Chapter 9: Secrets Revealed

I'm lying flat on my back as the warmest sensation takes over my body. I feel like I'm floating in and out of consciousness as I've been pleasured into oblivion all the while feeling the sun on my skin. The love of my life's head hasn't left from between my legs in what feels like close to an hour and when I open my eyes I see nothing, but blue skies above me. I let my eyes flutter closed letting the sounds of the waves and the feeling of Jimin's mouth on me lull me to the edge of sleep. His movements speed up, and I feel his tongue moving rapidly over my clit, as two fingers slide inside of me. I faintly hear him asking me- demanding me to come, but he sounds so far away. My body tenses as I feel my orgasm hit me hard and I bite down on my bottom lip as a moan escapes me. I open my eyes again and the smell of the ocean water, the bright sun, the white sand... all of it is gone. I look around and I'm back in the conference room, Jimin staring up at me from his chair that is positioned between my legs, my arousal spread all over the bottom half of his face. I sit up from lying flat on the cool, wooden conference table and I move into his lap to straddle him.

He rubs his hand over his jaw effectively removing the arousal from his face but the aroma of my wet sex still lingers in the air. "I've missed your pretty pussy," he whispers sinfully into my ear.

"Mmmm," I moan as my lips find the area behind his ear that I know drives him wild. "It's missed your mouth." I graze his ear with my teeth and I feel his cock jump underneath my naked mound. He had long removed his pants, knowing that it would be a dead giveaway if the evidence of my arousal were all over the crotch of his slacks.

"What did my father say to you?"

I shake my head not wanting to get into this now. "Nothing I didn't expect."

"That's not what I asked."

"Jimin, it's okay... I can handle it."

"I didn't ask you what you can handle, I asked you what he said. Don't make me ask you again, Y/N." Despite his gruff tone, I can't help but be turned on by his demands. Maybe because he's so fiercely protective of me- from anyone? Maybe this bossy caveman, you must do what I say attitude is what I've needed my whole life. Someone to keep me in line...

"Just that he was going to be watching me that's all... I mean Jimin, this is the first time he's meeting me... I wasn't really expecting a "welcome to the family". I see his nostrils flare and I rub my knuckles down his cheek causing his shoulders to sag, alerting me that the tension is slowly leaving his body. "I'll gain their trust. Them being skeptical of me just means they love you and want to protect you."

"If they mess things up between you and me, I fucking swear," he mumbles before he looks away from me. I shake my head and pull his face back towards mine and plant a kiss on his lips, tasting myself all over his lips.

"They won't." I whisper as I find his cock between us and slip him out of his underwear. I slide down on him inch by delicious inch until I'm fully sheathed on his cock. "It's just you and me."

He nods as I start to move up and down on him, his hands grasping my hips and finding a rhythm. "I can't wait to have this everyday."

"Anytime you want it baby, it's yours," he groans at my words as he leans his head back and looks up at the ceiling. His eyes flutter closed and I know his body is taking him to new heights as my inner walls begin to massage his cock. My hands grip his shoulders as I slide up and down on him my legs already falling slightly falling asleep and I know the second we are together in the open, I'll never take for granted being able to fuck my man in a bed. I've fucked him on more tables, in more chairs and standing up more times and I'm ready for the days of lazily making love on our couch, our bed, the lounger on our porch. I'm craving the days of just... being still. Not hurried kisses and touches and fucks, but caresses and love making that lasts well until dawn. I'm ready for a love past the forbidden romance.

"I love you so much," he growls from somewhere deep inside of him. I wonder if he's feeling the same things I'm feeling because he stops thrusting and crushes me to his chest. "I almost can't take it another second."

"Take what?"

"Being away from you. It's making me fucking insane." He begins to run his hands through my hair, his fingertips dancing down my spine and I shudder at the gentleness of it all. "I'm starting to feel out of control. And Mark is becoming too much of a liability where you're concerned."

I sit back in my chair and look at him confused, completely aware that he's still throbbing inside of me. "What do you mean?"

"He's cruel to you... and hurtful... I don't like it," he says as he leans back in his chair. "I know he's pissed, but he was married to you for so long and with you even longer... how he can fix his mouth to say these things to you bothers me. I know that you think he would never lay a hand on you, but I'm just... not so sure," he says and I feel my heart skip a beat at his words. I still don't think he ever would, but I hate that Jimin is so uncomfortable. "Promise me you won't be alone with him," he whispers so low I almost miss it. "Promise me you'll keep yourself safe until I can do it properly."

I nod, not knowing what else to say. "I promise." I rub my nose against his to get his attention back on me as he's been looking down for the majority of this heavy conversation. He looks at me with worry and apprehension written all over his beautiful face. "I wish you wouldn't worry so much. Going to cause wrinkles in that pretty little forehead of yours," I say drawing my index finger over his frown lines.

"Don't make light of this," he says softly and I nod.

"I'll be safe," I say. "And soon enough you can do it for me."

He clears his throat and I wonder if the fact that he's inside of me coupled with the intensity of the moment has him out of his element. "You trust me to do that?"

