Elizabeth didn't really want to leave the island. She had gotten used to the solitude and seclusion. She had also fallen into a routine that she liked. A part of her wondered if she could live like this for the rest of her life, on an island with no one but In-ho and her. She didn't think that it would be the worst thing to happen, but then she remembered what she was missing out on. The island was more of a haven than anything. She imagined she would tire of it at some point. It was like going on holiday. She loved doing nothing, but after a few weeks she wanted to go back to her life. And she wanted that too. She wanted to go back to work. She wanted to practice law. She wanted to be able to wander the streets without people staring at her. She wanted to be able to turn her phone on and just be bombarded with work calls instead of the press. She just wanted the peace and quiet really. She wanted to go back to being an unknown.

The one thing she did know, however, was that if she did return to Seoul then she couldn't be seen with In-ho. He had told her about his family and how he'd had to turn his back on them after his wife had died. He'd told her how his brother had come to the island and had seen him. She'd seen the tears in his eyes as he explained what had happened and she wondered if a small part of him longed to go back to his family and just be with them, forget about the island and his role there. But he reminded her that he was a disgrace after taking that money and he didn't want to see his family knowing what had happened. Plus, it was safer for them not to know what was happening.

"I just don't know if I want to go back," Elizabeth said to him as they ate dinner one evening. The glass doors were folded all the way back, letting the fresh air into the apartment. The noise of waves crashing against the rocks echoed into the space and the air felt humid. Elizabeth had cooked an Italian dish of seafood linguine and had opened a bottle of white wine. She tugged on the thin strap of the navy-blue dress she wore, the cotton material coming down to her knees and sitting square on her chest. "I mean, if we do go back then what do we go back to?"

"We have to go back at some point," he pointed out.

He was sat at the head of the table and had leant back, his bowl empty in front of him. He picked his glass of wine up, holding the stem and tipping the fruity liquid back down his throat.

"I know, but I just don't like the idea of going back and being hounded by the press again. No one found me while I was on the streets because I hung out in places no one went to," Elizabeth said and he felt that familiar tension in his jaw at thinking of what she'd gone through. "But if we go back then I know that we wouldn't be able to go out together. No one can know we're together because then what? Your family see and come knocking?"

"That would not be my preferred outcome," he confessed to her on that point. Elizabeth took her fork and stabbed the pasta in her bowl, twirling it around and bringing it to her lips.

"And where would I stay? I couldn't stay with you. What if someone followed me back to your building?" she asked him and he set the glass back down. He rubbed his forehead with his hand, trying to figure out just what they should do for the best. He wasn't entirely sure if he had the answer, but he knew that, as nice as staying on the island with her was, they couldn't hide forever.

"My apartment block does have a couple of entrances and there are apartments in it for rent," he said. "I could rent one of those to make it look less suspicious, but we would need to be careful not to be pictured together. I know that it's not ideal, Elizabeth. I am aware of that, but it's imperative in order for me to remain anonymous."

"And that's the only reason?" Elizabeth checked with him and his brows rose on his forehead. She placed her fork down, leaving some of her food at the bottom of the bowl.

"What do you mean?" he asked her and she took a big gulp of her wine. She reached for the bottle in the middle of the table and started pouring more into her glass.

"Well, it's not as if I'm flavour of the month," she told him. "I would understand if you were embarrassed to be seen with me-"

"-Absolutely not," he interrupted before she could continue. There were times when he saw glimpses of the old Elizabeth, the woman who had been strong and emboldened to speak her mind. But then this would happen. There would be times when she said things that made him see just how dented her confidence had been. She would question if he actually cared for her. And so he told her what she needed to hear. He gave her the affirmation she needed and he would do it for as long as she needed to hear it.

"I just…truthfully, I don't want to go back and face this by myself," Elizabeth admitted to him. "I want to clear my name. I want to do that more than anything and I think the only way I can do that is by telling my story as loud as I can to anyone who would listen and the press attention that would attract would mean that we couldn't do this. We couldn't be together and I…I just don't know if anyone would really listen anyway."

