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Ring after ring, and text message after the other, she couldn’t get a hold of him and it was starting to irritate her. Giving up, she went back to the little cocktail party going on inside her house and took a glass of wine of her own before gulping it down in one go, letting the bitter taste linger on her tongue.

 

“Victoria, sweetie, where’s your husband?”

 

‘I’m sure he’s screwing some bimbo somewhere…’ “I don’t know mother, he’s probably being held up at work. Again.”

 

She was about to turn around when she came across her mother-in-law along with her husband’s aunt. “Victoria? Is that alcohol in your glass?”

 

“Yes?”

 

“Oh darling, give me that~” The mother-in-law quickly grabs onto the young woman’s glass, startling her in the process as she looked back with a confused look on her face. “It’s not good for a future mother to fill her body with alcohol, you know that~” The chirpy tone in the woman’s voice left Victoria to cringe inwardly. She bitterly smiled at the two with a knowing ‘of course’ statement before walking away, going back into the kitchen to get herself a new glass of something else.

 

She leaned herself by the counter, taking small sips of her drink with the noise behind her becoming just a mere background sound with the chatter and low music.

 

“Happy one year wedding anniversary to me, yea~”

 

Taking down the last bit, she breathed out to calm herself down as little tingle of nerves were traveling all over her body, leaving her to feel irritated for everything. Not only was her husband absent from the family gathering but she couldn’t escape from the women of his family as they kept nagging to her about not being pregnant, and when will they have to expect, and other comments that would usually tire a daughter-in-law.

 

‘I’ll get you for this Byunghee. Ugh!’

 

As for the man in question, he was out in the city while enjoying the night that was ahead of him with the company of his best friend as they were spending their money on drinks at the hottest club downtown.

 

The perfect bachelor of Seoul was having the time of his life with no worries troubling his mind whatsoever; he still describes himself as a bachelor because to him, he isn’t married and completely denies the unhappy wife that is waiting for him back at their house.

 

Even after the wedding vows from exactly one year ago, nothing changed.

 

He was still the arrogant and selfish womanizer that Victoria came to know and despised.

 

Their union was simply another one of those arranged marriage between the rich people of Seoul’s society where it only benefits the business people of the family and as for them, it was for the same reasons. With his company expanding greatly all over the country and in Japan as well, G.O’s father decided to hit the Chinese market and that is when he met Victoria’s dad.

 

Being an influential business man of his own, things seem to have worked out between the two parents and that’s when the marriage bump came in; just like all business unions, the heir and heiress of the respective companies had no choice but to hook up and form one big happy family.

 

The only problem?

 

Both kids hated each other. Well, more for Victoria towards Byunghee; she was willing to give this a shot for the sake of her family and especially her father while for Byunghee, wedding bells weren’t in his plan. Even though his father wanted him to settle down as the boy was nearing the age of thirty in just a few years, Byunghee was still ignoring the pleas of his father.

 

The only way he was finally able to convince his son to marry Victoria was, of course, with a threat, as in getting cut off from the family’s riches.

 

The wedding was private and consisted only of immediate relatives, the honeymoon was spent separately, as in without spending their time together, and a year later, no progress was made between the two, a detail that was hidden from their parents.

 

Out and about, the hours of the night were flying by as Byunghee got to enjoy the company of several women, flirting his way into their . He constantly kept feeling his phone vibrate inside his pocket, to which he had finally turned it off, not having the need to hear his wife complain about his whereabouts.

 

He was skipping out on her as he knew exactly what tonight was supposed to be and he simply wasn’t in the mood for any of it.

 

Drink after drink, the alcohol was slowly filling up his system, driving him to become more wild and flirtatious than he already was. As he was in the VIP section with some of his friends, he completely ignored his surroundings as he started making out with a stranger, let alone, a much younger woman.

 

The level of skin ship between the two was getting higher and much hotter leading the man into wanting more from whoever she was. “How about taking this over to my place, hmm?” Leaving soft kisses along her neck, he took the moan that came out of as an answer and grabbed onto her hand as he led her out, bringing her straight to his house.

 

As for Victoria, the party had finally ended.

