The woman who was not chosen

Chapter 22

Kwon Jiyong guided Dara Park towards the black Rolls Royce, using his body to shield her from any prying eyes. She paused by the door, "I didn't get to say goodbye to my grandfather as well as yours."

Kwon Jiyong grunted, "You don't need to." He tried to push her into the car, but she stopped him and was preparing to walk back into the banquet when he grabbed her, "Many people are leaving the banquet as we speak. The Elders will be busy seeing people off."

"Then, at the very least, did you bid him goodbye?"

"Of course." It was the first thing Kwon Jiyong did when dessert was being served and he noticed her absence. He was never one to enjoy sweet food, so the Elder easily pardoned him.

"Now, let's go home." He did not want to remain at this place any longer. He helped her into the car before getting in himself. Hu Wei closed the door and started the car.

After such an exhausting day, Dara Park did not have the energy to fight off his hands. "I'm tired." She mumbled when she saw the fire ignite in his eyes only to die out at her words. His face softened as he guided her body towards him so that she would be leaning in his embrace. Her eyes closed shut and it did not take long for her to fall asleep from exhaustion.

Kwon Jiyong kept one arm around her shoulder and pressed a kiss to the crown of her head, a worried look buried within the abyss of his eyes.

In a tea room, there was a faint scent of herbal medicine.

To preserve their tradition, the Mizuhara family Mansion was built in a similar structure as the buildings from the Qing Dynasty. It spread out into a decent plot of land in an open concept that easily allowed the wind to pass through. There were wooden sliding doors, brackets of intertwining wood to create the frames and borders, and tiled roofs.

Kiko Mizuhara was anxiously waiting for her father to say something. She found it strange that his face was as pale as a ghost and that his eyes were disorientated. She thought he might've had too much to drink, but that would have been impossible as he was always good at holding his liquor.

"What happened, father?" She made sure to keep her tone respectful. She felt like she was speaking to a businessman and not her father. She envied her younger siblings who could talk freely around him.

Minyoung Mizuhara's fingers dug into his palms as he ground his teeth. His jaw tightened and a vein popped out on his forehead. Kwon Jiyong actually dared to threaten him!

"You were right, Kiko. That vixen pillow-talked him and clouded his brain!"

CRASH!

In one fell swoop, Minyoung Mizuhara had swept everything off the table. Teacups tumbled onto the floor and a century-old ink slab broke into four fragments causing the bamboo floor to be ruined by black stains.

Kiko Mizuhara flinched, her eyes lowering onto the floor. She could feel her hands shake when the memories of her father's brutal beatings flashed through her mind. The dreadful tone he was using now was the same one from her childhood.

"He actually had the guts to threaten me." Minyoung Mizuhara let out mocking laughter before sitting down on his chair, a calculative look in his eyes. "That wench has wormed her way into his heart like the annoying pest that she is."

Kiko Mizuhara was tongue-tied. She agreed with her father but feared if she opened her mouth, she would suffer his wrath.

"You stayed by his side for nine years, wasting the precious years of your adulthood on him and what does he do? Demote you for the smallest mistake!" Minyoung Mizuhara heard the full story from his daughter. Dara Park was the president of Arad, a rising investment firm. It was a very valuable piece of information that he could use to his advantage. He was simply waiting for the right time to reveal it and planned on doing so when the company suffer a fall.