Bound by a Ruthless Contract - Chapter 15
A hot flush spread across her cheeks. It was obvious that if she stayed here, she would be completely at this man’s mercy. Ga-eun quietly rose from her seat.
“I’ll take my leave first.”
“Sure. The matchmaking meeting is over anyway.”
“What do you mean…”
“We know each other’s names. I know that our Ga-eun dislikes espresso. We’ve already tested our physical compatibility. What else do we need?”
“Listen here—”
“Kwon Si-heon.” His voice dropped to a bone-chilling low.
“I wonder how much more I need to tell you before my name is etched into your mind, our Ga-eun.”
Looking at those cold eyes, she finally understood just how courteous he had been to her until now. Feeling a chill run down her spine, as if Kwon Si-heon might bite her neck at any moment, Ga-eun wrapped her hands around her throat protectively.
“I’ll take care of all the preparations. I’ll prepare our newlywed home, and I’ll also handle the crisis your family is facing.”
Ga-eun’s eyes widened. “How did you know…”
“Because no normal family would set up their daughter with such a lecherous old man for a matchmaking meeting.”
“…”
“Let’s get married.”
What did I just hear? His face was so composed that for a moment, she wondered if she was hearing things.
“It would be the best choice for both of us.”
Silence fell. Their gazes locked onto each other persistently. Just like that night. Like that ecstatic and decadent moment when they had tasted, bitten, and devoured each other.
“You must want something from me.”
Si-heon opened his mouth as if he had been waiting for this. “Let’s build something together.”
Ga-eun slightly furrowed her brow. “Why?”
“… Didn’t you say you hate repeating yourself?”
“But.”
“Still, I have to ask. What I just heard…”
“I also said I hate wasting time.”
After hesitating, Ga-eun carefully opened her mouth.
“Do you want to sleep with me? I mean… like that night?”
That night.
At those words, Si-heon’s gaze turned subtle.
He had already known she wasn’t just the proper and elegant woman she appeared to be.
In bed, though awkward and inexperienced, she had been hotter than anyone else.
According to the old man he’d chased away, Ga-eun had never had a boyfriend before.
That must be true.
Why did that fact make his insides burn so hot?
He wasn’t some kid anymore.
“I don’t understand what you mean.”
“Why not? Marriage naturally includes s*x.”
How could he say such explicit things…
“You seemed to enjoy it too, our Ga-eun.”
“…Don’t use that term of endearment with such a cold face. It’s strange and frightening.”
“You should have handled that old man earlier like this. You speak well now.”
Ga-eun, who had been smirking, bit her lower lip.
She wanted to do that too, but…
If she had, her aunt would have been threatened. So she had no choice but to endure.
‘This man… could he give me what I want?’
This man, whom even Yang Si-mon, who made her father grovel, had groveled to.
Ga-eun wanted freedom.
The freedom to not have to beg them for her aunt’s hospital bills.
Her aunt had no friends, no relatives, no acquaintances willing to pay the expensive hospital bills for years.
Part-time jobs were out of the question, and they wouldn’t even allow Ga-eun to save money by her own means, monitoring her every relationship meticulously.
They had thoroughly isolated her so that their support would be her only lifeline.
‘But…’
She shook her head.
The doctors, nurses, and caregivers at Doguk General Hospital where her aunt stayed were all Gye Young-chul and Woo Ji-hyang’s people.
It was said that Gye Young-chul’s family had helped the current hospital director’s family when they were struggling, and since then, they had been as close as blood brothers.
They knew exactly when to shake her aunt’s lifeline that they held in their hands.
It was whenever Ga-eun yearned for freedom with her ‘foolish thoughts.’
Just like now.
‘No, I can’t do this.’
She couldn’t gamble with her aunt’s life.
“I’m sorry, but—”
“I’ll give you anything you want. Whether it’s goods or money. Anything else too, whatever it takes.”
“…”
“Like I said during s-x. I hate wasting time.”
Startled by his blunt expression, Ga-eun rolled her lips inward.
Not even asking about dinner, how could he say such things so casually…
“It won’t harm you, so let’s do it.”
“Why does it have to be me?”
“Our Ga-eun needs to avoid marriage to that old man and gain freedom from your family, and I need marriage. We can satisfy each other’s needs.”
So, he was saying they should stop wasting time and get married.
“I don’t want this situation to become more…”
Suddenly, Si-heon shut his mouth.
Ga-eun knew he had stopped himself from cursing.
“…shxt-like.”
“You can just curse freely. It’s strange when you hold back.”
“I must be polite. You’re the person I’m going to marry.”
Finding it absurd, Ga-eun let out a light laugh.
Si-heon took a small breath and stared at her intently.
