Saved || A Jungkook fanfic

35.

"What the hell are you talking about, Ailene?"

Jungkook's voice was barely above a whisper, but his eyes—dark, intense, searching—screamed danger. Confusion twisted his features as he stared into me, as if trying to rip the answer straight from my soul.

"Jungkook, just stop." My voice was a fragile thread, unraveling as I closed my eyes, willing myself to breathe. He slowly set me back on the ground, adjusting his pants while I smoothed down my dress with trembling hands. "Stop pretending. I already know. The truth is out."

Jungkook stilled. A single moment of hesitation that said more than words ever could.

"I heard it from Kai," I whispered, my lips curling into something bitter, something between a smirk and a grimace.

"Why would you even entertain anything he has to—"

"Is it true? There's someone else?"

Silence.

A cold, suffocating pause that wrapped its hands around my throat. The muffled sounds of distant conversation and clinking silverware outside the closet felt miles away, like a different world entirely. My pulse roared in my ears, drowning everything but the weight of his silence.

"I... was going to tell you—"

"So he wasn't lying."

The moment those words left my mouth, I saw it—panic flashing through Jungkook's eyes. It was quick, barely there, but I caught it. And it was all I needed. My chest caved, the weight of betrayal pressing down, splintering me from the inside.

"Let me—"

"Explain?" I let out a hollow laugh, sharp and humorless. "Oh, you don't have to explain anything, Jungkook."

I turned to leave, but his grip clamped around my wrist.

"It's not what you think. My parents—" His voice wavered, thick with frustration. "They want me to—"

"Find someone of their standards?" I finished for him, voice dripping with mockery. "Someone worthy? Got it."

Jungkook exhaled sharply, rubbing a hand over his face like he was barely keeping himself together. "It's not that simple."

"Not that simple?" My laugh this time was venomous, my eyes burning as I looked at him. "You mean it's not simple for someone like me—because I don't come from money, because I don't fit the picture-perfect fantasy your parents have laid out for you?"

His jaw clenched, but he didn't deny it.

"You think I don't know how this works?" I took a step closer, chest heaving, fury vibrating through every cell of my body. "People like them—people like you—only see love as a transaction. A deal. A way to keep the empire intact." My voice broke, but I forced myself to keep going. "Did you ever even plan on choosing me? Or was I just a distraction until the real thing came along?"

"Ailene, stop." His voice was taut, almost desperate.

But I didn't want to stop.

"I gave you everything, Jungkook," I hissed, tears stinging my eyes. "I trusted you. And you—" I swallowed hard, choking on the words. "You let me believe I was enough."

Jungkook's fingers ran through his hair, exhaling like he was trying to keep himself from shattering.

"I told you they're strict," he said finally, voice quieter now. "They forced me to go to marriage meetings, but I never wanted—"

"Marriage meetings?" My breath hitched, my heart thudding against my ribs. "This is what you've been hiding? You've been seeing other women behind my back?"