Seungwan looked up, bright flashes coming from ahead blinding her. Everything was blurry and she could hardly see the road properly. She was gripping the steering wheel tightly, feet lingering over the brake pedal, a part of her was convinced that she wasn't going to make it out alive after tonight.

“You have no self-respect…no character whatsoever…no dignity.”

“Who gave you the right to point fingers at my character and reputation?”

At that moment the realisation hit Seungwan. Joohyun's reputation was at risk. The letter could go into the wrong hands and someone can use that to taint Joohyun's character. Although she was furious at Joohyun's actions she couldn't allow herself to leave her wife unprotected, especially when her character was at stake.

“To have and to hold from this day forward, for better, for worse.”

She made a promise. A promise of being responsible for Joohyun. A promise to protect her from all the calamities, a promise to be her shield, a promise that made her responsible for Joohyun. 

She didn't know what Joohyun thought about their marriage. The older girl made it clear to her that their marriage was nothing but some signatures on a piece of paper. For Joohyun this marriage was nothing but an act.

Seungwan knew the motives behind their marriage but it didn't mean she would run away from the responsibilities that came with it. Until the contract was over she was keen on fulfilling her part of the vows she took.

She didn't have such a ridiculous image of an arranged marriage in her mind. She was raised in a loving and wholesome household. It came as a huge shock for her when her parents revealed that they were married through some business arrangements too.

Seungwan didn't believe them at first thinking it was just a way to convince her to marry Joohyun. But her grandparents from her mother's side told her how her mother and her father got married.

Soon awkward touches became loving touches, small talks became unending conversations, and just like that here, parents fell in love.

Seungwan wanted the same for herself too. Her parent's description of an arranged marriage changed her entire view of the arrangement.

But it didn't last for long because her dream was shattered mercilessly by a mere piece of paper on her wedding day. She tried to convince herself that Joohyun wasn't like that. The Joohyun she got to know through their work-related meetings was nothing like the Joohyun she saw tonight.

When she accused Joohyun of lying, she was preparing herself to get slapped across the face by Joohyun proving to her that the content written on that letter was nothing but a lie.

She didn't expect her heart to feel the pain, maybe Joohyun did break her heart a little by shattering her dreams of having a loving marriage like her parents did. She was used to strangers hurting her but it never crushed her like that.

She doesn't blame Joohyun entirely for this mess, because just the proposition of faking a healthy relationship by Joohyun was enough to tell her how Joohyun saw this marriage.

She shouldn't have allowed herself to think ahead of time. She should've known that she can't have what her parents had.

The image of Joohyun staring at her through the mirror flashes in her mind, her hands slowly removing the dress from Joohyun's petite body, the older girl whimpering under her touch.

Seungwan snaps out of her thoughts, hearing a loud horn as she slams the brakes and the car comes to a halt.

“Focus Seungwan,” She gasps looking to her side to see that if she didn't stop on time she would've taken her last breaths.

Once she reaches the wedding hall, she rushes inside in a hurry only to be stopped by one of the managers 

“Seungwan-ssi what are you doing here?” He asks shocked to see her there at that time on her wedding night “Your wife must be looking for you.” 

“She's waiting for me at home. I brought a very precious gift for her that I wanted to give her on our wedding night but due to all the excitement, I forgot it in the dressing room. I told her it was no big deal and I could get it for her tomorrow but she insisted that I should get it,” Seungwan smiled apologetically scratching the back of her neck.

“You two are already setting up such high standards for couples. I shouldn't hold you here. You should get back to her quickly,” He smiled, patting her shoulder as he gave her the key to the dressing room.

Seungwan didn't waste any time and rushed to the dressing room as fast as she could. After she caught her breath she took a sigh of relief when she saw the envelope on the table and the crumpled letter in the dustbin.

She folded the letter neatly and placed it back inside the envelope. On her way out she showed it to the manager so he wouldn't be suspicious of her.

“It's a bit old-fashioned but I poured all my love into this, that's why it's the best gift I could offer to her,” She said placing the letter on her heart.

“My heart is melting,” The manager chirped, wishing her good luck on her wedding night.

She was way sober on her way back. Once she reached the house, she hid the letter in the working room, thinking that she will find out who sent this to her.

She opened the door to their room slowly to see that the lights were already off. There were no traces of a fight in the room. Joohyun must've cleaned it before she went to bed. 

After changing into comfortable clothes she looked towards the bed and eyed the space beside Joohyun. Eventually, she decided to sleep on the couch instead.

