The Manipulated Villainess

Nicole was sitting in the swing, alone. Aston was inside doing the dishes. They had just finished their breakfast.

The Chairwoman was too concentrated on her thoughts - her lover\'s hurtful and complicated past. From her instance, it\'s a miracle that he could still fake a playful nature. Most people would surely shut off themselves from the rest of the world.

"You seem to be lonely." Aston\'s voice made her heart jumped, shaking the swing.

Darting her eyes to him, she let out a breath of relief. "You scared me." She uttered with a relieved smile.

Aston chuckled and approached her, standing behind her and grabbed both the ropes of the swing. "Do you want to ride?" Without even waiting for her response, he started pushing her.

"While I was around five, Aria used to push me because I always begged her to. My mother often scolds me saying that my sister also wished to ride. She never got the chance because I never got enough of riding this." Aston slightly smiled. "Come to think of it, it was quite selfish of me. Aria was only older by just a few minutes yet I always acted like a baby." He remarked.

"I never thought about why she never said \'no\' to my request. Only now that I realized she was like that because she loves me." He added.

Nicole could faintly imagine what the lives of the twin siblings must be like. She didn\'t have one so she had no idea about it apart from what Aston said. "How did it felt like to have a sibling?" She asked, out of curiosity.

Aston remained quiet for a while, gathering his thoughts and memories. "It\'s complicated. Your sibling is your greatest ally and also your enemy. That\'s how it felt." The actor remarked.

"How does that make sense?" Nicole mused. 

"Siblings fight a lot but they are each other\'s greatest supporter when needed. But in my case, I rarely fought with Aria. Maybe because she always listened and put up with my every whim." Aston chuckled. He was too childish in contrast to his twin sister!

"But you also love her, even now. Your tone and expression said it all." Nicole said. If he didn\'t love her, he might already give up on his search.

"Maybe. Until weeks ago, my only goal in life was to find Aria. That\'s all. But now that I met you, I develop many more desires... and fear too." His voice trailed off at the last three words. He wasn\'t that fearless man who didn\'t value his life anymore! She gave him things to look out for.

Nicole smiled at his words. "That\'s great. I will be the leash that will always keep you in place."

"As always, you\'re cruel," Aston commented dryly yet it was followed by laughter.

His carefree laughter. Nicole finds the sound too beautiful. At the moment, he seemed like an ordinary guy who was in love, in a normal relationship. His haunting past was completely overshadowed by that hearty laugh!

She wished that he could always be this way. However, in the savage world they lived in, everything always comes with a price and both of them knew better than anyone.

"Did I tell you that Leon and I agreed to break off our engagement? We are no longer engaged." Nicole said in a low voice and Aston instantly halted whatever he was doing. He bent his knees beside her who was sitting on the swing.

"Is that possible?" He worriedly asked.

"Our parents won\'t approve but we decided to keep it a secret from them. We will tell them after we have a backup plan." Nicole explained. Shouldn\'t he be happy? She wasn\'t an engaged woman anymore! "Aren\'t you happy about it?" She carefully asked.

"Of course, I am. But I\'m worried about you. If she does anything to you, I don\'t know if I\'ll be able to hold back." He earnestly replied. Her safety and well-being were his priority. "Are you still scared of her?" He asked.

Nicole nodded her head. "I lived more than half of my life under her authority being completely controlled by her. She has absolute power over me. It\'s not easy to break free within just a few days."

"Whenever I see her, I feel like even my inside is shaking. When she stared at me with her observing eyes, I\'m never far from shivering. Maybe because all the things she did to me still lingered in my mind. Locking up in the dark room, being beaten as a child, witnessing other people\'s suffering." She paused and glanced at Aston. "They are not a small matter, especially for a 10-year-old girl."

When her trauma of dark crossed his mind, anger rushed throughout his body. "Did she still used to locked you up in the dark room?" He finds it so hard to utter the question. He hardly refrained from gritting his teeth!

