His hidden mistress

chaper 3

📘 Episode 3: The Door Between Two Women

The rain had started again.

Drops slid down the windows of Irene’s apartment as thunder rolled somewhere far above the Seoul skyline. Ares had fallen asleep on her couch—shirt unbuttoned, jaw clenched even in sleep—as if the world never gave him rest.

Irene just sat on the edge of the bed, hugging her knees, staring at the floor.

She used to think love was warm.

Now it felt like a knife that she kept pressing deeper into her own chest.

"You’re the only thing that keeps me alive."

His words echoed like poison. Sweet. Addictive. And slowly killing her.

Suddenly—a knock.

She blinked.

Who…?

Another knock. Louder. Sharper.

She stood up slowly, glancing once at Ares, still asleep. Her bare feet padded quietly across the floor.

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK.

Heart pounding, she opened the door.

And froze.

There she stood.

Yena Kang.

Up close, she was even more beautiful than the magazines showed. A cream blazer. Sleek ponytail. Diamond earrings that glinted like judgment.

And those eyes—sharp, cruel, calculating—scanned Irene from head to toe.

“You must be Irene Min,” Yena said, her smile thin and cold.

Irene’s voice stuck in her throat.

Yena didn’t wait for permission.

She stepped inside.

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✦ Inside the Apartment

Ares sat up the moment he heard the voice. His body stiffened before he even turned to see.

“Yena.”

Irene stood frozen between them—his wife and his mistress now breathing the same air.

Yena looked calm. Too calm. Her eyes darted to the coffee mug Ares had used. His jacket on Irene’s sofa. His tie tossed near the bed.

She turned to Irene with a tilt of her head. “Is he good in bed?”

Irene’s cheeks flushed red.

“Stop it,” Ares snapped, standing up fully.

But Yena didn’t even blink. “No. I want to know. Does he kiss you like he’s dying? Does he say he loves you when he—”

“I said STOP.”

His voice roared through the room, the thunder outside almost too quiet in comparison.

Yena turned to him slowly. “So you do love her.”

He didn’t answer.

And that… was the answer.

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✦ Irene’s POV

Irene felt her chest crack open.

This wasn’t how she wanted it to end. Not like this.

But maybe it had to.

She stepped between them, her voice shaking but steady.

“Go home, Mrs. Ji.”

Yena’s lips twitched. “Why? Afraid I’ll stay?”

Irene looked directly into her eyes. “No. I’m afraid I’ll stop asking him to leave.”

Ares opened his mouth—but Irene turned away.

“This ends tonight,” she said quietly. “No more lies. No more stolen hours. You both belong to each other. Not me.”

Her voice broke on that last word.

And it was the last thing she said before closing her bedroom door behind her.

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✦ END OF EPISODE 3