Walking to the side to grab some pillows, her gaze fell on sleeping Joohyun. The older girl looked like she was in a deep slumber. Seungwan looked at the uneven comforter exposing Joohyun's shoulders. With trembling hands, she fixed the comforter, her gaze lingering on her wife for a few more moments before she settled on the couch.

“Hate is a very strong word Joohyun. I don't hate you but I feel disgusted by you knowing what you did.”

•~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~•

Joohyun watched while Seungwan set up the table and organised the food. She felt watering when the aroma of food invaded her nostrils. She looked away to see Seungwan walking towards the sofa.

Seungwan sat right next to her which made her freeze on her spot. She gulped, feeling Seungwan's thighs brush against her. The latter was oblivious as she grabbed plates and chopsticks from the inside of the paper bags.

She pushes away the thoughts about certain hands brushing against her legs and starts to eat.

“You have a meeting in an hour,” Seungwan pointed out as she placed some pieces of meat in Joohyun's dish.

“If you don't want to attend it's alright with me,” Joohyun watched as Seungwan grabbed a cup of hot chocolate and placed it in front of her. She watched as Seungwan kept putting meat in her dish. “I can do it instead of you or if you want to postpone it we can do that too.”

“You're acting like a wife,” Joohyun blurted, making Seungwan falter. Joohyun mentally slapped herself as she saw Seungwan freeze. “I–It's not a bad thing. We're in the office, so, we should be behaving like a couple.”

“Just eat,” Seungwan rolled her eyes as she replied coldly.

Joohyun clicked her tongue and stuffed with a handful of rice. It has become a habit to get on Seungwan's nerves. Sometimes, she fails to read the room and this was definitely one of those moments.

Seungwan was being nice and she had to brush her off like that.

“Do you want to attend the meeting together?” Joohyun tried her luck because having Seungwan in a meeting wouldn't be that bad. It'll train the younger girl in some way.

Joohyun tears her eyes from her food to look at Seungwan who was eating her meal silently. She was waiting for an answer but it seemed like Seungwan was back to being the default aka the mean Seungwan.

“Instead of wondering what goes on in my mind, you should focus on eating,” Seungwan told her as she opened a bowl of soup and placed it in front of her.

Joohyun blinked, her eyes looking back and forth between the bowl and Seungwan who went back to eating nonchalantly like she didn't just act like a wife once again.

“I know how to eat,” She replied, looking away, trying to hide the tips of her ears that were turning red. 

“You barely ate anything,” Seungwan lectured, eyeing her dish where most of the food was left untouched.

They were interrupted when Seulgi entered Seungwan's cabin with some files. She immediately left after apologising for disturbing them.

“Cute,” Seungwan muttered as her eyes followed Seulgi.

Joohyun felt her jaw drop as she saw the grin on Seungwan's face. It reminded her of the smile on Seungwan's face when she saw her talking to Seulgi.

“Eat up Joohyun,” Seungwan closed Joohyun's mouth. “We have a meeting to attend.”

•~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~•

Yerim's eyes follow the couple as they head toward the conference room for their meeting. She squints spotting the blazer Joohyun was wearing in Seungwan's hand. She then looks toward Joohyun who had a coat draped over her. With a grin, she raised her brows.

“Is there anything going on between them?” Yerim questioned, turning her head back towards Sooyoung.

“If you're asking me if they are a thing then they are not,” Sooyoung replies, eyes fixed on her monitor, hands typing away the data that needs to be handed over tomorrow.

“There is no way there are no strings attached!” Yerim exclaimed, widening her eyes. “They look great together. They complement each other. It doesn't look like they are in an arranged marriage.”

“If you see this public display of affection and think that they are a happily married couple and they love each other—then you have been deceived,” Sooyoung sighs. It's not Yerim's fault that both Seungwan and Joohyun take their act seriously in public.

“It looks so real,” Yerim muttered, scratching her head in confusion.

“You know it'll amaze you when you will see them fight,” Sooyoung let out a groan thinking about the times she and Seulgi would have to make sure that no one was seeing them while they were busy making each other's life a living hell. “When they fight they don't care about any boundaries and it's been the same case for the past months.”

“It's a pity that they look so good together,” Yerim pouted.

“That—they do. I heard they have an upcoming magazine photoshoot. It's gonna cause havoc,” Sooyoung smirked.

“I'm gonna look forward to it,” Yerim mumbled as she focused on the guide Sooyoung made for her.

•~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~•

“Let's head home,” Seungwan announced as she grabbed her things from the table.

