When Luhan returned home, he sighed when he saw that Seohyun had instructed the maid and butler to leave her things by the front door. He was amazed at how she could take him to the heights of heaven at the wedding and drag him to the lowest depths of hell when he took her to the place he had planned to build their future together. He didn‘t know what it was about him that she found so repulsive that she would rather spend her life as a spinster than spend it with him.

He wasn‘t sure where she went so he had to ask the maid.

"She‘s at the gazebo in the backyard," Sulli answered him.

He thanked her and went out to the veranda. He paused for a moment. He wasn‘t sure how he was going to approach her. His uncle seemed to think this was a simple matter that would easily be resolved, but Luhan realized that his entire world would fall apart if she left. He saw her as she sat on the bench. The fact that she still wore her wedding dress seemed like one colossal joke, and he was the of it. He had stupidly assumed that she was happy to marry him. How could I have been so wrong? He actually thought she had enjoyed dancing with him at the reception. He thought years of doing business with clients had prepared him to notice details, but he wasn‘t effective when it came to detecting her subtle cues.

He was tempted to make her spend the entire night sitting out there, wondering what he would decide, but he couldn‘t bring himself to treat her that way. What was the best approach? What would he do if he had a client who was determined not to invest with his uncle‘s firm? He thought back to a time when he had to work with several hesitant clients. He had to act casual about it. He couldn‘t allow them to see the fact that he stressed over their decision because as soon as he did that, he lost the account. He had to keep a cool head. He took a deep breath and got ready to approach her.

He was halfway across the lawn when she noticed him. She sat up straight and waited for him to reach her. He was struck by her beauty. It didn‘t matter that other men thought she was pretty but not worth pursuing. He thought she was the loveliest creature God ever made.

When he stood in front of her, he held his hand out to her. "Will you give me one kiss?"

She appeared startled. "I kissed you at the wedding."

And it was good enough that it left him wanting more. "I know but now there‘s no one to watch us. It won‘t seem so awkward." Perhaps that wasn‘t true. He couldn‘t stop his slight trembling but was determined not to let her discover it.

"There‘s no point in it." Though she protested, she took his hand and stood up.

"I need to find out something before I tell you what‘s on my mind."

"And you can find it out by a kiss?"

He nodded. At least, he hoped he could.

"Are you going to grant the annulment?" she asked.

"I‘ll tell you after the kiss."

Her hand was soft and warm in his. What would her hands feel like on his body? He forced the thought aside and slipped his arms around her. Since his wedding kiss had been his first kiss, it wasn‘t easy to figure out how to passionately kiss her as his uncle had suggested. He felt incredibly untrained for this type of thing, but he had to start somewhere. He didn‘t start out with good presentations at work. He had to practice until he was good at it. He would love to practice perfecting his kissing skills on her but wondered if this was going to be his only chance.

He pushed the depressing thought aside and softly kissed her. He didn‘t notice any response from her. She stood still and allowed him to deepen the kiss. As he continued kissing her, he began to overcome his shyness. She brought out yearnings that he hadn‘t been aware of. He longed to explore them but he had asked for one kiss and it was all she was prepared to give him. She leaned into him and finally returned his passion with her own. He was relieved. He was beginning to think that she really didn‘t have any interest in him. The realization that his uncle was right about her gave him a new confidence he hadn‘t had with her before.

If she wasn‘t so insistent on the annulment, he would have picked her up and taken her to their bedroom. But he knew that option wasn‘t available so he settled for the agreement he hoped he could talk her into. He reluctantly ended the kiss, which he had been enjoying far too much, and motioned for her to sit next to him. She took a moment before she sat next to him. He noticed that she looked flushed by their kiss. Was it possible that she enjoyed it, even a little bit?

He waited until his breathing returned to normal before speaking. He was acutely aware that she sat close to him, making it hard for him to concentrate on the matter at hand, but he was determined to act as if he had perfect control over the situation.

"I have a proposal for you," he finally began.

"What are you talking about?" She didn‘t hide her confusion.

"I would lik