"Of course I do," I say, pressing my hands to his chest. "You're the only person I completely trust, Jimin. Wholeheartedly." I smile, hoping he will feel better about all of this when he returns my grin warming me all over. I know that I've only known him in this capacity for such a short period, but there's something inside of me telling me that I can trust him. That he loves me unconditionally, and he's in this with me. The way he looks at me... hell the way he's looking at me now tells me that this is all real for him. Maybe it's a leap of faith, throwing away years of marriage for what started out as a fling, but I've never been more sure that there was someone waiting at the bottom to catch me.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"I mean do you blame them?" Hwasa says as she plops down on her plush white sofa next to me. How there aren't any red wine stains on this luxurious piece of furniture is beyond me. Right on cue, she takes a large sip and I watch some slosh along the side of the glass. "I mean come on, Y/N, Jimin's father- a lawyer nonetheless, is meeting you for the first time as you take your husband to the cleaners after cheating with their son? You kind of look like a man-eater and their son is just too blinded by your pussy to see it." Hwasa's words wash over me. Amazing. At twenty-eight years of age, I've had sex with two men, and I'm a man-eater.

I feel my cheeks heat up as I take a sip of the wine in front of me. "I don't blame them Hwasa. I just... I want them to like me."

"And maybe that will take some time." She shrugs. "I wouldn't worry too much yet. You're still married, so it's not like you'll be going to their house for Sunday brunch anytime soon," she says, rolling her eyes and I scoff at her.

"Are they ever going to like me?" I sigh. "Or am I forever going to be the slut that cheated on her husband?"

She's silent. "Maybe when you start popping out their grandchildren they'll get on board. Children may not fix everything, but grandchildren certainly do."

"Great," I sigh.

"Aren't you and PJ talking about children? I thought he was trying to knock you up like yesterday."

"PJ?" I ask, raising an eyebrow at her newfound nickname.

"Would you like me to call him Dr. Park?" She purses her lips in a questioning way and I have to resist the urge to smack the smug look off her face.

I ignore her comment. "First Hoseok and now Mr. Park," I say, putting a hand over my eyes before running it through my hair. "I can only imagine what Mrs. Park is going to think of me."

"That you're a whore not good enough for her precious baby," she says and I look over to see her picking at her nail beds.

"What?"

"Okay, maybe not, but... prepare for the worst! Not everyone is going to be like Mama Tuan who would let Satan himself in if he needed a place to stay" It was true, Mark's mother was a Saint. Fuck. I should really call her. I'm sure she's plenty mad at me right now. "All I'm saying is they may not love you right away and that's okay. You have to accept that. And yes you can cry and bitch and complain to me and I'll bash them for not seeing what a wonderful person you are, but the reality of it is, they don't see what a wonderful person you are... right now. They see a woman that stepped out on her marriage, got herself in way too deep all the while risking their son's livelihood." She shrugs. "I want them to like you... to love you and accept you, but right now... you can't be mad if they don't." I nod, letting Hwasa's words soak in and I love her right now for her blatant honesty even if it is a bitter pill. "Look, just get divorced, okay? One thing at a time."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

I slide my sunglasses over my eyes as I walk out of my exercise class, the sweat glistening on my skin in the sun. It's been a few days since my sexy tryst at my lawyer's office with Jimin, and I'm starting to feel the itch to see him again. Settle down, Y/N. No. I take a long swig of my water and begin making my way to the garage for my car when someone begins to walk towards me. I wouldn't think anything of it except for the fact that he's staring right at me. I look down at my phone, avoiding eye contact despite the dark lenses covering my eyes when I hear my name. "Mrs. L/N?"

"Yes?" I ask.

"I'm Jeon Jungkook. I was hired by Mr. Park."

The air leaves my lungs as I look the man in front of me up and down. He has tattoos up and down his arms, and is dressed head to toe in black. "I see. Hired to do...?" I trail off wondering what it is that Jimin hired him to do that has him approaching me on the street in broad daylight.

"A myriad of things, Mrs. L/N. Would you follow me? Mr. Park would like to see you."

I look around, at the empty street, the women still filtering out of the studio towards their slew of luxury cars. "Now?"

"Yes ma'am. He's in the car waiting to see you." I look behind him and I see a blacked out SUV and I nod before following him to the car. I would normally be excited to see him, but something about this interaction leaves me feeling uneasy and anxious.

I've barely settled into the backseat of the car when I feel hands tugging me into a familiar lap and squeezing me tight. "Baby," he breathes into my ear. I'm mildly aware that I'm sweaty and smelling of the floral aerosol deodorant I sprayed before I left the studio.

"Jimin I..." I strain as he's literally crushing me. "I'm sweaty and disgusting and... I should move."

"No," he growls in my ear. I still can't see his face, but his voice leads me to believe that he's extremely anxious. "Never move," he says softer and loosens his grip around me. I slide back to look at him and he traces a hand over my face giving me a sad smile. He looks out the window and my heart sinks knowing that he's about to drop a serious bomb on me. I can feel the tension radiating off of him in waves and I'm not sure I want to even know why.

