Off Limits Attraction (The Heirs of Hansol #3) - Jayci Lee Page 0,61

whatever you ask.”

Emotion lodged itself in his throat, and Colin let himself weep for the first time after losing Jihae. But the tears were meant to cleanse away his guilt and regret, and prepare him to win back the woman he loved. Because if he knew anything, it was that he loved Jihae more than anything in the world and he would do everything in his power to make her happy. No matter what happened, he wanted her to know that he was hers and would always be hers. She deserved to know that his love was real.

Fourteen

Jihae checked into a hotel near the premiere location to get herself ready for the red carpet. Her stylist was scheduled to come in an hour. After a quick shower, She wrapped herself up in a plush bathrobe and dried her hair, absentmindedly running her fingers through it.

She’d chosen a warm, rose-and-gold dress for the occasion. She now only wore white when she damn well felt like wearing white. After the wrap party, she realized that if she wanted to survive, then she had to move on. And the first step had been to break free of her father’s hold on her. Hiding behind Princess Jihae’s persona was what was expected of her. She was not Princess Jihae. The princess belonged to her father. She had been a puppet controlled by her father. Never again.

She was Jihae Park, film producer and business executive. She was the one who had brought Rotelle Entertainment to the next level. That took skills, intelligence, perseverance and plain old hard work. After the premiere, she was going to submit a formal resignation letter to her father. It was time to devote herself to getting her production company off the ground. And with the evidence she had against Rotelle Corporation, her father wouldn’t be able to do a damn thing to stop her.

The hollow, cold feeling where her heart used to be showed no signs of diminishing, but she couldn’t let her life and happiness depend on another human being. It was no one’s job to find happiness for her. It was hers and hers alone. She was still too ragged to feel whole, but she would find joy in her life, and make something of herself.

She wasn’t a nobody just because her father saw fit to discard her like a used paper plate. She had been fooled by a man who claimed to love her, but she wasn’t a fool for it. Someday, these things would make her stronger. It was too soon, but she would rise above everything she’d gone through.

There was a smart knock at the door, and she glanced at the clock. There were still at least forty minutes left until her appointment. Jihae walked to the door and looked out the peephole. It was June.

“June,” she said, hugging her friend. “What are you doing here?”

“I pushed back your appointment for half an hour, so we have a good hour to talk.”

“Talk? About what?”

“I don’t know if this is going to change anything, but watching you put on a brave face every day hasn’t been easy. You can’t exist as a numb shell.” June dragged Jihae to the settee and plopped both of them onto it. “You’re a strong woman. You can fight. You can thrive. But will you ever be truly happy without Colin? Because I’ve never seen you light up from the inside out like when you were with Colin.”

“Was it that obvious I was in love with him?”

“Honey, please.” June waved her hand dismissively. “The way the two of you looked at each other fogged up the office windows.”

“Why didn’t you say anything?”

“About you two being together? Because you would have told me if it was something you wanted to share.”

“It wasn’t going to be anything permanent. I never thought—” A sob broke out against her will. She took deep breaths through her nose. She promised herself she wouldn’t shed a single tear for Colin ever again.

“You never thought you would fall in love with him.”

Jihae could only nod.

“Oh, hon. I think you guys fell for each other the first time you met.” June reached out to squeeze her hand and held on to it in quiet support. “It’s my job to be observant. I wouldn’t be a good executive assistant if I wasn’t. It was hard to ignore how lovesick you guys were.”

“Colin doesn’t love me. He—he was just using me.”

“I know. You told me he kept his identity a secret