The Manipulated Villainess

The news of the Prime Minister being arrested covered the country as fast as a wildfire. Many of his crimes were revealed to the public, including the truth behind Ethan Min's death. The fact that Aston was the son of the late police officer was also reported in the permission of the actor.

Aston Kang was in his new home while the whole country was talking about how Peter Jung was involved in the death of his father and Nicole's father, Zachary Yang. As reporters flocked near the building of his agency, he was told not to show up before the public for the time being.

At least the media had no idea of his new address! If not, it will be such a headache!

The actor was reading some articles in his room when his phone went off. Seeing the caller's ID, there was a little smile on his face.

"Nicole, you're awake?"

"Yeah. By the time I wake up, the whole country is already a mess," Nicole Yang said from the other line.

Aston's smile grew wider as his lover seemed to be better than last night. "Will you go to work today?" he asked.

"I don't think I can do that. I was told that countless reporters gathered near my company building. I'm too tired to face them."

"It's fine. We can just spend the day indoors. I can't go out either," Aston Kang simply said.

"Where are you? I want to see your face."

Aston raised a brow when he heard her. "You're in your study? Wait a minute." He rose from his seat and walked to the room which was to be used as his study. When he saw her standing in her study room, he smiled and opened the long glass windows. "I thought that you just wake up," he remarked while staring at her face.

"You're right," Nicole responded with a little smile. "But I came straight to my study to see you." The Chairwoman walked a bit forward and stood on the balcony when she said, "I think we can meet Aria now. I know you're worried about her a lot."

"I'd love to meet her," Aston promptly said. "She went through a lot because of Peter Jung and now that he is finally caught, I want to help her start a new life."

His words put Nicole in a daze. With one thing occupying her mind, she didn't even speak up for a while.

Aston patiently stared at Nicole who seemed to be zoning out. After almost half a minute, he finally hears her spoke up again.

"I wish I have a brother like you too," Nicole muttered. "I bet my life won't turn out this way if I have one."

Aston Kang gave a quick thought before he said, "But you have a boyfriend like me." His eyes met her gaze despite being a few metres away. Soon, his lips curved into a small smile.

Nicole finally smiled again when she heard him. "I know. That's why you're my life. Thank you for giving me a new life, Aston Min."

Aston Min. It was the name that used to remind him of his bitter past but ever since she first called him by that name, he had started to like it. And now, he was proud of that name.

"You did the same for me," he uttered, thinking of the night she entered his dark life. "Thank you for lighting up my world, Nicole."

Nicole Yang wondered how their existence both healed each other. Before they met, they were just two severely scarred individuals who were on a completely different worlds.

If she didn't meet him, maybe she will still be engaged to the man she doesn't love. Maybe she will still shudder in fear and live her life at the mercy of her stepmother. Maybe she will still have to force a smile each day while living a fake life. However, his presence gave her the courage to stand up for herself.

Aston was no different.

If he didn't meet her, maybe he will still be living in that dark world. Maybe he will still force a smile out of a habit. Maybe he will still not reunite with his sister. But her arrival in his life brightened up his world and let him feel the warmth which he had long forgotten.

While fighting against the cruel world, they learned how to heal each other's wounds and of course, their own wounds too.

* * *

Meanwhile, Leon was spending time with his mother and Shara for the first time in a while. Now that things were better, the potter was planning to take them home.

Though he was still haunted by that scene where he watched his father being arrested, there was still something good that comes from it. 

For instance, he got to be with his mother and his wife like he was doing now. 

Leon Jung finds his situation so laughable.

For him to meet the two women whom he cared about the most, his father must be arrested first.

Why must his life be this complicated? 

"Leon."

The potter was snapped out of his stupor when he heard his mother's usual calm voice. Then he saw his mother approached him with a wheelchair.

"Mother," he muttered and turned his body towards his mother as he forced a little smile.

"What are you thinking, son?" Norina Lee asked. Though she was away from his life for years, Leon was her son and she was still good at reading him. "Are you thinking of your father?"

Leon bent his knees to match his mother who was sitting in a wheelchair. "Yes, but everything is already over, Mother. He will soon receive the punishment which he deserves."

"Don't be too hard on yourself, Leon," the mother said in a gentle voice. "It's not your fault."

"I know, but... " Leon paused and looked at his mother. "I don't understand, Mother. Why did Father turn into such a monster? I doubt he will be like that right from the start."

Norina Lee thought of the time when she used to ask herself that question. When she started to realize that her husband was not a good person as she thought, she always wondered what made him into the person he was now.

A monster of the worst kind.

"I also used to think that," she finally said to her son. "I even have some digging on his past and find out many things. But Leon, I want you to know this. No matter what a person experience, the decision he made because of that still signifies his true colors. Nicole is one good example."

"I understand what you're saying, Mother," Leon promptly said. "But what is his past that you talked about? Do I know about it?"

Norina Lee glanced at her son as she shook her head. "You won't know. Everything happens even before I met him. I also find out about it only after a few years of our marriage."

When her son paid all attention to her words, Norina Lee said, "Before we met, your father used to have a younger brother and... a lover. However, he lost both of them. I think that's what changed him."