"Mr. Jung is new?" I say, wondering if maybe he needs some probing. He nods, still looking outside of the window. "What does he do?"

"He's going to be looking after you now."

"Me?" I wonder why I need someone following me around. Does he not trust me?

"To keep you safe." Ah, so because he doesn't trust anyone else.

"From what? Or... who? Is this still about Mark?" I ask. I don't even necessarily want to argue with him over it. If he thinks that Mark is a threat and this would ease his mind, I don't have a problem with it. I just want to know what he's thinking.

"Everything. I... I don't know anyone well enough in your life to trust anyone."

"What- what does that mean?" He doesn't trust Hwasa? My mother? What does he know that I don't?

He starts talking and then he stops before he shakes his head. "I hate that I have to tell you this. I hate that there is so much that I can't shield you from," he murmurs and my brows thread together wondering what he could possibly tell me that is causing this much inner turmoil. "But first and foremost this is good news," he says and I feel a slight relief rush through me. "Above all else, I'm pleased with what I have to tell you."

"Then what-" he stops me by putting a finger to my lips.

"Because you are going to flip."

"I won't flip," I shake my head. "Just tell me." He sighs and I feel myself starting to shake with worry. It's good but it's bad? What? What in the world, Park. Spit it out!

"So Jungkook, is actually who I hired to look into some things about your ex-stepfather." My blood runs cold at the mere mention of him. What does that mean? He's involved? Nothing about him could be good news. The goosebumps rise on my skin despite Jimin's arms that are still wrapped around me. "I ummm..." he starts, "had him follow the very vague trail that you gave me about what Mark has told you."

"Uh huh," I say, needing him to get from point A to point B a little bit faster, because right now I can barely hear him over the loud pounding in my ears. I swallow and my mouth has already gone dry. The knot in my stomach twisting over and over again.

"And Jungkook found... something," he says. "When he told me, I couldn't believe it... " he says. "Mark has been lying to you... for about a year and a half now."

"Lying to me? About what?"

"Your stepfather is dead, Y/N. He died from an overdose. Apparently he got into heroin at some point... or maybe he always was, I don't know if you ever saw that. But he's dead."

"Are you sure?" I blurt out.

"Yes, I can show you the autopsy reports, police reports, everything," he says, pulling a folder from a briefcase sitting next to us.

I'm numb. Completely numb. My mind has gone blank and I don't think I could even formulate a sentence at this point in time. A smile cracks across my lips and before I know it I'm laughing. Hard. Harder than I've laughed in months, because really what about my life is funny. Seven is dead. Been dead. And yet, just last week Mark told me that his Private Investigator  pinned him on the east coast. And he's been dead for a year and a half? When I tried to leave him ten months ago at one point he even said "but baby what about Seven- I need you safe."

THE WHOLE FUCKING TIME!? My mind is screaming at me as the laughter stops when I feel hands on my cheeks and lips gently on mine. "What the fuck?" I whisper.

"I know," he says so quietly. He shakes his head. "He let you go on being scared for... months- a year plus."

"I should have done my own research... I just never... I never thought to look," I say, still trying to root through the millions of thoughts running through my brain.

"Baby, it's not on you. You trusted him and he betrayed that trust." He shakes his head and tucks an errant strand that has escaped my ponytail behind my ear.

"I should go," I whisper.

"What? Baby, I think you're in a little bit of shock."

"No. I see things perfectly clear."

"No, you're in shock," he repeats. "You were just laughing... hysterically. Which is normal," he explains. "Laughter is often a natural reaction to trauma."

"Don't shrink me right now," I say looking to the right and out of the window. I see a woman walking down the street with a man. They stop, they kiss, they take a selfie. Why isn't my life that easy? Why can't I walk down the street hand in hand with the man I love, kiss him, document our love on social media and boast to the world how happy and in love I am? Why must I have a husband and a boyfriend and a mountain of lies and deceit? I turn back to him and press my head into his neck wanting nothing more than to climb inside of him for protection from all of the bullshit that is surrounding me like a tornado. "Run away with me,"

"What?"

"We can... go to Europe and... get married and be together. And not deal with all of this." I shake my head. "We can be together all the time! Screw the ninety days."

"Y/N..." he cocks his head to the side and stares at me with what? Pity? Sorrow? Remorse? I can't tell.

"Don't look at me like that... isn't that what you want? To be with me?"

"More than anything, but we can't run away from this."

"Why not?"

"Because we can't baby. You know that."

"Nope. I have fifty grand... and... I can sell all my stuff," I shrug. "We can go live a happy, Parisian life." I smile. "I'm not going to be able to get a job here anyway," I shrug sadly.

"I'll help you," he says, rubbing a hand down my face and I back up.

I scoff. "More help from the man that loves me. I don't want another Mark, Jimin." I raise my hand up to stop him from panicking by the comparison. "I just mean I don't want a man that wants to spoon feed me... my life." I feel my lip tremble. "It's fine if you don't want to go," I say softly.