Joohyun looked at her phone to check the time. It surprised her that they were heading home a little earlier than usual. For others getting free at eight might be late for them it was way earlier.

She stood up without a word and grabbed her bag. Her eyes fell on the blazer that was draped over the chair and realised that she has been wearing Seungwan's coat the whole day.

Seungwan waited for her to go out as she opened the door and followed her outside to the car. Seungwan walked over and opened the door before she walked over to the driver's side to take her seat.

Joohyun looked to the front to see that there was no driver today and Seungwan was the one driving. Seungwan started the ignition and hit the gas pedal as she started driving.

Joohyun felt herself dozing off when Seungwan suddenly stopped the car and pulled her out. She looked around to see that the car was parked near the river.

“Is something wrong?” She asked maintaining her distance while Seungwan stood beside the railing.

“I wanted to talk—about today,” Seungwan trailed off as she took some deep breaths.

“I already told you that I won't take off my ring from now on,” Joohyun muttered, fingers fiddling with her wedding band.

“Don't make me scream at you Joohyun! I am trying to be rational here for once,” Seungwan huffed out in annoyance.

“If I didn't come there looking for you—he could've—!” Seungwan ruffled her hair in frustration, betraying her to even say those words.

“You need to tell me if there are any more staff around you that make you feel uncomfortable because I don't want something like this to happen again,” Seungwan said.

“I don't need your fake concern, I know very well how to hold my ground,” Joohyun declared turning around to walk back to the car.

“God damnit Joohyun!” Seungwan grabbed her wrist and squeezed her arms in anger.

“I am ing concerned for your safety,” Seungwan breathed out after a deep breath to cool herself. “I am not going to put an act when a woman's—more precisely my woman's dignity is at stake.”

“I know I am the only one allowed to fire anyone here but I am going to give you enough control to fire anyone that makes you feel uncomfortable. I will legalise documents regarding it tomorrow too,” Seungwan remained silent for a few moments before she spoke up.

“I don't want employees like them to take advantage of things like that. We interact with our staff daily, we don't need people who make us uncomfortable in our space,” Seungwan explained, still irked by the events that happened earlier.

“It baffles me that he had the audacity to corner you in a room knowing that no one will be there to save you and tried to harass you. I don't need s like him anywhere near you!” Seungwan growled fuming in anger. It was clear that she wasn't pleased with whatever she witnessed.

Joohyun remained quiet, still processing this new side of Seungwan. Her wife genuinely looked like she was very upset about that incident. Strangely, it makes her feel safe knowing that someone is willing to go to such lengths to protect her name.

Her heart softened after hearing such words come out of Seungwan's mouth. She couldn't stop the unusual churning in her stomach. It was getting harder to stop a smile from appearing on her face.

“You acting like a possessive wife is surprising,” Joohyun chooses the route to humour herself out of the situation.

“All that and you managed to get to this conclusion!” Seungwan sighed as she let go of Joohyun's arms. 

“I get it. You're worried. I'll take care of such situations if I ever come across one,” Joohyun replied, offering the latter a smile.

“This won't do,” Seungwan looked down, poking the side of her cheek with her tongue. 

“What?” Joohyun asked.

“Nothing,” Seungwan grabbed her hand and led her to the shotgun seat, making her sit before she made her way to the other side.

“I'm going to drop you home and then I'm going to head out for some work,” Seungwan stated as she started the engine. “Don't you dare call me to wish that I ing crash!”

•~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~•

“Seungwan has been creating a lot of problems recently.” 

“She's getting everyone on her side.”

“Ugh! I don't even know how she found out about Aries Pharmaceuticals.”

“She definitely knows something. We must get rid of her before she knows too much.”

“Not now! If she thinks she's the only one who can play a game then we'll show her how it is actually played.”

“In the meantime, we can enjoy Bae's millions.”

•~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~•

Joohyun watched as Seungwan changed into much more comfortable clothes while she was enjoying the warmth under the blankets.

“At least, tell me if you're going out to drink,” Joohyun mumbled, not expecting her voice to reach Seungwan.

“I am going out for work,” Seungwan replied, rolling her eyes.

“It's freaking nine! What work do you have at this time?” Joohyun argued.

“It's something that doesn't concern you,” Seungwan approached her and pinned her head against the headboard with her fingers. “Be a good girl and sleep tight while I do my work.”

Joohyun bit her lip hiding her face inside the blanket because she didn't want to see Seungwan witnessing the tips of her ears getting red.

Seungwan tilted her neck, eyes spitting fire as she saw the man who had tried to harass Joohyun. She could already feel the blood in her veins heating up when she stepped inside the prison cell.