 

Though her evening had been one of the most dreadful of all, halfway through, it turned around to end on a lighter note. The reason? After meeting some relatives of G.O’s side of the family tree for the first time, she met one of his cousins and immediately clicked after the first few seconds they started talking. For the rest of the night, they kept their conversation flowing in perfect delight as they got to know each other.

 

She doesn’t remember having a genuine smile on her face, nor the last time she laughed from the heart but she had to admit that, putting aside the fact that he was very handsome, she was smitten by him.

 

After the family gathering was over, he was kind enough to have stayed and helped her clean up only to end in the kitchen, drinking yet another glass of wine.

 

They were so caught up in their conversation, they didn’t hear the front door opening with Byunghee and his ‘date’ stumble inside as they were latched onto each other. Giggles of excitement were coming out in between their locked lips as he swiftly lifted the girl up while walking towards the living room and laid her down on the couch.

 

That’s when he heard voices coming out from the next room. He stopped whatever he was doing and looked up to hear laughter coming from his wife and another familiar male voice. ‘What the…’

 

He pulled himself away and rushed towards the kitchen where he found Victoria leaning her lower back against the counter with his cousin standing dangerously close to her, his hands tugging some of her hair behind her ear as he was ready to kiss her.

 

He didn’t know what took over him but he knew that he didn’t like what he saw, and it left him with a sudden bubble of anger bursting out with hidden jealousy seeping through.

 

“YAH! What the hell is going on?!”

 

Tilting her head to the side, Victoria spotted her husband and looked back at him with the same carelessness he would always show her, as she replied back with a monotone voice. “Oh honey, you’re home.”

 

The cousin pulled himself away from her as he looked back with an apologetic and shocked look on his face. Byunghee was about to speak up when he heard his name being called by the girl he had brought home, something he instantly forgot after walking in here.

 

At the sight of the skimpy stranger walking into her kitchen, Victoria let a scoff out of , barely impressed by her husband’s action.

 

“And here you are with another bimbo~ Did you pick her out from high school this time?”

 

“Who are you?” The girl in question had put on her childish attitude towards Victoria as she linked her arm onto Byunghee’s.

 

“Who am I? I’m his freaking wife! Now get the hell out of my house before I kick you out!”

 

“Tsk, stuck up b* much?”

 

“What did you say?!” She was about to stomp her way to the girl and hit her when Byunghee’s cousin suddenly grabbed her as he quickly wrapped his arms around her body while she squirmed in his embrace, trying to get to the younger woman.

 

From there, everything went fast from the stranger walking out to the cousin leaving the married couple be, as he apologized for his part of the disturbance.

 

Once the house was quiet, the next sound that came out was a slap across the husband’s cheek. All her inner anger and frustration finally came out in that one single blow, hard enough to have left a red mark of her palm against his skin. “You pig. You’re just disgusting.”

 

A huff out of his mouth as he was rubbing the pain away, he glared back at his wife. “Like you’re any better? You were about to sleep with my cousin!”

 

“Like you weren’t going to sleep with that kid?!”

 

“Oh come on! She’s barely any younger than me!”

 

“THAT’S NOT THE POINT! DO YOU KNOW WHAT THE HELL TONIGHT WAS SUPPOSED TO BE?!”

 

“Of course! Why do you think I ditched?!”

 

“UGH!” She gave him another slap on the same cheek and stormed out of the kitchen but quickly had her arm grabbed by him making her roughly turn back to face him. She pushed herself away from his grasp, as she was about to hit him again but was quickly stopped when he caught her wrist right as it was about to reach him.

 

“Let. Me. Go.”

 

“Not until you explain to me what the heck you were doing so close to him.”

 

“Why? Are you jealous?”

 

“Pfft! As if!”

 

“Then why are you so curious, hmm?”

 

“Because you’re my wife and you had no business-”

 

“Whoa~ I never thought you would also be ist! I’m not allowed to flirt with another man but for you, you can just go ahead and sleep with the next girl that falls onto your lap, huh?!”

 

Once again, she pushed herself away from him and ran her fingers through her hair as she tried to breathe in, having the urge to calm herself down. “What did I ever do to you for you to be this way towards me, huh?”

 

“You’ve ruined my life, that’s what you did.”

