The Price of Love

Chapter 43: Burden

Jin

It was eleven in the morning, and I sat at my desk, staring at the proposal that my crew and I had worked so hard to complete. It seemed useless now. What company would partner up with us in light of our financial crisis? Last night I had had a very unpleasant talk with my father. It seemed he knew that my idea to get out of this arrangement would come to naught and had only indulged me in order to keep me occupied.

An ache in my hand made me realize that I was gripping my phone tightly in my hands. It had been so long since I'd spoken to or texted Bella. The wedding was set to take place in three days, and I still had not figured out how to stop it. I had nothing to tell her. All of my promises to solve this problem would stay empty, and I was too cowardly to face her.

I thought about how her beautiful hazel eyes were always filled with tears every time I saw her since this whole ordeal started. I had done that. I had made her miserable, and now I could not undo it. This unholy marriage was going to take place, and I would forever be known as the asshole who betrayed Bella. Jimin had threatened to beat me next time he saw me. Namjoon had very reluctantly agreed to be my best man only because his father ordered him, but he promised to kick my ass after the ceremony. Even Yoongi had sworn bodily harm to me--he had a very strict moral code when it came to women and, out of all my past womanizing escapades, this time I had gone too far in his eyes. In everybody's eyes.

Wedding guests were already coming into town today in anticipation of the pre-wedding festivities that Fiona and her parents had planned. I would try not to let my despair show in my face, but I didn't know if I was a good enough actor to pull it off. How can you pretend that your heart is still functioning? How can you disguise the utter resignation in your eyes?

I was about to send Bella a text message--perhaps my last one ever--when the door to my office flew open. I looked up to see Taehyung and Namjoon stroll in.

"Hey!" I called out in surprise. "What are you doing here?"

They plopped themselves down on the chairs opposite my desk.

"We're here to get the whole story, cousin, the real story," Tae said.

"And we're not leaving until you tell us exactly what the hell is going on," Namjoon added.

So, I asked Mina to hold all my calls, reschedule all my meetings, and order us some food. I spent the rest of the day revealing the entire situation, detail by detail. This time, I left nothing out because I had nothing left to lose. When I finished, I slumped down on my desk like a deflated balloon.

"Seokjin, how could you not have told us this before?" Taehyung asked, his eyes round with concern. "We would've helped you. Why did you take this burden upon yourself?"

My hands began to shake, and I felt my tenuous grasp on my control slipping fast. "Because it was my burden to bear. I said I would deal with it.  I thought I could take care of it. I was supposed to take care of it." I shook my head. "Why couldn't I solve things?"

They both shook their heads.

"Plus I didn't want to bother anybody else with my problems. KWI is my responsibility. Besides,  I didn't know what else to do. Of course I had to protect Bella and her parents. I wasn't about to let them suffer for something that had nothing to do with them." I sighed deeply.

"Then, of course, I wanted to protect my father and KWI even though he had never done anything to deserve my protection. But...he's my father. And all the employees who would lose their jobs. Tae, your father, Uncle Young, would be blamed along with my father. Your father, Namjoon, would lose his job! I had so many things, so many people relying on me." I felt hot tears overflowing from my eyes.

"I tried...I wanted to do the right thing, but I couldn't. I failed, and now I've lost everything. And, worse, I've lost Bella." I lowered my head to my hands.

"Oh, cuz." Taehyung blinked back his own tears. "And everyone just blamed you. We didn't listen to you. Even me. I'm so sorry for not believing you. You should have let us help you."

"I'm so sorry, Jin. I should've been more aware that something was wrong." He moved to the edge of his seat. "I can help you. We can still get this done, bro. I've got an idea."

I stared at him. "Joon, I told you that I won't risk Bella or her family."

"You won't have to," he replied. "Just listen to my idea. We have no time to lose."