"One of the most painful things you can ever feel is to keep pretending to be okay even when you're not. You keep all of it to yourself until you just can't, and you break down"  – A World of Married Couple

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"I want a divorce."

"No."

"This is useless. Neither of us wants this marriage. I want to be able to find a husband who loves me. Who will not lie to me."

"Oh, please, no guy like that exists. Stop being so fucking stupid about all of this."

"Fine! I want to be free of you so I can find a man who will fuck me. Is that what you want to hear?" she asked, screaming the words.

Jungkook's eyes darkened, and a smirk curled on his lips. He pushed away from his position beside the desk and advanced towards her. Y/n backed up with every step he took, but he wasn't giving up. As he stood inches from her, staring into her eyes, the smirk widened.

"If a nice fuck is what you want, all you have to do is ask."

"Don't touch me." She put her hands on his chest and shoved him away hard. "I don't want you. I'll never want you."

"Never is a long time."

"You have your affairs, Jungkook. Do you think I'm blind to your pictures with the latest model or actress in the newspapers? My lawyer said with that kind of evidence, this divorce will be clear-cut. I'll have him send over a new set and just sign them."

She ducked under his arm, and he let her go, watching her advance to the door."You send me those papers, and I will take Jae eon from you," Jungkook said, his voice cold and menacing.

Y/n paused and turned back toward him, her eyes wide with shock. "You're crazy if you think anyone will let you have sole custody of my son."

"He's our son, and yes, they will. You think your family has all the power? I'm Jeon Jungkook. I've got my own wealth, my own power, and I will take your son away. I'll make it so you never see him again, apart from when I find a new stepmom for him. Try me, Y/n. Go up against me. You won't like the way I play."

She had tears in her eyes. "Why?"

"Because I told you, we're not getting a divorce. But if you want to go that route, I can make your life a misery. You really do make it so easy to get what I want. I know you love our son, and well, I don't mind doing whatever it takes to keep what I want."

He watched the tears fall down her cheeks, and she swiped them away. Jungkook expected her to beg or at least try to use the tears to her advantage, but no, she shook her head.

"You know, he always comes home telling me how amazing you are. How you make him laugh, and you can cook, and you have all these cool games. I think you could be reasonable. I've never done anything to you, and yet, this is the way you treat me." She pressed her lips together, trying to keep her voice steady.

He waited, his gaze never leaving hers. All of the best days of his life were spent with his son. The thought of losing those moments was unbearable.

Y/n didn't say another word. She walked right out of his office, and he knew, he'd won.

_________

"You're just going to let him win?" Mary asked.

"I've got no choice." Y/n poured the hot water into three mugs. Jae eon was asleep upstairs in his room, and well, she was exhausted. Going to see Jungkook today had been hard. This was the first time she'd seen him since their disastrous wedding night when she'd learned the truth. Being married to him hadn't been easy, even when she didn't have to see him.

Their courtship had been amazing. No matter what happened, she would always think of their time together before the wedding, when she'd fallen in love hard and fast. It was those moments she had to force herself to remember the man she fell for didn't exist.

Like today, Jungkook had shown his true colors.

All she wanted was a divorce. Not to be with Taehyung. He really was a friend. He'd gotten over a messy divorce himself where he got sole custody of his son, and well, it had gotten her thinking about her own future.

For the past five years, she'd been with Jae eon and her pain. She wanted to move on and find someone, or at least have some fun without having to bring up the tiny detail of already being married.

She didn't want men to think she was a horrible person who would step out on her marriage. Was she even doing that if she started dating? Yes, in her mind, she would be a horrible person. She still had Jungkook's name, and they were legally married. An annulment was out of the question because of Jae eon, and now, it seemed a divorce was as well. There's no way she could take her freedom at the cost of her son. She wouldn't do it, not ever.

"We could kill him," Alice said. "I'm sure Appa has some guys he could call."

Y/n laughed, swirling the teabags in the cups. "Yes, because that's the kind of guy our father is. I'm not going to kill Jungkook. Besides, if he died now of mysterious causes, I'd be the prime suspect. The point is for me to stick around Jae eon, not get thrown in prison."

