There was a collective gasp from the crowd after the confession and Soo Ah wished the land would open up and swallow her because all eyes were on her. As someone who had been wishing for attention throughout the night, it was funny she was thinking the opposite of it at the moment. However, this was not the type of attention she wanted, everyone was supposed to fawn at her, not look at her as if she was.... dirt.
Tears pricked her eyes knowing society wasn't fair to people like her - illegitimate spawns. That was why they had kept it hidden all this while until now. Soo Ah stared at the crowd and could make out the disgust on some of their faces. Whatever respect most of them had for her was gone after this revelation.
But then Soo Ah would not cry, she might have been the illegitimate child, but not anymore. Her father was married to her mother, hence she was his legal child. She had the same right as In Ha did even if their father had cheated on her mother to birth her. They shared the same father, which meant she was equal to her.
Unfortunately, Soo Ah couldn't convince the audience otherwise. Most people who knew of the former madam began to gossip about it, letting others who didn't know the news in the first place about how she was cheated out of her marriage by her best friend.
Most of them who knew the truth in the first place was afraid to talk in the past, however, In Ha had given them the chance to discuss the issue without fear of being confronted and Soo Ah's mother went red in the face, embarrassed to the core.
But then, that was Chae In Ha's goal in the first place, to let the world know how much her mother suffered in the name of marriage. When her mother chose to divorce her husband, tongues wagged and most people laid the bigger blame on her. They claimed she wasn't strong enough to protect her marriage, but there was only so much a person can take - her father's betrayal had eaten deep at her. He had hidden his secret child from her mother for fifteen years, not to mention, right under her nose with her best friend? What woman would take that?
Her mother had laughed with her best friend. Even told her her deepest secret. And the worst of all, even took care of Soo Ah as if it were her old child... If only she knew it was her husband's child. Her best friend had told her that she had a one-night chance and got pregnant by chance. Her mother pitied her and even accompanied her to the labor room. No, she had played with her mother's feelings to the fullest. If only she knew she was taking care of her husband's daughter and not a stranger's child as she had thought.
After her mother left the marriage, Soo Ah's mother attempted to make her warm up to her. She even went ahead to tell her that her father had gotten her pregnant and she had no choice, but In Ha knew otherwise. Everyone had a choice. If she loved and respected her mother as she claimed, she could have aborted the child to save her friend's marriage and move away as far as possible, but she didn't. She was wrapped up in her greed - in her greed to take what doesn't belong to her. Her mother's marriage.
It might seem like a fairytale, but her parents once loved each other, or so In Ha thought. Everything became clear to her after her parent's divorce, why her grandparents never supported her mother's marriage to her father. Just like every rich girl meets a poor guy story and falls in love, her grandparents never liked her father because they claimed he was after their resources. But her mother never listened and as an only child, she was spoiled rotten.
Hence, they let her do whatever she wanted just so they don't lose their only daughter, and in the end, what they feared came true. Her meek, naive and gullible self never had an interest in the company but her husband was smart and business-minded, she got her husband the position of president in the company.
And then, when her father got what he wanted, the truth came into the limelight, her mother's so-claimed best friend was the woman he loved over the years and they were harboring a daughter, the same child her mother has been taking care of over the years and she, In Ha, took in as a sister she thought she would never have.
So no, that betrayal didn't hurt her mother only, it gored her deep as well. Her world had come crashing the day she heard the truth and it didn't help things that her mother was too absorbed in her own pain, that she didn't notice her daughter was affected as well. But it didn't matter anymore, because that pain had made her stronger and now, she was here to give each of them a piece of their own medicine.
In Ha knew their plans, Soo Ah's mother wanted her daughter to inherit the company. But that wasn't going to happen because even though her father was the president, her grandfather was still the chairman and would never let that happen.
That was why they needed to align themselves with the Park family through marriage to gain more power. But that wasn't going to happen, just the same way her mother has ruined her family, In Ha would do the same to Soo Ah. It was an eye for an eye. And to think that Soo Ah wanted to marry the same guy who did that to her, she was really a bitch. But don't worry, she'd bring them down together. All of them deserved a special place in hell.
Chae In Ha finally climbed down the stage, and not even the security could stop her because they too were interested in the drama. Moreover, her friends were resolute that they wouldn't pass through, hence they all watched. No, everyone watched as In Ha walked over to her sister whose feet were rooted to the ground.
Since they were standing on the last step, Chae In Ha simply stood before her sister whom she was taller than even though Soo Ah was on heels. She turned to the side and saw Woo Bin who hadn't taken his eyes on her since they arrived and now she was close, his gaze bored into her.
Anger filled her knowing the asshole was alive and kicking after what he did to her years back. Even though she was deeply scarred from the incident, he was well and had moved on - that was just unfair society was to women. However, Chae In Ha pushed back the anger knowing he would surely pay for everything, but she had to put the plan in motion. So she winked at him and Soo Ah very much saw that.
Great anger-filled Soo Ah at that gesture, and coupled with the disgrace, all she could think about was that In Ha was back to steal Woo Bin from her as she tried to years back. Hence she stepped aggressively toward In Ha and it almost looked like she lunged at her sister. But then, In Ha had been waiting for something like that all along, hence the moment Soo Ah got into her space, she fell back hard to the ground, and to everyone, it looked like Soo Ah had pushed her.
In front of everyone.