Thorned Rose // chae hyungwon (#31)

Forty-two

Yiwon

I find myself back in my room in the palace and I am back in Osaka, it wasn't a dream when I saw my father with his men. I knew that something like this is going to happen someday and he would do whatever it takes to get me and throw me back into the empire so that I can continue to be his little princess and listen to whatever he wants me to do, I have been away for too long and I had forgotten everything in the palace.

I had lived nearly half a year with this new identity and Woo Yiwon is just a simple girl and I like her a lot, everything in her life is just so simple and there is nothing hard or there is everything that is making me miserable, I am happy being Woo Yiwon and it felt as if I am Woo Yiwon when I know that Woo Yiwon doesn't exist.

And being back here is making me miserable again, I never wanted to come back here again. I know that coming back home would mean that my freedom would be over and I am being under control by my father and he would have great plans for me, there is no way that he would go all the way to Gwangju to take me back home.

He drugged me and probably travelled back to the empire with his private jet and we came back in just a few hours, I didn't even manage to say anything to Hyungwon or Kihyun who is still probably at his parent's place. I wonder if Hyungwon is alright...

He got hit in the head and he collapsed on the floor, not knowing that I have been taken away and I am not going to see him again anytime soon. I got up and searched for my phone and then I realized that it is not with me, my father would not be that stupid to put my phone near me and he must have kept the phone or even threw it somewhere and he might burn it as well.

I looked down the window and noticed that there was a lot of guards standing around the building that I am, my father seems to have hired more people to keep a close eye on me and he is willing to do all of that instead of taking care of his business. Oh, I forgot that I am as important as his empire, I am like the trump card to everything...

I opened the door slightly and told one of the guards to summon my father over so that I can at least get a full understanding of the exact reason why I am doing here, I am sure that he is up to nothing good. I heard another knock 5 minutes later and I prepared myself to meet him, dressed in one of my old dresses and I sat down on the couch, casually sipping on my rose tea.

"I see that you are finally awake, Sana." He said to me as he takes a seat next to me. "I guess that you missed home a little and I came over to pick you up from your extended vacation, why would you even choose Gwangju for? There is nothing there, it is not the capital city and you are working there as a waitress and staying over at a guy's place."

"How long have you been watching me for?" I asked him. "I am not part of the Minatozaki empire anymore so stop treating me like I am still your daughter, your daughter has been long dead ever since she jumped into the ocean."

"You are still my daughter, stop denying it." He said, leaning closer towards me. "I just don't see why you had to run away from here, you have everything here and I can give you everything that you want. Why do you have to sacrifice yourself to live in such a shabby apartment and taking up a job as a lowly waitress?"

"Confess to the entire world that you killed my mother, that would be my only request and I can take back my place as the empress of the Minatozaki empire." I crossed my arms at him. "I bet that you can't do that."

"I didn't do it, you know that your mother was assassinated and it was something that I can never forgive myself." He said, and I looked for any tears and there isn't, he doesn't have a heart at all.

"I saw it with my own eyes, I saw you with the knife in your hands and you stabbed my mother with it," I yelled at him. "You have such great acting skills, why didn't you become an actor instead? You will be able to win the Oscars every single year."

"I said that I didn't and that is final. You can't find any evidence anyways, it was a case too long ago and nothing that you say can help you." He signalled his secretary and he handed me a document. "Make sure to read through all of this and get back to me by the end of the day, it would be better if you could sign it now but be sure to read all the terms and conditions."

I crossed my arms. "I am not going to sign," I told him. "There is no way that I am going to sign anything against my will and you can't do anything about it."

He smirked. "Oh really? You are sure that you won't regret this very decision that you are making?" I nodded my head. "Let me congratulate you on your wedding, my dear daughter. You are getting married to prince Haruto who is also known as the crown prince of the Japanese empire and you are going to be the empress if the current Emperor dies."

"I didn't agree to get married," I said to him. "I didn't sign your document at all."

"That wasn't the contract for you to get married, it is the contract for you to call off the wedding and since you didn't want to sign it, it would mean that you agree to get married to the prince and it would be in 3 weeks." He stood up, fixing his blazer. "I hope that you are happy about getting married to the future emperor, my dear Sana." And then he laughed so loudly before getting out of the room, and I threw the teacup across the room and it hit the ground, shattering into pieces but that doesn't compare to the pain that I am feeling from this ultimate betrayal.