The Manipulated Villainess

Thunders roar as the rain poured all over the magnificent city. A flash of lightning brightened the dark streets of the city outskirts once in a while.

For people who were scared or even traumatized by thunder and lightning, rainy night like this one was never easy to went through. The same goes for Aston Kang.

After years of being traumatized by the most bizarre incident of his life which he experienced at a young age of 10, rainy days were never kind to him. If that incident didn't happen on a day filled with rain, thunder and lightning; life would be a bit easier for him.

How can he forget the fact his own mother dragged him up to the mountains so that they could die together and be free from all worries of this world?

The way to the mountains, the thunder and lightning on that day, his mother's heart-piercing words; they were the things that still haunted him even after seventeen years!

Thanks to his endless efforts, his trauma of thunder and lightning had gone down a lot during the past years which he worked as an actor.

After he entered the drama industry, shooting under the rain had become a must for every project. As such, he made up his mind to defeat his trauma. Endless practice under the tormenting rain was what made him fulfil his promise.

But this night, he finds it harder than any other time. Maybe because of what happened in the noon. The interviewer asked him such questions to reopen his wound.

Mustering all his courage, he drove his Kawasaki Ninja H2R motorcycle which was mirror coated black in colour, to return to his apartment in the city. With a full-face helmet covering all his face, no one never recognized him though he often rides his bike in public.

With his whole body that started to shiver not because of the cold but because of the past incident that appeared in his imagination the whole time, he hardly braved his fear and reach his apartment.

He opened his apartment door and ran inside. He rolled down all the curtains and then crawled to one of the corners despite all his wet clothes that don't even cross his mind.

His back clashed to the wall while hugging his knees. His eyes dilated in fear as it swept around every corner. The sound of the thunder and the flash of lightning that still went through his curtains were not the only things that tormented him, but his mother's last words that repeatedly echoed in his ears.

'You must die!'

'You must die!'

"No!" He shrieked, releasing his hands that hugged his knees and instead placed them in his ears. "Leave me alone!" He pleaded with pain. But... the voice won't stop.

He buried his face in his thigh and closed his eyes which already turned red due to fear. He was helpless, desperately praying for his nightmare to end.

He didn't even know that his apartment door was opened and a young woman made her way to him. "Aston." She called his name and bent down to check on him.

Aston was still lost in his tormenting past which made the voice of the woman unable to reach his ears. He still buried his face while covering his ears.

When the woman grabbed his hands to aroused him, "Leave me alone!" he shouted again, getting mixed up between his repercussions and reality.

"It's me, Aston. What you see and hear is not real. Look at me." The woman patiently said to him again with her voice as calm as ever.

Aston struggled to break free from the hands that grabbed him and finally lifted his head. "I say leave me alone." He shrieked once again.

But his expression instantly changed when he saw the woman. "Leah. You're h -here?" His eyes swept around his apartment once again. "M -my mother came again. She is s -still angry for dying alone." He stuttered in a hoarse voice.

Leah tightened her grip on him and made him look at her. "That was just your hallucination. Your mother was dead, Aston. She cannot come here."

Though the woman forced him to look at her, Aston's eyes still dilated and he glanced around each corner. "Are you s -sure? I keep on hea -hearing her voice. She told m -me to die."

"Don't you believe me? Your mother already died 17 years ago. What you heard is not real." She tightly holds his shivering hands, trying to keep them under control.

"I believe y -you. But w -will she come again?" Aston asked as if he was a kid needing confirmation. He was still not in his right mind.

"If you have some medicines and go to sleep, everything will be fine once you wake up." Leah helped him get up and give him the medicine which he always takes.

After he changed his wet clothes, he lies down on his bed with the woman sitting on the chair next to his bed, watching over him until he finally falls asleep.

* * *

Aston was awakened by the sound coming out of his kitchen. He gradually gets up and sat on his bed.

When he tried to remember the things that happened on the other night, the memories of himself losing his mind due to his trauma came to his mind.

He thought that he had already recovered but he was wrong. Maybe he needs to put in more effort.

He gets out of his bed and took a quick shower. He then makes his way to the kitchen.

"Leah." He called out the woman's name when he saw her preparing some breakfast.

"Hey! You're up. Come and have breakfast. I know that you prefer a light one, so I prepare some toast with jams and juice." As always, the woman didn't mention anything that happened to him which made Aston's smile in the slightest bit.

He took a seat in one of the chairs and started eating without saying anything until the woman spoke up again.

"Did you possibly have a fever? You are all wet last night." Leah asked while preparing some dishes to store in his empty fridge.

"I'm fine." He forced a little smile to reassure her. "What about Jenny? Is it okay to leave her alone?" He asked.

"She is with her grandmother." Leah put aside whatever she was doing and sat opposite to Aston. "You should only worry about yourself. You are in no position to worry about others." She firmly said to him.

"I know, but how could I not care for my deceased best friend's daughter? Before he died, I promised Michael that I will look after his wife and his daughter in his place." He trailed off when he noticed the woman's displeased face.

"If you made a promise to look after me and my daughter, why must I always be the one to look after you?" Leah snapped. "Forget about taking care of others. Just look after yourself well. If you do that, my late husband will be the happiest." Her voice became very low when she mentioned her late husband, Michael Lee, who was also Aston's best friend.

Though the woman keeps on scolding him, it was like the nagging of a worried mother in Aston's ears, even though they were the same age.

"I'm sorry for making you worried. It will not happen again." He hung his head low and apologize. He knows that Leah was always worried about him on a night like last night. She was aware of his trauma and scars. It was the same reason why she looked out for him the other night.

Leah sighed when she heard his words. It's not even his fault and she was also more than sure that nothing was guaranteed. It might happen again.

"Do you have work scheduled for the morning? Your manager called and he will be here soon. I think you overwork yourself so much." She rose from her seat and work on the dishes again.

"I prefer to be busy so that I won't have time for negative thoughts," Aston said with a smile which pissed the woman off. His smile faded when he saw her displeased face. Forcing himself to smile had become his habit and he cannot do anything about it.

"Stop smiling. It's not even funny." She pats her watch with her index finger and said to him, "You will run out of time. Derin will be here in no time."

"Oh! Thanks for reminding me." He took one more bite of the toast with a juice and went to his room to prepare himself for another busy day.....