 

“Like you haven’t ruined mine?! You think I wanted this stupid marriage?! You think I would waste my life being completely ignored and being freaking judged by your family just for your sake?! I didn’t mind giving this marriage a try. In fact, I accepted because of my father but you are the one that is making this whole thing difficult. I get that you’re unhappy and so am I, but there is no reason as to why you shouldn’t be acting like a normal husband! Like, I don’t know… Be there when you’re needed!”

 

Another sigh of anger out of , she clenched her jaw as she tried to hold herself from slapping him across the face once again. “I don’t know why you hate me this much or why you’re showing me this much disrespect but with that stunt you just pulled, including the fact that you abandoned me in a freaking crowd of noisy and annoying rich people, you just made me think less of you.”

 

He was about to speak up and vent out his own annoyance when she quickly cut him off as she pushed herself aside, leaving him to have the front door in his line of view. “I want you out now.”

 

“You can’t just kick me out of my own house.”

 

“I just did. Now leave. I can’t do this anymore. The marriage is off. It’s over.”

 

“You can’t do this!”

 

“I JUST DID! NOW SCAM!”

 

“Ugh, you’re such a pain in the ! Damn it!”

 

“Oh! AND HAPPY ANNIVERSARY HONEY!”

 

And the door slammed shut loudly, leaving its sound to resonate with a slight surprised jump coming from Victoria.

 

X O X O

 

It’s not that he hated her in particular; he hated women in general.

 

He found them manipulative, sneaking and gold diggers, especially for hiding all of this under that superficial innocent façade they would display in public.

 

Through the years, with every heartbreak he encountered, he hated himself every time because of how gullible he felt. Maybe it was bad luck that struck him the day he was born and that’s why he’s been used so many times, but once you get betrayed like he was, you see things clearly.

 

From his cheating mother who had carried a love affair during his childhood to the moment he caught sight of his previous fiancée on top of another man, trust in women vanished, leading him to who he was today.

 

And that’s how he liked it; free from anything, nothing holding him back.

 

After he got kicked out, he took his car and drove to his parents’ house since he didn’t really had anywhere else to go, especially at this time of night. Once he parked his car by the driveway and walked inside, he quickly found himself inside his father’s office as he sat down on the chair facing the old man’s desk while being yelled at, all about disrespecting the family’s name and making his father look like a fool in front of Victoria’s father, and such.

 

“You are this close from being cut off! Now you get up, go back to your wife and apologize like a gentleman. Is that clear?!”

 

“Why do I have to apologize?! The woman was practically all over another man!”

 

“And I bet you, you were all over another woman, huh?! I know you Byunghee and frankly, I don’t care if she carries an affair with another man. Get your act together and go be a husband, understood?! I didn’t go through all this trouble just so you could ruin everything I’ve worked hard to build!”

 

Byunghee wanted to fight back but he knew that it would’ve been in vain. He gave up with a sigh and walked out of the office, slamming the door behind him. On his way to the main entrance, he ignored his mother who was trying to talk to him and again, slammed shut the door before climbing inside his car and speeding his way back into the city.

 

Before making his way home, he decided to call one of his friends for a favor that needed to be quickly done, and hopefully, he would be able to get what he wanted.

 

X O X O

 

Back inside her house, Victoria had just finished taking her shower and was making her way straight into her bed, sighing happily about the day finally ending.

 

She was still sore from the fight she had with her husband but barely put much thought into it the moment she draped herself with her bed covers, comfortably lying on the mattress.

 

She was on the verge of falling asleep when she heard the front door opening and loudly closed, leaving her to believe that Byunghee was back. She fought the urge to get up and instead was met with a velvet box thrown her way as she sat up when the door to the bedroom opened. The box landed right next to her as she fixated her gaze on it before looking up to see Byunghee walking out without a word.

 

She huffed at his gesture and out of curiosity opened the case to see a diamond necklace. Her eyes wide open in shock, she shut it back closed and jumped out of bed as she stomped her way towards the living room to see him lying down on the couch.

 

“YAH!” Catching his attention, she threw the box his way making him jump as it hit him and quickly got up, shooting a glare her way. “What the hell was that for?!”

 

“What do you take me for, huh?! What the f* do you want me to do with that?!”

 

“Can’t you just accept a freakin’ apology?!”

 

“APOLOGY?!! You think that buying me expensive jewelry will make up for the way you’ve been treating me?!”