"You've seen the news," he said to her. "People are beginning to question if your husband is who he says he is. The people who worked with you are defending you. There are clients saying that you could never do what you're accused of. Even people at the embassy where he works are saying that he has a temper. He's built a web of lies and he will get tangled in them. You can go back and speak your truth. Shout it from the rooftops until people have no other option but to listen to you."

"That's my plan," Elizabeth promised him. "But it means that I might make some enemies and I don't trust Robert not to play dirty."

"Whatever he throws at you, we both know you can handle it," he said. "I think you need to capitalise on the rumours surrounding him now. And you won't be by yourself, not really."

"It feels like it," Elizabeth murmured and he watched her as she took another gulp of wine. He knew that she'd been drinking more than usual that night. It wasn't like he monitored how much she drank, but ever since he'd broached the idea of going back to Seoul, she'd reached for the bottle.

"You know that I wish I could be with you through all of this," he said to her. "If you think that I don't want to then you're mistaken."

Elizabeth looked at him, trying to weigh him up for a moment. He shook his head and he could see the fear in her eyes. She tried to hide it as best she could, but as time had gone one, he'd gotten to know her too well. He knew that little telltale signs that gave away how she felt, despite the fact she tried to mask it. He could see how her eyes flickered around anxiously whenever she had something on her mind she didn't want to talk about. He would see how she bit down on the inside of her cheek when she was angry to try and calm herself. He knew her better than she thought.

"I'm not embarrassed by you, Elizabeth," he said to her, voice becoming a bit firmer with her. "I could never be embarrassed by you and I don't want you to think that."

"I feel like I do know that," Elizabeth assured him of that much. "It's just that I don't like having to sneak around."

"And you think I do?" he asked her back. "I would much prefer for us to be able to go out together and not worry about the consequences, but as things stand, with both of our positions, that's not possible. I want to take you out…take you to dinner…walk with you in the park…I do want that, but it's too risky right now with your popularity and me needing to stay incognito."

"I managed to stay hidden pretty well before," she reminded him.

That much was true. He hadn't found her and he'd been looking everywhere for her.

"That was because you stayed in the shadows," he reminded her. "When we go back, you won't be doing that. You'll fight to clear your name and I know that things here…staying here and wrapped up in a bubble…it seems idyllic and trust me, a part of me would prefer that, but we need to face reality at some point and you deserve to have your name cleared. You deserve to live your life the way you want to…make partner…be successful…walk the streets freely and without fear…and I want that for you, Elizabeth. I want you to have that and that's why you need to fight this. I know that you can."

Elizabeth hated to admit that he had a point. Everything he said seemed to resonate with her and what she knew deep down. She wanted to go back. She wanted to make things better, but she just wasn't sure how she could. She looked down to her lap, holding her glass in her fingertips and letting her hair fall down over her face. In-ho continued to watch her intently. He picked up his napkin and dabbed it over his mouth before leaving his chair. It scraped slowly over the tiled floor and he crouched down by her chair. He took the glass from her hand and set it on the table. Curling his fingers under her chin, he guided her to look at him.

"I know, okay?" he promised her. "I know that you're scared."

"What if it doesn't work?" Elizabeth just asked from him. "What if Robert worms his way out of everything? He set up the proof against me. I have nothing against him."

"You have the truth, Elizabeth," In-ho said. "You have people who are speaking out for you."

He didn't say how he felt they should've spoken out sooner. He kept quiet on that part.

"I have to try though, don't I?" Elizabeth replied.

He nodded his head at her and she sighed, finally agreeing with him. His lips arched a little and he kissed her tenderly, his lips moving gently against hers. She closed her eyes as his hand by her chin moved down her neck, fingers tickling along her collarbone and to her shoulder, cupping it and letting his thumb move in circles on her skin.

Letting go of her lips, his forehead brushed hers. "And when it's done, we'll come back here, just us…and I'll show you everything," he promised her.

"Everything?" she checked with him.

