Hiroto sat alone in his study, the weight of the world pressing down on him. He had watched Eunji pull away, her once bright presence now a mere shadow of what it had been. Every attempt to reach out to her had been met with silence or cold indifference. His heart, usually so calm in the face of corporate battles, now ached with a depth he hadn’t known in years.

His thoughts were consumed with her—the way she had avoided him, the way she looked at him with those eyes, so different from the girl he once knew. The weight of the lie he had told, the secret he had kept for so long, was suffocating him. He had failed her in the most fundamental way. But even now, as the truth loomed between them like a canyon, he couldn’t find the courage to bridge the gap.

But he had to try.

With a deep breath, Hiroto stood up from his desk and left the study. He moved through the mansion like a man on a mission, passing rooms that now seemed foreign to him. The hallways echoed with the emptiness left behind by Eunji’s absence.

He found her in the garden, her back to him as she stood by the koi pond, her gaze lost in the ripple of the water. The scene was tranquil, but Hiroto could feel the tension in the air, thick with the words they hadn’t spoken, the truth they had both been avoiding.

"Eunji," he called softly, his voice trembling with an emotion he couldn’t name.

She didn’t turn around. She didn’t even acknowledge his presence at first. But he could hear the slight tension in her posture, the way her shoulders stiffened, as if she knew this conversation was inevitable.

"Eunji," he repeated, stepping closer, his voice more urgent now. "Please, can we talk?"

She turned, her eyes cold and distant. The expression on her face was unreadable, yet it burned with something Hiroto had never seen before: anger.

"You want to talk?" she asked, her voice sharp and biting. "Why now, Uncle? So you can feel better about yourself?"

Hiroto recoiled slightly at the coldness of her words, but he refused to look away. Her gaze, once full of trust and admiration, was now filled with something far more painful—betrayal.

"I never wanted to hurt you," he said quietly, his throat tightening. "I just—"

"Just what?" Eunji interrupted, her voice rising. "You just wanted to protect me? From the truth? From my own life?"

Hiroto’s heart sank as she took a step back, crossing her arms defensively. Her eyes burned with an intensity he hadn’t expected. The distance between them seemed impossible to close now, no matter how many times he tried.

"You lied to me for my whole life," she continued, her voice trembling with restrained fury. "You lied to me about who I was, about who you are. And now… now I don’t even know who I am anymore. You made me feel like a stranger in my own skin, like everything about me—my family, my past, my identity—was a lie."

"That’s not true," Hiroto said, his voice shaking. "I never meant for you to feel that way, Eunji. I didn’t want to lie to you. I just—"

"You just what?" Eunji’s laugh was bitter, a sharp contrast to the sadness in her eyes. "You just didn’t want to tell me the truth? You didn’t want me to know who I really am? What’s so wrong with me, huh? Why did you think I couldn’t handle the truth?"

Hiroto’s chest tightened as he searched for the right words, but the truth felt so raw now, so painful. He wanted to explain, wanted to tell her everything, but he knew deep down that it was too late. She had already figured it out.

"You are my daughter," he whispered, his voice barely audible. "I am your father. And I—I am sorry. I should have told you sooner."

For a moment, the world seemed to stop. Eunji’s face twisted in a mixture of disbelief and anger. She took a step back, her eyes wide, her lips trembling with unshed tears.

"Don’t you dare," she said, her voice low and venomous. "Don’t you dare call yourself my father. You are nothing to me. You’re just ‘Uncle.’ That’s all you’ll ever be."

Hiroto’s heart cracked at the words, but he didn’t show it. He stood there, frozen, as Eunji’s anger lashed out like a storm.

"I never asked for any of this," Eunji spat, her hands trembling at her sides. "I never asked for your life, for your lies, for your twisted idea of what’s best for me. I never wanted to be a model, never wanted to live in your mansion, and I sure as hell didn’t want to be treated like some doll to be polished and perfected. I wanted a life that was mine, not one that was carefully constructed for me by you!"

Hiroto took a step forward, reaching out to her, but Eunji flinched away, as if his touch would burn her. He stopped, his hand hanging awkwardly in the air, before he slowly lowered it.

"I know I failed you," he said quietly, his voice breaking. "But I wanted to protect you. I wanted to give you everything—everything I thought you deserved."

"Well, you didn’t," Eunji retorted, her voice hard and final. "You gave me a lie. And now I don’t even know who I am anymore."

There was a long, painful silence between them. Hiroto stood there, helpless, unable to find the words that might heal the rift between them. He had done this to her. He had made her feel like a stranger in her own life, and now, there was no undoing it.

Eunji finally turned away, walking toward the garden’s edge, her steps slow but purposeful. "I don’t need you to fix this, Uncle," she said, her voice quiet but resolute. "I need you to leave me alone."

Hiroto watched as she disappeared into the shadows, his heart breaking with each step she took. She was lost to him now, and he could feel the weight of her words crushing him.

"Please, Eunji," he whispered, but she didn’t look back. She didn’t need to. The truth was already clear.