Three years later, everything had changed.
Seo-ah was no longer that ordinary girl. She was now a famous, glamorous model—but the tomboy spirit inside her had only grown more mature.
Three years had passed inside a secret, heavily guarded palace in the city.
Seo-ah's long black hair now flowed past her waist. She was internationally renowned as a top model, yet behind all that glamour lay Victor's iron cage.
In the palace drawing room, Victor lounged comfortably on the sofa. In his arms was a three-year-old child—his eyes shining the same blue as Kim's. The child was crying uncontrollably.
"Waaah… Mama… Mama…"
Victor glanced irritably at Seo-ah. She was pacing in the middle of the room, wearing a thin silk dress that traced every curve of her body. Her once-rebellious gaze was now heavy with sorrow.
"Seo-ah!" Victor snapped harshly. "Calm him down. He's crying for milk. Can't you see the child is hungry?"
Seo-ah stopped. She looked at the child.
This baby was the living reminder of Victor's monstrous night—yet still, the child carried her own blood.
She slowly walked toward Victor.
"Give him to me," she said in a low, icy voice.
"This is what you wanted, isn't it? To imprison me in this palace and turn me into a mother."
She took the child into her arms and sat at the corner of the sofa, unfastening her dress to breastfeed him. The moment the child touched her chest, he calmed down.
Victor watched her with a demonic satisfaction.
He believed he had succeeded in making Seo-ah his forever—but he had no idea that behind her quiet obedience, a massive plan had been growing for three years.
And Kim…
For three years, no one knew where Kim was.
Rumors said he had been imprisoned on an unknown island by Victor's men.
But tonight, unease spread among the palace guards.
Outside the massive gates stood a tall figure in a black coat. Beneath his umbrella, sapphire-blue eyes gleamed like diamonds in the dark.
Kim had returned.
And he had not come alone—he had come to burn Victor's carefully constructed hell to the ground.
Entering through a secret back door, Kim held a rifle he had seized from the guards. He assumed Seo-ah was locked away in some dark cell.
But the sight inside the drawing room froze him in place.
From the shadows, Kim saw Seo-ah sitting calmly on the sofa, her long hair cascading over her shoulders. A baby rested in her arms as she fed him gently.
Beside her, Victor touched her chin with obvious pleasure.
From afar, the child's blue eyes caught Kim's attention.
Kim's heart shattered instantly.
Three years.
Three years I endured hell to save her.
And she's living a married life with Victor?
Is this child the symbol of their love?
No tears fell—only rage and humiliation burned crimson in his sapphire eyes.
To him, Seo-ah was no longer his revolutionary lover.
She was Victor's queen.
His finger unknowingly tightened on the rifle trigger.
"Seo-ah…" he whispered. "Did you betray me too?"
At that moment, Seo-ah's eyes fell on the window glass.
She saw a shadow—and instantly recognized those blue eyes she could never forget.
Her heart stopped.
Kim was here.
And he was misunderstanding everything.
She tried to scream his name—but Victor wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her close. He knew Kim was nearby. This was all deliberate.
Kim could no longer hide.
With a powerful kick, he shattered the glass doors and stormed inside.
The crash made Victor jump to his feet. Seo-ah clutched the child to her chest in terror.
Through dust and broken glass, Kim emerged—his black coat soaked, his sapphire eyes blazing with fire.
He marched straight toward Seo-ah.
Tears filled her eyes.
"Kim… you're back?" she whispered.
But there was no love on his face.
Only a twisted smile.
"I'm back," Kim shouted, "to see with my own eyes how happily the woman I loved sleeps in my brother's bed! I rotted on an island for three years thinking of you—and you became Victor's baby-bearing wife?"
"Kim, listen—this isn't what you think. I was forced—"
"Forced?" he cut her off viciously.
"Or did you sell yourself for luxury and fame? Looking at your long hair and expensive clothes makes me sick. You're not Seo-ah anymore—you're Victor's cheap toy!"
He glared at the child with disgust.
"This child is the product of your sin with Victor. I'm ashamed I ever touched you. Seeing you play the loving mother makes me want to vomit."
Seo-ah stood frozen.
Each word pierced her heart like an arrow.
Victor watched from the shadows, smiling.
He had built the wall he wanted.
Finally, Seo-ah broke.
Her tears dried, replaced by blazing fury.
She stood, holding the child tightly, and stepped right up to Kim.
"Insult me all you want," she said sharply.
"Call me characterless if you like—but never dare call this child Victor's sin!"
She held the baby out toward him.
"Look at his eyes. Does Victor have blue eyes? Who else in this city has eyes like this, Kim?"
Her voice broke into sobs.
"That night was abuse—but this child was not born from it. He is ours. From the last night we loved each other."
