In Emerald Hotel, room 302, Carolyn stared at the man Jung-Su had arranged for her with an unreadable expression. The man shivered with goosebumps.
"I'm here to kiss you, and Mr. Kim is here to make sure it happens. Where's the CCTV?" Carolyn asked Mr. Kim, her face still stone-cold.
Mr. Kim pointed to the top of the shelf. The young man was intimidated by her bravery and couldn't say a word.
"Am I the one to make the move?" Carolyn yelled. The man fidgeted and slowly moved toward her, but Carolyn had no patience. She grabbed him and kissed him passionately. Well, that's what the CCTV footage would show.
"Ha! Ha! This is actually funny, Mr. Kim," she said bitterly, then left without another glance at the man.
Mr. Kim followed silently, lost in thought. Carolyn had changed. He wondered where she was heading next.
They walked in silence until they reached the car. Carolyn spotted Kiera and Kyung inside.
"Mummy!" Kiera called out excitedly.
"Hi, baby. Let's go see your lovely grandmother, uncle, and aunt. How does that sound?" Carolyn asked her daughter.
"Yea!" Kiera replied, making the adults laugh.
"But Madam, things will only get more complicated. Jung-Jin…" Mr. Kim started.
Carolyn cut him off, annoyed. "Didn't your master say he was going to prepare the annulment papers?"
"Yes, but…"
"Therefore, I'm no longer a member of that family. What I'm doing now is something I should have done a long time ago." Carolyn interrupted firmly.
Mr. Kim had no choice but to stay silent and drive them there.
In the VIP ward at Emerald Hospital, Jung-Jin was breaking things and yelling.
The doctor had just informed them that Jung-Hyun would never see with his left eye again.
"Eeomoni, calm down!" Jung-Ri shouted at the top of her lungs.
"How can I calm down? I lost one of my eyes to that useless child! She's already dealt with me at this tender age! Jung-Sik…" Jung-Jin's voice cracked with rage.
"Kumani, Oppa! Are you going to drag Hyeong [older brother] into this?" Jung-Ri said, interrupting.
"You, Jung-Ri, go home. You're of no help here!" Jung-Hyun yelled at his sister.
Unable to take it anymore, Jung-Ri held back tears and ran from the room.
"Jung-Hyun, she will not stay in that house anymore!" Jung-Jin yelled.
"Yes, I will not stay," Carolyn interrupted, glaring at her mother-in-law. "I won't stay there anymore. In a week, I and my daughter will be out of your lives, out of that hell you call home, and out of this country."
"What the hell do you mean? You want to leave after what you did to my eye?!" Hyun shouted.
"Uncle!" Kiera called.
"I am not your uncle. Take that devil away from me!" Hyun said, pulling his bedsheet over his face.
Jung-Jin couldn't understand what Carolyn meant about leaving the country.
"What do you mean you're leaving the country?" she asked, curious.
"Jung-Jin, yeah, because I never considered you my mother-in-law. Apparently, I cheated on your son and will divorce him before he does."
Ring! Ring! Ring!
Carolyn's phone rang. It was Jung-Su. Maybe he had prepared the papers.
"Carolyn, Carolyn, looks like you're not the only one cheating. I'll send you a link—make sure you click it." Jung-Su hung up.
Carolyn ignored the message and walked up to Jung-Jin.
Whack! Whack! Whack!
"One for slapping my daughter, one for the slap you and your husband gave me, and one for all you've put me through the past two years. Don't even think about reciprocating if you want to keep your spine intact," Carolyn threatened as she walked away with Kiera, Kyung, and Mr. Kim.
Everyone in the room was shocked. Jung-Jin was frozen, unable to react, watching Carolyn's back as she left.
"Kyung, tell me the truth. Did Jung-Jin give you those scars?" Carolyn asked on their way home.
"Ermmm…" Kyung stammered.
"You can speak. I have a proposal for you," Carolyn urged.
"Sir Jung-Su used to love my mother," Kyung began, tears welling in her eyes, "until they broke up. After that, he married Madam Jung-Jin. When I came looking for a job, she did a background check on me and found out about my mother. Even though my mother never harmed her, Madam Jung-Jin saw her as one of her greatest enemies."
Kyung's voice cracked as she continued, "Because of that, Madam Jung-Jin hated me. She hurt me—sometimes with a hot iron—whenever I made a mistake."
"Hmm, it's strange she stopped when I came. I'm lucky I got less punishment. Kyung, come with me to America. You can speak English, after all. What do you think?" Carolyn asked, raising an eyebrow.
"I will come with you! Thank you! Thank you!" Kyung shouted.
"That place was truly hell. I'm sure if I asked any of the other helps, they'd want to leave too," Carolyn thought. She picked up her phone and checked the link Jung-Su had sent.
It was a picture of Jung-Sik and Ji-Won in bed, accompanied by an article: "Jung-Sik, CEO of Emerald Group, with CEO Ji-Won of King's Group at a hotel." Carolyn dropped her phone and looked at Kyung.
"No, no, I don't think this is true. It's part of Jung-Su's scheme," Kyung said quickly.
"Ha! That's why he hardly came home," Carolyn said, recalling Jung-Sik's expression the first day Ji-Won's name was mentioned at the family house. She smiled bitterly, opened the car door, and Kyung carried the sleeping Kiera inside the house.
Jung-Sik was in the living room.
"Abeoji, what happened in the news isn't real. I need to explain this to my wife. Where is she?" he asked shakily.
"She has her own faults too. Look at this," Jung-Su said, showing his son several images on his phone.
"What the… This isn't my wife. This isn't Carol. Where is she, Abeoji?!" Jung-Sik yelled, clutching his father.
