Shattered Empress|kth

𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗽𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝟭

Y/n

I clutched my phone tightly in my hand, keeping my eyes on the back of Dr. Gwan's head as the train chugged north. Taehyung still hadn't texted me back, but it didn't matter.

Even if he didn't, I wasn't about to let the woman go. She had put my children in danger and that was unforgivable. She had betrayed my trust, leading me to what would have been certain death if Taehyung hadn't rescued us in time.

No, she had to pay.

My cell phone buzzed, and I saw an unfamiliar number flash on the screen, my heart thudding loudly in my ears.

It was my husband.

Quickly, I got up from my seat and moved down the aisle away from Dr. Gwan, until I was at an overlook window with a bench. My hands shaking, I answered the call.

"Are you sure?"

He sounded tired, not angry, and I wondered how the last week had been on him. Did he miss me? Did he regret what he had done?

I hoped so. It was going to be the only way to repair this rift between us and get me to trust him again. "I'm positive," I answered. "It's her."

"I'm tracking your phone now," he stated.

"I'm on a train," I blurted out. "To Busan." I knew he could probably see that on my location, but it felt good to talk to the only lifeline that I had to my children.

"I know. Are you all right?"

I couldn't even express the words that I was. I was hurt, devastated, elated, and just plain exhausted. I wanted to rail at him for what he had done, but in the same breath, I just wanted it to be over. I wanted to see my children, hold my daughter for the first time, and breathe a sigh of relief that whatever happened afterward, I would survive.

I had to survive. "I'm fine," I swallowed, pushing all the emotion deep down in that hole in my soul for later. I had a lot to process, really, but not anything I could do right now. Right now, I had to make sure that Dr. Gwan didn't escape.

"Hang on," Taehyung said a moment later. "I'm coming, Y/n. Don't put yourself in danger."

I clutched the phone tighter. There were a thousand things I could say to him, wanted to say to him, but knowing that he was coming was all I needed to know. "Hurry," I forced out. "Hurry, Taehyung."

I clicked off before he could respond, tucking the cell phone in the pocket of my coat. I had to formulate a plan, and quickly if I was going to keep Dr. Gwan in my sight until Taehyung could find us both.

Making my way back to my seat, I tried not to look suspicious at all. I felt like everyone now knew what I was about to do, and at any moment, Dr. Gwan was going to attempt to find her way off this train.

Of course, it was all in my mind. Dr. Gwan, to my knowledge at least, hadn't seen me, which meant she was oblivious to my presence. I could go approach her now, block her in, and wait for the next station, where Taehyung would be waiting. The train had to slow at the station anyway.

I didn't want to draw the attention of the conductor in any way, giving Dr. Gwan a chance to escape. If I didn't keep her in my sights and Taehyung arrived to find me empty-handed, I wasn't sure how he would react.

I needed her, if nothing else, to get back to my children and take back the life that I was slowly losing. I was tired of being the victim. I was tired of having Taehyung hurl threats at me and then bending to his will.

I wanted to be a different person.

I needed to be, for the sake of our children and their future.

So, I rose from my seat and made my way to hers, sliding in beside her. At first, she didn't even acknowledge my presence, shifting in her seat to make room for me on the aisle seat. I placed my bag on the floor and clasped my hands in my lap. "So, you didn't get far."