"Hey, baby!"

The earth tilted on its axis when you heard that voice. Rich, velvety, a masculine blend of soft and grave. Your favorite sound, really. But right at this instant, you didn't want to hear it. You froze on the spot as you felt his arm draped over your shoulder, confirming your worst nightmare. Your breath came in gasps. Your mouth went dry. Sweat broke out like a rush over your skin. God, no! And when Jungkook's lips pressed a kiss to your temple as he stood in front of Taehyung, you wished the ground could split and swallow you whole.

Your heartbeat quickened to the rhythm of your growing fear. Secrets were slipping out of the sealed box. Two worlds colliding. It seemed like an eternity as you looked at Jungkook with an expression you could only wish was subtle and didn't reflect your fears. You cleared your throat, searching for words you weren't sure would come out as you returned his smile. Fake, fake, fake. Everything became fake. Or was it all fake from the beginning, and you just looked the other way? No, no. There was nothing to worry about. Jungkook was looking at you lovingly, with an endearing smile that he reserved just for you. Everything was fine. You were fine. Your relationship was fine. Great, in fact. "Hey, love. I didn't know you were coming." You wrapped your arm around his waist, as if having him stand in the same place as his sister's rapist was no big deal.

"I just stopped by to say hi," Jungkook offered with a smile. He turned his gaze briefly to Taehyung, then his eyes found you again. "Aren't you going to introduce me?" He nudged you gently.

Right. Don't you want to introduce him? Please do. Here's a friendly way: Jungkook, meet my best friend and partner in crime. Taehyung. Oh, and by the way? He also raped your sister and got her addicted to drugs. Small world, really.

You laughed sheepishly as your eyes flitted back and forth between the two of them. Taehyung's gaze was fixed on your husband, just as your husband's was. You could see a mixture of fear and guilt on Taehyung's handsome face. He looked like a criminal in a courtroom. How ironic. He was actually a criminal standing in front of a judge. Small fucking world. "Um, Doha is a publisher and an old acquaintance." You motioned to Jungkook and looked at Taehyung. "Doha, this is my husband, Jungkook."

Right. That's another way to go around it. Doha is such a beautiful name. Too bad it wasn't your friend's real name. Too bad your husband knew that pesky detail.

Jungkook's jaw ticked as he reached out to shake Taehyung's hand. There was a smile on his face that appeased you. But if you had looked closer, better,you'd have seen that it was just as fake as any truth you told your husband. Fake. You got yourself a solid theme going on here. Not sure about its longevity, but yeah. Small details and stuff. Taehyung hesitated a little longer than social etiquette would dictate before shaking your husband's hand. His lips barely curled into a fake smile. Lucky you. You weren't the only one faking it. You were all in the same boat.

The faking trio.

You were so preoccupied that you didn't notice Jungkook clenching his fist when you introduced Taehyung as Doha. It's actually that preoccupation that kept you from recognizing so many things about your husband, like for example, the fact that he knew the full legal name of the man standing in front of him. Had you been paying attention, instead of the effort you put into getting him suspended from the bar, you'd have known he was getting closer to pull the fake mask off your face. But hey! To each their priorities. Yours was to block him. His was to find his sister's killer. It's all about balance.

Too bad that balance was lost in your battle.

"Nice to meet you, Doha." Jungkook pulled you to him affectionately as he shifted his gaze to Taehyung. "Hope my Mrs isn't giving you a hard time." Small talk. Great. That was exactly what was missing.

"Oh no, she's fine." Taehyung chuckled awkwardly. "We hardly see each other. My job takes up most of my time. Not everyone is rocking the slow life like your wife." Taehyung looked at you with a smile as he gestured to the library behind you. "The best career choice."

Funny he should mention careers. Yours was the reason your nightmares consisted of four walls and orange jumpsuits. Staying on the topic of careers. Taehyung was a publisher, alright. He just happened to publish Molly instead of books. Same difference. Both are brain-stimulating. But let's not get into how they affect the brain. That would actually be digressive.

"I'm sorry I kept you so long," you directed your words to Taehyung. "But it was a nice chat, and I was happy to see you again." An exit. You were looking for an emergency exit from this hazardous situation. "And I'd be happy if you considered what we talked about. Diversification is what keeps readers hooked."

You knew Taehyung would catch your drift. You were really talking about diversification before your husband's sudden intrusion. Seokjin demanded pills and injectables. For everyone involved, that's diversification at its core. You had a delivery to make, it's just that the product wasn't books about fairy tales and romance. It was hard-core drugs.

