More Than Passion and Lust (COMPLETED)

[1] Underhanded

Chapter 1 Underhanded

With a muffled swish, the ivory wedding gown slid down her olive skin pooling around bare feet, leaving her naked save for the white lace undergarments. She stepped out of the gown and made quick work of removing the offending pins that held the perfectly coiffed hair, dropping everything on the carpeted floor as she pulled them out.

She gave her hair one last shake and the long brunette mass tumbled artlessly over her shoulders and back like bunched satin. Bending down, she picked up the gown and with enough force, threw it across the room where it landed on one end of the heart-shaped bed.

Twenty-five-year-old Jennie Kim stared at the garment with cold eyes. The whiteness and the intricate bead-work of the gown, a startling contrast to the deep hue of the red bedspread and the dim lights of the honeymoon suite, making it appear too bright . . . too perfect . . . too offending in Jennie's eyes.

A slight frown creased her forehead, disgust suddenly evident. The gown that was currently a huge clump on the bed, in all its simple elegance, seems to be taunting her. That such a wonderful creation from designer Monique Lhuillier is worn by a happy bride.

Happy, though, is something Jennie was definitely not. Not in this moment!

If circumstances were different, she would have felt the appropriate joy of being a bride. Hell, she might have even blushed with happiness while flaunting the expensive gown . . . but unfortunately for her, it wasn't the case.

Abruptly, a wave of anger and sadness assailed her and she felt the back of her eyes burn. She tightly shut them forcing the tears to dry before they even fall. She repudiated to feel weak and pitiful. She had to be strong for her own sake. She refused to shed a tear over this predicament that her wicked witch of a stepmother cunningly thrust upon her.

She will not cry.

Taking control of her emotions, Jennie opened her eyes and stepped closer to the bed casting the gown off with an angry push of the hand. And as if that wasn't enough distance from her, she kicked it like a soccer ball. It went flying off the floor then landed right at the door leading to the dressing area.

Childish behavior, of course. But she knew taking out her irritation and anger on the gown was a better way to dispense all the negativity in her emotions than murdering her stepmother or her husband, however satisfying both may be, and end up in jail for it.

No, she will not give them the satisfaction of seeing her breakdown again.

Precisely, twelve months ago, a week after her father's death, the lawyer in charge of the late Kim Ji Yong will read the testament. She wasn't interested in her share of the highly successful Kim business of hotels and resorts or which assets from the countless lands, estates, ranches, and rental properties, among others, were left as an inheritance. She knew what was rightfully hers even when her father was still alive because she is the only child of Kim Ji Yong. And money was never really an issue for her since she had already taken control of the trust fund when she turned twenty, plus the fact that she earns enough from her own profession as a photographer to continue living the luxurious life she was born into.

Mourning her father's death, at that time, made her care less that her stepmother, Lee Chaerin, had gotten enough share in the company to control the board. But just when she thought the painful process was over, the lawyer uneasily cleared his throat and read what must have been the last part of the will:

"With condition that said properties, shares and estates be transferred to my daughter Jennie Kim, only when she enters into marriage with a man or a woman from a reputable family, with approval from my wife Chaerin Lee-Kim, by her 23rd birthday. In addition, that my daughter Jennie Kim stay married for a period of at least 5 years. If the said condition is not met by the specified time allotted, all the aforementioned will be inherited by my wife, Chaerin Lee-Kim."