"Everything," he echoed and kissed her once more.

…

Elizabeth wasn't entirely sure how she should go about clearing her name. All she knew was that she had to try. She had finally relented to give an interview to a journalist, saying that she would tell them everything and hold nothing back. She took the medical records that In-ho had on her as evidence of what her husband had done. She had met the journalist in a non-descript café, turning up in a trench coat and jeans, hair pushed back into a ponytail and baseball cap on. She'd sat across from her and told her everything from start to finish. She had the exclusive story and Elizabeth received a nice pay cheque.

She'd gone back to In-ho's apartment afterwards and things had escalated from there. The story went online and was printed the following day under the headline 'Diplomat's wife tells her story'. From there, other news outlets had picked it up and were running it. Of course, Elizabeth had left some things out. She said that she had disappeared for a while, hiding and gathering herself because she was scared of her husband after what he'd done to ruin her. She had admitted to infidelity, but she hadn't said who with. She knew her husband would make that public, but she'd said that he'd been having affairs for years.

Elizabeth had been prepared for the backlash to come. Robert wasn't a man who took things laying down. He was going to fight back and he did. He released his own statement saying that his wife was lying to try and cover her back. He even had his new girlfriend stood by his side to emphasise it, but there was still a lot of talk questioning him. How had his wife ended up with concussion in hospital? How had she broken her rib? Why did she turn up to work with bruises?

Things were messy. The two of them went at each other, neither side refusing to back down or admit defeat. Elizabeth's firm had even said that they were conducting an internal investigation into the allegations against her after clients had come forwards and said that she had been nothing but professional with them. She was beginning to wonder if, maybe, there was some hope for her.

Heading back to the apartment, Elizabeth had done well to avoid being spotted in public. There had been some people staring at her as she walked by, no doubt recognising her from the press, but she'd managed for the most part to stay incognito. She kept her head down and went about her business, just biding her time. She hadn't given anymore interviews, instead choosing to let people speculate for her.

She took the elevator up to In-ho's apartment and reached into her bag for her keys. She was carrying two bags in her hands with food. In-ho had been gone when she'd woken in the morning, but he had left her a cup of coffee on the bedside table that was relatively warm so he couldn't have been gone long. The two of them spent their evenings together, locked up in his apartment with the curtains securely shut around them and shrouding them from the outside world.

"Hey," Elizabeth said as she entered the apartment.

He was clearing his papers from the dining table and getting ready to have a night off. He went to grab hold of the bags from her and kissed her quickly.

"Hey," he greeted her back. "How was your day?"

"Good," Elizabeth said with a nod and she tugged her boots off of her feet, placing them in the cupboard and then hanging her coat up. She adjusted the shirt she wore tucked into her pleated maroon leather skirt. "Seo-ah called me today. I don't know how she got my number, but I think, ever since I gave that interview, my number isn't entirely secure. Anyway, she said that everyone in the firm thinks that I've been set up. She said they're on my side and even the partners are coming round now…it might not mean anything…depends on how good of a job Robert did in planting evidence against me…but it was nice to hear anyway."

"I can imagine," he said to her, agreeing with her on that point. "And false evidence can be disproved."

"I hope so," Elizabeth just said to him with a soft smile. "I mean, I hate that I'm still in the news, but I guess that it keeps the heat on Robert."

"I hate that you're in the news too," he assured her and began packing away the groceries into cupboards. Elizabeth went to help him, taking things that he handed her and putting them away where they belonged. "I hate that every photograph of you…you just look so alone…being crowded by press…I don't like you being out there by yourself."

"I can handle it," Elizabeth assured him of that part. "I know you can't be there with me."

"I want to be," he said. "I don't know…the frustration of not being with you…it's…it's hard for me. I don't want this for you."

"Hey," Elizabeth said, moving a hand to his upper arm and letting it slip down his arm, stroking it gently and feeling the soft wool of his jumper. "I get it, In-ho. It's fine. I'm not going to pretend that it doesn't suck because it does. Having people whispering behind my back whenever I go to the shops or for a walk…knowing that people are gawping at me…it's not great, but I can handle it. It makes me feel better knowing that I can come home and you're here."