Jungkook crossed his arms in front of his chest and looked at you both with a bemused smile that you didn't notice. Taehyung, on the other hand, did. He obviously didn't go beyond his simple doubts, which remained blocked on the split half of the credit card he'd left behind in the lab you'd abandoned. He was worried about it, but his worries never developed into the kind of paranoia that made him think Jungkook had found the missing part of the credit card and knew exactly who it belonged to. Paranoia and over-analysis were your husband's forte. It's why he was finding cues in every word you said.

Another awkward giggle left Taehyung's mouth as he looked at you and your husband. "I know. I'll let the team know and we'll come up with a new strategy." He gave you a friendly hug, quickly pulling back and looking at Jungkook. "It was good to see you again. And I'm glad I finally met the lucky guy who snatched you." He held out his hand, this time initiating a handshake with your husband. Jungkook looked at his outstretched hand for a second too long. The smile he'd been wearing since he'd intruded on your little get-together required extra effort to suppress the wild emotions running through his being. "Belated congratulations, man." Taehyung offered when Jungkook finally shook his hand.

"Thank you, Doha." The eye contact between the two was intense. The handshake even more so. "We should meet again. Maybe we can all go for a drink together. I've never seen Cassandra talk shop before." Jungkook looked at you with hearts in his eyes. At least that's how you saw it, and that was a dagger to your chest. But seriously, don't sweat it. There was much more to that look. It was no longer about your infidelity with Seokjin and the stab you inflicted on his pride. No. This was bigger. This was much more dangerous. "I'd like to see her in her element."

Your element. Funny how people kept talking about careers and elements. It would be really interesting to discuss drug trafficking with an honorable judge. Man, such a perfect suicide mission.

You were a sweating mess in the dead of winter. Your heartbeat would have been visible if you didn't have so many layers of clothes on. There was no way Taehyung and Jungkook would see each other again. You would make sure of that. And not just because of the danger such a meeting would bring. But also because you hated seeing your husband engaging in small talk and laughing with the man who violated his sister in the worst possible way. Jungkook didn't deserve that kind of torture. Hell! He didn't deserve any of the things you did to him. He didn't deserve the lies you fed him. He didn't deserve the danger you brought to his doorstep when he outstretched himself to protect you from the world. You knew it. You knew he deserved something better. Something normal. A loving, normal woman who would give him sweet children and a stable life. But you were selfish — you still are— and that's why you would never let him go, even though you know so damn well that letting him go would be the best thing for both of you.

"Yeah," Taehyung offered. "Let's do that." His eyes darted to you, noticing how scared you were. He wished he could tell you to relax a little. You were being obvious and that's the last thing either of you needed. "I'll leave you to it then." He threw his thumb over his shoulder. "I'll get going."

Jungkook pulled you closer to him, wrapping his arm around your waist as he watched your friend retreating form. "Take care, Doha." And maybe if you weren't so wrapped up in your fears, you might have noticed how Jungkook enunciated that name.

Jungkook didn't think of the worst when he saw Taehyung standing with you in front of your library. Granted, he was surprised to see the man he was haunting standing with his wife, but he figured he'd give you the benefit of the doubt. The world is such a small place. He could think of many reasons why you might be standing with a potential criminal. But when he asked you to introduce your company, he didn't expect you to lie so blatantly. Why you would lie was beyond him. He couldn't understand it, but one thing was clear. You had set off his alarm.

Thanks to Yoongi, Jungkook not only had access to Taehyung's bank details. Yoongi even found a way to retrieve Taehyung's ID from the bank's database. An easy feat really. All he had to do was hack Taehyung's file at the bank. That was much easier than finding a way to trace the split credit card. There was also an address in the file that Jungkook had already visited, but there was no Kim Taehyung living in Seocho-dong. He quickly realized that it was a fake address, so he asked Namjoon to track down the man. Today was his lucky day. Namjoon tracked down Taehyung and Taehyung saved Jungkook the trouble of looking for him. The man was so nice that he came to his doorstep — or to his wife's doorstep for the sake of exactitude.

"Didn't know you had so many friends, Cass," Jungkook whispered in your ear. The words sent a shiver down your spine. He cupped your shoulders and gently turned you so that you were facing each other. His smile didn't suggest he was hinting at anything, and you have your blindness to thank for missing the hint. Jungkook was this close to catching up with you. He knew about you and Seokjin, and now he knew about you and Taehyung, too. At this point, he just needed to know the nature of your real career. "Seems like a good guy."

"He is," you said in a brittle voice. And that was the truth for you. A truth you wanted to share with Jungkook. You wanted to fall to your knees and beg for forgiveness for everything your friend had done. He was a good guy; he only missed the right path once, and his mistake cost your husband his little sister. You'd play devil's advocate even though you knew Jungkook would cast a verdict that would make you lose the case. Because in the end, Taehyung raped Jungkook's sister, leading her to find peace in death.