"I would go anywhere with you," he whispers as he raises my chin. "And after a good night's sleep, and a cry and some tequila..." he smiles, "if you still feel this way in the morning, we can talk about it. But... the natural reaction for you right now is to run, and that's normal. But you can't, baby. You have to fight," he says. "I will help you fight."

"How could he just... let me be afraid? Was it all just to keep me under his thumb? Keep me reliant on him? Let me think that if I didn't have him looking out for me that Seven would come after me?" I sniffle and wipe my nose gently feeling the liquid forming in my nostrils. I see Jimin pull a handkerchief from his pocket and I sniffle as he wipes under my eyes and my nose. "How could he do this to me?" I say as the tears start to fall, as the initial reaction has turned to a more real one. "I'm not a hypocrite...okay? I know that what I've done is wrong... but... this is so different!" He wraps his arms around me and pulls me to his chest.

"I know, baby. I know." He strokes my back, his lips finding my forehead as I hear him whispering in my ear. I'm not sure what it is, maybe just a series of I love yous, and I'm sorry's, but I can't quiet the rage in my head. I know that there are five stages of grief, but I wonder what the five stages of learning that your husband has been harboring a secret for a year are. Shock, Laughter, Sadness, Anger... what's after that?

I pull out of his hold and run a hand under my eye wiping the tears away for the hundredth time. "I should go."

"Go? Honey you're not in any position to drive, let me take you home," he says as he continues to stroke circles into my back.

"No," I shake my head. "I'll be fine."

"Y/N," he says and I look into his sad brown eyes. "I don't want you alone with Mark. At all."

I nod. I no longer even know the man I was married to for so long. I don't trust Mark. I don't know the person he is. "Are you looking into Mark as well?"

"You bet your ass I am."

"Have you found anything?"

"No," he shakes his head. "I don't think he's cheating you, Y/N. I don't think he's ever cheated on you." His words are sobering, the line between lover and marriage counselor more blurry than ever before as the man I love sits here assuring me that my husband isn't cheating on me.

"I wouldn't care if he was."

"I know, but... I just thought you should know. Part of me always wondered," he says. "With the trips and working all the time... he really is married to the job. You were the mistress," he says with a hint of humor and I can't help, but chuckle sadly at his joke.

"I'm going to go," I say, pulling myself out of his grasp.

"Wait," he holds my hand, squeezing it and I look at him, praying that I can keep the tears at bay just until I get out of the car.

"I'm going to follow you back to Hwasa's."

"Fine," I say before his lips find mine in a heated kiss. It's not aggressive or possessive, it's loving and passionate and takes my breath away. With every stroke of his tongue against mine I feel myself getting more and more worked up as I think about Mark. I pull away knowing that I'm not in the right headspace to continue this kiss. "I'll call you later."

He nods and presses a kiss to my forehead. "I love you."

"I love you too," I murmur.

I sit in my car, the tears falling down my cheeks rapidly. I don't know what to even think as I start my car and rest my forehead on the steering wheel. I don't know how long I'm sitting in my spot or how long the black SUV is parked a few spaces down but eventually I pull out of the space with a new mission in mind. My thoughts go back to the five stages I was thinking about earlier. Shock, Laughter, Sadness, Anger... what's after that? Rage.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Ever since I exited the freeway and moved through the familiar streets that are not leading back to Hwasa's house, my phone has been ringing non-stop. Jimin started calling me the second he knew what my intentions were and I've sent him to voicemail every time. No. This has nothing to do with you Jimin. I know you're worried he's going to do something to me, but honestly the way I'm feeling right now, I wish he fucking would. I dare him. I park my car in my usual spot and I'm out of my car before I see the car that has been following me for the past twenty minutes pull into a spot. I hear my name from behind me being shouted and then I'm in the elevator. He calls me again and this time I answer.

"Stop. I need to do this."

"Y/N, bring your ass back down here right now," he demands.

"No," I say.

"I will come up there and get you."

"No you won't."

"Y/N, think about what you're doing."

"I am. Fuck the money, fuck the houses, fuck it all, Jimin. This is so much bigger than that now. He can have every dime. But he's going to answer my fucking questions and he's going to do it today" I growl as I end the call slipping the phone back into my purse. I am well aware that I am spiraling. That I'm out of control, that I'm probably a liability. My lawyer is going to have a fit. But I don't care. This isn't reason, it's instinct. I never really understood the term crimes of passion but right now, I think I've completely grasped the concept. All reasoning has gone out the window and I'm acting on basic urges or instincts. And my instincts are telling me to rip Mark's balls from his body.

I'm storming through the halls of my soon-to-be ex-husband's office without a care in the world for the scene I'm about to cause. Hell, I might be a widow before I'm a divorcée.

"Is he in there?" I bark at his secretary. A sweet woman, who's probably sent me more flowers over the course of the last two years than my own husband. Sorry ma'am, you've been caught in the crossfire. She nods her eyes wide as I assume she's taken aback both by his estranged wife storming through the office and her sweaty workout attire. I open the door and slam it behind me so hard that his Master's degree diploma shakes on the wall. His head shoots up, his eyes wide at the intrusion.

