Chapter 14: Love the Way You Lie - Part 2 (Jimin's POV)

(Jimin's POV)

I manage to untangle myself from Y/N's warm body much to my reluctance. I sit on the edge of the bed, my hand still shaking since I opened that email as my hand finds my hair and I pull it in frustration. I turn to look at the woman still sleeping in my bed and notice she's grabbed my pillow and submerged her face in it no doubt seeking comfort in my scent. I stand up, sliding my phone into my pocket and slip out of the room, careful not to wake Y/N. I move through the apartment, my feet moving on their own accord towards my bar and before I know it I'm nursing a stiff drink.

Mark is spiraling. He's backed into a corner and he's self-destructing. All of that being said, does his email mean he hasn't told his lawyer? Hasn't reported me? What's his game? I shake my head. You already know what his game is, he wants to take power over you- and Y/N. Well fuck that. I'll turn myself in before I let him terrorize myself or Y/N through blackmail or any tactic. I stare down at the glass as I let my mind wander back to a simpler time. A time when L/N Y/N didn't consume my every waking thought. If I were stronger, I would have turned her and her husband away the second I laid eyes on her in that strapless midi dress looking like trouble with legs. I had never been attracted to a patient before and I thought I could put my hormones aside and counsel them. Help them. Instead I helped myself to his wife and now everything is a disaster.

Eight months prior (flashback)

"Mr. Park, your twelve o'clock, Mr. Tuan and Mrs. L/N are here," Lisa says and I close their file as I stand.

"Thank you, Lisa," I say. "I'll be right out." I run a hand through my hair and straighten my glasses. The first session with a new couple is crucial. Everyone is usually on their best behavior but I catch little things. I learn their body language with each other even though they are trying to act as if things aren't as bad as they appear to be. The eye rolls that they think I don't see, the shoulders that tense up when their partner talks, the obvious disdain that they try to hide. I open the door and I almost take a step back in awe when I see the most beautiful woman I've ever seen looking back at me. I think all of the air has left my lungs and I resist the urge to say "wow". What the hell is this woman doing in marriage counseling? Any man married to her should be on his knees worshiping the ground she walks on for being married to him. Okay, Jimin you know the beautiful ones are THE MOST crazy. Just wait till she reveals it.

"Mr. Tuan, Mrs.L/N," I say. This whole time I've been staring at Mrs. L/N, I'm just now noticing that Mr. Tuan hasn't looked up from his phone once. He stands and walks through my door ahead of Y/N and I want to scoff at his lack of manners. Chivalry is dead and gone in this marriage, huh? Mrs. L/N gives me a small smile as she walks by me and I almost lose it when her scent invades my nose. Holy fuck, what is that? She smells divine. Christ, Park. Get it together. I close the door behind me and sit in my chair and look at the two painfully uncomfortable individuals sitting on opposite ends of my couch.

Mr. Tuan looks almost hostile, his arms crossed, leaning back, one leg over another. He's looked at his watch at least twice since he's sat down and I can tell he doesn't believe in this process and that he'd rather be anywhere but here. Mrs. L/N, on the other hand, looks nervous. She's fidgeting with her rings and her teeth keep finding her bottom lip as she chews on it. I try not to focus on it because it's distracting as hell.

I look back and forth between them before I begin. "So why don't you tell me a little about yourselves? Mrs. L/N?"

"Well," she starts and it's the first time I'm hearing her voice and it's as if she's sprouted wings and a halo instantly because she sounds like an angel. "Mark and I have been together eight years, we got married about five years ago," she says, giving a small smile. "And things have just been... difficult as of late," she says and I give her a small smile.

"Mrs. L/N, I admire your diplomacy, but you're in marriage counseling, now isn't the time to be diplomatic. And I have read all of that in your file, and we will come back to that. Right now, I want to know about you."

"Oh, ummm okay sorry," she says nervously and my eyes narrow. Why is she apologizing?

"You've done nothing wrong, Mrs. L/N. No apologies necessary. Continue."

"Right, so... I graduated from the University of Seoul with a degree in Education. When I graduated I was offered at a school. I worked there for a little while, until I got married. And then I left. And now I..." she starts before she looks down at her hands and I know this is the moment. The moment every couple has at some point after they cross the threshold of this room. Sometimes it's an hour in, or a day in, or a week in. But with Mrs. L/N it's ten minutes in. She's about to lose it. And then we go to work. "Now I don't do anything." She says and she looks up at me, the tears turning her eyes the most beautiful shade of cerulean blue. "I'm a prisoner of my own life."

