Chapter 6: Mistress Headlines
925 Words
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“Akiyama Heir Punches Rival Over Office Romance?”
Talia blinked at the headline on her phone, her heart sinking lower with every word. The image beneath it was unmistakable — a grainy photo of Shin’s clenched fist smashing into Ryo Takeda’s jaw. Right there in the break room. Right after Ryo had dared to flirt with her.
Another photo followed.
Not of the punch.
But of her — Talia — pinned between Shin and the stairwell wall, lips swollen, blouse askew, eyes dazed from that possessive kiss that left her trembling.
> "Unnamed employee suspected to be Akiyama’s long-term mistress. More updates coming soon."
Mistress.
The word burned.
She nearly dropped the phone.
Around her, the office buzzed like a hive of whispers. Eyes followed her down the hallway, voices dipped low, smiles turned sharp. People she used to casually greet were now suddenly too interested in their keyboards.
And Shin?
Of course he hadn’t shown up today.
Of course he’d left her to deal with the aftermath while he probably paced in his sky-high penthouse, plotting vengeance or something equally cold.
She stepped into the ladies’ room, locking herself in a stall before the panic could swallow her whole.
This wasn’t just office gossip anymore. This was public. Scandalous. Dangerous.
Her job. Her reputation. Her peace — all of it teetered on the edge of destruction.
And the worst part?
She let him kiss her.
She kissed him back.
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“Navarro.”
Her heart stopped at the voice — low, dangerous, and achingly familiar.
She turned from the mirror and met Shin’s reflection behind her. He had just stepped in, ignoring the fact that it was a women’s restroom. The door clicked shut behind him, locking them in.
“What the hell are you doing here?” she hissed, voice sharp with nerves. “This is the ladies’—”
“I don’t care,” he cut her off. His eyes were darker than she’d ever seen them. Stormy. Furious. But not at her.
Never at her.
He took a step closer, crowding her backward until her hips hit the marble sink. “You’ve seen the headlines?”
Her laugh was bitter. “Oh, you mean the one where I’m your mistress and you’re the office caveman? Yeah. I saw.”
Shin’s jaw clenched. “I’m handling it.”
“Are you? Because from where I’m standing, I’m the one drowning in the fallout.”
His eyes flicked down her body — not in desire, but in assessment. Her trembling hands. Her pale face. The exhaustion lining her eyes.
And something in him broke.
Without warning, he shrugged off his coat and draped it over her shoulders like a shield. She stiffened at the gesture.
“You don’t get to protect me now,” she said softly. “You started this.”
“I didn’t mean for this to happen.”
“But it did,” she snapped. “And now I’m the joke. The girl you kissed in a stairwell like she didn’t matter. The one everyone thinks you’re just toying with.”
Shin’s hands shot to the sink behind her, caging her in. “You think I don’t care?” His voice dropped, raw and shaking. “You think I’d risk everything — the company, my name, my future — just to toy with you?”
She looked away. “I think you don’t see the damage you cause.”
He exhaled, slow and pained. “You’ve always mattered, Talia. Even when I hated you. Especially then.”
Her throat tightened.
“Then why does it always feel like I’m just some dirty little secret?” she whispered.
Silence stretched.
And for once, Shin had no clever answer. Just the truth, choking in his chest.
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By noon, HR had called her in.
By two, her desk was flooded with cruel messages from online trolls.
By four, she had locked herself in the rooftop garden of the office just to breathe.
The sky hung gray and heavy, like it was about to rain again — just like the night she left him three years ago.
She closed her eyes.
And then she heard the click of shoes behind her.
“Found you,” Shin said.
She didn’t turn around.
“Don’t you have a board meeting or a scandal to control?” she asked flatly.
“I cancelled the meeting.” He stepped beside her. “They’ll wait.”
“What do you want, Shin?”
He was quiet a moment.
Then: “I want to fix this. For you.”
That drew her eyes. “For me?”
“You’re not a mistress,” he said firmly. “You’re the only woman I’ve ever—”
He stopped himself.
Talia stared. “Say it.”
He didn’t.
“I need space,” she said instead, voice trembling. “I need to survive this before I drown in you again.”
Shin looked like he wanted to argue. But then he nodded — once, sharply — and turned to leave.
But just before the door swung shut behind him, he murmured:
> “They can call you anything they want. But you were never a secret to me, Talia. Not then. Not now.”
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That night, as the rain finally fell, Talia stared at her name trending online.
She was drowning in chaos again.
Only this time?
She wasn’t sure she wanted to be saved.
Not if it meant falling harder for the man who broke her.
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- Writer
