The Manipulated Villainess

Aston remained quiet but his gaze fixated on Nicole as if he was trying to read her mind. The latter knew this yet she feigned ignorance and acted normally.

"That\'s great!" Anna Park exclaimed. "Then we won\'t keep you long."

"Excuse us then." Leon slightly bowed once again and wrapped Nicole\'s arm against his. "Let\'s go." He smiled and Nicole nodded. Then the two walked away.

"We should leave too. My father will be waiting." Anna Park said as she pulled Aston.

The actor\'s eyes trailed to the Chairwoman as he reluctantly let himself be dragged away by Anna.

"Are you alright?" Leon asked Nicole as he drove his car. She didn\'t utter any single word ever since they left the set. He had a clue about why she was like this but he didn\'t know the whole story. What happened before he arrived there?

"I\'m fine," Nicole muttered. Staring out of the window, the sight of Aston with Anna lingered in her imagination the whole time. \'He will be having dinner with her family.\' That\'s what continuously echoed in her ears. What kind of relationship was that?!

She was lying and Leon knew that. However, he decided to keep quiet. He understood that she didn\'t want to talk about it.

After staring out of the window for a minute, Nicole turned her head to Leon and something caught her attention. Once in a while, her fiance would withdraw his left hand from the steering and pressed his upper right arm just above his shoulders. He would slightly clench whenever he did that.

"Did you hurt your arm?" She asked, turning her body to him.

"Just a bit," Leon replied, he withdrew his hand from his upper arm, trying to not show his pain.

"Doesn\'t seem like it," Nicole remarked as she observed him. "How did you hurt your arm?"

The way he hurt his arm? He couldn\'t say it. Exposing anything relating to the organization was against the rules. "It just happened." He said, feeling a bit uncomfortable.

Nicole sighed. "Did you know that you are like a different person these days? I could never understand what you say." She recalled how he told her that he trained his men himself. She still thought that it was ridiculous.

Leon admitted to what she said but still, he can\'t spill out anything.

"Did you see a doctor?" She asked when he remained quiet.

"No. It\'s not that severe. Besides, I\'m busy." Leon promptly said.

When the traffic light turned red, Nicole reached out her hand to him and pressed his arm with a bit of force. He didn\'t make a sound yet he hardly clenched his teeth. "What are you doing?" He looked at her, puzzled.

"You said it\'s not severe but that\'s not the case." Nicole snapped and it was followed by a sigh. "You\'re a potter, Leon. I won\'t make a fuss if you are hurting elsewhere but it\'s your arm. Do you want to ruin everything just because of your carelessness?"

Leon was bewildered! She never looked at him with that worried face. It felt like she really cares about him, but... not as a possible lover. That made him a bit sad.

"Okay. I will see the doctor. Happy now?" He gave in as he slightly smiled. She looked adorable when she was worried.

"I hate it when people are hurt or sick," Nicole muttered but her voice was so low that Leon didn\'t hear anything. The light turned to green and Leon continued driving. They reached their destination in no time.

They sat opposite each other in one private room of a restaurant. They were there to discussed their task for the next day but the room was very quiet. Both of them quietly ate their dinner for a while.

"I want you to tell me why you have to visit Moon Orphanage." Leon was the first to spoke up and broke the silence. In fact, this question bothered him for a while now.

"Why do you want to know?" Nicole asked him back. "You can have the wine. I\'ll drive the car." She added.

"I can call for a driver. You can enjoy it." Leon answered the second one first. "I need to make preparations for whatever your reason is."

Nicole gave a quick thought. Her fiance already knew her biggest secret so she finds it useless to hide things from him. Besides, he would also be involved in this matter. "Around two weeks ago, I was told to get rid of one of my most loyal follower in my company. He is one of my late father\'s most trusted employee. When I last met him, he told me to go to Moon Orphanage and look for Harris Ahn. From what I heard, Harris Ahn is the Director of the orphanage." She explained.

"Why didn\'t you just go?" Leon asked.

"Do you think my step-mother will let me do that? She\'s a suspicious woman. It\'s clear from how she ordered her men to watch over me 24/7. If anything goes wrong after I go to the orphanage, I will not be the only one to suffer." Nicole uttered. "Everyone involved will pay the price. That\'s how she always make things work." She added.

"Are you that afraid of her?" It was Leon\'s third question in just a short time but Nicole patiently answered him.

"Afraid?" Her smile was a mocking one. "I am. She is too powerful. Her people are everywhere. Besides, I\'m powerless in front of her but... I\'m more afraid to think about other people getting hurt because of me. I\'ve seen enough. That\'s why I tried my best to prevent it." Nicole was reminded of that woman\'s husband who took his own life. She was not innocent in that matter and it still haunted her. Her nightmares also become severe these days.

Sawing the pain in her eyes, Leon felt the desire to crush Garcia Han. He always wanted to do it during the past two years. But now, he had become really determined. "Do you want her to die? I mean, your step-mother?" He asked. He was deadly serious.

Nicole didn\'t look at him so she was not aware of how serious Leon was. She simply smiled at his question. "I will be the happiest if she ever paid for her sins." She replied without much thought.

"Give me three days. After that, you won\'t have to see her again." Leon firmly said as if he had just sealed a deal. This finally earned him Nicole\'s attention.

Staring at him with a flustered face, her eyes widened. "You can\'t be serious!"

"I am." Leon simply said and took a sip of wine. He was telling the truth. He was more than serious.

"Leon." She snapped. "Don\'t try anything ridiculous." Her displeasure was more than evident in her voice.

"Why? Didn\'t you say that you want her dead?" Leon deadpanned. He was still too calm which Nicole finds it too frustrating.

"Just because one person committed many sins, that doesn\'t mean we could take her life. We are not Judges or God." Nicole grunted. "If you do that, you will be the same as her."

"Then do you want me to teach her a lesson? Without staining my hands with blood?" Leon hopefully asked but she frowned. He didn\'t expect such a reaction!

"Just stay still. You don\'t have to do anything. Do you even know how wicked and dangerous she is?" Why can\'t he just understand that Garcia Han was not one he should provoke?!

\'You don\'t know me.\' That\'s what Leon thought. If only he could reveal himself, she might put trust in him. She might be convinced that if she wished, a sinner like her step-mother will immediately be gone! After all, he was trained for such purposes. Punishing evil by evil.

"Then how long do you plan to live that way?"

Nicole scowled. Why did he have so many questions?! "I can take it, at least for now." Her voice trailed off. Even she was not sure of what she said.

Leon helplessly sighed. "Tell me if you change your mind. I\'m open anytime." His voice was miraculously calm.

"Whatever." Nicole shrugged. "Aren\'t we here to talk about tomorrow? How come the topic changed to a discussion of taking a life?!" She clicked her tongue.

"Fine. I will make preparations for tomorrow. I will inform my men and ensure that nothing goes wrong." Leon paused before he added, "You don\'t have to worry. I will take care of everything." His voice was very assuring.

"Alright. I will count on you." Nicole said. Somehow, she felt less nervous for the day she awaited.

"And if... just if something goes wrong, I will just end your step-mother to save you from trouble." Leon simply added.

"Leon!" She snapped once again. Why was the talk of killing someone so casual for him?!

"Okay. I will save that for later." Leon sighed in defeat and quietly continued with his dinner.

Sighing heavily, Nicole was puzzled again. Just who was this man?! She was not sure anymore.....