I hear a snort from the other side of the couch. "Here we go."

"Heaven forbid I'm honest about my feelings in therapy," Y/N says immediately.

"A prisoner of your own life? Really? God, you can be so dramatic."

"Okay, in here it's better if we refrain from personal attacks or direct insults. I know it's cliché, but we need to start sentences with 'I feel.' Mr. Tuan, you can say 'I feel that I don't understand what you're saying'. This is a safe space for both of you. And I don't want either of you to feel stifled but that being said you need to respect each other."

The rest of the first session went similarly to how it started and it quickly became clear to me that Mr. Tuan treated his wife like she was a burden. He didn't pay her much attention, he knew nothing of her current dreams, her drive, her passion, her love of literature still. He used her as a pawn in his life because she fit into his dream. But did he love her? The jury was still out on that and I had yet to pass judgment.

We were about a month into our sessions when Mrs. L/N started to open up more and more. She had quickly become one of my favorite patients and I started to look forward to seeing her every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. She was witty, and smart and had a smile that stopped my heart the few times she flashed it at me. She was kind and courteous and I watched as Mr. Tuan essentially walked all over her during their sessions. She'd snapped once or twice and I thought she was going to murder him the day we talked about how he had forgotten her birthday but for the most part she obeyed my rules.

"Mr. Tuan, tell me how you feel about children?" I say one Wednesday afternoon and he immediately shakes his head.

"She knows I'm not ready for that."

"Does she know why? She's made it clear about her feelings on the matter and yet I don't think I know why you are so against it."

"I'm thirty, I'm doing well in my company, we're still young. She's twenty-eight. It's not like her biological clock is ticking. She has plenty of time," he says as if he's rattled off these bullshit reasons a time or two before.

"While that may be true, she believes that she is ready and it might be something worth discussing. This is a marriage, Mr. Tuan, it's about compromise."

"You can't compromise about a kid. If I'm not ready, how is that fair to them?"

I narrow my eyes. His logic makes sense but I wonder if he's just manipulating the situation or truly feels that he isn't ready. "What about it, makes you feel that you aren't ready? Do you think you wouldn't make a good father?" He shrugs but doesn't offer up any explanation and I wonder if there is more to that story. I know that his father died when he was in high school but he hasn't discussed it much. There is something these two aren't telling me. I can sense it.

"So what do you think it will take for you to be ready?"

"I don't know?" he says, brushing me off as he looks out my window. "Time?" He shrugs.

"How much time?" I hear her voice ringing through the room, it's not accusing or harsh or angry, rather meek and timid. "I want a baby," she says softly.

"Well that's not happening right now. Deal with it," he says and I see her lip tremble and the tears flood her eyes. She clears her throat, swallowing them down and while I've never been one for having contact with my patients, I wanted to hug her and let her know that everything would be okay. That I was here for her. That I cared. Her husband took a call during our session. It wasn't the first time he had taken one, but it was the first time that our session ended while he was still on the phone.

"I should go," she whispers as she stands. "He's probably just... in the car."

"Mrs. L/N," I say as her hand finds the door.

"Yes?" She stops to look at me as I make my way over to her.

I don't know what to say to her. She looks so completely broken. So fragile. Her husband is slowly breaking her and I'm doing a shitty job at stopping it. "Keep your head up, okay?"

She seems surprised by my words but she gives me one of her heart-stopping smiles and nods as if I've given her the most profound advice. "Thanks, Dr. Park."

That night was the first time I masturbated thinking about L/N Y/N.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Present (Flashback End)

I smile to myself thinking about how things changed for me that night. My attraction for her increased tenfold once I realized the sexual attraction was there as well. My feelings for her which I thought were mostly innocent and purely due to her physical appearance grew deeper with each week. I was attracted to her looks, her mind, her body and at times when she showed it, her heart. The second she flashed through my mind while I was touching my dick I knew I was a goner. L/N Y/N owned me and she didn't even know it.

"What are you doing out here all by yourself?" I hear as the woman who's still consuming my thoughts seven months later comes walking through my penthouse living room. She has one of my blankets from my bed wrapped around her and she climbs into my arms. "I woke up and you were gone."

"I'm sorry, baby. My dad is on his way over and I needed something to take the edge off."

She whimpers and buries her face in my chest, pulling the blanket completely over her head. "I'll be hiding in your room."

