. She had never experienced a kiss like this before, one so magical she was losing control.

Standing under the shower, Tiffany looked up at Taeyeon. Completely mesmerized, she examined his handsome looks. She noticed his eyes that were looking at her passionately - wanting to swallow her whole.

However, even when the time came to take things further, he did not rush. Instead, he wrapped her in a towel and carried her in his arms out to the rose petal covered bed. Afterwards, his tall body came down on her, he was already wearing protection. However, just as he was about to enter her, he felt an obstruction...

Tiffany cried out in pain.

Taeyeon pulled back quickly as he wrapped her in the blanket.

He originally thought, since Tiffany was in the entertainment industry and she had already been in a relationship with Nichkhun Horvejkul, this couldn't have possibly been her first time, but...the feeling just now, he was sure, she had never engaged in this type of activity before...

"What's wrong?" Tiffany noticed Taeyeon had stopped and couldn't help but lift her head up to question him. Her face was blushing attractively.

"Let's do it next time." Taeyeon was surprised, at the same time he felt bad for having misunderstood Tiffany.

"Are you not satisfied with me?"

"If I had continued going...you would have been hurt." Taeyeon put on his robe and returned to the bed, trying to control his desires. He didn't want Tiffany’s first time to be a bad experience, "Why didn't you tell me you had no experience?"

"How was I to bring up something like this?" Tiffany responded as she huddled up against Taeyeon’s shoulder. "I knew you would have found out yourself."

"Anyway, what was that just now? Did we...do it?"

"Regardless of whether we did it or not, you are now Mrs. Kim. You can't escape..." After he spoke, Taeyeon stood up, lifted Tiffany up and headed for the bathroom, "Let me see if you are hurt."

Looking at the worried expression on his face, Tiffany couldn't help but let out a laugh, "You are nothing like how the outside world portrays you."

"How did you think I would be like?" Taeyeon placed Tiffany gently into the bathtub and the water.

"A ruler with complete control over the life and death of his entertainers. A person with no human sense."

"To other people, I am indeed like that!" Taeyeon expressed sincerely. "But you are different...since you are my wife and are so trusting of me...I will show you my true self."

"However, Tiffany, I must warn you" I’m a byuntae if you don’t know…nah

"To me, a lie is a lie. If you betray my trust, I will never forgive you."

Tiffany sat up comfortably, her nose almost touching Taeyeon’s, "What a coincidence, I am the same."

That night, their physical relationship had technically only reached halfway. But, their hearts had been drawn closer together.

The next morning, Tiffany awoke to the blinding light of the sun shining through the window. To her surprise, the spot beside her was already empty.

Tiffany thought Taeyeon had already left, but...he was actually waiting for her patiently in the living room whilst flipping through some documents.

"I've prepared some new clothes in the bathroom for you. We will leave after you freshen up."

Tiffany nodded obediently as she turned towards the bathroom. At that moment, her phone suddenly rang...it was Nichkhun.

Tiffany looked at Taeyeon awkwardly as he charmingly lifted one eyebrow and asked, "Do you want me to pick it up?"

Of course not, the timing isn't right!

Taeyeon knew what she was thinking, so he grabbed the phone and handed it to her. Tiffany did not step aside to take the phone call, instead, she confidently pressed the answer button, right in front of Taeyeon.

"Tiffany, where are you right now?"

"I was afraid the reporters would find me, so I found a place to hide," Tiffany replied calmly.

"So, you're saying you aren't aware of the incident with Sunny?" Nichkhun asked in a patient tone.

"What's wrong with Sunny? The place I have hidden in is quite remote, so I haven't been able to keep up with what's happening on the outside, what happened?" Tiffany tried her best to sound curious.

"Thanks to your manager, Horvjk is now in a mess. Return to the office first, I'm going to arrange for you to hold a press conference. Tiffany, I am depending on you to clear Horvjk’s name."

Press conference? More like another opportunity for him to throw the blame on Tiffany...

Did he really think she was still that naive?

Tiffany hung up the phone in disgust, when suddenly Taeyeon began to speak, "I've already saved my number in your phone. Anytime you need me, give me a call and let me know what you want to do."