 

“Well what else would you have wanted? You women seem to be all about the money that is spent on you so why not enjoy it?”

 

Another huff out of , she could barely believe the words that he spoke out. With the last nerve popped out, she walked her way to him and gave him another one of her slap. “Are you calling me a gold digger?! I know that you hate me for whatever reason it is, but again, I never thought you could be this cruel.”

 

Despite the hatred she felt towards him, she couldn’t help but let her tears get the best of her as they were drawing close to roll down her cheeks. As he looked back at her, he noticed the shimmer in her eyes and felt a slight pinch inside his heart.

 

It was the first time that he was witnessing a woman about to cry and it left him to feel something strange.

 

Without giving him any more of her time, she walked out on him as she made her way back to her bedroom and closed the door, leaving him be.

 

He fell back on the couch and ran his fingers through his light brown hair as he leaned his body to the front, his elbows on his knees with his face looking down at the floor. His eyes caught sight of the box of jewelry and went to pick it up as he opened it, staring at the necklace he had bought just before coming back here.

 

A breath of defeat out of his mouth, he let go of the box as he let it fall on the couch and walked towards the bedroom, softly knocking on the door before making his way in, spotting Victoria moving around. Just then, he spotted her suitcase on the bed, filled up with her belongings. “Vic? Wh-what are you doing?”

 

“What does it look like I’m doing? I’m packing my stuff up. If you’re not leaving, then I’m walking out. I told you Byunghee; the marriage is over. I’ll send you the annulment papers tomorrow.”

 

He didn’t know what to do anymore. He knew that if his father ever finds out about this he wasn’t going to hear the end of it. It wasn’t just about the money, nor the title anymore, it was about being the husband he had to be, as hard as it was for him to admit it.

 

He stopped her from going back to her suitcase as he held her by her arms with a firm grip, without hurting her. She froze in her spot and looked at him with her doe eyes as she was left confused.

 

The next thing she knew, she found her lips attached to his as he suddenly dived in for a surprise kiss, leaving her in shock at the abrupt gesture. She stood still as the chaste caress took its end, feeling Byunghee pulling away and let go of his hold on her. She tried to pick up her words as they came out stumbled one after the other, still taken aback by his kiss. “Wh-what was that- why- what the hell?”

 

“Yea… I don’t know why I did that either… I thought it would be a-appropriate?”

 

“Don’t expect anything from me Byunghee. I’m not going to sleep with you if that was what you were waiting for.”

 

“N-no! Not a-at all!” He waved his hands in front of her, denying his supposed hidden intention. “You would be the last person I would want to sleep with… Even at that-”

 

“Okay, I get it. Now can you get out of the way please? I have to finish packing up.”

 

He blocked her way and did it again, tiring her out as a sigh escaped her lips.

 

“You can’t leave.”

 

“It’s not like you’re going to miss me anyways-”

 

“Either way, you can’t. We signed a contract, remember?”

 

“Yes I do, and it can easily be annulled.”

 

She moved passed him as she went back to her luggage but was stopped again with Byunghee softly holding her arm. “Look… I’m sorry for tonight, okay?” She was still facing him with her back as she listened to his apology, trying to find the sarcastic tone in his words. “And I don’t hate you… Not specifically anyways, it’s just… Let’s just say that I have a low tolerance for women and I took the anger out on you… I’m sorry.”

 

She slowly turned around, surprised by his sincerity as well as the truth that was coming out of him; she didn’t really know how to respond to him and was just left looking at her husband, speechless. “Byunghee, not all women are the same you know… I know about what happened with the last girl you were engaged too and I’m sorry for what she did to you but, it’s still not a reason to disrespect me the way you did, actually the way you usually do since we got engaged.”

 

He sighed once more as he went to take a seat at the edge of their bed leaving her to follow him as she sat next to him. “It wasn’t just her. I just don’t trust women and she was the last straw that pulled me into believing that all women were just… well… conniving.”

 

“And some are. You just got to take a chance and now the woman before jumping to conclusion. With what you just did earlier, you hurt my feelings, you know. Up until a moment ago, I didn’t care if you hated me but thinking that buying me jewelry would fix our problems?”

 

“It worked with my parents and she was the one cheating on him.”