I pull the blanket from over her head and kiss her forehead before I shake my head slowly. "We can't hide from this. Any of it."

"Your parents hate me," she groans. "And this is only going to make things worse." I hear the door to my penthouse opening and my brother's voice ringing through the air. Y/N climbs out of my lap to sit next to me when my brother comes into view.

"What are you doing here, Hoseok?" I ask, wondering why he's showing up unannounced.

"Dad called me."

"Why?"

"He thought you might need me." He looks at the woman sitting next to me and I immediately go on the defense. "I know we didn't get off on the best foot." He smiles. "I'm Hoseok, this asshole's semi-respectable big brother." He smiles the smile that's worked on a million women and I wonder if mine will be as easily charmed.

She gives a polite nod. "I'm Y/N."

He reaches a hand towards her and when she takes it he yanks her to her feet and pulls her into a bear hug causing her to squeal. He puts her down and rests his hands on her shoulders to steady her. "I was a dick that day. I didn't know how crazy my brother was about you... How much he loves you. How much you love him."

She starts to say something before she shakes her head. "What are you talking about? This is the first time we've met," she says, giving him a knowing smile and he gives her one back. I'm in awe of how Y/N is reacting to this, her willingness to start over so easily with my brother despite their first interaction.

"Well alright then," he looks at me. "So what's the next step?"

"I don't know, wait for dad... see what he thinks?" I rub my eyes, willing the headache away. I down the rest of my drink and Hoseok raises an eyebrow at me. "Alright, I'm in," he says, pulling the glass from me and moving towards the kitchen.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"I knew this was going to happen, why couldn't you have been more careful? You were two weeks away! Two! You're telling me you couldn't keep it in your pants for fourteen God damn days!" Dad says as he begins to pace the length of my living room. Y/N and I are sitting on the couch like teenagers in trouble as my father reads us the riot act. As soon as he walked in, he hugged me, told me everything would be okay, that he'd fight to the death for me and that he loved me. As soon as that was all said and done, he laid into me. He's kept his claws out of Y/N specifically, but everything has been directed at us both.

"Dad, lay off. Yelling at them now isn't helping," Hoseok interjects, and I have to say that I'm happy to have him here.

"I'm shocked we haven't heard from Jackson. Do we think that there's any chance he hasn't told his lawyers?"

I don't want to discuss the matter of the email in front of Y/N because I haven't told her yet, but I shake my head. "I mean there's a chance. The fact that I haven't heard anything means he hasn't."

"Okay, start from the beginning and tell me what happened."

We launch into the story about how we were making love and he barged in, revealing the audio device and he stops us.

"He's in violation of about a dozen laws. How many patients do you think you saw in between his session and your..." he looks us over and raises an eyebrow, "session with Y/N?"

I feel Y/N shift next to me and I know she feels nervous. I slide my hand onto her thigh and grip it before I grab her hand pulling it to my mouth. I begin to count in my head who I saw within the five days between their appointments. "I saw six couples, so twelve people."

"Each of them has a case against Mark on their own. Hell, it could even be bad for you, Jimin. But, given of course that you were unaware of this, you may be granted some leniency. Frankly, Y/N you are well within your rights to press charges as well. The list goes on and on of what we can nail Mark with. But we have to work fast. If he hasn't gone to his lawyer or your board, there's a reason. And we may be able to use that reason. So we need to strike while the iron's hot. Do you think you can get a meeting with him?"

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" I hear her ask next to me. "I just... he's unreasonable right now. And unstable and I just... worry..." she trails off and I can already hear where her mind is going. She's worried about me. I smile at her and give her a kiss on her temple.

"Don't worry." I know the perfect way to get Mark alone based on his most recent communication. I pull her into a hug, shielding her away from my father when I shoot him a look and point to him and then my office. He nods in complete understanding.

"Y/N, would you mind if I had some words with my son, alone?"

Y/N looks at me and then at my father. "Yes... I mean no," she says scrunching her eyes together and I can feel her nerves. "I don't mind." She shakes her head. "I can go" she looks at me. "Should I go?"

"No," I say, shaking my head, my face a mix of confusion and horror that she would even consider it. "You're right where you belong... with me."

"Okay."

"I'll be ten minutes," I say, brushing my lips against hers. "Hobi, keep her company," I say pointing at him and he nods.

