Bound by a Ruthless Contract - Chapter 145

She turned slowly, her movement suspended in time.

For a moment… She thought it was Si-heon.

The silver-rimmed glasses reflecting in the sunlight drew an involuntary, barely perceptible sigh from her lips. Was it a relief? Disappointment? She couldn’t discern the precise emotion threading through her heart.

The low, deep, weighted voice calling “Ga-eun” bore such a striking resemblance to his that it momentarily stole her breath. Amid her turbulent thoughts, the desire to see him overwhelmed any impulse to flee.

Pulling herself together, Ga-eun turned toward Kwon Hee-sung as he approached.

“Father,” she acknowledged, her voice a delicate whisper.

Drawing near, Hee-sung narrowed his eyes. “Do you have something to discuss? How did you arrive here…”

“Ga-eun,” he said, his tone a complex mixture of concern and something deeper.

She breathed a small, controlled breath. “Yes, Father.”

“Are you well?”

“Yes, Father,” she responded instantly.

Her immediate reply caused Hee-sung’s brow to furrow. The gesture was so reminiscent of Si-heon that a sharp pain lanced through Ga-eun’s heart.

“You need not strain yourself excessively,” he said, his typically gruff tone softened with an underlying tenderness.

“Oh…”

“Prioritize yourself, whenever and however necessary.”

The blunt words, laden with unexpected care, coaxed a faint smile from Ga-eun. “Thank you for your concern.”

Yet Hee-sung’s expression remained unchanged—a canvas of unspoken understanding.

Her body was too thin.

Her face is pale and drawn.

Her eyes held a subtle resignation mixed with a vast, consuming anxiety.

Though now a renowned English literature scholar, Hee-sung had once been groomed as the heir to the Hwanhee Group. His razor-sharp instincts were whispering—Ga-eun was concealing something, hiding a truth just beyond reach.

His black eyes, peering through his glasses, darkened with an intense, penetrating gaze.

“Did you arrive in that van?” His sharp glance swept across the black vehicle parked in the corner of the lot.

Ga-eun involuntarily held her breath.

“Yes, Father,” she replied, her voice a thread of sound.

“I expected you’d come in a sedan.”

“Oh… I needed to bring some paintings.”

The van had been sent by Sung Won-gyu, who suggested it would be more convenient for transporting his aunt’s belongings from the hospital and her small Boston bag, as well as providing a comfortable space to lay his sleeping aunt.

“I see,” Hee-sung replied, his gaze fixed intently on the van before turning back to Ga-eun.

“I’m not sure if I should say this, but seeing you today reminded me of the past.”

“The past?”

“When my wife was carrying Si-heon.”

“…”

“You looked exactly the same.”

Ga-eun summoned every ounce of her composure, desperately trying to suppress any visible reaction.

“If it’s about…”

“No. No, Father. I apologize if you’ve been waiting, but it’s not what you think.”

She responded too quickly, immediately regretting her hasty denial.

“I see,” Hee-sung nodded slowly.

“If you ever need our help, please don’t hesitate to ask.”

“…Thank you.”

“And since I didn’t get an answer earlier, let’s definitely meet when you’re back in Seoul.”

His gaze—so reminiscent of Si-heon—remained fixed on her, waiting for a complete response.

Feeling she could not delay further, and increasingly reluctant to continue lying, Ga-eun finally answered.

“…Yes, Father.”

“Travel carefully. I’ll watch you leave.”

His resolve was unmistakable.

‘In this way too, we’re so similar…’

She bit the tender inside of her lip, frustrated that even in this moment, her thoughts drifted to Si-heon. She despised her own weakness.

Yet, suddenly moved by the knowledge that someone was watching over her until the very end, she straightened her posture and stepped forward with deliberate care.

A final desire to be remembered kindly.

Her retreating figure seemed fragile, as if it might disappear at any moment.

Just as Hee-sung was about to turn, having watched the van until it was ready to depart—concerned about his waiting wife—a man in a black suit entered through the parking lot’s rear entrance and quickly climbed into the van’s driver’s seat.

Hee-sung’s eyes narrowed.