Shattered Empress|kth

𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗽𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝟲

Taehyung

I propped myself up on one elbow and watched Y/n as she slept, feeling my heart squeeze in my chest at the sight. She truly was in my bed, her breathing light, without a hint of worry on her face.

I was holding onto all the fucking worry for the both of us. I had met with Jungkook and some of the brigadiers earlier in the day, wanting to get the war against Baekhyun rolling so that I could kill the fucker and move forward with my life.

Yet we hadn't found a good way to draw him out, and my patience was wearing thin. I had hidden it from Y/n, not wanting to ruin this fragile thing we had growing between us, but it hadn't taken her long to see something was wrong.

My beautiful, brave wife was learning about me, and whereas it should be scary, I didn't mind. Maybe it was me letting down my walls, letting her in.

No, I hadn't let down any walls. She had crashed through them and forced me to see something more than the mafia life I thought I needed. She had made me fall in love with her.

Okay, "made" was a strong word, but what Y/n didn't know was that I did love her, completely and fully. I loved our family, and if I hadn't known that before, this past week and cemented it for me.

So much that I didn't want to go back to being a Mafia.

It was fucking scary. The don life had been everything to me before she had come into my life, and now, I was being tugged in a far different direction, one that had me leaning toward the quiet life that I could have with Y/n and our children.

Of course, the money would no longer be there. I could no longer afford this penthouse if I stepped down, and there was no way I could do so until Baekhyun was dead. Keeping the Kim Mafia on top was the only way that I could ensure the safety of my family from him. If I wanted to quit this life in the future, the last thing I wanted to do was constantly look over my shoulder for the rest of my life.

Which meant I had to step up my game. I had to somehow get rid of Baekhyun.

Leaning down, I buried my nose in her hair and breathed in, wondering when the last time was I was so infatuated with any one person. Probably never. Y/n was everything that was right in my world right now, and despite the shitty way I treated her, she stayed.

A woman like that deserved to be worshipped, to be cherished.

To be loved.

I pressed a soft kiss to her temple before rolling onto my back, looking up at the darkened ceiling. Even though Y/n was back where she belonged, I still struggled to find sleep. A thousand worries ran through my mind, mostly of how I could fail them all miserably and leave my family exposed to the likes of Byun Baekhyun.

Like I had before.

I drew in a painful breath, willing those particular thoughts away. I wouldn't let him touch them again. He wasn't going to get close enough.

With a sigh, I left the bed and my sleeping wife, padding out into the hall and to the kitchen, finding Jungkook lying on the couch in the dark. "Can't sleep?" I asked, curious to know why he was out here instead of the guest bedroom downstairs.

"No," he sighed, sitting up.

I joined him on the opposite couch, letting my hands rest lightly between my thighs. "Want to talk about it?" I asked lightly. He had done so much for me. Jungkook was there when Eun Jun was murdered, the only person that had witnessed my breakdown when Y/n had left. He knew more about me than I knew about myself, and there was no one else I wanted at my side, watching over my family.