"Absolutely, want to take some shots?" He says shooting me a grin and I shake my head as I follow my father back to my office.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

He looks at my phone, staring hard at it before I see him forward the email to himself. "He just sent this?"

"Yeah, like an hour ago," I say leaning back in my chair.

"That means he hasn't told anyone. He thinks he can get you to walk away. Are you-"

"I'm not walking." I interrupt and my father looks at me and for the first time since I first told him about this predicament with the patient that had me breaking every rule I had for myself, he chuckles.

"You really love this girl."

"More than I love anything. She means more to me than my practice. Dad, I bought her a house last month. I was at the doctor a few months ago for my yearly appointment and I had them make sure everything was working for God's sake." I mean sure I'm still young, thirty-two is nothing, there are men knocking their women up a lot older than me but I just wanted to be sure there would be no setbacks when Y/N and I began trying to start our family. "I just want to be with her. If I have to sacrifice my practice to do it, then so be it." I see the look he gives me. "I'm not going to regret it."

"While I don't condone how you started this relationship... I do see how you've changed. How she's changed you. How you look at her... how you talk about her." He pauses. "And she's just as invested?"

"Yeah," I nod. "Absolutely."

"Call him."

"Call... Mark?"

"Yes, tell him you want to discuss the email in person and not over the phone. I have a plan but we have to move."

I nod, pulling out my phone. I take a deep breath and begin to call the man that is the only thing standing in the way of me and the woman I love. "Tuan Mark" he says tersely into the phone and I roll my eyes. You know who this is, dick.

"It's Dr. Park."

"I think we're past the formalities, don't you, Jimin?"

"Fine. I didn't call to discuss semantics. I want to discuss your email."

"I'm sure you do," he chuckles. "I knew you were so full of it about that 'I'm so in love with her' shit. Give me a break, Park," he jokes. I clench my fists as I hear him disrespect my relationship with Y/N.

My father shakes his head at me, sensing my agitation and mouths at me to calm down.

"Right so, I'll meet you at my office? In, say, thirty minutes?"

"In person conversation, huh? That serious?"

"This doesn't really seem like the conversation I want to have on the phone, given that I don't trust you."

"You don't trust me? That's rich, you've been screwing my wife for how many months now?"

"You planted a bug in my office!" I growl and my father shakes his head and spins his finger in a circle signaling that I need to wrap up this conversation. "Look, thirty minutes, Tuan."

"I'll see you then. Will my wife be joining us?" he says and I can sense the hostility through the phone and miles of distance between us.

"No," I say succinctly. I don't want her anywhere near you asshole. I'm ending this shit once and for all. And then Y/N is mine.

I end the phone call with Mark and walk into my living room to see my brother and Y/N playing what looks like... poker? "Got yourself a badass poker player here, Jimin. Take this lady to Vegas."

"This is big," I say, kissing the top of her head. "No one beats my brother at poker."

She giggles before her smile turns to a frown. "Where are you going?" she asks, seeing my jacket pulled tight around me.

"My father and I are going into my office for a little while."

She furrows her brow and I know she has a million questions running through her brain. "Why?"

I kiss her forehead. "We'll talk when I get back, okay? Bro, stay here?" I say looking at him and giving him a look that says look out for my girl.

"But-" she says, turning my attention back to her. She gets up on her knees so that she's closer to eye level. "What happened to doing things together? Facing this together?"

"We are... I just have to do one thing first, okay? Do you trust me?" I ask her.

"Yes," she nods. "Of course, I do." I lower my face to hers and she takes my lips immediately, and despite my father and brother in the room, I slide my tongue through her lips quickly. She responds to the kiss just as quick and it's amazing that a kiss that brief can arouse me instantly. "I love you," she says as my lips leave hers. Our bodies are still breathing the same air.

"I love you too. I won't be long." She nods and as I walk away from her, I notice something in her eyes.

Understanding.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Mark walks into my office and I think he is stunned that we won't be the only two people in this meeting. "I didn't realize I needed legal representation with me for this meeting."

"Have a seat, Mr. Tuan," my father says, going into lawyer mode immediately.

He moves through the room and sits across from my desk and crosses his arms. "I thought you had come to your senses."

"Oh we have, Mr. Tuan. The question is, have you?"

"I want my lawyer."

"Go ahead... call him. My guess is you don't want to divulge though that you tried to blackmail my client... and you put it in writing?" He rolls his eyes. "Your lawyer will be ready to strangle you."

"What the fuck is this about? Get to the point."

