The Manipulated Villainess

Leon entered his room where Shara was waiting for him. The latter abruptly stood up and walked to him when she saw him. Her gaze instantly fixated on his left shoulder.

"How much does it hurt? Why do you always let him lay a hand on you? You should defend yourself! This is too much!" She complains with a disappointed face. However, there was still a hint of concern in her voice.

"It's fine. Everything is over now." Leon put his hand on her shoulder and forced a smile. "Let's leave this house. I'm no longer the Prime Minister's son." He calmly said.

"What? He even disowns you?!" Shara exclaimed with disbelief written all over her face but Leon promptly shook his head.

"I'm the one who cut ties with him. I'm tired to live as his son. So, let's leave now." Leon walked to the right and opened his almirah. He takes out his clothes and put them in his bed.

"Leave them. I will do the packing. You're injured." Shara said as she took a rolling suitcase.

Leon sat beside Shara while she was folding his clothes for him. He stared at her the whole time and it was starting to make her uncomfortable. "Do you have something to say?" She finally asked.

"I wonder what is on your mind and if I push you too much. You rarely speak your mind." Leon quickly said.

"Are you talking about the registration of marriage? I thought that was just a part of your plan." Shara simply replied. She didn't even glance at him.

"A part of my plan? Do you think that I'm not serious about this?"

Shara paused what she was doing and glanced at Leon. "I don't really care about it. I want to help you no matter what and that's it."

Leon was not so pleased with what he heard. "I admit that it's a part of my plan. But Shara, I will never play around with you. For me, you are the most important person in this whole world. Know that." He firmly said.

Shara stared at Leon for a while and without saying anything, she continued folding and arranging the clothes.

* * *

"Why do you want to meet? It's quite late now." Aston was sitting in his apartment, glancing at the woman who was sitting opposite to him.

"I want to ask you something. If I don't ask you now, I think I won't be able to sleep tonight." Anna Park nervously clenched her fingers and narrowing her eyes at it. Something was troubling her.

"What is it?" Aston calmly asked.

"You told me before that you love someone else. Is the woman you love Nicole Yang, the Chairwoman of Yang Group?" Anna uttered. She was now gazing at Aston, reading his every expression.

The actor slightly raised a brow. He remained quiet, wondering how to answer.

Anna slightly smiled. "I think I'm right. Last time, you grabbed her hand and called her by her name. Today... you are like a different person." Anna explained.

"Anna, I - "

"It's fine, Aston. I saw the way she looked at you. She feels the same and now, her engagement to Leon Jung is broken. Maybe luck is on your side." Anna said in a low voice, interrupting Aston.

The actor struggled for words to say. Besides, with Anna's current mental condition, he wanted to be careful but Anna suddenly rose from her seat. "I know the answer to my question, so I will go home now."

Without waiting for Aston's response, she turned around and make her way to the door.

"It's late. I will drive you home." Aston offered, taking a few steps towards her.

"I'm fine. I bring my car." Anna turned him down and left his apartment.

* * *

It was already 11 in the night but Nicole was still staying up, working. She scanned through some files and read reports. With Garcia Han occupying almost all her mind these days, she could rarely concentrate on work.

Then she received a call from Aston and she quickly answered the call.

"You're still up?" She asked right away.

"Yeah. What about you? Judging from how fast you answered my call, I doubt that you are already asleep." Aston's familiar voice echoed in her ears.

"Working." Nicole simply replied. She put it on loudspeaker mode and continued with her work.

"Oh! Does that mean I disturbed you?" Aston jokingly asked.

"A bit." Her words were followed by a chuckle.

"Too bad. I forgot that the woman I'm dating is a busy businesswoman. A mere celebrity like me has so much free time." Aston bluntly said. He was sitting on his bed, pressing his back against the headboard.

"I'm glad you realized that." Nicole simply remarked yet her whole face was plastered with a smile.

Aston laughed at her remark and put his phone closer to his ear. "Are you busy? Shall I hang up?"

"No. I'm fine. It's nice to talk with you like this. Besides, I'm sure that you are curious about what happened in tonight's meeting." She assumed.

"I'm glad you brought that up. I was wondering if I should ask you."

"The answer to what you want to hear in the very first place, I leave unscathed. My step-mother said that it's not my fault as Leon was the one who declared that he wants another woman and registered his marriage to her." Nicole paused and sighed when she thought of Leon. "I'm fine but I doubt Leon would be fine. His father is very angry."

"Don't worry. He will be stronger than you thought." Aston assured her but he only draws suspicion from her.

"In the evening, you told me to trust him and now, you say that. Do you know something about him which I don't?" Though she cannot see him, she glanced at her phone suspiciously.

"I just have a feeling that he is a reliable man. That's all." Aston awkwardly said. Just like Nicole, he was never great at telling lies though he would be a bit better than her.

"Really? Why do I have a feeling that you lied?" Nicole became more and more concentrated on the call. Right now, she was completely distracted from work.

Aston wondered what would be the best answer. Then he made up his mind. "Nicole, you know that each of us has our own secret. I somehow find out his secret but it's not that bad. However, that's all I can say."

Nicole already knew for a while that Leon was hiding something but she had no idea what it was. She was flustered when Aston said that he knew his secret. When did the two men even become close?! However, as a person who has a huge secret, she decided to respect Leon's wish to keep his secret.

"Fine then. I understand." Nicole paused and continued by asking, "What did you do after the shoot? Did you take a rest? I think you seem a bit tired though you still have the energy to play around with me." Nicole said the last sentence sarcastically. She still remembered how he made her uncomfortable after the shoot! She even called him Mr. Min in public!

"I bet someone is still upset." Aston chuckled. "You are the one who makes a mistake publicly." He dryly added.

"Are you still feigning innocence? You are the one who first gave me that strange look in public." Nicole argued. She rolled her eyes though they were only talking through a phone.

Aston couldn't help but burst out into laughter. His action only gets on her nerves more.

"Why are you laughing? I'm not making a joke." She bluntly said.

"It feels so nice," Aston muttered and his smile gradually faded. "These days, I'm so happy but it makes me feel scared. I'm quite an unlucky man and my happiness are always followed by misfortunes. I'm afraid that this won't last long." 

For a young man like him to say such things; it made Nicole wondered just how much hardships had he went through in his life. Her heartache for him. "Then I will be your lucky charm. Two unfortunate people stick together and are each other's greatest luck. Let's make that happen." Nicole said, hoping to cheer him up and she didn't fail.

"Hearing such words from you, I feel like it's a dream. You know, Nicole. You give me new hope and challenge in my dull life. After failing to find Aria for 17 years, it's not easy to live on for me. Then I met you." Aston earnestly said with a genuine smile on his face. "I wish we can stay this way forever."

"You might not know this, Mr. Min. Once I make up my mind to do something, the possibility of withdrawal is very low. I'm that kind of person." She made a deliberate pause and then said, "So, even if you change your mind and decided to leave me in the future, I will never allow it, not after you made me break my principles."

As always, her frankness made Aston chuckled. "I will keep that in mind, Ms. Yang." 

Before he met her, the word 'warm' was so unfamiliar for him. But now that she was the most important part of his life, she never failed to make him feel the warmth and for someone like Aston, that alone meant a world.....