In-ho glanced down to her and Elizabeth kept on putting groceries away before she realised what she'd said and then she shook her head. "I didn't mean home," she quickly told him. "I mean…this is your home…not mine…I'm not moving in…"

"I quite like the idea of you calling this home," he told her. "I mean, I don't mind if you want this to be home."

"Yeah?" she asked from him.

"Yeah," he said and he looked to her, seeing that she was smiling at him and he couldn't help but return it, lips turning upwards. He bent down and quickly kissed her. "You've already taken over most of my bathroom anyway."

She nudged him in the stomach then. "It's hard being a woman," she defended. "We can't all have your perfect skin without moisturising."

"It's a curse being this perfect," he joked with her on that point and she chuckled at hearing him.

"Well, if I am going to be staying then I'm buying a house plant," she told him. "You need something in here that makes it more like a home and not a show home."

"You can have as many house plants as you want," he assured her.

"Aren't you just a hopeless romantic?" she teased him and he rolled his eyes at her, enjoying their minutes of carefree banter. It was rare that they had, but when they did, it felt like the most natural thing to him. He loved it more than he cared to admit. "Anyway, what's the latest on the games?"

And she always amazed him whenever she asked. It seemed as though nothing freaked her out anymore and he liked how he could talk freely about them to her. He wasn't entirely sure how she would feel when they actually got underway. He had to admit that there had been times when he had struggled, but he had gotten so used to it and he realised that the people in the games didn't deserve his sympathy.

"Player 456 is looking for me," In-ho said. "I don't know what he's planning to do, but I suspect he wants to kill me. He thinks that would stop the games, but there are others who would succeed me. I'm not indispensable."

"How do you know he is looking for you?" Elizabeth asked and they finished putting the groceries away. He turned around and leant back against the worktop, arms folding over his chest and Elizabeth reached for a bottle of beer from the fridge. She opened the top and took a drink of it.

"I've been keeping tabs on him," he confessed. "Of course, he has no real idea of how to get to me without going through the Salesman."

"And you think he'll find him?" Elizabeth asked.

"I suspect he will," In-ho told her. "I've prepared for that eventuality. I've told the Salesman what he needs to do if he does find him, but he…well…I don't know what will happen."

"What do you mean? And why do you want him to find you?" Elizabeth questioned.

"Well, the Salesman is quite unpredictable," In-ho said. "He also doesn't appreciate being followed, which I can understand. However, I want him to find me because he needs a final warning. He either stops or he does what I think he'll do. He'll rejoin the games to try and stop them."

"I don't know," Elizabeth said hesitantly. "I don't really like this, In-ho. I'd rather you stayed away."

He found it sweet that she cared for his safety and he had to admit that it was endearing. She stood next to him, leaning against the worktop with an arm folded over her waist, her other hand holding her beer.

"I'll be fine," he assured her. "You don't need to worry about me."

"Yeah, well, funnily enough I do," Elizabeth told him.

"Which is very adorable," he said and she rolled her eyes at him.

"Don't call me adorable," she urged from him. "It makes it sound like you're placating a child."

"Hardly," he said in a drawl. "I know that your heart is in the right place, Elizabeth, but you have enough on your plate. I just don't want you to worry about me, that's all, not when you have your own fires to put out."

She softened then and he saw her shrug and take another drink of the beer. "I guess that seems sweeter."

"Well, I do very much hate the idea of you being upset with me," he whispered and he took the beer from her fingers. "I have no idea how you drink this stuff. I would've thought a girl like you was used to fine wines."

"I am, but I was also a student at college who couldn't afford fine wine," she said and he took a drink of it before pulling a face and setting it down on the worktop behind him. He reached for Elizabeth then, grabbing hold of her by the hips and dragging her to stand in front of him, fingers sliding to her waist. She moved hers to settle around his neck, arms dangling there and fingers playing with the ends of his hair. "It's not my fault you're a snob when it comes to these things."