"Well, I just have a few questions for you. First and foremost, I just want to make sure I'm understanding your motives. You believe that your wife is a lying, manipulative, deceitful cheater and you don't want her to get away with that, correct?"

"I don't believe it... I know it."

"How can you be so sure?"

"I heard them!"

"On the tape that you illegally planted in my client's office, which is thereby inadmissible in any court or in your divorce proceedings?"

"Y/N admitted it."

"When?"

"I have her on tape!"

"The same illegal tape? And it's purely audio, surely you can see the gaping holes in your story. You're a man getting divorced and all of a sudden two weeks before you finalize there's a mysterious tape that surfaces that merely sounds like your wife is having sex with another man. Surely you can see where someone- me, for instance, would call 'bullshit?'"

I see him shift nervously in his seat and my father continues, knowing that he's got him where he wants him. "Let me ask you something, when you intentionally planted this listening device in my client's office, were you aware that you would be in violation of federal laws as well as the privacy of over a dozen patients? Each of whom could press charges against you, once they were informed?" He leans back in his chair.

"All in all, Mr. Tuan, it seems that the person who has the most to lose in all of this is you. Y/N, is still entitled to half, and while my client may lose his practice due to the scandal this may cause, you'll be in prison. Can you imagine what the courts will do to you when he finds out that not only did you bring on potential malpractice suits but you blackmailed a well known and respected doctor? You want to see how this all plays out in court? On top of ALL of that, do you think that we will hesitate to bring up the fact that you manipulated Mrs. L/N into believing that her stepfather that physically and mentally abused as well as tortured her for years was still out there looking for her, months after he was dead? And you want to call Mrs. L/N, deceitful and manipulative? I can assure you that the only person who will come out looking like a liar is you, Mr. Tuan."

His eyes narrow as he leans back in his seat. "So nothing happens? You just get to keep everything, after you ruined my marriage?"

"I didn't ruin shit, Mark," I say. You want to talk about who ruined your marriage? Are you kidding me? Your wife was drowning in misery before I even met with you. Ruined your marriage? Is he fucking delusional? My mind drifts back to about a hundred different scenarios of Mark being a cold, distant, neglectful husband. He was condescending, he treated her like he was better than her, like she was indebted to him... it made me sick. I'll never forget the first real conversation I had with Y/N, it was our fourth session and Mark was running late as usual.

Eight months prior...(Flashback)

She looks down at her watch and smiles a smile that doesn't reach her eyes. "I'm sorry to waste your time like this, Dr. Park." You're not wasting my time, I get paid for the hour regardless.

"It's not a waste of time," I say, giving her a genuine smile. Truth is , I enjoyed Mrs. L/N's company, probably far more than I should. "Maybe we should at least talk about something though? Tell me, how are you?"

"I'm... good." She shrugs. "Same old."

"Do you think you and Mark are moving forward?"

"Not really," she scoffs and shakes her head.

"Why is that?"

She's silent for a moment before she starts. "You ever look at your life and wonder how the hell you got here. One minute you're twenty one and completely in love and the next minute you're twenty-eight and you're just like... where did the years go? Where did my life go? When did my relationship change?

When did... when did Mark's feelings change? When did my feelings change?" She shakes her head and I see the tears building in her eyes. "I can't live the next sixty plus years of my life like this, Dr. Park. Hell, I won't make it another sixty years in this relationship." She looks around and takes a deep breath. "I'm... miserable," she says and I wonder if it's the first time she's said the words aloud.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Present (Flashback End)

I'm snapped from my thoughts when I hear my father continue nailing Mark to the wall. "The law doesn't give a shit about your hurt feelings or pride, Mark. South Korean law couldn't give a damn if Y/N slept with everyone in Seoul. It's unfortunate for you, but nothing was going to happen to her anyway. Now, my client's ethics board, on the other hand, would have cared to know that he had an inappropriate relationship with his patient and if you wanted a prayer at bringing charges over that, you should have gone about this completely differently. And to be perfectly honest, given Y/N being of a consenting age, and the fact that she has asked for a divorce prior to the affair are both mitigating circumstances. So basically, if my team played our cards right, we may be able to get him out of this with his medical license still intact. You however, will be brought up on some pretty significant charges. Do you want to risk it?" he asks, the look on his face, one of a smug arrogant lawyer. My father is fucking ruthless. "Let me be clear, Mr. Tuan, you do not want to go up against me in court. And neither does your spineless lawyer. I will bury you." He stands up from my desk, and looks down at Mark. "You try and take my son down, Mr. Tuan. I can promise you, as his lawyer and his father, I am taking you down too."