 

“Byunghee… You’re not the only that went through a tough break up. I’ve been there too but I don’t stereotype all men to be the same. I was willing to give you a chance but you were such an arrogant bastard!”

 

He couldn’t help but let out a stifled chuckle as he was looking in front of him, listening to her words. He knew that what she was saying was true and hearing the truth spoken out loud, it got him to think about how badly he had behaved through the year and realized how badly he treated someone he was suppose to be cherishing.

 

“I know you hate this arrangement and to tell you the truth, I’m not fond of it either and I think its best if we just end it now. You’ll get to go back and be the famous and favorite bachelor of Seoul and I’ll go back home and live my life.”

 

After her last words, silence settled between them with endless thoughts running inside their minds.

 

“We don’t love each other and we certainly can’t even stand each other so there is no point in trying anymore. I’m giving up.” Speaking softly, she turned her head to look at him and showed him a sad smile before getting back up on her feet and finishing up what she was doing, leaving Byunghee to quietly look at her.

 

He hated how things were going right now as reality hit him right in the face.

 

He had to admit that this was an unhappy marriage and knowing that he was the reason it started, he wanted a do-over. There was something missing in their ‘union’ and it wasn’t love; that wasn’t the important part between them.

 

As he watched her, flashbacks of their year together were appearing inside his head making him remember subtle moments where Victoria was being good to him, acting like an obedient and loving wife. He felt a light pinch inside his heart at the memories where he was now understanding that she was just trying to make their relationship work while all this time he let his anger and hatred for women get the best of him, making him act the way he did to her since the first time they met. Realizing this now, he was afraid that it was too late to fix things to how they were supposed to be.

 

As she was zipping up her suitcase, he stopped her midway as he softly caught her wrist and got up on his feet.

 

Things had to change and from now on, he was willing to give it a try even though the idea of being hitched still stung a little.

 

“I know that I haven’t been the best husband in this marriage and I now know how horrible I treated you and I am sorry, I truly am but… maybe if you gave me another chance we could turn this around?”

 

“Where are you going with this?”

 

“We still have problems that needs to be figured out and I’m willing to work on them. I just… I don’t think I can handle another woman walking out on me. I know I won’t be able to handle it. I’m being honest here; don’t go, okay? I’ll fix everything. I’ll start cooking breakfast for you and even dinner! Hmm, I’ll take you out more often and I’ll stop hooking up with other girls. I’ll be the husband you want me to be.”

 

She lightly chuckled at his words as she shook her head, leaving him with a frown on his face. Looking back up at him, she let the corner of her lips curve into a smile. “Byunghee, the problem with our relationship isn’t a marital one. It’s not just about you wanting to be a good husband. For this to happen, you kind of have to be in love with the woman you want to spend the rest of your life with and that is not why we got married. It was because of our parents.”

 

“I’ll learn to love you then.”

 

“It’s not what I want you to do.”

 

“Then what do you want? I’ll do anything.”

 

“I want to start from the beginning. I want us to be able to stand each other without wanting to rip throats or curse or anything else that drives us angry towards each other… Why don’t we start by being friends first, hmm? And then… I don’t know, we can go from there and seed where it takes us.”

 

“Friends… I never thought about that.”

 

“I know, that’s why I’m bringing it up now.”

 

Easing up the tension with a set of light laughter from both of them, Byunghee nodded his head in agreement as he calmed down, finally letting a genuine smile to appear across his face. “So you won’t leave?”

 

“I guess I could stay, if you’re still willing to cook me breakfast~”

 

“Sure~”

 

“Oh, and by the way, can you, please, talk to your mother? I’m tired of hearing her complain about not being a freaking grandmother yet!” The boy laughed once again at the annoyed expression on her face, earning him a slight frown from her as she lightly pushed him by the shoulder. It was the first time she heard him laugh like this and it warmed her heart knowing that whatever they had could actually work out. “You see? If you had given this a chance from the beginning, things would be a lot more different.”

 

“Why don’t we catch up then?”

 

“I’d like that very much~”

 

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A/N: And voilà! Another request done! :3

Dear AinSyuyoungi, I hope it was what you were looking for and that you enjoyed the story :)

Let me guys know what you think ^.^

 

Lots of love, xo