"No. Two years ago, she finds out how severe my nyctophobia was. Maybe because it\'s the first time I pass out while I was in the dark room. Since then, she refrained from doing that. Besides, I move out that year and take over the company."

Aston raised a brow at her words. "She stopped? I don\'t think that makes sense."

"I know. It still bothered me. Before that, she knew I fear the dark but not how serious my trauma was. She always tells me to look after my health." Nicole recalled one incident. "The last time I defied her, she was very angry but when she realized that I had a fever, she let it go and even called the doctor. I don\'t know why she is so obsessed with me being healthy." Did this had something to do with her late brother?

"Do you think she has a weakness? When you face an enemy, knowing their weakness can be used as your advantage." Aston stated. Hearing out Nicole, he somehow thought that there was something more to this step-mother.

"I doubt she has a weakness. If I know it, I might already take an action." Nicole sighed. Her step-mother was one mysterious woman.

"She is someone who approached my father due to her hatred for Yang Group. Her older brother died when she was 20 and she put the blame on my father and the company. I think she wants revenge. She even changed her real name to approach us." Nicole added.

"Then you must be more careful. She might want to destroy Yang Group." Aston advised Nicole. He made up his mind to have thorough research on this step-mother.

"I will do that," Nicole said and glanced around their surroundings. "Talking about my step-mother will only kill the mood. Why don\'t we have a little picnic?" She opined with an exciting smile.

* * *

Staring out of her car window, Garcia Han took a deep breath. The sun was about to set and it\'s a tiring day for her.

"Will you go straight home?" Alex Jo who was sitting in the front seat of the car asked her.

"I think I need a rest." Garcia Han responded as she narrowed her eyes at the phone in her hands.

Alex understood this and turned to the driver. "I will take over from here. You can call it a day."

Alex drove the car to Carson Jun\'s residence and the Minister gets off there while he drove back the car to the Yang mansion.

Garcia Han walked inside the Jun mansion. She didn\'t even need to press the doorbell as she knew the passcode - her birthday.

When she entered, Carson Jun was sitting on the couch in the main room, going through some files. He was still wearing a white buttoned shirt, a loose tie and a waistcoat. The Chairman of JK Group was so concentrated on his work that he didn\'t even know the presence of Garcia Han.

"I told you countless times to always get changed as soon as you reach home." Carson instantly turned his head to the door when he heard her voice.

His lips immediately curved into a smile. He put aside the files and promptly rose from his seat and walked to her. He pulled her in and lightly kissed her on the lips. "It would be great if you could be here every day to remind me that." He said as he pulled back.

"That again." Garcia Han said as she walked to the couch. She then sat down.

Carson sat next to her. His gaze fixated on her and a smile never left his face ever since he saw her. "You look tired." He remarked as he touched her face.

"A bit." Garcia Han replied as she glanced at the files. "What are you doing?" She asked.

"I\'m reviewing some files for my next meeting with your step-daughter." He paused before he asked, "Are you really fine with handing over the authority of the company affairs to her? Is she trustworthy?"

Garcia Han narrowed her eyes at the floor. "I\'m not sure. But as long as she meant it, I\'m okay with it. I\'m not interested in business anyway. Political matters already gave me a headache."

"Okay then. But don\'t keep your guard down. She is Zachary Yang\'s daughter. We should remember that." Carson stated.

"I will do that." Garcia Han simply said.

Carson Jun sighed at her downhearted appearance. He created a little gap between them and made her placed her head on his lap. "Is something troubling you? This is unlike you." He asked, narrowing his eyes at her.

Garcia Han met his gaze for a while and then smiled which made him bewildered. "Why are you smiling?" He asked, puzzled.

"I wonder how much that boy next door had grown up. I don\'t see that aloof and introverted high school boy in you anymore." She remarked with an amused smile.

Carson chuckled at her words. "Don\'t you know this? That introverted boy only has eyes for the cheerful girl next door. When the girl decided to soar high up in the sky, he even created wings for himself so that he would qualify to fly with her."

"You build me into who I am today. That means that everything I have is yours." He earnestly said as he gazed at her with eyes full of love for her.....