The Love They Never Had: The Chase

Chapter 200: Avarice (Tam-You)

 "Your Highness!" "What on earth are you doing here Hui-jae? "You know that I have no choice when she calls me over." "I need to start hiding you at some point, she cannot hit you whilst you are..." "Yes she can, because I am a lowly girl and my social status is of no importance to anyone." "It could be, if you will just..." "Forgive me, Your Highness, but I have my own plans to carry out that will helpfully be over by the time that I deliver this baby...our baby..." "and she still has no idea? My wife or any other women in my life? Jae?" I was almost about to give up Moon-Bok's name, but for the sake of his wife and daughter, I just couldn't do it. I couldn't betray them, not again, even if my very life did depend on it. Hopefully, there would never be a reason to run into them again, so there would be no harm done...for now, anyway. "So, why are you ignoring your wife this time?" "What do you think? Who wants to be saddled with a hysterical, jealous and paranoid woman who can quite literally makes problems appear out of thin air?" "So it isn't because of the brothel that burnt to the ground..." "Hang on, isn't that was Seo Hwi was talking about? His sister got kidnapped to a brothel that held a banquet with some of the most important officials in the Kingdom and...."

I quickly steered him into the directions of his quarters where we could talk quietly since I knew his wife too well not to realise that she had stationed her people as his maids and guards and so on. "She did My Lord, and I have the proof for it. She ran a brothel containing...." "What? What is it? Why does your face look like that?" "My Lord, this brothel contained all of the women that you have been...acquainted with in your life. She had them kidnapped and thrown into there from the moment that she came into power. Your Highness?"

"My goodness, I knew that she was always mad, but to do this? But...why Yeon? Why would she target her?" "I do not have the answer for that, I do not know what her problem with Yeon is. But Yeon...I cannot believe that I am saying this but she....she made the most money...by doing nothing at all." "What? What does that mean?" "Yeon never sold herself, even once. She just gave her company to these men, advice and so on. But also...." "Do not hold back on me now! I need you to tell me everything and tell me where Yeon is." "The brothel was set on fire as soon as Yeon enclosed the fact that she knew that the kisaengs were palace girls." "Are you sure? Hui-Jae! You cannot joke about this at all!" "Hw could I lie about this at all? That is why Yeon was still inside the brothel when she... when the whole place went up in flames! She was going to expose your wife when she is the one who tortured Yon against her will and made her loose her respect and dignity..." "No, no this cannot be, Yeon cannot be dead, she just can't be. I need her...her brother is nothing without her and without her...I cannot dispose of my wife..."
"So you have finally made up your mind? To get rid of her once and for all?" "I can't survive even a single second longer with her, and now I find out that she has committed unspeakable crimes against her own sex for a husband who has never wanted her at all. And I need a credible witness..." "You have me for that..." "You? An ex-kisaeng? He brothers ex-lover? And someone that she has had fights with in public? You are not a credible witness and my wife will have you killed from the moment that you speak up, you know what the palace is like. It is only the Seo's who are truly untouchable, and not just by their late father's reputation. They have done a lot for the people of this Kingdom, just like their parents have before them, so their word stands for both of them, but I need Yeon to testify agains my wife and then..." "and then what? You know that she has some sort of engagement with...." "Don't even mention that filthy half-bread's name! Her brother is my man, so his family is my responsibility and I do not give Yeon permission to marry that beast of a man."

"So...you need Yeon to help you get rid of your wife and then...what are your plans for her brother?" "He is already married to a girl he barely knows, but I will allow him enough time to start his own family before I star using him for my political agenda. He is still very guarded since the whole Nam-Jeon ordeal and it looks like it shall take him a while longer to announce his crown prince so I can make my move. And this biggest obstacle I face now is his son, who is infatuated with Yeon...as soon as I find her, I will have to marry her off as soon as I possibly can, as that is the only way I can weaken him. But the bond between himself and Seo Hwi is still too strong so...it only makes sense for me to let him go to another village to start his family and keep some distance between him and the Seo's. And just when he is at his weakest point, I can finish him off silently before anyone finds out and the world can move on without him." "Well, good luck in finding him..." "wait, stay here for a while, I haven't seen you in a very long time."
I had been the Third Prince's woman since the moment he called for me to serve him in the Ihwaru brothel all of those years ago just a a few months after Seo Hwi''s abrupt departure and it was him who opened my eyes to a whole new world of wealth and luxury that I wanted to settle in for without the love of my life, and I was going to achieve it at all cost...so I could live it out for the both of us. I was going to do great things and achieve so much in his name, that was the reason why I needed his best-friend who was infatuated with me, so I could have his wealth. But that plan didn't manage to work out, but here I was with the most powerful Prince in the Royal Family who couldn't wait for our son to be born. His wife wasn't having any luck in the one duty of her's that mattered the most, which was the root of her extreme jealousy and paranoia.