Mark left my office with his tail between his legs. I'm not sure if my Tuan Mark problem have completely disappeared but I can say for sure he won't be going to my ethics board... at least not today. My father dropped me back off at my apartment and told me he would be in touch and to let me know the second I hear from Mark going forward. I'm walking through my apartment and I see Hoseok on my couch watching television and I narrow my eyes as I don't see Y/N . "She's in your room. She wanted to lay down," he says as he bites into pizza that I assume arrived not too long ago.

I nod and make my way to my room and I see her lying in my bed, curled into a fetal position. I climb into bed behind her and wrap my arms around her. She turns in my arms and I feel my heart breaking when I see the look in her eyes. "What's wrong?" I ask. I brush my knuckles down her face and I relish in how smooth her skin is. I begin to draw circles in her skin and brush my lips against hers. "I'm sorry I was so long."

She shakes her head before she looks down, drawing circles in my chest. "What were you doing at your office?" she asks quietly.

"I just went to take care of something..." I say placing a kiss on her nose. "Nothing to worry about."

Her brows furrow and pulls out of my arms to sit up. She fidgets with her hands and only now do I see her phone in her hand. "You went to see Mark..." she says quietly. "To discuss the email he sent?"

My heart plummets. That asshole forwarded the email to her? "How-"

"He texted me. Showed me the email," she says handing me my phone. On the screen was a screenshot of the email followed by some very hateful words.

Sent this to OUR beloved marriage counselor.

Within minutes he was calling me, telling me to meet him at his office. Probably didn't want to leave a paper trail that he was willing to trade you to save himself. I wouldn't be so sure that he'd never give you up, my darling wife. Maybe the pussy wasn't worth his practice? Gotta love the irony, after all of the lies, you'll be left without anyone to take care of you. Which is all you really wanted, right?

I am fuming. I want nothing more to find him and rip him limb from limb. I look at the time stamp. This was before we met at my office. Smug bastard actually thought I was going to give Y/N up? "You didn't believe this, did you? Did you really think I was going there to give you up?"

"No," she shakes her head. "But I just wish you would have told me."

"I'm sorry. I should have told you. I just didn't want you to worry," I tell her as I stroke the hair from her face. "He won't be bothering us anymore." I tell her what happened, how my dad approached the situation, and how it ended. She listened quietly, nodding at certain parts, her eyes tearing up at others.

"You didn't have to do that," she whispers as she wipes her eyes. "You took a huge risk. You called his bluff but... what if that didn't work? And now he's even more of a wild card. He's like a bomb waiting to go off."

"My father does this for a living, baby. He knows what he's doing. He's handling this. My father knew what he had to do. Your soon-to-be ex-husband doesn't want to risk incarceration, Y/N . Nor does he want this in the public, affecting his reputation."

She nods. "Can you get in trouble for your patients that were compromised?"

"If we were to proceed with prosecuting Mark then I would need to inform everyone whose privacy was violated. My guess is it won't come to that. But... I still have the responsibility to tell my patients, Y/N . I may not have done right by you and Mark, but I've tried to do right by all of my patients."

"You did right by me," she says and I have to resist the urge to snort.

"I think you're a bit biased. An unbiased party would say I had a large hand in bringing chaos to your life."

"I welcomed it."

"I was your counselor... they would say I took advantage of the situation."

"You may have been a counselor but you are a man first. An unbelievably gorgeous man." She smiles and I smile back at him. "And I'm a woman who was attracted to you. Things happened. I don't think you manipulated me or used your position to influence me. You weren't telling me in between thrusts that I was making the right decisions for my life. That your dick was the road to enlightenment or whatever psycho babble shit you used to spew at Mark and I before I called you on it," she giggles and I pinch her sides at her smartass mouth.

"Watch it, young lady."

She giggles, but just as fast as her laugh comes, it's replaced by a frown. "So what happens if you tell them and... they go to the board?"

"Then I deal with it. Ethically it's the right thing to do, Y/N . I took an oath," I tell her honestly. As unfortunate as it is, especially if Mark never breathes a word of what he knows, I've come to the startling realization that I still need to turn myself in. Maybe if I throw myself at the mercy of the board, they will only suspend me temporarily.

