FORCED MARRIAGE WITH BROTHER IN LAW

chapter 36

The tension in the room was unbearable, the echoes of the almost-fight still lingering in the air. No one spoke. No one moved.

Then, the phone rang.

The sharp sound cut through the silence like a blade.

Thv, still fuming, pulled his phone from his pocket and glanced at the screen. His jaw tightened before answering.

"Hello?" His voice was clipped, irritated.

A pause. Then his expression shifted—stern, composed. "Yes, sir."

Everyone watched as his body language changed. The way his anger melted into something forced—something almost obedient.

"Yes, I understand," he said, voice level. "We’ll be there."

We?

Y/N, who had been standing still, barely breathing, froze.

There was only one person who could make Thv act like this.

Her father.

The room felt smaller, suffocating.

She took a small step forward, her lips parting, a silent plea forming—Would they… would they ask for her?

Thv didn’t even glance her way.

"Of course. Congratulations." His voice was neutral, like he was talking about the weather. "We’ll see you soon."

The call ended.

Silence.

Y/N’s heart pounded so loudly it drowned out everything else.

She waited.

Waited for Thv to say something.

Waited for anyone to mention her name.

But he just slipped his phone back into his pocket and turned toward the others. "Her parents are inviting us to a wedding," he said plainly. "Her brother is getting married."

A sharp inhale left Y/N’s lips.

She hadn’t heard their voices in so long.

And when she finally did, they hadn’t asked for her.

They hadn’t even acknowledged her.

Like she didn’t exist.

Her vision blurred.

She turned on her heels, walking away before anyone could see the way her hands trembled, the way her chest ached so badly she could barely breathe.

But Jungkook saw.

He saw how she barely made it up the stairs before her legs gave out, how she clutched the railing like she was holding herself together.

And when she disappeared into her room, shutting the door behind her, they all heard the muffled sound of her breaking apart.

Not with screams.

Not with sobs.

But with the kind of silent cries that only came from a heart too shattered to even make a sound.

The room was dark, the curtains drawn tightly to shut out the world. Y/N sat on the edge of the bed, her hands resting in her lap, still as a statue. The quiet was deafening, the emptiness of the space suffocating her. She had been here before—alone, abandoned, fighting the suffocating feeling of hopelessness. But today was different.

Today, the dam inside her broke.

She wasn’t sure what triggered it—the phone call, Thv’s indifference, the lack of anyone noticing her in this house, the loneliness she’d lived with for so long—but it all became too much.

Her heart felt like it was bleeding in a way she couldn’t stop.

Her brother’s wedding.

She had always tried to be there for him, tried to be the sister he needed. She’d worked hard to be accepted, even when it seemed like he could never find it in him to care about her. She’d done everything she could for him, but it was never enough. He had never really liked her. In fact, his bitterness and distance had always been a cold reminder that she was an outsider in her own family.

Her brother’s wedding was supposed to be a celebration, but for her, it was just another moment to realize she wasn’t wanted. She wasn’t wanted by him, and she wasn’t wanted by her parents either.

They hadn’t even thought to invite her.

They didn’t even ask for me.

The tears Y/N had been holding back for so long came crashing down. They weren’t just for the wedding she’d never be part of, but for the years of neglect, the years of trying to earn a place in a family that didn’t want her.

She didn’t cry like she used to. She didn’t scream or beg for love anymore. She had accepted that her family’s love was something she’d never have.

But today, she couldn’t stop the floodgates from opening.

Her brother’s wedding wasn’t just a reminder that she didn’t belong—it was the harsh reality that the people who were supposed to care about her never did.

She let the tears fall, quietly, silently. They soaked her cheeks, her neck, her pillow. It was a sorrow deeper than she could explain, and it crushed her in a way that was impossible to bear.

And as she laid back on the bed, staring at the ceiling through blurry eyes, she realized:

She had been fighting alone for so long, and no one had even noticed.