He chuckled. "I never used to be," he assured her. "I suspect as I've gotten older my tastes have become more refined. I imagine that answers why I fell for you."

She gently tugged on a strand of hair. "I don't know whether to be insulted or flattered by that," she told him and he just chuckled darkly at her.

"Flattered," he assured her and she just let out a soft hmm to him. He kissed her again and Elizabeth let herself get lost in the moment. She wanted to forget everything for a few moments and this felt like the perfect way to do it. He moved his hands to her skirt, trying to gather the material in his hands but failing miserably because of the leather. He let his lips slip across to her neck, kissing the skin there softly. "Why did you wear this skirt? It's impossible to get off," he told her in between kisses and Elizabeth laughed, a hand going to his chest.

"Because I like to make things difficult for you," she told him.

"Damn right you do," he murmured.

Before he had a chance to find the hidden zip, her phone began to vibrate on the worktop. "I need to get that," she said to him.

"No, you don't," he replied.

"Yes, I do," she continued laughing as she tried to lean around him and pick her phone up, but he tried to hold her back, arms going around her waist. She kept on laughing as he went back to kissing her neck, lips slipping down to her shoulder as she finally grabbed hold of her phone. She kept a hand against his chest, pushing back at it and trying to get him to move his mouth from her. "In-ho," she complained.

"Hurry up and take the call so that I can get back to what I'm doing," he urged from her.

"Just…no funny business," she said and he murmured in her free ear before she pressed her phone to her other ear.

"Make no promises," he said.

She pretended to scowl at him before speaking into the phone. "Hello?"

"It's me."

In-ho could vaguely hear the voice from the other end, but he didn't need to hear it to know who it was. Her posture stiffened and she swallowed hard. In-ho kept his arm around her waist and he felt her grip hold of his arm with her free hand, clinging onto him.

"What do you want?" she asked, speaking in English back to her husband.

"I think we need to talk," he said to her.

"I have nothing to say to you."

"I have plenty I want to say to you. If you want this to end then meet me."

"Where?"

"The apartment."

"No," Elizabeth said, voice firm. "I'm not going back there. You either meet me in public or not at all."

There was silence then. "Fine," he relented.

"I'll text you," Elizabeth said and hung up, tossing the phone onto the worktop like it had burned her. She kept her hand on In-ho's arm and he moved his free hand to her cheek, guiding her to look him in the eye. "I don't know what he wants."

"You're sure it's a good idea to go to him?" In-ho asked her.

"No, but I don't think I have any other choice."

…

In-ho wasn't keen on letting Elizabeth go and meet her husband, but she had insisted she would be fine. The only saving grace was that she was meeting him in a bar in the middle of the city. In-ho wanted to go with her, but she warned him that she wasn't sure what her husband had planned. She had no idea if anyone would picture the two of them together. She knew that it would be best to go alone. He'd compromised and told her that he would wait in the bar next door for her to finish and he was ready to step in if she needed him.

Elizabeth had left him in the bar, kissing him quickly and then heading to the meeting point. When they had first moved to Seoul, Victoria and Robert would frequent the bar often. Back then they had tried a bit more in their marriage. She knew that their marriage was a sham, but she had done everything in her power to keep it going. She knew that it had been futile though.

She was the first one there. She found a secluded spot in the corner, sitting at a table with two chairs behind the bar in the middle of the room. She took the white wine she'd ordered and scanned the room, waiting for her husband to come in. He was twenty minutes late. Elizabeth was about to give up on waiting on him when he walked towards her.

"You're looking well," he told her and he sat down next to her in the spare chair. Elizabeth tossed her hair behind her shoulders and cocked a brow. She saw her husband look her up and down, drinking in the short black skirt she wore with the cream blouse tucked into it. She had thick black tights on and knee-high suede black boots. She'd tried to blend in as best she could, not wanting to attract attention to herself.