Seo Hwi, even though we both walk different paths now without each other, I still have no plans to let you go at all. You are part of the reason why I suffered a miserable life in your absence; if only you had come for me sooner...if only your sister hadn't have gotten in the way. And as for you, Nam Seon-Ho, I will get my revenge for you humiliating me over and over again. And the only way to make the tree of you suffer is by taking you, Seon-Ho, for myself, away from Yeon and her brother. His earlier plans were not any different then mine now when it came to living comfortably in the noble world, and I will make sure that you cannot even begin to even hope to dream without me. I shall be the gatekeeper of your dreams, your plans for work and I shall keep Yeon away from you, just as you denied me yourself over and over again...
"Get on your knees." He growled behind me, but I shook my head, unwilling to always let him have his way. "No, not this time, you will not be in charge this time." "That isn't going to happen and you know it, I do not give up control for anyone." I leaned over to him softly to meet his gaze and re-iterated myself again. "Please let me lead this time, I am already uncomfortable with hiding my swollen belly all of the time and I need a little release for once." In front of me he completely towered over me and my not-so-small frame and watched me carefully for a few minutes, probably waiting for me to change my mind. But I wasn't going to, I refused to be submissive anymore; unlike Yeon who curl switch whenever it suited her, the little minx. She was submissive to her brother for the most part, until it came to her plans to protect him. And Seon-Ho, she was a submissive wife to him, but not when it came to their...pre-marital relations. Only a few whores I seen in my life could bewitch a man like she could, and most especially a lonely one like him, which wasn't hard work at all. She treated him like a husband, they had fun as if she was a brand new thrilling mistress and she had him in bed however he wanted to and more, always giving him hope that they could explore their relationship and themselves further in time, which was really all that Seon-ho wanted, despite his plans. Him making Yeon the centre of his plans was just a way to bind her to him, but in reality, all he wanted was to be loved, in a way that only Yeon could, because she was a naturally kind and empathetic person. Anyone she loved, including her brother, she loved them to the bone and that was what he wanted...just as I wanted by Seo Hwi and I...i still did to this day.

The Third Prince was waiting for me to lead him to his bed and make my commands, so I made my way over to him after I undressed myself and I placed my hands on his shoulders and leaned forward, skating my lips along his neck and trying to savour every moment of this small amount of release that I was entitled to but...but I still had Seo Hwi locked in my heart. Touching another man disgusted me internally, even though he was clearly experienced and skilled with women, but when I closed my eyes and I felt powerful flesh on top of mine, holding me, kissing me and caressing me, I could not get the image of Nam Seon-Ho out of my mind. He was just so physically attractive and I...I saw him once with Yeon when they both thought that they were alone. I saw how possessive and yet tender he was with her at the same time. I saw how he dominated her at first and yet it would be him who would end up at the mercy of his woman, whom he always begged for towards the end. He was rough when it came to foreplay but so gentle when he had her in his arms and she...countered him as a shield of protection and made love to him that way, but when it was her turn to get what she wanted, she was creative and didn't set too many boundaries. No wonder she was already pregnant in just a couple of months, roughly around the same time as I was. But I wasn't going to let her or anybody else know that. She was still naive in some ways and it was already usually hard for women to identify when they got pregnant for this first time. But unfortunately, I wasn't going to let her keep any link between herself and my man, my Seon-Ho. I already knew what I was going to do with her and how I was going to make her loose her own child without anyone knowing about it at all. And that was why it was imperative that Seo Hwi be relocated sooner than the Prince had planned and keeping him busy so he couldn't look for his sister either. All I had to do was to send him something on her behalf to ensure that she was safe, like maybe one of the many letters she had written for both men since she woke up again but hadn't managed to send off since I had my own help in the Prince's residence to block any letters she or Seon-Ho sent off. It was ironic that they both thought that they had abandoned each other when they were really living next to each other as closely as possible. But they would never meet, and I had Yeon;s fiancé to thank for that.