"You're right," Alice said. "You know out of all of us, I always figured Mary would end up with a class A asshole, but I'm shocked it has turned out to be you, sis."

"Hey, I still bring home any number of assholes, you know it," Mary said, with a wink.

"Of course. But you're not married to them. Look at Y/n's situation."

"Let's not delve into this again."

"How did he get you to marry him again?" Mary asked. "I still don't see how my sweet, little sister would you know, succumb to ... the assholery we're witnessing."

She sipped at her tea as her sisters teased. "Are you both quite finished?"

"Nope, we're both very curious," Alice said.

"You know what he was like. He was sweet, charming, nice, kind; he was everything." She smiled, even recalling the time he came to her apartment just to give her a rose. He didn't want to take her out, just that he'd seen a pure white, almost cream-looking rose and it reminded him of her hair, and he had to see her.

See, those moments, which were lies.

"No, you see, I got the asshole," Mary said.

"I saw through him. I told you to be careful. He only wanted you to see what he did." Alice shrugged. "And now he's blackmailing you."

"Yay," Y/n said. "Is it really blackmailing? It sounds like such a dirty word."

"It's blackmail," Mary said. "It's a shame you couldn't turn Jae eon against him. You could make his life miserable."

"I couldn't do that."

"Why not?"

"Because ... Jae eon is his son, and I just couldn't do that."

"You're too nice for him," Alice said.

She took another sip of her tea and thought about Jungkook and Jae eon. There was no way she would ever turn son against father. It was horrible, evil, and not something she was going to do.

"Do you still love him?" Mary asked.

"No, of course not." She wrinkled her nose.

"Yes, she does," Mary and Alice both said in unison.

Y/n's cheeks heated. "No, I don't." She was still attracted to Jungkook, but after this afternoon, she was never going to tell her sisters that. Not in a million years. The way he'd advanced toward her, slamming his hands on the wall beside her, trapping her. She had felt the sheer magnetism of him surround her.

In five years, she'd felt arousal. She'd read erotic books filled with raunchy sex and hot romance, but never had she felt the pull and tug of instant attraction as she did that very afternoon with her husband.

She'd not cheated on Jungkook, not even been tempted. Taehyung, to her, was just a friend. She didn't know if he felt any differently, but she certainly didn't encourage him. Like she had said to her sisters, she didn't want to start dating or doing anything until she was a single woman again.

There was a sudden knock at the door, pulling her out of her thoughts.

"It's past eight. Who the fuck could that be?" Mary asked.

Y/n put her cup down. "I have no idea." She lived in a small town, a quaint little house on the border with lots of surrounding forest and space for Jae eon to grow up in. Her fairy tale had ended with Jungkook, but her plans of having a family and moving to a small town, hadn't. She'd been determined to find somewhere she could live, make a life for herself, and her son.

Opening the door, she was a little taken aback by the sight of Jungkook, dressed in ... not a suit. He wore a pair of jeans, and a plain white shirt with a few of the buttons undone.

"What are you doing here?" she asked.

"Well, seeing as my wife today came to my office and demanded a divorce, I figured I better cover all my bases when it comes to her chasing after something I don't want to give her." He stepped into her home, and she didn't put up a fight.

She quickly put her hand on his chest, hating how warm and nice, and even firm he felt. "You're not coming in here."

"I already am, and last time I checked, sweetheart, my name was on the deed to this place."

"That's impossible. I own this house. It's mine. I can phone the cops and they can arrest you," she said.

"Oh, sweetheart, you really need to start looking over contracts and deeds. Do you think I would let you own anything without me? I have part ownership of your car as well, and I also own the little haberdashery you work at in town." He took the door and closed it. "Your life, no matter what you think, is linked to mine and will be for a very long time. We do share a son, after all," he said with a wink.

"Well, well, well, look at what hell brought in," Mary said, folding her arms and glaring.

Alice stood beside her as well. Her two sisters were both giving Jungkook the stink eye.

"It's time for you two to leave as well," Jungkook said.

"We don't take orders from you," Alice said. "We never have, and we don't do so now."