Her husband, on the other hand, looked dishevelled. His shirt had creases in it and his hair seemed wet from sweat, beads of it on his forehead that he kept wiping with the back of his hand. He'd loosened his tie around his neck and she saw that his throat looked red, like he'd been scratching at it.

"Wish I could say the same," Elizabeth said and he chuckled at that, fingers moving through his locks of hair. "What do you want, Robert?"

"I need you to drop this," he told her. "I need you to tell people that what happened was a big mistake."

Elizabeth's eyes widened. "What was?"

"This," he said, pointing between the two of them. "Us fighting. I need you to say that I never abused you…that it was a cry for help. I need you to do that and then I can make your legal problems go away. I can get you back in the law firm…have your licence reinstated."

She knew better than to trust him. "What's the catch?" she asked him.

"No catch," Robert promised her. "I just need you to do this for me, Elizabeth, please. I need…I just need you to do this and then…come home."

Elizabeth was about to laugh at that. She tried to refrain, a chuckle coming from her lips. She moved a hand over her mouth and Robert just kept on staring at her. "Come home?" she said. "You can't be serious, Robert. Why the hell would I come home?"

"Because it's us," he told her and he reached for her hand, taking hold of it. "It's us, Elizabeth. I know what I said…it was cruel…and I…but it was only because you hurt me. You hurt me when you ran off with that man and I didn't know how to react. But we belong together. Don't you see that? You and me…we're meant to be. I know that you still love me. I know that you still have feelings for me."

"Is this a joke?" Elizabeth asked him. "Are there hidden cameras somewhere? Am I being pranked?"

"You don't need to be so snarky," he sniped.

"And how can I not be?" she questioned from him. "You're standing there and saying you want to get back together with me. Do you have any idea of the hell you put me through? I was homeless, Robert. I had nowhere to go. I spent a month wandering the streets…hiding in alleyways to avoid being attacked, but that didn't save me. Do you know what people did to me?"

"How was I to know you had nowhere to go?" he asked.

Elizabeth tried to keep a hold of her temper, but it was bubbling to the surface. She wanted to yell at him. She wanted to hurt him. She wanted to smack the smug look off of his face. "Because you made sure I had no friends," Elizabeth hissed, trying not to raise her voice. "You isolated me from everyone. You kept me to yourself. I had no one."

"What about that sugar daddy of yours? You know he's probably a good fifteen year's older than you, right?" he checked with her.

"He's twenty year's older, actually," Elizabeth clarified. "And he was never my sugar daddy. That's disgusting. I actually…I didn't know if I could go to him because of how he'd react…if he'd trust me because you made sure to turn everyone against me and stack the evidence up against me too. But I'm with him now. I'm with him and I love him." Elizabeth didn't want the first time she admitted it to be to her husband, but it was the truth. She loved him. "And he actually loves me. For the first time, I think I know what it's like to be with someone who loves me."

And that was true. Elizabeth was certain of it.

"You love his money. You're just using him…never thought I'd see you turn into a gold-digger."

"That's rich coming from you," she said. "You were the one who took all of my money. Has he helped me? Yes. He took me in when no one wanted me. He kept me hidden from everything going on here because I needed time. And he's the one who helped convince me to come back and fight you. And that's what I'm doing. I'm going to fight you, Robert, because I want my name cleared. You're not getting away with what you've done to me."

"And what about what you did to me?" he demanded from her and she rolled her eyes. He leaned forwards, pointing at her, spit flying from the corners of his mouth. "You disappeared and people thought I'd hurt you. That stupid PA of yours said how you'd go into work with bruises. Do you know what they're saying behind my back at the office? That I abused you…that I hurt you."

"Does the truth hurt?" Elizabeth wondered.

"We both know that's a load of shit," he said. "I never really hurt you and you know it."

Elizabeth shook her head. "You put me in hospital twice," she reminded him. "You beat me so badly that one time I couldn't move from the floor for hours. I just laid there and cried…and you came back and you told me that it was my fault. You told me that I'd driven you to it and you…how many times did I tell you that I didn't want you? How many times did I beg you to leave me alone and you forced yourself on me?"

