“Do you feel okay? You look very exhausted.”

“…Yes, yes.”

A single, insignificant sentence made her heart swell. The corners of her eyes were about to heat up, and she had to bite her lip to hold back tears.

Without saying anything more, he looked down at her, nodded as if in agreement, and turned around.

“Alright, then. I’ll take the passport since I need it.”

As he turned to leave, his short hair fluttered in the wind.

“Oh, and…”

The moment she took a step forward to stop him from leaving.

Jae Ha turned around first.

“…?”

“Seo Ji Han.”

Unexpectedly, he turned around and softly spoke the three characters of ‘Seo Ji Han.’

Jae Ha, now slightly closer, stared at her with even deeper eyes.

“Don’t trust him too much.”

“…Yes?”

‘What does he mean by not trusting?’

His unexpected words suddenly tangled up her thoughts.

It was at that moment, when she was trying to find the answer in their intertwined gazes, that the cell phone in her pocket emitted a short vibration.

[Emergency call needed, shareholder meeting situation is not normal. —Uncle Hyun Ik]

A short text message appeared on her phone screen.

[Vice Chairman Kim Young Min has made a move. —Uncle Hyun Ik]

Her eyes stopped at the three characters of ‘Kim Young Min’ while reading the message from her uncle.

Finally, the shareholders began to move, which meant Ji Han had made a move.

As she raised her head, her gaze met Jae Ha’s, who was quietly looking at her.

The silence in his eyes changed subtly in that moment.

‘I must stop the shareholder meeting.’

In her previous life, it was her husband, Ji Han, who took the CEO position at the shareholder meeting instead of her.

Ji Han quickly decided on a merger with Hojin Group along with taking over the management rights.

Under Young Min and Ji Han’s leadership, the matter was unanimously approved.

“Do I call you Ms. Yeo Jin now? It was good to see you after a long time. I’ll be going now.”

He smiled with a curve on his lips as he said goodbye to her. Her fingertips holding the phone began to tremble slightly.

How could she make this man join her side?

“It’s very unfortunate to lose your family, but… time will heal it.”

Was it a phrase born from experience?

It was a very brief moment, but Jae Ha’s eyes grew darker.

There was no better opponent than him to bring down Hojin Group and pressure Seo Ji Han.

Yes, maybe meeting Jae Ha here, unlike in her previous life, was an opportunity given by heaven.

A chance to change this tiresome fate…

“Mr. Seo Jae Ha.”

She quietly called out to Jae Ha, who had turned around.

“Please make some time. Let’s talk in a quiet place, just the two of us.”

The chilly wind blew again, making ripples between Jae Ha and her.

Seemingly surprised that she, of all people, asked to meet first, his widened eyes slowly returned to normal.

With a playful smile on his face, Jae Ha replied teasingly.

“Just the two of us? Is there something we need to discuss together?”

“Not as the daughter-in-law of the Hojin family, but as Yoon Yeo Jin, the granddaughter of W Group.”

“…”

For the first time since they met, Jae Ha’s eyes showed a hint of interest.

“And that meeting, you won’t regret it.”

The playful smile on Jae Ha’s lips gradually disappeared.

After meeting Jae Ha at dawn, she spent the entire night awake with her eyes open.

The shareholders’ meeting that took place in an instant, and the sudden appearance of Jae Ha left her mind in turmoil.

After continuous worrying, morning dawned.

Just like in her previous life, Ji Han returned after her grandfather’s funeral.

“I’m sorry. I should have been by your side.”

Ji Han shamelessly apologized, still dressed in the suit he wore to the funeral.

She pushed him away, startled by the repulsive perfume scent wafting from him as he embraced her.

She remembered the scent she once smelled on Seo Rin, and she felt nauseous.

Her fiancé, obsessed with her close junior, was even late for her grandfather’s funeral.

‘What a terrible person.’

“Forget it. Put me down.”

She couldn’t hide her displeasure towards Ji Han this time and turned her head away.

Then, the uncle who had briefly stepped away for a phone call returned.

After meeting with the shareholders, Uncle Hyun Ik arrived in time for the end of the funeral.

“Are both of them in critical condition?”

“No, how could this happen? Chairman Yoon has passed away, and if something happens to Ji Young as well, W Group will…”

Chairman Seo, overwhelmed by the sudden barrage of tragic news, couldn’t help but show distress on his face.

It was even harder for him, as her parents were also on the brink of life and death following the death of his longtime close friend, her grandfather.

The Vice Chairman also remained tight-lipped, only watching the situation.

“Yeo Jin, no, Miss. You have to make a decision. We can’t let them have their way at the shareholders’ meeting.”

The uncle asked her with a determined look in his eyes.

Even when her grandfather passed away, the shareholders didn’t show any movement.

However, as soon as her parents’ condition became critical, they urgently wanted to hold a meeting.

How obvious.

They must have thought that the twenty-nine-year-old granddaughter left alone would be easy to manipulate.

“I’ll go instead.”

Ji Han, who had been quietly observing the situation, wrapped his arm around her shoulder.

“This person, she’s going to be my wife soon.”

In Ji Han’s eyes, as he spoke while looking at the uncle, there was certainty.

That they would get married.

“W Group is her family, so this is also Hojin’s responsibility. We’re one family after all.”

His eyes, which held a faint smile, were filled with ambition.

She had to suppress the bitter laughter that threatened to burst out, finding his appearance ridiculous.

She was killed by someone…

He was the one who killed her when they were family and relatives.

“No.”

She forced a wry smile and lowered the arm that he had wrapped around her shoulder.

“I’ll attend personally.”

“You won’t be able to understand the complex internal affairs of the company. It would be better if I went…”

She stopped Ji Han, who seemed flustered and continued to talk at length.

“Ji Han, I’m the heir.”

Watch carefully.

There won’t be a place for you, either as my husband or in W Group.

“And we’re strangers on the family register, aren’t we?”