“His name?” She asked the officer standing beside her. “Kris,” The man replied as Seungwan just nodded and crouched in front of the beaten-up man.

“Hello Kris,” Seungwan smiled as she lifted him by his collar, brushing the dust off. “You look like you need some care,” She asked with a cunning smirk.

“I—they dared me—they got into my mind—I swear!” Kris begged once he realised he was in for another beating with the way Seungwan was clenching his shirt.

“You mean someone else provoked you?” Seungwan inquired.

“They said that you weren't there and then dared me to do it. I don't know what took over me,” He cried out.

Seungwan nodded as she punched him straight in his jaw, throwing him to the ground. “Someone would tell you to molest a girl and you would do it because they provoked you!”

Seungwan was planning on giving him a good beating back there but Joohyun had stopped her but right now there was no one to stop her from taking out her anger on this man.

“It was the filthy monster inside you who wanted to enjoy her screams!” Seungwan shouted, slamming him against the wall.

“Give me the names! Give me the ing names of every single one of those who dared you to do that!” Seungwan spoke after delivering a couple of blows to his face making him bleed.

Seungwan walked out and immediately dialled Sooyoung's number as she sat inside the car making her way to her next destination.

“Hello. Is there something you need?” Sooyoung muttered, letting out a yawn. Seungwan thought she was probably heading to sleep.

“I am sending you a list with names. I don't want to see any of them on the office premises tomorrow. I also want them blacklisted so they can't get jobs anywhere else. I hope you got that,” Seungwan commanded.

“Can I ask the reason for doing this?” Sooyoung asked more awake than before after hearing Seungwan's absurd order.

“These were the motherers who ing dared that to do that to Joohyun. I don't want these people working anywhere near her,” Seungwan replied as she gritted her teeth to keep herself calm.

“Oh! Okay,” Sooyoung exclaimed. “You'll not see them ever again.”

“Good.”

•~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~•

Joohyun stretched out her arms as she let out some groans. Opening her eyes she looked to the side to see Seungwan eyeing her. It made her jump and hit her head on the headboard.

“You surprised me!” She breathed out catching her breath.

“I was waiting for you to wake up,” Seungwan shrugged nonchalantly. “You sleep like a log. I could've slapped you the whole night and you still would have no idea.”

“You imagine yourself slapping me!” She growled, almost offended at Seungwan's words.

“I don't have time for your stand-up comedy Joohyun,” Seungwan stood up from her chair and sat beside Joohyun with a box in her hand. The younger girl opened the box revealing a watch.

“It's a security watch. It'll allow you to send a signal to three people at once if you're in danger,” Seungwan explained as she grabbed Joohyun's hand to make her wear it.

“I am not wearing that! I am not a kid!” She jerked her hand away crossing her arms.

“I knew that would happen,” Seungwan sighed as she grabbed her phone and put it on speaker. 

“Bae Joohyun! Where are your manners? Is that how you talk to your wife in the morning?” She flinched hearing her mother's voice.

“Oww! Mom, are you going to scold me in front of her?” She whined.

“Your wife is worried for your safety and here you are acting like a child!” She side-eyed Seungwan who looked like she was enjoying all of this.

“You know my poor daughter-in-law came at night and voiced out how worried she was about your safety. She brought that for your own good and here you are being ungrateful!” Joohyun felt like her eardrum will come off if her mother scolds her further.

“Mother, okay calm down. I am sorry. I am just grumpy in the morning,” Joohyun muttered. “I know Seungwannie is worried for me. I'll wear the watch hmmm,” Joohyun cooed and ended the call eyeing Seungwan who was already putting the watch around her wrist.

“Jerk!” She mouthed.

“Come up with something new Joohyun,” Seungwan replied, looking unimpressed.

“Ugh! You ruined my entire mood.”

“My pleasure.”

Joohyun rolled over to the other side to grab her phone. Seungwan's statement about her sleeping like a log was far from a lie because it's been too long since she slept like that.

“It's freaking noon!” She exclaimed, finally looking at Seungwan to notice that she was wearing casual clothes instead of her work ones.

“I am going downstairs to cook,” Seungwan shrugged as she walked out leaving Joohyun to contemplate her life decisions.

Joohyun walked downstairs after freshening herself up. She peeked through the kitchen to look at Seungwan. She was holding some pasta in her hand.

“Is that pasta?” Seungwan jumped after getting startled by Joohyun. She successfully dropped the pasta in the pot but at the same time, her hand touched the hot pot.

