71

“You look pretty. Chin up, be confident, and if we get mobbed for questions, let me handle it.” Jyeon picks up my hand by the wrist and envelopes it in his arm, so I hook onto him. His touch causes the same usual stirring of butterflies, and I swallow it down. A cozy partnering to face this damn sea of employees and press at this stupid event. I want to pull myself free, but I know it’s futile. He’s in show mode, just like a million times in our past when we presented a happy marriage to the public eye, and it weighs heavily on me. To be back here with something so stupid.

I’m tense, as far away from relaxed as I can get, and I’m overly aware of him and his presence this evening. I’m emotional and feeling raw and can’t seem to pick a mood to stick with. I’m swinging from upset to anger and then teetering on irritation.

I have to keep reminding myself that all of this is for my own sake. My freedom, my inheritance, m