“And this extra heart… it’s a broken heart. If it stay, it will only continue to hurt both of us.”

Lee Min Ho looked deeply into those teary eyes; his hand slowly fell away from Shin Hye’s face. Pain and disappointment evident in her gaze, fear and worry etched across his face. Looking at her determined expression, he knows she is not just throwing tantrum out of anger. She is not saying all this because she is angry or jealous. She… she means every word she said. He knows it’s different this time. She is serious about the divorce.

Still holding his breath, Min Ho’s lips pressed into a thin line. His palms sweating unknowingly and fisted so tightly that his nail bites into his skin. He swallowed, his throat felt like someone had scrapped sandpaper across it. Suddenly, he felt nervous and lost for words.

“I…”

“Let me go.” Before he could think of the right words to speak, Shin Hye quickly cut him off. She took a step backward, her eyes still looking into his. Tears began to blur her vision as she let them slowly rolled down her face. She is tired, very tired. She doesn’t want to continue with this kind of life anymore. She just wants to be free, set herself free… free from all the sadness, free from all the pains.

“If… if there is a moment that you have ever likes me…” She used the word ‘like’ because she knows he had never loved her. “… then please… let us go.” She continued, almost begging. “I’m tired of trying and convince myself that everything between us would work when it clearly doesn’t. I don’t want Yeo Jin to grow up in this kind of…” She paused, biting her trembling lip. The moment she thought about her poor daughter, she couldn’t hold it back anymore.

“I don’t want Yeo Jin to grow up in this kind of fake happiness.” She finished her incomplete sentence in a heavy breath. “She deserves a better life.” She continued again as she closed her eyes, letting more tears rolled down her face before forcing herself to look up to him again.

Min Ho shook his head, stepped forward and held his hand up, wanted to grab her arm and tell her that’s not true. “No…”

“Stop lying to yourself.” Shin Hye once again cut his sentence off. “You are tired with all this too. Because of your family, because of your business, because of my father, you have to force yourself to be with me.” She paused again, heaving a deep breath. “And because mistake has already happened, Yeo Jin has already exists, you have no choice but to accept… to accept the fate and… to accept me.”

Min Ho held her gaze, inhaled a deep breath at the same time. “You are twisting the whole situation. It’s not even like that.”

“Whatever it is…” Shin Hye spoke again, obviously not wanting to listen what he wants to say. She wiped her tears away from her face as she looked away and breathed deeply. “I’ll find a lawyer to get the paperwork done and finalize the divorce. About the details, I will not ask anything from you. There is no need for any alimony or financial settlement.” She paused and turned to look at him again. “I only want… I only want Yeo Jin’s custody.”

“No way!” Min Ho shouted, uncontrollable anger rise in his chest the moment he heard the word ‘custody’. He took a few more steps forward, getting very close to Shin Hye and stared dangerously into her eyes. He suddenly grabbed her by the shoulders and pushed her against the wall behind, causing her to gasp in shock.

“Park Shin Hye.” He murmured her name, his voice soft but scarily deep. He tilted her chin up, forcing her to look him in the eyes too. If talking in a peaceful way couldn’t change her thoughts and stubbornness, he doesn’t mind to use his old way to tame her back to the wife he used to have.

“Listen carefully.” Min Ho hardened his heart, tightened his grip on her chin as his eyes daggered into hers. “Don’t make me repeat again.” He continued dangerously.  “I already told you a lot of times. I will not agree to divorce. Whoever you find, whatever you do… I will not agree. I will not sign the paper.”

Shin Hye bit her bottom lip hard, looking at him with her gaze held with disappointment. “What’s your problem?” Her voice raised, anger surged through her at the same time. “The woman you have always dreamed of is now waiting for you, willing to accept you and be your wife. You already have what you want. Why are you not letting me go? You say it yourself. You don’t love me. What is the meaning of holding onto a woman that you don’t love for the rest of your life? You won’t be happy, I won’t be happy, all of us won’t be happy.”

“We were already not happy since day one you agreed to your father and married me. You know that this marriage will not be happy but you still let yourself agree to it.” Min Ho raised his voice, glaring at her angrily. “And now…” He paused and heaved a deep breath. “… you have the responsibility to continue no matter how hard it is. You dragged me into this together. As long as I don’t agree to the divorce, you are forever my wife.”

Another tear fell off Shin Hye’s eyes as she continued to bite her trembling lips. She might not know that all those hurtful words he said was not honest and just meant to make her stay, but it still couldn’t stop from hurting her heart painfully.

Min Ho pressed his lips even tighter together and averted his gaze, not wanting to see the pain in her eyes, not wanting to let his mind wavered. He clenched his hands, forcing himself to harden his heart.

I’m sorry. I know I’ve hurt you again… but… I really don’t want to lose you.

“Fine.”