Joohyun widened her eyes realising that the younger girl must've burned her hand because of her distraction and immediately started toward her.

“Ouch,” Joohyun grabbed her hand and pulled her toward the faucet as she let the cold water run over Seungwan's burned hand.

She worriedly blew on her hand when she looked up and saw Seungwan staring at her. She couldn't understand the emotions behind those eyes. But it was deep.

“I am fine,” Seungwan spoke after Joohyun stopped blowing on her hand. “Go and do something while I make food.”

Joohyun walked out of the kitchen but went straight to the bathroom to grab an ointment for the irritation. She came back downstairs and went back to Seungwan who let out a groan after seeing her.

“Put this on it'll lessen the pain,” She muttered and walked out.

Joohyun went to their office and started doing some work in her free time while waiting for Seungwan to cook lunch. It had already been an hour, so, she went downstairs to see Seungwan setting up the lunch on the table.

Despite their constant fights, both of them were serious when it came to their responsibilities. Seungwan focused on cooking while Joohyun leaned more toward doing the laundry. Their weekends were usually reserved for cleaning and other things.

Joohyun ate her food in silence while Seungwan are while scrolling down her phone. It was always like this. It didn't make any sense to Joohyun why would Seungwan go through the awkward silence just so they could eat their meals together. 

“Are you done with your work?” Seungwan asked out of nowhere surprising her.

“Hmm,” She hummed in response. “You?” She asked.

“I was already done by the time you woke up,” Seungwan replied pouring herself some juice. Joohyun blinked when the noticed the girl filling up a second glass and placing it beside her.

Joohyun was going to her room when Seungwan laying on the living room couch watching something on the television. Letting her curiosity get the best of her she walked over to see Seungwan watching a movie.

“Can I join?” She asked. Seungwan remained silent as she removed her legs making room for her to sit. She didn't think twice and plopped beside the younger girl.

Thirty minutes into the movie Joohyun felt cold so without any second thoughts she pressed herself closer to Seungwan who didn't even flick because she was too engrossed in the movie.

She was feeling sleepy all of sudden and she didn't know why. She tried to fight it off and watch the movie but after some struggle, she gave up and went to sleep.

Hours later, she woke up. She rubbed her eyes to get rid of the sleep when she felt something beneath her head.

She fidgeted her hand around and forced herself to sit. She blinked after registering that she mistook Seungwan's legs for a pillow and slept on them. She looked up to see Seungwan dozed off as well in a much more uncomfortable position.

She rested her head on the armrest as her eyes were fixed on Seungwan. 

Life with Seungwan was…different. They haven't been fighting like they used to do. It's been almost a month since their last real fight. It felt like things were changing. 

She remembered Seulgi's words about giving their relationship a chance. She can't do that. But not fighting with Seungwan is much better than that constant burst of hurtful words and yelling. 

She sighed as she remembered all the hurtful things she said to Seungwan. She hasn't been on her best behavior since she got married.

It wasn't like Seungwan was someone who'll back off in such fights. She had a fair share of outbursts too but whenever the younger girl felt like her rage was getting out of control she'll walk out to cool off.

The realisation hits her that ever since Seungwan said those hurtful things to her in the bathroom, she has been mindful of her words and actions.

Joohyun sits up and shifts her eyes refusing to leave Seungwan's sleeping figure. She watched as Seungwan's chest fluctuated up and down with each breath. It made her realise that maybe she wasn't the only one suffering in this marriage.

She remembers their last fights vividly. It haunts her. The helpless whimper that escapes from Seungwan's mouth, the blood on her arm, and those piericing eyes. It made her think if she was the reason if this suffering.

When did she change so much to become like that? 

Bae Joohyun wasn't born into a family of riches. Her father had a dream and he worked hard to get them where they are today. She remembers the times when his dream was crumbling apart because of jealousy and envy.

Someone whom they considered family was planning their downfall behind their backs. She couldn't let her father's decade's worth of hard work go to waste. So she stepped in as the Ceo of Bae Group.

Her life was changed forever. That dream changed her. If twenty-year-old Bae Joohyun visited her now she would be disgusted with her. She wasn't this cold woman. The words that came out of her tongue weren't bitter. Her gaze didn't hold resentment toward anyone.

But time changed and so did she. She bites her lip realizing how much has she hurt Seungwan through her words and her actions.

She tilts her head before she shakes it and stands up. It's time to make up for the mistakes she has made. 

She opens to blurt out an apology but it won't be fair to Seungwan. She'll tell her to her face.

“Realization was my fourth mistake."