He did look away then, almost like he was ashamed. But Elizabeth knew better. Her husband didn't do shame, not really. He liked to play the victim and he was good at it.

"And now you're having to defend yourself from the truth? And you want me to protect you? No. I'm done keeping quiet. I'm done thinking that I'm worthless and don't matter because I do. And I'm going to get my life back. I'm going to get what you took from me and you're going to have nothing. You're going to find out what it's like…being on the outside and looking in…because I'll make sure of it."

She finished her glass of wine, placing it back on the table almost too forcefully. She was about to gather her coat and leave, but Robert grabbed her wrist.

"Lucy left me," he told her. "As soon as rumours started swirling that I'd abused you, she left."

"They're not rumours," Elizabeth said.

"And my boss…my job is on the line here…I'm hanging by a thread because everyone believes you and if they find out about the gambling…the set-up…" he trailed off like it was too difficult for him to say.

But Elizabeth just shook her head. "That's not my problem," she told him. "Get off of me. I'm leaving."

"Just come home," he urged from her. "We can fix this. He won't want you forever, Elizabeth, but I will. I will want you. I do want you. I promise. Please. Come home."

Elizabeth leaned towards him, her face inches from his eyes glimmering with righteousness. "I'm never coming back. And he does want me. He wants me more than anything and I want him," Elizabeth hissed. "So good luck, Robert, but this is over…and…before I forget…I want a divorce."

He tried to grab her and make her sit back down, reeking of desperation. Elizabeth shook her head, trying to push him from her and knowing that they were making a scene. "Sit down," he demanded. "Sit down, you stupid money-grabbing whore."

And then Elizabeth's hand balled into a fist. She pulled her elbow back and punched him in the nose with enough force to make him stumble backwards. His hands went to clasp hold of his nose, blood pouring from him as a string of expletives tumbled from his lips. The people sat around him gasped loudly, pointing him out. Elizabeth just looked at him, a smile forming on her face as he collapsed back into his chair.

"You bitch," he snapped.

"You were the one who wouldn't let go," she told him. "Goodbye, Robert."

She draped her coat over her arm and picked her bag up, hanging it on her shoulder. She rushed to the exit, keeping her head down and making sure her husband couldn't follow her. Once she was on the pavement outside, she turned her head over her shoulder and a loud laugh escaped her, making people walking by jump in surprise. She kept on laughing as she went into the bar where In-ho was waiting. She made her way through the crowd and found him sat at one end of the bar. He was nursing a glass of scotch, phone in his other hand. He didn't notice her approach, her hand going to his arm and wrapping around it.

"Hey," she greeted him, looking to the window of the bar to make sure her husband hadn't followed her. In-ho noted the red stain on her cheeks and the way she kept frantically looking around. But the thing he noticed the most was the curve of her lips. She was smiling.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

"Yeah," Elizabeth assured him. "I kind of punched him so I just wanted to get out of there quickly."

"You what?" In-ho asked from her.

"He was saying how he wanted me to go back on what I'd said," she said, well aware she was talking quickly, speech garbled. "That he never hit me and I was making it up. He's fucked. His boss is looking into him and his girlfriend left him. He has no money and if I'm not mistaken, he looked desperate…he looked terrible…"

"You think he's gambling again?"

"I bet he never stopped," Elizabeth said, still looking out the window. "Shit, he's there."

"Come here," In-ho said and he slipped from his stool, pocketing his phone and grabbing her hand. He dragged her towards the back of the bar and through a door that said 'staff only'. Her husband had looked in the window and he thought that he'd seen them, but he couldn't be sure. Either way, he wasn't going to take the chance.

"We're not supposed to be back here," Elizabeth told him as they moved along a corridor that had shelves either side of it, alcohol stacked up high on it.

"We're not going to be here for long," he promised her and came to a back exit. Opening the door, they stepped into an alleyway, steam rising from grates and bins filled with rubbish and make a pungent smell. In-ho kept his hand tight around Elizabeth's practically dragging her along. Her coat was still in her arms and she moved her bag across her body to keep it secure.

