Book 1
Previously named as mafias chubby bride
[𝐂𝐎𝐌𝐏𝐋𝐄𝐓𝐄𝐃 ✔️] (rewriting)
Exuvia;
❝Shedding the past, being reborn into something new, even if painful.❞
He's a dangerous mafia boss.
She's a sweet, calm artist with a tender heart.
In a worl...
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★・・・・・・★
A U T H O R 'S P O V
The ache in his chest was unbearable. He had let the world ruin her. Worse-he had let the very man who had destroyed his own life, take a piece of Ashley too.
And she... quietly agreed.
She agreed only for his sake-so his head wouldn't be cut off and fed to the dogs.
She looked so broken. His heart splintered watching her-he had already bruised her heart, and yet this cruel life never allowed him to keep anyone loyal, anyone truly his.
He was heartbroken. He is heartbroken.
And yet-her little smile, her daring kiss pressed to his cheek, the way she whispered "you're a good husband"-it overwhelmed him. It stirred something fluttering in his chest he didn't want to admit.
Leaning back against the wall, his eyes trailed over his wife's paintings being hung inside a museum. Paintings that deserved to shine, yes-but not as a mask to cover the filth of his bloodstained hands.
Ashley shifted beside him, uneasy, though silent.
"Why does it feel wrong?" she sighed, her eyes searching the floor.
He glanced at her. "Then why did you agree to it?"
Her head lifted, her eyes glassy-sadness swimming in them even as they still sparkled faintly, the same way they did when she mischievously kissed him under the covers.
"For you," she whispered, sniffing, wiping her nose with the back of her hand.
Something inside him twisted. "Why? Don't do this for me, Ashley. Don't bend yourself for me." His voice aimed for harsh, but it faltered, softer than he intended.
"So that Lord can punish you instead? So I can just stand there and watch you suffer?" she shot back, her voice trembling with anger.
His chest tightened, his heart tearing bit by bit. "Why would it matter to you if Lord punishes me? I'm used to it. You shouldn't suffer because of me."
But she stepped closer, her face tight with fury, her hand fisting his coat.
"You want me to let you suffer in front of me, when I have only you?" she hissed through her teeth, her eyes piercing into his. "Why do you stay so far, Jungkook? I'm not going anywhere."