"I guess I was just hoping you could get out of this without losing anything."

"I'm not doing anything right now, Y/N. But it is a very real thing that I'll be needing to take care of. But I promise, I'll discuss it with you, okay?"

"Okay." I can tell something else is on her mind. Talk to me baby.

"What are you thinking?"

"Well..." she chews on the inside of her cheek and looks at me. "Why didn't you tell me about the email? Is it because you weren't sure what you were going to do?"

"What?" I say my eyebrows furrowing together. "Y/N, of course not."

"It's okay, I'm not mad. I don't blame you for wanting to think it over." Is she insane? Does she really think I could ever give her up?

"There's nothing to think over. I want to be with you. End of story."

"You say that now..." she whispers.

"Forever," I say, pulling her hands to my mouth.

"I know that you say that you're okay with losing your practice, that you won't resent me but... you don't know what the future will hold. You don't know how you'll feel in ten years if you being disbarred is still being held over your head."

"Y/N, I mean in the same respect, you don't know how you are going to feel in ten years. No one knows what the future holds, that's not a reason to turn your back on something great. Or be afraid to pursue something. I know that you are worried about the future but... we love each other," I tell her, pulling her into my lap. "I love you."

"I love you too. I'm just ready for next week," she adds.

"When you're a free woman," I tell her, picking up her left hand and pressing a kiss on her ring finger. "I can't wait till this holds the ring I give you." I didn't want to scare her by getting one too soon but I have gone ring shopping and I know exactly the style and cut I want to give her when we are both ready. The tears are rolling down her face rapidly and I narrow my eyes curiously. "What's wrong, baby? Why are you crying?"

"I just can't believe that this is happening. Finally... we can be together for the first time in... years. I'm happy," she whispers. Happy. She's happy. Maybe my counseling did some good after all. All I ever wanted was for her to be happy. And now she is. Finally.

Seven and a Half Months Prior...(Flashback)

"I'm not happy, Mark. I haven't been for a year!"

"And you think I am? You think I like this?"

"You're not doing anything to try and change it!" Y/N shrieks as she begins to pace around my office.

It's been three weeks and Y/N and Mark are finally starting to dig into the problems of their marriage.

"What do you want from me?!" he yells back.

"To care! To talk to me. To want to spend time with me! Hell something! I'm in this marriage too, Mark."

"I'm aware of that Y/N."

"You don't even look at me anymore."

"I don't have time for this," he says getting up from his couch and Y/N pushes against his chest.

"NO! You don't get to walk away from me! You don't get to push this aside and brush the problems under the rug AGAIN! We have to deal with this. Why won't you talk to me? Why do you hate me so much?"

"I don't hate you, Y/N, don't be ridiculous," he says as he runs a hand through his hair.

"Then what is it!?"

"I DON'T KNOW!" He yells and I'm seconds from telling him to reign his temper in when he cools off. "I'm sorry for yelling, I'm just... tired. Tired of dealing with this. This is exhausting. This is so fucking exhausting. Tired of feeling like I'm failing as a husband, failing at marriage. And I just- I don't know that I can do this shit anymore," he says and just as quick as the words are out of his mouth, he's gone.

Y/N is frozen in place, staring at the door that her husband just walked out of and then she's on her knees, sobbing violently into her hands. I've been around crying women before, often. But seeing Y/N cry like this, does something to me that I've never experienced and before I can think I'm kneeling next to her, rubbing her back.

"Hey, it's okay," I say soothingly and it only makes her cry harder. As a counselor, I know that at times, the quickest way to make someone cry harder is to be sweet to them. "Hey... " I say, pulling her face from her hands and looking into her glassy eyes. "Let's get off the floor, okay?" I say softly. And she nods and lets me lead her to the couch. I hand her the box of tissues that sits on my coffee table and I sit in front of her on the table.

"Thank you," she whispers. "I'm sorry I lost it like that."

She's got to stop apologizing. I have to break her of that. "Nothing to be sorry for." I am towing the line right now but my hand finds her face and I wipe the tears that have flown down her face. God, she's beautiful. I pull my hand away like I've been burned, knowing that I can't allow this to escalate further.

"I should go," she sniffles and I nod.

Ten minutes later, she's gotten herself together enough to leave and she's heading for the door. "Mrs. L/N," I stop her and she turns to look at me. "You will be happy again." I smile at her. "We'll get you there."

She nods once and then she's gone.

And now she was finally happy.