After a long pause, Shin Hye finally broke the silence as she rubbed the tears away from her face. She looked up to meet his eyes again, and this time, the painful gaze has replaced with a fearless one. “If this is what you want, I’ll not give in either. No matter what you say, what you do, I’m still going to file a divorce.”

Min Ho widened his eyes, looking at her in disbelief.

“It will be better for all of us if you could be more cooperative and sign the paper when it’s ready.” Shin Hye continued. “But if you insist, I have no choice but to bring this to the court.”

“Court?” Min Ho shook his head and stared into her eyes. “You won’t do that.” He said confidently. “If you bring this to court, Yeo Jin will be affected too. It will definitely hurt Yeo Jin.” He knows how much she loves their daughter. She will not take any risk that could affect Yeo Jin. “You won’t do anything to hurt Yeo Jin.”

Shin Hye chuckled sadly. “You are right. I will not do anything to hurt her… but if doing so could take all the pain away from her, I don’t mind.” She paused and let out another painful smile. “And moreover… I have nothing to worry about now. She was already hurt. You were not here when she needed you the most. It breaks my heart when she keeps crying and looking for you when she was in so much pain last night.” She sank her teeth deeper into her bottom lip as she closed her eyes, trying not to let her tears escape again. “How could I tell her that her father is with someone else child when she needed him the most?”

Her words brought a deep pang within Min Ho’s chest. She was right. Where was him last night when both of them needed him the most? He was worrying and taking care of Dae Hyun.

After another moment of silence, Min Ho drew in a deep, shuddering breath, he closed his eyes for a brief second before looking at Shin Hye again. The grip around her chin softened as he gently cupped her face with both his hands. “I know last night was my fault. I will…”

‘Ring… ring… ring…’

As he continued to speak, the sudden sound of the phone ringing caused his sentence to stop again. Damn it… He heaved a deep breath and cursed silently. It better be something important or he will surely kill whoever that call and interrupting him right now. Slowly taking his hands away from Shin Hye’s face, he took his phone out from his pocket as his eyes were still looking at her who has already averted her gaze.

“Yoboseyo…” Without bother looking at the caller ID, he answered the call with a displeased tone.

“Doryeon-nim…” Kim Sung Mi’s voice reached his ears.

Letting out a soft breath, the expression on his face softened as he took a small step backward before speaking again. “Yes, ahjuhma.”

Shin Hye quickly turned and looked at him when she heard who called him. Kim Sung Mi is in the hospital with Yeo Jin now. Her phone is still in her bag. She might be calling Min Ho because she couldn’t get to reach her.

“Are you home already? Is samo-nim with you?”

Min Ho held Shin Hye’s gaze as he replied and asked. “Yes, she is with me. Is Yeo Jin okay?”

“She just woke up and looked unhappy when she couldn’t see samo-nim. She… she knows you were here just now and was a little upset that I didn’t woke her up. I think both of you should come here before she… she cry.”

“What happened?” Shin Hye asked in a nervous tone when she saw creases formed between his brows. She held her hand up at the same time, wanting to speak to Kim Dung Mi herself.

But before she could even touch the phone, Min Ho already held Shin Hye’s hand to stop her and spoke to the phone again. She subconsciously wanted to pull her hand away from him but it only make his grip tightened further.

“Try to comfort her first. We will be back in twenty minutes.”

“Okay. I’ll let her know that both of you are coming here soon.”

Min Ho put his phone back into his pocket after Kim Sung Mi ended the call and continued to stare at Shin Hye.

“I ask you what happened. Is Yeo Jin okay?” She asked again as she is still trying to free her hand from his grip.

“She is fine.” Min Ho said and at the same time pulling her closer to him.

“Let go of me. I need to go back to the hospital.” Shin Hye raised her voice, glaring at him.

“I’m going back with you.” He said firmly as he released her hand and quickly pulled her into a fierce hug, embracing her tightly before she could react. His arms circled around her tiny body and pressed her up against his chest.

“Let go!” Shin Hye continued to struggle away from his hug, but only make his arms tightened even more.

“Don’t fight me.” Min Ho pressed his face against hers, feeling her smooth and warm skin as he whispered into her ear. “I will not let go.” he said, his voice filled with determination. I will not let you go, Park Shin Hye. “If you insist to divorce, you are going to lose Yeo Jin. So…” He buried his head into the crook of her neck, inhaling her sweet scent deeply. “… don’t fight me.” Don’t leave me.

Shin Hye’s body went rigid, letting his warm breath burning her skin. Biting her lower lip hard, she gave up on struggling and closed her eyes. Sharp stinging pains continued to hit her chest endlessly.

---------------------------------------------------------

It was already passed dinner time when Min Ho and Shin Hye arrived at the hospital. After the long and intense conversation they had at home, without giving her a chance to reject, he insisted her to come to the hospital together with him.

Min Ho’s face immediately darkened, evidently displeased the moment he saw the tall figure that was sitting beside the bed where his daughter was lying down. Yeo Jin was busy playing with that person and her tiny face immediately filled with smiles when she saw her parents came in.