"Y/N? What the hell? You can't just-"

"SHUT UP!" I scream. "Don't you say a motherfucking word" I say, calming my voice. "Or I will absolutely scream this entire building down."

He leans back in his chair and eyes me, knowing that I'm just reckless enough to do it. I take a few breaths attempting to calm my nerves when I look down at my hands and see them violently shaking. I need to punch something. A wall, a punching bag, Mark's face. I walk towards his desk and grab what I know to be a picture of the two of us. I don't even think before I'm sending it barreling towards the wall. The glass shatters and I know at this moment, this is truly the end. I'll be shocked if I don't end up telling him everything just to stick the knife in deeper. He still doesn't say anything, I'm sure because he's worried about me causing a scene in front of his co-workers. I'm shaking violently and I don't even know how to start this so I just cut to the chase. "I know Seven is dead." I blurt out and I see his face go through a hundred different facial expressions in the course of a thirty seconds. "You selfish. Manipulative. Arrogant. Pathetic excuse for a man" I say shaking my head. "How could you do that to me?" I say tears forming in my eyes before they roll down my face. "A year and a half?" I shake my head as my lips form a straight line. "'If we split up, who's going to watch out for Sevenn?' You said that, when I first wanted to leave. You said those exact words, and it fucking shook me. You knew he was dead.. You played into my fear to keep me in this marriage! You fucking dick!"

"Wait a minute, Y/N. I didn't-"

"Don't lie to me, don't you fucking dare sit here and lie to me." I take a step closer. "YOU OWE ME THAT MUCH. You wasted a fucking year of my life, YOU OWE ME THE TRUTH. You let me think he was out there, waiting for me. That I needed you or he would come for me," the tears are falling down my face and a part of me is so angry for letting him see me cry. I wanted to be strong and confident but it's still so raw. The pain is deep.

"How- who even told you that? Where are you getting this information?"

"I hired a private investigator of my own," I say. "I didn't think you'd continue looking into Seven, so I wanted to have it in place for when we broke up." I shrug. "Were you ever going to tell me?"

"Who is this guy?" he asks and I'm getting angered all over again by the fact that he's avoiding the issue and not answering my questions.

"Answer my questions," I grit out.

"How do you know he's not ripping you off? I've worked with my guy for years... you know that."

"Oh and you're telling me that he keeps reporting that he's alive? That you've been paying upwards of ten thousand dollars a month and he's just been feeding you lies on his whereabouts?"

"Y/N," he says standing to his feet and I put a hand up. "I would not come within kicking range of me because your ability to have kids will be put into jeopardy." I cock my head not passing up the opportunity to throw in his face one of the many reasons we are divorcing. "Guess it doesn't matter, it's not like you want them anyway." He stops walking, heeding my warnings. "You lied to me. You lied to me about something BIG. This isn't... there's nothing you could have done to me that was bigger than this. You tainted the one thing that made you a hero in my eyes. The one thing that made me feel that deep down you were a good guy. Despite how you've treated me, I thought on some level you cared about my well-being."

"I do-"

"Bullshit," I interrupt him. "My overall well-being. That includes my mental health, and you know that deep within me I still feared Seven coming after me and ending my life. And you let me go on thinking that was a fucking possibility. So what? I would lean on you? Need you? Stay with you? Are you that pathetic? That desperate for the love of a woman that you'll take someone who stays with you for that reason only? I should have left you. Months ago. Probably a year. But I was scared. And you exploited that." I see the moment that the sadness in his eyes turns to anger and I clench my fists wondering if he'll actually try and put his hands on me. Try me. He doesn't move towards me and I shake my head. "You honestly have nothing to say for yourself?" He's quiet, and looks out the window, his hands buried deep in his pockets and I shake my head. "Yeah I wouldn't be able to look at me either," I say before I turn on my heel and walk out the door, the tears flowing down my cheeks faster with each step.

I hear the ding of the elevator and I'm walking to my car when I see the familiar SUV still parked a few spaces down. I get into the car and start the engine. I half expect Jimin to appear at my car to rip me the new one I know he's planning to, but I'm sure he suspects there are cameras covering every inch of this fancy garage. I'm driving for about ten minutes when I pull into an empty parking lot. I've barely been sitting here for ten seconds when my door opens and Jimin is pulling my seat belt off of me and yanking me from the driver's seat, hard. "Get the fuck in the car, Y/N," he growls at me and I do as he says wondering why he didn't just join me in my car. Jungkook has removed himself from the car, and I have no idea where he is.

"I know you're mad-" I start.

"Mad? No Y/N, I am furious. What the fuck did you do?"

"You have to understand how I feel, Jimin. You're a fucking shrink."

He sighs, pinching the bridge of his nose. "What did you tell him?"

"Nothing about you. This isn't about you or us right now, believe it or not."

He snorts. "We'll come back to that smartass comment in a second. You just ran to his office and showed him your entire hand, you could have used this to your advantage."