Kim froze.
The rifle nearly slipped from his hands.
Those eyes—identical to his own.
"I survived this hell for three years," Seo-ah cried,
"to protect the last piece of you. Victor made me a model to control me—but I became a mother to save your child. And you came back and called me a whore?"
Kim realized the magnitude of his mistake.
Then Victor laughed and raised a remote.
"How touching," he sneered.
"I wanted you to kill your own son with your hands. But now that you know—let's all die together."
Seo-ah silently signaled Kim to retreat.
She stepped beside Victor, letting him put a hand on her shoulder.
"If he dies by your hands," she said calmly,
"my child becomes the son of a murderer. Let us stay in this hell."
Kim lowered his rifle.
Two months later, they escaped the cursed palace.
Kim reclaimed his empire and began a new life with Seo-ah and their child at a secure mountain resort.
That morning, Seo-ah stood before the mirror, dressed in soft cream silk.
The tomboy girl had become a breathtaking woman.
Kim watched from the doorway, his sapphire eyes filled with warmth.
"You look beautiful," he said softly.
"It feels like I found the Seo-ah I lost three years ago."
She smiled and adjusted his tie.
"All of this is because of you."
Later that night, as they drove through quiet roads, their eyes met in the rearview mirror.
Time seemed to stop.
Kim smiled mischievously.
"What are you looking at? Or were you watching me?"
Seo-ah blushed and looked away.
The neon lights danced across the car windows.
After all the storms, this quiet love was her greatest reward.ঠিক আছে—আমি চালিয়ে দিচ্ছি, একই টোন, একই আবেগ ধরে রেখে।
এখানেও কোনো অধ্যায় নম্বর থাকবে না।
The road stretched endlessly ahead, quiet and empty.
The soft hum of the engine blended with the night air drifting in through the slightly open window. Kim drove with full concentration—one hand steady on the steering wheel, the other occasionally brushing close to Seo-ah's hand as he shifted gears.
Seo-ah leaned back comfortably, scrolling through her phone. Perhaps she was looking at photos of their child… or revisiting fragments of a past life she had barely survived.
Suddenly, she felt it.
That unmistakable sensation—
Someone was watching her.
She lifted her gaze from the phone.
And in that exact moment, something magical happened.
In the rearview mirror, her eyes met Kim's.
He wasn't looking at her directly, yet through the narrow frame of the mirror, his sapphire-blue eyes were fixed on her reflection. At the same time, Seo-ah's curious gaze locked onto his.
For a single heartbeat, time froze.
The world narrowed down to that small mirror—two souls meeting after storms, blood, misunderstandings, and survival.
Seo-ah felt slightly flustered and quickly looked away. Kim, caught red-handed, smiled—that familiar, boyish, mischievous smile she remembered so well.
Pretending nothing happened, Seo-ah looked back at her phone, but the shy curve of her lips betrayed her.
Kim noticed.
"What are you looking at on your phone?" he asked softly, eyes still on the road.
"Or were you secretly watching me in the mirror?"
Seo-ah lowered her gaze, cheeks warming.
"No! I was just… checking the time."
The dashboard's dim glow painted her face in soft light, making the blush on her cheeks even more obvious. Kim knew she was lying—and that small, innocent lie made his heart ache with affection.
Neon lights from the roadside slipped through the windows, casting shifting shadows across their faces. The city felt far away now. So did the pain.
After a while, Seo-ah spoke quietly.
"Kim… do you ever think about what we lost?"
Kim tightened his grip on the steering wheel for a moment.
"Yes," he replied honestly.
"But I think more about what we survived."
She turned toward him.
"I was afraid," she said softly.
"Afraid that after everything… you'd never look at me the same way again."
Kim glanced at her briefly, then slowed the car and pulled it to the side of the road.
The silence between them deepened.
He turned to face her fully.
"Seo-ah," he said firmly,
"I lost you once because I believed lies. I will never make that mistake again."
He reached out and gently took her hands—hands that had endured chains, cameras, fame, blood, and motherhood.
"You are not broken.
You are not stained.
You are stronger than anyone I know."
Her eyes trembled.
"And this life we have now," he continued,
"this child… this quiet road… this peace—
this is not compensation."
He leaned closer.
"This is our victory."
Seo-ah's eyes filled with tears—not of pain, but release. She leaned forward and rested her forehead against his shoulder.
For the first time in years, she allowed herself to feel safe.
Kim started the car again, merging back onto the road.
Far ahead, the lights of their home glowed faintly against the dark hills.
Behind them lay a past soaked in blood and betrayal.
Ahead waited an uncertain future—but one they would face together.
And in the backseat, asleep and unaware, lay the living proof of their survival.
The road moved forward.
So did they.