The silence that followed was something like a heavy, somber vow.

Jin-Yeok was the first to move. He didn’t come to me with the usual commanding stride of a man used to getting his way. He rose slowly, his legs seemingly heavy, and walked until he was standing a few feet away.

He didn’t reach out—he didn’t think he had the right to touch me yet—but he bowed his head, his shoulders dropping the weight of a thousand sins.

"I have spent this life building laws to protect people I once broke," Jin-Yeok whispered, his voice thick. "I thought I was just being a visionary. I didn’t know I was trying to atone for a ghost. If you give me this chance... I will spend every hour of my life ensuring that no shadow of that man ever touches you again."

Seo-Jun let out a ragged breath, his head still resting against the stone pillar. He looked at me, his red eyes raw and bloodshot.

"You’re a fool, Jo-Pil. A beautiful, selfless fool. To love the people who destroyed you..." He closed his eyes tight, a single tear escaping. "I don’t deserve the air in this house. But if you want a happy ending, then I’ll be the one to build the walls that keep the rest of the world out. I’ll be whatever you need—just don’t ever look at me with that fear again."

Min-Cheol didn’t say a word. He crawled across the floor, stopping at the edge of the sofa. He didn’t grab my hand; he just rested his forehead against the side of my foot, his small, broken sobs turning into a steady, grounding vibration. It was a silent promise of absolute, unwavering loyalty. Nothing more.

Ki-hoon finally looked up, his face a wreck of tears, looking nothing like the poised, powerful Alpha the world knew.

"I’ll spend my life earning it," he choked out. "Every day. Every second. I’ll make you forget the feel of those chains until they’re nothing but a story that happened to someone else."

I closed my eyes for a second and then opened them.

I looked at the four of them—my monsters, my lovers, my shield. The past was still there, a jagged scar in the back of my mind, but it didn’t feel like it was bleeding anymore. If anything, it was fading.

"The yard," I said, my voice finally steadying. "I want to plant that tree tomorrow. I want to see it grow and know that its roots are in a world where I am free."

I reached out and placed my hand on Min-Cheol’s head, my fingers tangling in his pink hair. I looked at the others, inviting them back into my space—not as masters, but as the men who had finally, truly seen me. All of me.

"No more secrets," I said. "And no more cages. From now on, it’s just us moving forward."

My words broke a dam, and as they gathered around me, I saw tears rolling down each of their faces. They regretted it, a life they did not even know, because they had hurt me.

Gosh, they’re acting like such big babies. I thought, patting their backs one at a time. But it was over now, wasn’t it? The secrets and the pain in my heart, I had finally let them out, and now I am truly free.

I closed my eyes again, savoring the feeling.

The sun had completely disappeared, leaving the room in a soft, blue darkness.

We returned back to the mansion and had dinner. I wondered if it would be fine to have May and April come live with me since it might get quite lonely living alone, but I doubt the others would let it happen. They’ll likely revert back to their old selves and get jealous that the maids will spend more time with me than them.

But if I tell them it’s because I don’t want to do all the chores myself, and don’t want to hire strangers, they’ll definitely let me. After all, their goal is to pamper me.

After dinner, we sat in the living room to watch TV. The news had a series of familiar events, so I just skipped through it, not wanting to hear what the media had to say concerning the incident at the gala.

So, we watched an action-packed movie. The movie hadn’t even gotten to the good side before I fell asleep. It was because I was exhausted, physically and mentally.

By the next morning, we were off to the new house again.

The morning sun hit the courtyard with a clarity that made everything look brand new. The air in the hills was crisp, carrying the scent of damp earth and pine, and for the first time, it didn’t feel like a heavy weight on my chest.

We were all out in the yard, a sight that would have sent the media into a literal coma. The four most powerful Alphas in the country were currently knee-deep in dirt, wearing gardening clothes that looked entirely too practical for their usual high-fashion standards.

"Min-Cheol! If you get one more speck of mud on these boots, I’m burying you in that hole instead of the tree," Seo-Jun hissed, wiping a streak of dirt from his forehead with the back of his gloved hand.

Min-Cheol, who was enthusiastically digging with a shovel, feigned total ignorance. He let a particularly large clump of soil fly back, narrowly missing Seo-Jun’s shoulder. "Oops. My hand slipped, old man. Digging is hard work!"

"Dealing with you is hard work!" Seo-Jun snapped back.

Ki-hoon and Jin-Yeok were on the other side of the sapling, moving with a precision that suggested they had studied "Gardening for Beginners" until three in the morning. They were being incredibly careful, handling the roots of the weeping willow as if it were made of spun glass.

I sat on a nearby stone bench, a small, genuine chuckle escaping my lips as I watched the chaos.

"You guys are doing a great job. The hole is almost deep enough." I said.

Seo-Jun paused, leaning on his spade. He looked at me, then at the house, and then back at the dirt. The guilt from last night was still visible in the way he wouldn’t meet my eyes for too long, but he was trying. He was trying so hard.

"Hey, Jo-Pil," Seo-Jun started, his voice casual but with an underlying sharpness that made the others go still. "About that... other life. Who else was there? Did the maids bully you? Did the guards lay a hand on you?"