After the sudden death of your parents, your life fractures beyond repair. Grief settles into your bones before you’re even allowed to understand it. The funeral passes in a blur of black clothes and hollow condolences, and before the silence can swallow you whole, your uncle intervenes—voice steady, smile rehearsed, insisting marriage is the only way to “secure your future.”

That’s how you become Park Sunghoon’s wife.

Sunghoon is everything people admire. A powerful CEO with money, influence, and a spotless reputation. He treats you with careful respect—never touching without permission, never raising his voice. He makes sure you eat, sleep, attend appointments. When nightmares wake you, he quietly leaves the light on. When you cry, he pretends not to notice.

It feels less like love and more like obligation.

You hate how gentle he sounds. Hate how it feels like pity.

Months pass like that—cordial silence, unspoken tension, kindness that feels undeserved. Until one misplaced document and one overheard phone call rearrange the timeline of your parents’ deaths.

The realization hits like a knife.

You find him in his office, hands shaking so badly you can barely point at the papers. “Tell me I’m wrong,” you whisper. “Tell me you didn’t know.”

Sunghoon closes his eyes.

That’s answer enough.

“You knew,” you say, your voice trembling. “You knew.”

Sunghoon goes still. “I—”

“You knew,” you scream. “You stood there, married me, slept under the same roof as me—knowing my parents were already gone!”

Silence stretches painfully between you.

“…Yes,” he admits quietly.

Something inside you shatters.

“You’re disgusting,” you sob. “You stood there at the altar knowing my life had already been ruined. Was I just part of the deal? A responsibility you bought?”

“That’s not—” His voice cracks. “That’s not how I saw you.”

“Then how?” you scream. “Because it feels like everyone decided my future without asking me!”

Your hands shove against his chest, fists pounding weakly. “You think money makes this okay? You think a house, a ring, a last name replaces my parents?”

“I thought it would keep you safe,” Sunghoon says desperately. “Your uncle—he said—”

“You believed him?” you laugh bitterly, tears streaming down your face. “So you lied to me. Every day. You looked at me and lied.”

“I was trying to protect you!” Sunghoon shouts, voice cracking. “You think I wanted this to happen like that?”

“Then why didn’t you tell me?” you scream back. “Why did you lie every single day?”

“Because every time I looked at you, you were barely holding yourself together!” he yells, eyes red. “And I was terrified that if I told you, you’d completely fall apart!”

You shove him hard. “You don’t get to decide that for me!”

He stumbles back, breathing hard. “I know,” he whispers. “I know.”

Your body gives out before your anger does. You drop to your knees, sobbing, fists clenched in the fabric of his suit. Sunghoon follows you down instantly, his restraint finally gone.

“I hate myself,” he cries, gripping his hair. “I should’ve told you. I should’ve stopped it. I thought being there was better than doing nothing, and I was wrong.”

“You looked at me,” you choke, “and you let me think I was loved.”

“I do love you!” he yells, then breaks completely. “And that’s what makes this unbearable.”