"I'm here. Kyung, take my daughter to her room," Carolyn's tear-filled voice finally broke the silence.
"Carolyn, what is the meaning of this nonsense? Why would you do this?" Jung-Sik grabbed her angrily, hurting her.
Whack! She slapped him.
"You have the guts to ask me that question? What were you doing with this so-called Ji-Won you claimed to be over long ago?" she yelled.
Jung-Su watched the scene, whispering to Mr. Kim, "I'm a great director. Doesn't this look entertaining?"
Mr. Kim forced a smile. He had never seen anyone so evil and childish.
"My father didn't just show me one picture, Carolyn. He showed me many. You met this guy on several occasions?" Jung-Sik yelled, tears streaming down his face.
"No, I didn't…" Carolyn began, but then glanced at Jung-Su and smiled. His plan never failed—he was just a patient dog waiting for the right time to strike. It was time she left this family for good.
"Fine, let's say I did. That was because I was lonely. Why did you leave us here in the first place?!" she yelled, trying to hold back tears.
Jung-Sik couldn't believe what he was hearing. This was the same thing Ji-Won did to him back then.
"All women are the same. You can never be satisfied. I heard you asked for an annulment and lured Kiera into destroying my brother's eye. Fine, I'll grant you the annulment. I'm done with women. Take Kiera with you. I just found out she's not my child," Jung-Sik said angrily, staring straight into her eyes. He wasn't thinking clearly—only anger.
Carolyn's eyes widened in disbelief. She couldn't understand where that came from.
Did he just blame her for his brother's lost eye? Did he just say Kiera wasn't his child? Where was this coming from?
"You must be wondering how I know she's not my child. This was why I didn't come back for the party. I needed time to think. Abeoji and I re-did a paternity test recently. He took Kiera's hair—it didn't match mine. Then a few weeks before her birthday, you told me she had fallen and was rushed to the hospital. A blood test was done and her blood didn't match anyone's, so they had to use yours. I didn't believe it and sent mine to them. It wasn't a match either. Looks like the test we did when she was little is invalid now."
Carolyn laughed bitterly. The story sounded ridiculous. Either the doctors were bribed by Jung-Su or it was a mistake. Was he stupid? When Kiera was born, they did a paternity test. How could it be invalid now that she was three?
Yes, Kiera had accidentally tripped and hit her forehead, causing bleeding. She had no idea they had volunteered her blood for testing.
At this point, she was fed up.
The fool she called her husband had never once noticed her constant complaints were because she was abused. He never realized his family was putting on a show every time he came home. Yet he had the audacity to say those words to her.
"I'm sure my things have been packed. I'll be staying at a hotel for now," Carolyn said and moved toward Kiera's room.
"Abeoji, Hyeong, what was that about? Why is she leaving? She never had an affair. If she did, I'd know," Jung-Ri said quietly.
"Jung-Ri, go inside! This is none of your business!" Jung-Su yelled at the top of his voice.
His little daughter was about to ruin his plans. He glanced at his son and said coldly, "Son, that's enough. Sign the papers and give her whatever amount you want to settle with."
Jung-Sik shook his head, voice breaking with pain. "You think this is easy, Abeoji? I don't care about the money. I could give her any amount, but this pain... this is worse than anything I've ever felt in my life." He knelt down and began to cry.
Jung-Su felt a pang of guilt for the first time, realizing he might have gone too far. But at this point, there was nothing he could do. He tapped his son's back gently and let him weep as long as he needed.
Meanwhile, in Kiera's room, Carolyn wept silently. Kyung comforted her with a light tap on her back.
Two weeks later, Carolyn was back in America with Kyung and Kiera.
Jung-Sik had signed the papers and given her $200 million to support her and Kiera's new life. Despite his doubts about Kiera's paternity, he couldn't bear to see her suffer. He wanted her to enjoy wealth and trusted Carolyn to use the money wisely.
Two months later
"Son, please eat. Stop working for now, huh? Do you think Carolyn is really acting like this?" Jung-Jin asked, frustration thick in her voice.
It had been two months, and Jung-Sik still hadn't returned to normal. He'd always been a workaholic, but now it was worse.
"Mum, I'll be okay," Jung-Sik said quietly, returning to his work. He was trying to be strong, but Carolyn's words haunted him.
How she admitted to having an affair because she was lonely. How she laughed off the accusation that Kiera wasn't his child. How she looked at him coldly when she left, without a trace of remorse.
He felt angry and sometimes blamed himself for being consumed by work. But it was all done now. He just needed time to heal.
Meanwhile, in America, Carolyn had begun her journey toward establishing her skincare line.
She had studied Chemistry in college and Cosmetic Science during her master's program. It had always been her dream to build her own company, but she had found herself trapped in hell, unable to move.
Every day, she looked at herself and the small improvements she had made in a short time. She never regretted leaving Korea. Though she still loved Jung-Sik, she had to suppress those feelings. She never imagined he would believe Kiera wasn't his child.
"Are you okay? You seem happier," Kyung asked gently.
"I'm good. Is Kiera back from school?" Carolyn replied with a soft smile.
"Yes, she is, but she's asleep now," Kyung answered.
"Okay, I'll go see her. Thank you, Kyung. You've really been a great help to me," Carolyn said as she headed toward her daughter's room.
Looking at the innocent soul sleeping peacefully, Carolyn shed a tear. She gently touched Kiera's hair and whispered, "Kiera, you did nothing to deserve this. I might lie to you later or hide this story when you become curious about your dad, but please forgive me. I promise to give you the best life anyone could ever give because you are my only family."
She kissed Kiera's forehead softly and quietly left the room.