"See you're not getting it. I don't care about blindsiding him, or using anything to my fucking advantage. This is my life Jimin. These are my feelings. And I'm not interested in discussing this with my lawyer or Mark's lawyer or your investigator. I wanted answers from Mark. I wanted to yell and scream and... I wanted him to see and feel my raw anger. I didn't want to wait and calm down, so what-he would get level headed Y/N? Fuck that! He doesn't deserve level headed Y/N. He deserves the Y/N that is so fucking fed up. That is tired and hurt and pissed off."

"I get that Y/N-"

"And I can still use this to my advantage, Jimin. I'm going to tell my lawyer."

"Not before he tells his."

"So, what difference does it make? What's he going to do, lie? It's kind of hard to spin this."

He looks out the window. "Where did you say you heard the information from?"

"I said I hired a private investigator of my own since I was worried that he wouldn't keep looking into my so-called alive stepfather. Why are you asking me all of this? I confronted him, he had nothing to say. It gave me my answer. Why does it matter how I found out?"

"Because it matters, Y/N! You are getting divorced, everything. fucking. matters." He rubs his forehead and looks at me finally. "Did you hit him?"

"No."

"Did he touch you?"

"No."

"How did it end?"

"I walked out when he had nothing to say. He barely said anything the entire time I was there. He just kept asking how I knew, asked if the guy was lying..." I look at him. "He's not right?"

"No," he says and he grabs the folder that he pulled out earlier, but I never opened. "Here," he says softly, his anger seeming to subside as things didn't go as bad as he was thinking while I was in Mark's office. "You promise me he didn't touch you?" he says as I begin to thumb through the overwhelming amount of evidence that Seven no longer walked the Earth. I nod and he leans back against the back of the seat. "You're going to kill me, Y/N."

"Sorry," I say although we both know that I'm not.

"We've talked about that," he growls and I smile faintly at his inability to stop being a counselor for two seconds. "You're going to need to tell your lawyer."

"Okay."

"Today."

"Fine, Jimin."

"That was risky," he says after a few moments. I don't reply because I don't know how to. "Do you feel better?"

"I'm glad to have the truth out in the open. I'm glad that he knows that I know the truth."

He nods again and the awkward silences between us are becoming deafening. It feels like there's a mountain of unsaid words between us and neither of us are making the first attempt to climb. "It's not about you or us, believe it or not?" he says repeating my words back to me. "What the hell was that about?"

"I just meant I hadn't told him about you. Him figuring it out was not even close to what happened there. At this point he'll probably drop the cheating hypothesis as he doesn't even have a leg to stand on. He's a lying manipulative bastard. Glass fucking houses," I grit out. "I dare him to keep accusing me without proof." I feel exhausted. The adrenaline from the last hour and a half wearing off by the second and I wonder after rage if there's a sixth step: exhaustion or maybe defeat. I'm exhausted, I'm drained, I feel like I've run a marathon and I just want to crawl into bed and sleep for a week. He nods and I know that he has something to say. "What?"

"It's just the way you said it that's all."

"The way I said what?" I say and even I don't miss the irritation in my voice.

"Don't pick a fight with me, Y/N."

"I'm not," I say.

"You are, and I'm not giving in to this bullshit. Everything about this situation affects us, every decision you make affects me too. And whether you want to admit it or not, because you have this fear of repeating the cycle of being the wife of someone who doesn't give a shit. But we are in this together, Y/N. I give a fucking shit."

I bite my bottom lip as the tears pool in my eyes and I almost want to get out of the car and leave. But the fear of the unknown of when I would see him again stops me. Sure I'm pissed right now, but in two hours I'll want him to hold me and tell him I love him and I may not have that luxury. So fast forward two hours. I move towards him and despite his fuck off demeanor his rigid posture softens dramatically when I climb into his lap. "I'm sorry," I whisper. And I actually am this time. "I shouldn't have said that."

"You're right, you shouldn't have" My hands find his face and I slide them across his cheeks and into his hair, pulling his head down towards my lips. He plants a kiss on them and when I try to slide my tongue through his he stops. "Y/N."

"What?"

"You should get home."

"Why?"

"Because we are in a park in the middle of Seoul."

"So?"

"And it's two in the afternoon."

I shrug and he shakes his head. "This is not laying low." I guess, but I'm feeling vulnerable right now and I need you.

"We can talk on the phone, but I think we've played with fire enough times today."

I pull out of his arms and I can still feel the wall between us as I move towards my door. "I'll be at Hwasa's."

"Jungkook will be parked at the end of her street."

I nod before I place one final kiss on his lips and then I'm out of the car in a flash and back in mine.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

It's a week, or as I like to refer to it, eighty days left when I'm sitting in my lawyer's office waiting for him to wrap up a final meeting so we could talk about a few things. I had told Yoongi about Mark's year-long lie and he was almost drooling over the information. "Hell, that man is literally trying to throw money at you," he had said, the dollar signs in his eyes.

Although he was handling the case pro-bono, the amount of the settlement does count towards his end of the year bonus, so I've learned through some research. And when the numbers start getting up around where Mark's and I will be, the bonuses look a lot like year salaries.