Kim Rae Won.

Min Ho heard from Kim Sung Mi that it was Rae Won who send them to the hospital last night. Although he appreciate what he did but it still doesn’t stop him from feeling uneasy with his existence in his wife’s and daughter’s life whenever he wasn’t around. They has been friends for a long time. They understand each other very much and he also knows very clearly that his feeling for Shin Hye is not that simple. He… felt more like a threat to him.

“Appa! Eomma!”

Yeo Jin’s eyes sparkled in happiness when she heard the door opened and saw her parents walking in. She quickly pulled herself up into a sitting position and looked at her mother with a happy gaze.

Rae Won turned to them and stood up from the chair at the same time. He looked at Shin Hye first and let out a warm smile before averting his gaze to Min Ho. The smile slowly faded as their eyes met. A heavy and tense atmosphere quickly filled the room.

Kim Sung Mi noticed the intensity between these three persons and felt inappropriate to be in the room with them. She took her bag and looked at Shin Hye with an awkward smile. “Since you and doryeon-nim already here, I think I should go now.”

“But it’s late now.” Shin Hye held the older woman’s hand and stopped her from going. “How are you going home? Do you want…” She paused for a second as she stole a sideway glance at Min Ho. “I mean… let’s o-oppa send you home.”

Kim Sung Mi smiled and shook her head. “Don’t worry, samo-nim. My husband is waiting for me downstairs.”

“I see.” Shin Hye nodded.

“I’ll come again tomorrow morning.” Kim Sung Mi assured her.

“Thank you, ahjuhma.” Shin Hye gave her a grateful smile. “Thank you for being here and stay with Yeo Jin today.” Thank you for being here with me when I needed someone the most.

Kim Sung Mi gave her hand a soft pat and smiled warmly at her. “You are not alone.” She said meaningfully as she took a quick glance at Min Ho, who was also looking at her with so much appreciation. Although she doesn’t know what happened between them but she witnessed how Min Ho slowly changed around them lately. She believes with a little more efforts, the flower will bloom one day.

“Yeo Jin…” Shin Hye walked passed Min Ho and took a seat on the bed beside Yeo Jin after Kim Sung Mi left. She held her tiny hand and checked her temperature at the same time. No more fever and her complexion has become better. “How are you feeling?”

“Yeo Jin is better now. My tummy is not painful anymore. It must be the candy that the handsome doctor gave Yeo Jin that kill the bad bacteria inside Yeo Jin’s tummy.” She answered adorably.

Shin Hye smiled softly as she caressed Yeo Jin’s chubby but a little pale cheeks. “Yes. It must be the candy that Doctor Jin gave you. You have to thank Doctor Jin when he come to see you tomorrow.” Letting out a long, relieved sigh, she leaned over and pulled Yeo Jin into her arms. “Eomma is so worried about you. Thank god you are okay now.” She whispered as the sight of little Ji Eun’s lifeless face suddenly appeared in her mind, feeling her breath got stuck in . She closed her eyes tightly to prevent the tears to escape.

Ji Eun is Yeo Jin’s best friend. How is she going to tell her that she is now dead and won’t be able to see her again? How is she going to tell her that her mother is so useless and couldn’t save her best friend?

Rae Won furrowed his brows when he noticed the sudden change of expression on Shin Hye’s face. She is a doctor and she should know that Yeo Jin’s condition is better now. Why is she still looking so worried and sad? Something must have gone wrong. He parted his lips and wanted to ask her what happened. But before his voice could even get out from his throat, Min Ho has already walked to Shin Hye and gave her shoulder a soft comforting squeeze. He knows exactly what is the reason behind the painful expression on her face.

Shin Hye inhaled a deep breath before opening her eyes again and gently pulled back from Yeo Jin. She didn’t look at Min Ho nor say anything. She just stared at Yeo Jin, as if Min Ho is not even there.

Seeing her father has finally come and standing right beside her bed now, the smile on Yeo Jin’s face slowly disappeared with her eyes reddened uncontrollably. She looked up at Min Ho with her lips pouted out, looking very pity.

A pang of guilt spread through his chest knowing he was the cause of her sadness. He suddenly felt speechless and doesn’t know how to react in front of his daughter. No matter what he say or what he do, he knows Yeo Jin was deeply hurt because of his behaviour last night.

“Appa is a bad person.”

Even though the whisper is very soft, but it was loud enough for everyone in the room to hear. The moment Yeo Jin said the five words, the three adults looked at her with an identical shocked expression on their face.

“Y-Yeo Jin…” Min Ho’s face turned almost green as he took a step closer to the bed, closer to his daughter. He balled his hand into a tight fist to quell the tremble shaking through his arm.

Still looking at her father, Yeo Jin’s eyes were red and b with tears. She is very sad and scared at the same time. Although she doesn’t quite understand the