The Manipulated Villainess

All at once, many different thoughts crossed Leon's mind.

Was this the reason why his father was targeting Nicole's family? Because Nicole's late mother was his ex-lover who left him?

His father blamed the woman for the failures and regrets in his life. So, what he assumed was highly possible.

But... why did he want him to marry Nicole so much? She was the daughter of the ex-lover!

"Why are you making that face, son?" Norina Lee inquired, surprised by her son's reaction.

Leon gave a quick thought before he said, "You know everything that my father did to Nicole's family. The name of Nicole's late mother is Maria Choi."

Norina Lee blinked, surprise. So... Peter Jung was still going after the family of his ex-lover and... he even killed the husband of Maria Choi?!

She knew that the Prime Minister was a cruel person but... she didn't expect him to go that far!

* * *

"You still haven't recovered! You can't just leave the hospital like this!"

Alan was staring at his friend who didn't listen to him at all. Mathias had just heard about the arrest of his uncle and he was more than determined to see him. Right now, he was currently changing his hospital gown to a casual dress, making his friend let out a desperate sigh.

What a stubborn fool!

Why did he care so much about his uncle while he was often beaten up by the exact uncle of his?! He could never understand him.

"I have to go and see if there is a way I could help him," Mathias said, quick and somewhat desperate. His chest still hurt but... he ignored it. Seeing his uncle soon was more important!

As he was in such a hurry, he was fully prepared in no time and he was about to storm out of his hospital room, until...

The door was suddenly opened from the outside, making him startled. However, his face turned sour when he saw the person at the door.

Cassandra Lim stared at Mathias Jung with a pretty troubled expression. When news about Peter Jung circulated in the whole country, this young man who was so devoted to his abusive uncle crossed her mind. She came to check on him just in case and... her hunch was true.

"Even if you go now, you won't be allowed to see him," she said to Mathias. As Peter Jung was quite influential, the Government just wanted to make sure that nothing goes wrong in the investigation. As such, he will be specially detained with no visitors allowed for the time being.

"Are you also involved in this?" Mathias Jung asked with his voice colder than ever. He walked towards Cassandra Lim and glanced at her with a hardly suppressed rage. "I shouldn't have let you go that day. I truly regret it now," he coldly remarked.

"You can say whatever you want but your uncle is already done for. You should also admit that he deserves to be punished for everything that he did," Cassandra Lim said, trying her best to maintain a calm voice.

It's not that Mathias Jung didn't know but... he was only refusing to admit the truth. He knew that his uncle was wrong but still... he didn't think that he will be able to see him crumble.

He knew very well that his uncle would rather die. What if he does something to himself?!

"If punishment is necessary, I'm willing to be the one receiving that," he firmly stated to the Moyan Boss. "Just don't get involve in my business," he warned her firmly.

"Are you crazy?!" Cassandra Lim snapped. "He was caught red-handed and all the policemen heard him confessing. There is no way out for him." She made a deliberate paused and observed him. "Why must you defend someone who tortures you to the point where you have to get hospitalized for days?"

Was he really a fool?!

Her words made his expression turned even darker!

"You know nothing about me," he said in a threatening tone. "Just shut up."

Mathias hate it when people judged him without knowing a thing about him.

Ah! Maybe people were all the same! Ever since he was young, he was surrounded by those kinds of people!

People who never understood other struggles and blindly judged whoever they want.

For everyone, his uncle might be a criminal who destroyed the lives of many people but for him, he was the only one he had in this whole world.

His father died before he was even born. No... he was hanged to death. He grew up with people pointing their fingers at him, calling him the son of a criminal while it was never his fault. His life was destined to be that way even before he was born.

His mother suffered a lot for it but she tried her best to raise him. However, in the end, he had become too much of a burden for her. So, she left him under the care of his uncle and went abroad. He had never seen her again since then.

Though years had passed, Mathias Jung could never forget the day his uncle first holds his hand. That day, his uncle told him that he would never let go of his hand and... he indeed keep the promise.

For someone like him, knowing that he finally had a home after years of suffering for a crime which he never committed... the feeling was so warm. Since that day, his uncle had become the most important person in his life and he vowed to dedicate his life to him. No matter what, he could never hate his uncle.

Peter Jung might be abusive but whenever he lost control and lay a hand on him, it was always followed by guilt. Just that was enough for Mathias. Though he was trained a lot ever since he was young, his uncle never allowed him to dirty his hands. As such, he stepped in only when there was no other choice. Still, his uncle kept him in the dark at most times.

Silence already fell upon the room for more than a minute. The gaze of Cassandra Lim was fixated on the strange man who seemed to be lost in his thoughts.

How come someone like him existed in this world? Then she concluded that even monsters might have at least one person who truly cared about them. People can't be all the same. 

"I don't know about you and... it's not my intention to judge you," she calmly said to him. She still wanted to repay him for what he did for her. "I apologize if I offended you."

Mathias darted his eyes and looked at her with confusion. He didn't expect to hear this, especially from a stubborn and proud woman like Cassandra Lim.

"I want to tell you just this," the Moyan Boss continued when she was sure that she had his attention. "Be it gratitude or the feeling of being in debt, you should protect your conscience."

When Mathias opened his mouth, Cassandra quickly said, "I said this from my experience, Mathias. Don't let those feelings dictate your life. You might lose yourself or something precious to you but it will be too late by the time you realize it. Now is still the right time. You still have time to start anew and you're still young."

When Mathias was still staring at her with a confused face, Nathan walked inside the room.

The Reyon Boss didn't find his lover when he was awake from his sleep and he already searched for her for a while until he saw her standing here from the outside of the room.

"Cassandra," he muttered and stood beside his girlfriend. "I look for you everywhere. What are you doing here?"

When Cassandra noticed Mathias slowly shifting his gaze to Nathan, she quickly grabbed the latter in his arm. "I mistook the one in this room as someone else," she deliberately lied.

If Nathan knew that this man was the nephew of Peter Jung and the one who abducted her last time, he won't be able to stay put!

Nathan Woo didn't seem to be convinced as his gaze trailed to Mathias, observing him. However, Cassandra quickly tightened her grip on his arm. "I'm hungry, Nathan," she muttered, hoping to distract him and... it sure worked as the Reyon Boss quickly shifted his gaze to her.

"Alright. Let's return to your room first and I'll get you something to eat," Nathan Woo said with a little smile.

Cassandra nodded and they both walked out of Mathias's hospital room while Mathias blankly stared at them until they were out of his sight.....