The press conference was scheduled for noon, but the crowd had already started to gather outside the Seoul Media Tower by mid-morning. Cameramen adjusted their lenses, reporters jostled for space, and whispers spread like wildfire. Everyone wanted the scoop. After weeks of speculation, denial, and swirling rumors, the truth was finally coming out.
Inside the building, Hena stood in front of the full-length mirror, adjusting the delicate pearl pin on her blazer. She had chosen white—not for innocence, but for strength. Today wasn't just about the truth. It was about reclaiming her voice.
Damian entered the room behind her, dressed in a sleek gray suit. His presence was grounding. Calm. Fierce.
"You ready?" he asked softly.
She met his gaze in the mirror, then turned to face him. "I have to be. It's not just about clearing my name anymore. This is about my life, my story, my family. No one else gets to rewrite it."
Damian nodded. "Then let's make sure the world hears it."
They walked side by side into the press room, where the media erupted into a flurry of flashes and murmurs. At the podium, Damian raised his hand to silence the noise.
"Thank you all for being here. I am Damian Lee. I want to make a formal statement today—not as a CEO, but as someone who believes the truth always finds a way to the surface."
He looked to Hena, who stepped forward, her voice clear and steady.
"My name is Seo Hena. For years, I lived in the shadows of my sister, manipulated and silenced. Many of you know me only through lies, shaped to protect the image of someone else. But I am here to correct the record."
She took a deep breath.
"I am not an imposter. I am not a liar. I am the biological daughter of the man Madam Seo once called her husband. I am Hara's twin sister. We were separated at birth. One raised in secrecy, the other groomed in luxury."
Gasps echoed through the room.
"I am not asking for pity," she continued. "But I demand the dignity of the truth. And I am no longer afraid to tell it."
Reporters shot up, calling her name, but Damian stepped forward again.
"Before you ask—yes, I was once engaged to Seo Hara. But I ended the engagement days ago. Not because of Hena," he added, glancing at her with affection, "but because I saw through the facade. I will not be part of any alliance built on deception."
Cameras flashed.
"And now," Hena said, voice trembling for the first time as she looked at Damian, "I want to say something I never had the courage to admit before."
She turned to him completely.
"I don't care what the world thinks anymore. I've spent so much of my life hiding or being hidden. But when I'm with you, Damian... I feel like I exist. Like I matter. I love you."
The room exploded into gasps and shouts.
Damian didn't hesitate. He stepped toward her and took her hand.
"And I love you," he said without shame or restraint. "From the moment I saw you cry and tried to pretend you weren't. From the moment you looked at me not as a CEO, but as a man who needed saving."
They embraced, ignoring the chaos around them.
Across Seoul, in a lavish penthouse, Hara sat frozen before the television screen. The press conference played live, showing her sister in the spotlight—elegant, strong, loved.
Her vision blurred.
Her hand trembled as she reached for the remote but didn't press it. She watched Damian speak, eyes soft as he looked at Hena. She watched him hold her hand. Smile at her.
It was over.
She had lost.
All the games, the manipulation, the lies—none of it mattered anymore.
The very truth she had tried so hard to bury had risen like a phoenix.
And now, Hara was alone in the ashes.
Tears slid down her cheeks, hot and unwanted. Not from love. Not from jealousy. But from something far more painful:
Emptiness.