Mr and Mrs Sim ⋆ s.jake

Chapter 26

Rose's pov

Jongseong had hosted one of my most peaceful nights at the time. His vast house seemed designed to ease my deepest worries. The pool mirrored the sky as I dove in, staying submerged for a long time, letting chlorinated water fill my lungs to check if my survival instinct would kick in—at least harder than Jaeyun's lies. It didn't. I finally surfaced, only to find Jay lying fully clothed on a deckchair, watching me. Though he loved late-night swims, he had refused to join me.

He stared at me with such respect that his eyes never wavered lower—respectful, mindful, disciplined. "Don't try to drown yourself. My shirt costs a fortune; I'm not getting it wet for you," he said. But he did. The instant my back hit the bottom of the pool and I managed to hold my breath, he jumped in. His hands wrapped around my waist, pulling me up, and I started breathing again as his lips hovered just inches above mine, ready to give me mouth-to-mouth. "Heaven doesn't want you yet," he whispered, clasping my hands in his, the wind chilling our wet bodies.

"You can't understand Jongseong. I'm married to sin itself. There's nothing worse than living in hell. I don't deserve this. He killed people, he kills people and he will k—" My voice had broken into a sob. I bit my lip until it bled, rolling my eyes in an attempt to fuck the mental distress out. His thumb caressed my skin, offering a discreet mark of emotional support, but he forbade himself from doing anything more.

It fucked my brain even harder. Dirty Rose craved more, needed more. Deep in my marrow, I felt the suffocating, unhealthy need for Heeseung to hold me in his arms until I choked to death. My surroundings had vanished because the only man capable of protecting me from myself was nowhere near me.

—

The next morning, I woke up half-nauseous, with a weight on my stomach. It was breathing softly, sleeping as if on a cloud. I reached out, threading my hand through his dark hair and tugging at it for a reaction. He grunted. "Jaeyun." Once again. Annoyed, I tried to free myself from his grip, but his left arm tightened around me, pinning me against his body. "Get off me or I'll make sure you never father children," I threatened in a firm tone.

"Uh uh... Tell me more." His fingertips slowly traced down the hollow of my waist, following the curve of my hips, before slipping beneath the waistband of my shorts and teasing the lace of my underwear. I shivered, instinctively closing my legs tighter. "I'm not some dirty puppy you need to neuter, mon amour. You spent the night at Jongseong's. It's bold of me to still wish you a good morning."

I shook my head, grabbing his wrist to push him away. "Screw you! Do you really think I want to have morning sex with a criminal?" With that, I freed myself from his grip.

I jumped out of bed and ran downstairs, not wanting to listen to his pointless protests. "You've got to be kidding me! You spy on me with my best friend, then act surprised when you find exactly what you're looking for." I heard him gasp, followed by the heavy sound of his footsteps chasing me. He didn't scare me, but he disgusted me. His humanity had probably been sold to the devil; being a lawyer just gave him a better cover. And now I was living with a heartless, cruel man.

I couldn't believe that the second man to break my heart after my father would be my own husband.

The moment I tried to reach the living room, he shoved me against the adjacent wall. My back slammed into it in a sickening crack of bones. "If you'd wanted to accuse me of murder, you would've found a corpse." He moved closer, using his entire frame to block me, then caressed my cheek with his backhand. His eyes locked onto mine. I tried to knee him in the crotch, but he held back my bent leg. "However, if you'd wanted to charge me with extortion, you would have filled my trunk with bills." His last words were mere whispers in my ear, sounding like a honeyed game on his tongue—one I might have taken a liking to, if l'd given in to temptation.