Then I factor in my own desire. Just how much do I want what I want?
Afterward, I know what I’m going to do.
Being with Declan complicates things with my family. But I want him too much to give him up.
With Declan, I have someone on my team, somebody who wants me to do what makes me happy and is one hundred percent behind my decisions. My friends are like that too, but he’s different.
He makes me feel like a beautiful, desirable woman who deserves to be loved for who she is, rather than what her family has.
The dossier men want what my family represents, and I’m just a means to an end. To Declan, I am the end.
And I realize I’m hopelessly in love with him.
Chapter Forty-Three
Declan
Ever since Mr. Choi and Ms. Kim started to hang around, Yuna has gone home at five sharp. Not because she wants to, but because Mr. Choi and Ms. Kim rush her out. They seem to think that the longer she’s in the same house as me, the more she’s going to be corrupted.
I almost want to hire a crew to stage an accident and create a huge traffic jam every time they go to Caffeine Heaven. Both ways.
Now, at five fifteen, the mansion feels cavernous and empty without Yuna. Which is weird. I’ve never felt this way about my home before. I love this place, with its gorgeous view of the Pacific. The moment I achieved success, I bought it. As a tangible sign I was going to be okay.
I’m not the kid who was alone and scared after his mom’s death. And his father’s cowardly refusal to take him in.
My phone buzzes. I jump for it, hoping it’s Yuna.
But nope. An unknown number.
–Unknown: Mr. Winters, can we talk?
Huh. Not a spam text. This is almost ominous. Like something out of a James Bond flick. The Unknown could be a man stroking a white cat in his lap while holding his iPhone in his free hand, a heavy ring winking on one of his fat, blunt fingers.
The phone rings. From the Unknown. I put it on speaker.
“Yes?” I say, wondering if I’m going to hear a cat purr.
“Mr. Winters. This is Ms. Lim, calling on behalf of Lady Min.”
“Who?”
“Ms. Hae’s mother.”
“Oh. You mean Mrs. Hae.”
“Lady Min. Korean women do not take their husbands’ names after marriage.” Ms. Lim’s voice is flat.
“Sorry,” I say, feeling like I’ve been chastised for being culturally unaware. But
how was I supposed to know? I assumed Mrs. Hae would be fine, since she never told me to call her by her name.
“An apology isn’t required, Mr. Winters. Are you free this evening to have dinner with Lady Min?”
Definitely ominous. “Is Yuna coming?” Say yes.
There’s a pause. “It’s about Ms. Hae.”
Okay, so that means she isn’t coming. Damn. I don’t really feel like going. The last dinner I had with Yuna’s mom around was awkward. And she couldn’t have made it clearer that she didn’t care for me because of my career choice.