The Way I Loved You

Barbed Wire

Haein had seen this coming a mile away when her mother sent her the divorce agreement. Since the beginning, she had been against their marriage, displeased that she'd chosen someone with such a lowly background compared to the other suitors Grace had in mind. Not to mention that she'd completely gone behind her back during the entire duration of their relationship, only to drop her engagement bomb on them at the end.

Seonhwa had been praying for their downfall ever since they got married, Haein knew that for sure. She was rude to Hyunwoo's parents and Hyunwoo himself, giving him unreasonable demands and ordering him around in an attempt to make him feel small and inadequate like what she thought he was. And when they'd started falling apart and fighting all the time, Seonhwa never failed to smirk victoriously, pleased that she was being proven right that they were a bad match.

Perhaps part of the reason why she disliked Hyunwoo so much was that she viewed him as part of Haein's coup to squash Soocheol in his attempts to gain the chairman's favour. Hyunwoo was so much smarter than Soocheol and offered great legal advice, his wit and intelligence a perfect match for Haein's. The two worked like the power couple of the century, and the chairman had made it clear that he favoured the couple much more than he ever would Soocheol who was clumsy to say the least.

In Seonhwa's eyes, Haein's choice to marry Hyunwoo instead of any other brainless chaebol was part of her plan to knock her brother off the line of succession. Why else would she have chosen brains over money? There were plenty of rich and handsome men out there, yet she'd settled for him. It irked her all the more that the chairman and vice chairman both respected his opinion and actually listened to him when they couldn't be bothered with Soocheol, their own flesh and blood.

Now that they were about to be divorced, it was the ultimate victory for her. She'd once again proved that she was right all along, that someone of Hyunwoo's calibre had no place in this house. She'd also proven that Haein was a heartless bitch who couldn't make anyone love her even with all her riches. The fact that Hyunwoo was desperate to get away from her and valued that freedom more than her fortune was a testament to her horrendous personality. His story was like a fairytale; marrying into a chaebol family when his family were commoners who lived in the countryside. He had been the subject of envy at having his life miraculously transformed, yet he was willing to throw all of that away.

Of course, as the petty person she was, she just had to rub it in Haein's face that even her beloved husband had planned to divorce her without discussing it with her, the husband that she'd tried so hard to protect. When they sat at the table discussing the next mode of action, her piercing gaze lingered on Haein's face, searching for the slightest sign of heartbreak. As much as it was clear that Hyunwoo hated being married to her, it was clear that Haein genuinely cared about him even though she didn't act like it. The cruel part of her wanted to see Haein heartbroken, like the pain she'd felt when she lost her son.

When the meeting was adjourned and Haein got up as one of the last to leave, Seonhwa stopped her.

"See? You should have listened to me when I told you that it'd never work. I knew there was something wrong with him when you got married. After all, who in the right mind would ever fall in love with you?" She scoffed. "I told you he was a gold digger from the start. He must have been absolutely miserable living with you to abandon your assets just to escape from you."

"Eomma, stop it." Haein sighed in frustration. She really didn't need this right now. Was it really necessary for her to be so cruel and rub her failed marriage in her face? She was already dealing with enough as it was, she didn't need her mother making it worse by rubbing salt in the wound.

"Why? Is there something wrong with what I said? I'm just stating the facts."

Haein squeezed her eyes shut, trying to ignore the oncoming headache. Whether it was from her tumour or her mother's annoyingly condescending tone, she didn't know, but she felt like it was the latter. She wanted to ignore her, to simply brush past her and go back to her house, but she knew that Seonhwa wouldn't stop until she got a rise out of her.