"Thank you, Taeyeon..."

"You shouldn't be calling me that..." Taeyeon unfolded his legs and pulled Tiffany to his side, "Call me something else...or I won't let you go."

Tiffany blushed as she whispered shyly, "T…Taetae..." A rare smile appeared on Taeyeon’s face showing his dimple.

"Come on, I'll drop you off at work. Remember what you promised...don't get too close to another man."

Tiffany knew exactly what Taeyeon was referring to. She responded with a reassuring smile and a hopeful look in her eyes for Taeyeon to trust her. Taeyeon’s heart skipped a beat. Between the two of them, there was nothing more to say.

...

In just 40 minutes, Taeyeon had successfully driven Tiffany to a location close to Horvjk Entertainment. As the King of Entertainment, he knew all the deepest, darkest secrets of the industry. Hence, he was curious as to how Tiffany intended on turning the tables to retrieve her position as top model.

Tiffany knew what she was getting herself into. It was clear that this was a game where she had to keep her cards hidden, whilst her enemies had already laid their cards on the table. If she couldn't change the outcome even after swapping out her entire hand, then she would have to admit defeat.

After stepping out of Taeyeon’s car, she accessed the building through a secret walkway. As soon as the staff spotted Tiffany, the room was filled with mixed reactions of disgust, hate and mockery; as if they were sure Sunny’s revelations were all under Tiffany’s directions.

Tiffany pretended not to notice. She walked over to Nichkhun Horvejkul’s room and pushed open the door as her gaze met the back of Nichkhun’s head.

"You're back..." Nichkhun’s turned around holding back his anger.

"Tell me, what happened?"

"Tiffany, are you certain you don't know about the incident with Sunny?" Nichkhun threw the newspaper reports in front of Tiffany. He questioned her angrily, "If she didn't receive orders from you, how would she be brave enough to do this?"

"Nick, we are about to get married, why would I do something like this? Wouldn't that be pushing you away?" Tiffany choked on her words as she looked at him innocently.

"Then, how do you explain why you placed the Crown's Star on your ankle at the show? You knew very well, that the biggest difference between you and Hyuna are your legs..."

Tiffany looked at Nichkhun as he interrogated her. She thought back on the multiple times that Nichkhun had protected Hyuna in the same way.

She once thought it was all because he was trying to protect his own growing career, so she was willing to endure being wronged and allowed him to stick up for another person.

But from the looks of it now, the only person he wanted to protect all along had solely been Kim Hyuna.

"At the time, I had no way of wearing the Crown's Star on anywhere but my ankles. Kim Hyuna’s assistant was also present, you can ask him."

"I asked him already and he said you had made the decision yourself..." Nichkhun pressed on.

"Nick, I am your fiancée, yet you choose to believe an outsider?" Tiffany faked a look of disappointment as she continued to observe Nichkhun’s reactions, "Yesterday...we were supposed to be signing our wedding papers."

"It's too late to say anything now, the damage is done. JK has already notified the court of their intention to sue Horvjk for breaching the contract and thanks to your manager,

the public's negative reactions towards Horvjk are now getting worse and worse. You need to take responsibility for this." Nichkhun looked down at Tiffany condescendingly.

He gave off the aura of an almighty god passing judgment.

"You will be my wife soon, I don't want my wife to hurt my career. That's why...Tiffany, for the sake of Horvjk, you have the responsibility to step out and explain to the public the entire mess was created by your manager for hype and has nothing to do with Horvjk..."

"Admitting that my manager was responsible is just like admitting I was responsible! Weren't you the one that called me to hastily substitute Hyuna?" Tiffany cried, "Nick, is it because I am to marry you, that I should be sacrificed?"

"I don't care. Being recognized was your fault." As soon as those words left his lips, Nichkhun must have felt he had gone too far. He quickly calmed down and reached out his arms to give Tiffany a hug, however, she retaliated by pushing him away. "Tiffany, I was just getting a bit impatient. Just this once...after we are married, I promise to treat you well..."

Of course, Tiffany held back her tears and nodded, "I am doing this, not because I admit to creating this mess, it is because I want to protect your career. But, there will be no next time!"

"Yes...I promise