Chapter 5. The Woman Wearing My Bracelet

When Seoyun came down for breakfast, her eyes met Jaeheon's.

She walked right past him.

The man who had gripped another woman's waist, pulled her against him, and kissed her the night before now sat at the table in a crisp shirt, calmly reading the newspaper as if nothing had happened.

Rustle.

The turn of a page cut through the silence of the vast dining room.

Butler Kim set a cup of warm tea in front of Seoyun.

Normally, he would have served Jaeheon's coffee first.

"I prepared tea for you, Madam."

He carefully turned the handle toward her before stepping back, never mentioning what he'd witnessed the night before.

Then came the soft shuffle of slippers from upstairs.

"Good morning."

Cha Yuri descended the stairs in a thin silk robe.

Her loosely tied hair left her neck and collarbones bare. Faint red marks stood out against her pale skin—marks that hadn't been there the night before.

A housekeeper setting down a plate froze.

Clink.

Her gaze darted from Yuri's neck to Jaeheon.

Yuri noticed.

Instead of pulling her robe closed, she swept her hair over one shoulder, exposing the marks even more clearly.

Seoyun reached for her water.

Then her gaze stopped at Yuri's wrist.

A pearl bracelet.

The one Jaeheon himself had fastened around Seoyun's wrist on their first wedding anniversary.

"Where did you get that?"

Yuri glanced down.

The pearls gleamed in the morning light.

"Oh. Was this yours, Unnie?"

She widened her eyes in feigned surprise, then slowly turned her wrist, making sure the bracelet caught the light.

"Oppa gave it to me."

Seoyun looked at Jaeheon.

Only then did he stop turning the page.

He folded the newspaper in half and set it down.

"It's just a bracelet."

Just a bracelet.

As if holding and kissing another woman the night before hadn't been enough, he'd given her the bracelet he'd once placed on his wife's wrist for their first anniversary.

And to him, it was just a bracelet.

Seoyun held out her hand.

"Give me my bracelet back."

Yuri ran her fingers over the pearls and looked at Jaeheon.

He rubbed between his brows and leaned back in his chair.

"Do we really have to do this first thing in the morning?"

Seoyun kept her hand out.

"This isn't like you. Enough with the jealousy."

Jealousy.

The corner of Seoyun's mouth twisted slightly.

After a brief silence, Yuri reached for the clasp.

"Fine. I'll give it back. It's just a bracelet."

Her fingers tightened.

Snap.

The string broke.

Pearls spilled across the marble floor.

Click. Click. Click.

The white beads scattered in every direction. One rolled past the leg of a chair and stopped against the toe of Seoyun's shoe.

She bent down and picked it up.

"Oh, I'm sorry."

Yuri dropped the broken bracelet into Seoyun's open palm.

Jaeheon's brow twitched.

"Enough. I'll buy you another one."

The broken pearls knocked coldly against one another in Seoyun's hand.

He could simply buy her another one.

As if the memory of their first wedding anniversary could be replaced just as easily.

Then Yuri stepped closer.

The red marks along her neck showed even more clearly through the opening of her silk robe.

"Last night, after you went upstairs, Oppa wouldn't let me go for a long time."

Keeping her eyes on Seoyun, Yuri slowly swept her hair aside.

Then she tilted her head, deliberately exposing her neck.

"This happened then too."

Seoyun gave the marks a single glance.

"Whether you slept together or spent the whole night doing whatever you wanted..."

A satisfied smile began to spread across Yuri's face.

"I don't care."

The smile froze.

Seoyun closed her hand around the broken bracelet and turned away.

"Han Seoyun."

Jaeheon's low voice came from behind her.

Her steps paused.

But when she turned, she didn't look at Jaeheon.

She looked at Yuri.

Seoyun glanced at the bare wrist where her bracelet had been only moments ago, then met Yuri's eyes.

"You can have him."

Yuri's expression stiffened.

Only then did Seoyun turn her gaze to Jaeheon.

"I don't need him anymore."

Bang!

Jaeheon's palm slammed against the dining table as he shot to his feet.

The teacups rattled.

Every member of the staff in the room went still.

"Han Seoyun."

For the first time, unmistakable anger entered his low voice.

"Stop right there."

Seoyun didn't turn around.

She walked straight through the dining room doors.

"Han Seoyun!"

Jaeheon's shout followed her down the hall.

She didn't stop.

Then his gaze suddenly dropped to her left hand.

Something was missing.

Something that had always been there.

Her wedding ring.

Jaeheon's eyes locked on her bare ring finger.

His wedding ring was gone.