I'm a little early so I pull out my cell phone and see a message from Jimin. Things have gotten back to normal between Jimin and I, after that day when I learned about Mark. The next day we both apologized for our tempers, our words and our actions and chalked it up to dealing with this shitty situation the best way we can. One thing did come out of that though. We are on the same team, same side no matter what, turning against each other isn't an option. He showed up at HWasa's house that night with flowers and pizza, we watched a movie with Hwasa and then retired to my room and made love for several hours. I couldn't even stop the tears from falling when he woke me around four am to slip out of my bed. Eighty days, Y/N. Just eighty days. I haven't seen him since then and we are both climbing the walls.

Video call sex later?

Absolutely.

Great. Bring your vibrator. The pink one.

I smile thinking about the video I sent him this morning of me masturbating with it. Not only did I masturbate, I did it to completion, giving Jimin a very up close and personal look of my orgasm as his name left my lips. Needless to say it resulted in immediate phone sex, and intermittent 'sexts' throughout the day.

Yes sir ;)

I go to send him another text when Yoongi walks through the door. "L/N Y/N."

"Min Yoongi," I giggle and his face, which is usually one of cheer, is stoic. I'm not stupid, Yoongi is so happy to see me because this case is pretty much a cake walk. And it's making him look damn good to the partners. Which means when he sees me, our chats usually consist of what I've done that day, questions about what to do about his rebellious dog, or if I've seen my secret boyfriend. But right now he does not look pleased. "Everything okay?"

He leans back in his chair and eyes me running his finger over his bottom lip. "I think I underestimated you."

"What?"

"You've played all of this perfectly. If you'd be willing to take the LSATs and go through three years of law school, I'd say you'd make one hell of a lawyer."

"I don't understand." I take that to mean I'm a good liar? Good at manipulation? Going straight to hell? Great!

"I asked you from the beginning if there would be anything about this case that would surprise me. I said no surprises, Mrs. L/N."

"I-I don't know what I'm hiding from you," I whisper softly and at this moment I don't.

"Tell me about your marriage counselor," he says crossing his arms in front of him and I know without a shadow of a doubt he knows. "Your face tells me aaaaall I need to know, Mrs. L/N. So, what are we going to do about our communication problem? Because... when I told you I would be meeting with your marriage counselor, it didn't behoove you to tell me that he's the man you've been fucking for four months? You didn't think that was important to mention!? Before I went into a meeting with him and your husband's goddamn attorney!" he shrieks and I wince.

"I-" I sigh. "I'm sorry. I just... Jimin said he could keep it together and that you wouldn't be able to tell," I say the tears welling in my eyes that this was all about to blow up.

"Oh you couldn't. Jackson is none the wiser. Your boyfriend played it well. Wasn't too biased. Made pretty general blanket statements. Even said some things about you... not sure if it was just to even the playing field or what. Regardless, I only know because I started thinking about the coincidences."

"Coincidences?"

"Like, your marriage counselor being the son of one of the partners here. But then I thought well you know maybe he just felt bad and offered to help her out by putting her in touch with someone here. Not a conflict of interest, it's his job to help out either party of the marriage and if your husband already had the attorney you would certainly need help finding a good one. But then... why would I be doing this pro-bono? Of course..." he crosses his arms. "This case is no longer pro-bono due to this recent chain of events. But then I remember Park- his father, wanting to speak with you, and then I remember hearing rumblings that day that his son was in the building. He's around from time to time for divorce cases, so it's not unheard of. But... seeing him during our interview... it just all clicked. I was only about eighty percent sure but your initial reaction proved it," he states.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you," I whisper.

"Mmmhmm," he says and I wonder if he hates me now. I look up to see him stroking his beard and looking over me from his glasses. "You're a ballsy lady, Mrs. L/N."

I clear my throat. "What happens now?"

He shrugs. "Nothing. We go about business as usual. We continue the proceedings as we have been."

"What did Jimin say?"

"A lot of psycho-babble generic bullshit to be honest. There's only so much he can say without violating your doctor patient confidentiality and also without implicating himself on top of that."

I thumb with the hem of my dress and look up at him. "Your attorney client privilege only applies to me though, right?"

"Mmmmhmm," he says, steepling his fingers under his chin.

"Well are you- I mean..." I stumble. "Are you going to tell... Anyone?"

"Mrs. L/N, Dr. Park did not tell me anything. If he would have said, I have been sleeping with this woman for months then... well Jackson would have beat me to going to his ethics board. But he didn't. I had a hunch and you confirmed it. You, Mrs. L/N. And as you said, you and I have attorney, client privilege." I nod getting his point. My secret was safe. Jimin's secret was safe. We were safe. At least for now. Thank God for the intricate technicalities of the law.

"Thank you."

