His hidden mistress

chapter 6

📘 Episode 6: When Silence Burns Louder Than Screams

The cold tiles pressed against Irene’s knees as she sat on the bathroom floor, the phone still in her trembling hand.

Her account was frozen.

Her clients were gone.

And the city that once admired her designs had suddenly turned its back.

All… within 24 hours.

She didn’t need anyone to spell it out.

It was Yena Kang.

And this wasn’t just a warning.

It was war.

Irene’s eyes were blank, her thoughts spinning. Her home felt smaller now — like the walls were closing in, suffocating her inch by inch. Even the sunlight through her curtains seemed afraid to enter.

She wasn’t scared of being ruined.

She was scared that her entire existence had become a secret someone else wanted to erase.

A knock.

Then silence.

Her eyes slowly lifted.

Another knock. This time firmer.

She got up, slowly walking to the door with hesitant steps.

She opened it.

Ares Ji stood there, drenched from the rain again. No guards. No umbrella. No chauffeur.

Only him.

And that same haunted look in his eyes.

“Irene…”

She didn’t say a word. Just stared.

“I know what she did,” he said hoarsely. “I just found out thirty minutes ago.”

Still, she said nothing.

His jaw tightened. “You think I’d let her touch you without consequences?”

She let out a hollow laugh. “You already did.”

That hit him harder than anything else ever had.

She moved to close the door — but his palm slammed against it.

“Irene, don’t.”

“I told you,” she said, voice cracking, “I don’t want to be in this mess anymore. You made your choice when you signed that marriage contract. Go live in your mansion and let me disappear in peace.”

“You think I can breathe knowing you’re being destroyed because of me?” His voice was louder now, chest rising and falling rapidly. “You think I’ll let anyone—anyone—touch a single thread on your body?”

“You already let them touch my life,” she whispered.

That stopped him.

Silence again. Bitter, screaming silence.

Until—

“I’ve filed for separation.”

Her eyes snapped up.

“What?”

“I submitted the petition an hour ago,” he said. “My lawyers are handling it. I’ve already moved out. The board doesn’t know yet, but they will.”

Irene blinked. Her heart thudded.

“You’re leaving Yena?”

He stepped closer, his voice low, firm, shaking.

“I told you the night I left… I’d burn everything for you. That wasn’t poetry, Irene. That was a warning to the world.”

Her lips parted, but no words came.

He cupped her face — not forcefully this time, but like she was glass. Like she could vanish.

“I’m not asking for forgiveness,” he said. “Not yet. But let me fix what I broke.”

She closed her eyes as his thumb brushed her cheek.

“I don't trust you anymore,” she whispered.

He smiled sadly. “Then let me earn it back.”

She didn’t nod. She didn’t step back.

But this time, she didn’t shut the door either.

---

✦ Elsewhere – Yena Kang’s Private Lounge

Yena leaned back on the velvet couch, sipping red wine.

“Separation?” she repeated coldly. “So it’s true. He filed it.”

Her assistant nodded. “He’s even moved out. Mr. Ji is staying at his penthouse in the West Wing Towers now.”

Yena didn’t flinch.

She just smiled — the kind of smile that didn’t touch her eyes.

“Good,” she whispered. “Let him run to her.”

She stood and walked to the glass cabinet, removing a small, thin file.

Because Ares Ji had forgotten one thing.

He might end the marriage on paper.

But she still had the trump card no one else did — one that tied his future and past in ways Irene Min could never understand.

Inside that file was a secret that could make or destroy everything.

And Yena wasn’t ready to let her empire crumble without taking a few lives down with her.

---

✦ Final Scene – Irene’s Apartment, That Night

Irene stood near the window, arms crossed, watching the sky.

Ares was asleep on her sofa — or pretending to be.

She didn't offer the bed.

He didn’t ask.

Her chest ached. Her world was cracked. But for the first time in days… she felt her heart beat.

Slowly, softly, but it beat again.

And outside, far below, a black car parked quietly.

Inside, a man in a gray suit stared at her window through binoculars.

Then spoke into his mic.

“Target in sight. Orders from Mrs. Kang: observe only. Until further notice.”

And the game began.