In-ho kept looking over his shoulder, suddenly feeling very alert. And then he heard the door open from down the alleyway.

"Elizabeth!" Robert roared her name loudly.

"Shit," Elizabeth muttered.

"I can handle him," In-ho assured her.

Elizabeth shook her head. "We're in public. We can't make a scene," she reminded him and he knew that she had a point. He wanted to handle him, but she was right. If anyone saw them then that wouldn't reflect well on either of them if the press got hold of it.

"Run," In-ho suddenly decided and Elizabeth wasn't sure if he was joking, but by the way he tugged her arm nearly out of its socket, she knew he wasn't. He was quicker than she was as they ran down the alley, Robert chasing after them. Elizabeth let In-ho take the lead, their hands sweating and her boot heels clicking on the floor. Coming to the main street, In-ho managed to push through the crowds and Robert shouted her name again. They kept on running, people giving them strange looks before In-ho dived into another alley and then took a turn down another one, hiding round the corner. Elizabeth kept her back to the wall, In-ho in front of her. She peeked round the corner, In-ho doing the same and they saw Robert run past. They hid quickly again, making sure they were out of sight.

In-ho placed a hand over Elizabeth's mouth. She was giggling and leant back on the brickwork, her head tilted back. In-ho took another look onto the street, but there was no sign of Robert. He finally relaxed a bit more and looked at Elizabeth confusingly.

"What's so funny?" he asked her.

He dared to move his hand from her mouth.

"Honestly?" she asked him. "I don't know…just running away from him…seeing him with a bloody nose…it just…is it wrong to feel good? Is it wrong to be happy that he's hurting?"

She laughed again and In-ho just moved a hand to rest by the side of her head, leaning closer to her, a hand going to her waist and pushing her body to his. "You're a strange, strange woman, Elizabeth Jacobs."

"But you still want me?"

"Always," he told her and captured her lips against his.

…

Lying in bed, In-ho looked to Elizabeth as she slept soundly. She was laid on her front, one arm underneath the pillow and naked. He grabbed hold of the quilt and tugged it up to cover her back. She shifted but didn't wake. He brushed her hair from her face and just drank in her soft features on her face. The two of them had gone back to the apartment and had been consumed by each other. Clothes were strewn around the apartment as they tumbled into the bed without breaking their kisses. She'd laid beneath him, legs wrapped around his waist as he cradled her face in his hands, peppering kisses on her nose and cheeks, listening to her moan. He'd held her tightly once they'd finished, arms going around her and cradling her to his chest. And then they'd fallen asleep for a while, moving apart and across the bed.

In-ho woke up at around six, but Elizabeth was still fast asleep. He bent down and kissed her shoulder before moving from the bed. He grabbed his clothes on the way, picking them up on his way to the bathroom. Freshening up, he dressed and went to the living room. He found his phone in his coat that Elizabeth had slipped from his shoulders and thrown onto the sofa. He picked her clothes up and folded them neatly, setting them on the sofa for her.

Opening up his contact list, he scrolled to that familiar number.

"Yes?" the man on the other end of the line answered.

"I want you to go after him," In-ho said.

There was a moment of silence. "I've seen the news. She's doing well to clear her name…slowly…of course."

"He tried to get her to go back on what she said which makes me think he must be desperate and if he's desperate then he wants her for her money again…promising to help her get her job back…which means he's gambling again."

"I don't think a man like him could stop gambling," he said. "And you're sure about this?"

"Never been surer of anything in my life," In-ho replied. "Find him. I want him in the game."

"I'll let you know when it's done."

In-ho hung up and left his phone on the coffee table. He moved towards the window and looked out over the skyline before him, the sun breaking through the clouds. He knew that Robert might be suffering now, but he needed him to suffer even more. He wanted that for Elizabeth. He wanted her to see her husband ruined and he had the perfect way to do it.