"Do not thank me, Mrs. L/N. It is my job. And thanks to your marriage counselor not being able to control his erections around his patient's wife, you're about to make me a very rich man. Well more so than I already am," he chuckles. Great, so he's probably gone to Jimin's father shouting accusations. Hell, Park probably confirmed it long before I did. Probably a hefty chunk of change that the firm probably did not want to part with. "Lawyer hat off," he says. "Still attorney, client privilege," he says. "But, I know you don't have any decent father figures so I have to ask... you sure you know what you're doing?"

I let his question sink in, wondering what in the world I should say. I go with the truth. "No, I don't."

"I admire your honesty, Y/N." He pauses. "Do you love him?"

"More than life itself."

"Does he feel the same about you?"

"Yes."

"Let me ask you something," he starts. "What are you going to do when this is all over, you're divorced, you're free, you've got more money than sense," he says waving his hand around. "Et cetera, et cetera, et cetera," he trails off.

"Be with him? Get a job? Try to regain some normalcy."

"Mmmhm, and are you planning to stay in Seoul?" he asks and I wonder where this line of questioning is going.

"Yes."

"Mmmmkay and you think that Mr. Tuan isn't going to put two and two together if he sees you two together? You two just realized your feelings right when you signed? Nothing at all before?"

"Well at that point it shouldn't matter. We are divorced, names signed, the end. Right?"

"Wow. You are ruthless."

"Jimin is the endgame." I shake my head. "I've come too far to just... give him up. Giving him up isn't an option. So if I have to deal with an ex-husband that lives here and I have to see from time to time then so be it. We aren't going to rub it in his face, for the first few months we will be lying low, but at some point it will be expected that I move on."

"Y/N, you need to be careful. Scorned ex-husbands don't always go away so quietly. Should I even bother negotiating alimony payments? They're going to be null and void the second you walk down that aisle. I assume you'll be getting married rather soon?"

"Not right away."

"You know that the payments stop the day you remarry."

I nod. "That's fine. I don't need him to pay me anything. The settlement should be more than enough." At this point, I should be coming out of this marriage with a little over $645,000 after taxes in terms of all liquid assets. Mark was finally convinced to sell so our house will be going on the market at the end of the month.

"Just. Be careful," he says. After a few moments he speaks again. "Was it Park who figured out about your stepfather?"

"Yes."

He seems to be impressed. "Good man."

"He's the best," I whisper.

"Yet the worst marriage counselor," he says and I can't help, but chuckle at his joke.

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

I'm lying on my side, watching Jimin as he watches me, our orgasms still fresh on our skin. I would give anything to have him lying in bed with me. "Don't panic about Yoongi knowing, baby," he tells me, taking my silence for worry. I look at the ceiling and then back to the open laptop sitting next to me.

"I don't think he would say anything. He has too much to lose. I just... hate not knowing if I can one hundred percent trust him. I mean he is a lawyer," I say, rolling my eyes.

"We just have to get through the eighty days. After that, the case is closed. The only chance he would have to drum up something up, would be if, in between your case and us getting married. And even that's risky because it was still something you discussed with him while you were his client. I'm not sure how it works once he is no longer your attorney, I'll talk to my dad. But once we get married, we'll have Spousal Privilege." The words married and spousal stick out to me and are blaring in my head like a neon light. Married to Jimin. I'll be Jimin's wife. The thought warms me and I smile.

"He asked how soon we'd get married. I said not within a year, but should we get married sooner just in case?"

"We can't keep looking over our shoulders our whole life, Y/N. I want us to live our life, the way we want to. Once you're free, you're free. I'll deal with the rest."

"No."

"No?" he asks, sitting up on his elbow and looking at me.

"We deal with all of this together. We are in this together, remember?" I say throwing his words back at him.

"Right you are, Y/N."

"Maybe we will get married but keep it low-key? Just you and me? And then we do a big wedding in a year or so? But for all intents and purposes we are legally married?"

He nods. "That could work."

"What about Lisa? I assume she's the only other person that could use it against you?"

"She's signed an NDA."

"Ah," I nod. "Well look I don't think Yoongi will do anything, if for the mere reason that it would reflect poorly on the firm, I mean they represented me and your father works there. Would he really want to screw everyone?"

"Good points. Damn he's right.. You sure you don't want to be a lawyer? You'd be pretty decent at it." I roll my eyes as I feel them getting heavier by the second. "Have you talked to Mark?"

"No. I have another negotiation tomorrow. I haven't seen or talked to him since I stormed into his office last week. I'm sure tomorrow will be delightful."

"I want to see you after."

I smile. "I think I would like that too."

"It will have been nine fucking days, and I hate it."

"Me too."

"I'll come to you," he says as I watch him pull the sheet over his gorgeous body. I look at the corner of the screen and see it's almost midnight, us having been at it for two hours prior.

I nod. "Come to me," I whisper.

"Tomorrow," he yawns.

"Okay, I'm going to bed."

"Call me in the morning."

"Of course. I love you." I smile.

"I love you too, Y/N. Dream of me."

"Always."

"Hey, Y/N?" he says just before we click off.

"Hey what," I yawn.

"Happy birthday, baby."

________________________________________________________________________________

Author's Note: I hope you all enjoyed this chapter! Thank you so much for the support!

-Serendipity