"So, tell me now. What brought you here? I thought I'd see you at home tonight." You tried to change the subject before you were overcome by your stupid need to rectify a situation that can't be rectified unless you have the ability to travel back in time.

Jungkook absently toyed with a few stray strands of your hair, watching you. Fuck, he loved you. And he wondered if your love for him was ever real. He loved you, but it seemed like you wanted to hurt him by clawing his heart out of his chest with your bare hands and endless lies. That was karma, he figured as he looked deep into your eyes. He took away the only thing you wanted. He took away your chance to become a mother. Now, he had to watch you being taken away from him. Karma is known to be very efficient.

"Thought we could grab dinner somewhere. We haven't had a date in a while." He offered.

"Oh," you hummed, leaning into his touch, soaking up the warmth like a dying thing. "Where are you taking me, Jeon?" You teased, caressing his jaw with gentle touches. "Let it be known that I want something fancy. You said it. It's been so long since we've had a date."

It's been so long since you've done anything even remotely close to what a couple should do, but yeah. Jungkook hasn't touched you since the night he forced himself on you. And oh god, you tried. You thought blowing him in the shower would rekindle your spark, but it didn't. Granted, he used your services and enjoyed fucking your mouth, but he didn't reciprocate. He never took without giving. That was a first. And maybe you should've read between the lines, but you refused to even when you went to cuddle with him in bed, and he turned his back on you.

But Jungkook had his reasons for turning his back on you. He didn't want to look at your face after he'd seen with his eyes how Seokjin had touched it. Seokjin, his friend who you had an affair with. Now, that's a funny thing. Because that reality that tore his heart apart no longer seemed quite so fatal when he realized that you were somehow connected to the criminal he was after.

"Only the best for my beautiful wife." He scattered kisses on your jaw and lips to hide the reality of his feelings from you or from himself; he wasn't sure. "Let's go?" He intertwined your hands.

"Let's go, baby." The smile on your face was full of hope. The smile on his face was a mourning. He had lost you. He knew it.

Maybe he never had you, to begin with.

The walk to his car was silent — the comfortable type. You didn't want to pollute the moment with lies, and lies seemed to be the only thing you could offer in this relationship. Your hand was cold, but Jungkook's was warm. You decided the right thing to do was to enjoy it while it lasted. There was a giddiness to your steps. You liked it. It reminded you of simple times, even if those simple times only existed in your head. They never existed in reality. You lied to Jungkook from the very beginning of your relationship. But at least back then, he wasn't fixated on finding his sister's assaulter. And back then, you didn't know that her assaulter was your best friend.

Back then, you didn't even know that your husband had a sister.

Jungkook opened the passenger door for you when you reached his car. You smiled at him with that lovesick look on your face as you slid into the car. He buckled you in and pressed his lips to your forehead. "I need to make a quick call and then we can go to any Italian restaurant of your choice."

You hummed with a raised eyebrow. "I was thinking Japanese, though."

He shook his head and chuckled. He brought your hand to his lips and pressed a kiss to your knuckles. "Japanese it is then."

And the anxiety you felt earlier gave way to a sense of calm. You finally felt calm. Everything was all right. Your marriage was safe. Your husband was yours and you were his. Nothing would come between the two of you. You would make sure of that. He's all you have. Everything you need. He is your choice, and God knows everything you have was forced upon you. You were his choice too. And God knows that no one ever chose you. Yes, you would lie to protect him. You would lie to keep him. You would do anything to protect this little bubble of happiness you created with him.

But see, you already pierced that bubble when you let Seokjin touch you in your marital home. Your lies were the reason your marriage was falling apart. And that's funny because you thought lying would keep it protected. If you had kept your lies in check, Jungkook probably wouldn't have found out about Seokjin. Actually, scrap that. If you'd never lied about everything, Jungkook wouldn't have found himself making the call he dreaded just a few feet away from his car where you were lovingly looking at his back.

"I need you to find out everything you can about Cassandra Frank Jeon. Turn over all the sitting stones. I want to know everything there is to know. Don't hold back on the little details."

Jungkook ended the call and turned so he was looking at you. You smiled at him. Jungkook never thought he'd find himself invading your privacy like this. He never thought that one day he would be digging in the dirt around you, because he was a firm believer that there was nothing dirty when it came to you. The way it all unfolded hurt him. The fact that he found himself seeking your truth from others shattered him. He didn't know you. He thought he knew you. He was hurt. Wounded.

He smiled back at you.