Rise To Stardom: My Villainess

With the door being slammed shut, Alessio turns his attention to his dear sweet lily. His jade eyes that were once filled with coldness are now melting with warmth and comfort.

Whispering sweet murmurs to soothe the girl within his arms, Alessio and his flower make quite an ethereal image─ so ethereal that it would have been illegal to disrupt the moment. The young girl, however, is too guilt-stricken; she collapses to the ground with sobs and sniffs escaping from her lips every now and then.

Her forbidden lover lowers himself to the same level. The tight feeling in his heart cannot be denied as he solemnly looks at his trembling dearest.

"Are you okay, Li-er?" he asks with so much softness─ so much gentleness─ as if the one roaring in anger a few moments ago was not him.

So occupied with comforting the fragile lily, Alessio is not able to catch sight of the emotions that cross over her innocent face for a second. It appears without a warning, tainting the purity, before disappearing without a trace a split second later.

Tilting her neck to the side as she looks at the perfectly sculpted face of her love, she forces a sweet smile on her face. Her clear eyes are glossy due to tears; she tries to assure him.

"I'm fine, Zi─"

But before she can even blurt out the nickname at the tip of her tongue, she is forced to stop. A flash of coldness is shown in his jade eyes, causing her to stop on track and her short innocent phrase to cease out.

"I─ I mean, Lessio," she softens her trembling voice while her face begins to flush in shame, abruptly changing her endearment for the young handsome man.

Realizing that he frightened her, Alessio dissolves that expression as he tenderly presses his face on her b.a.r.e white neck. "I'm sorry," he murmurs.

_________________

On another side of the mansion, one can see a beautiful goddess strolling along the hallways. Her ember colored hair, which falls down to her petite waist, softly sways itself in the still air as she walks in an elegant manner. She has her diamond encrypted X-phone near her ear; her mother-in-law is on the other line.

"Ember dear! Why did you take so long to answer my calls?!" Aunt Celina lovingly exclaims. The tone of her sweet voice is so clear and filled with warmth. Just by hearing her voice, one can easily see the love that she has for her beloved daughter-in-law, whom she is currently calling, is true and sincere. Ember almost smiles sadly as she listens to her voice, suddenly getting herself in a trance.

"Ember?"

She blinks her aureus eyes.

"Oh, um! Auntie! I'm so sorry for answering late. I─ I was busy a few moments ago, and your call came as quite a shock," she replies with just as much warmth as the other.

Despite her heartbreaking inside, she still manages to let out a soft, genuine smile. The sadness that lingers within her ironically seems to get lifted as she holds a conversation with the mother of the person that just broke her heart to pieces earlier.

Turning around to lean against the wall, she looks up and observes the crystal chandelier dangling from the ceiling. "Do you have anything to say, Auntie?" she politely asks as a single thought of doubt creeps inside her mind.

Questions begin to circle and float within as Ember wonders if she knew of his son's scandalous affair with a peasant. But such thoughts cease to exist as the words of the woman make her think otherwise, asking if she and her son had already met up with each other. Excitement is evident in her tone, clearly enthusiastic with their supposed intimate relationship.

'She didn't know huh?'

Ember bites her lip as a fog of sadness conceals the sparkles of her golden eyes. 'He betrayed his mother's trust...'

Questions of why's keeps on replaying in her mind as she cannot really believe that even his own mother, he will also dare to hurt. She clenches her fist, irked.

Despite the feeling of loathing and vexation, she maintains her composure and sweetly responds a white lie, "Of course, Auntie. We were even together just a few moments ago. He's also the reason why I was late in answering your calls."

Averting her gaze to the door that she has just stepped out from earlier, she didn't know if she should be glad that the treacherous couple hadn't thought of coming out yet or feel even more despair from the idea that her fiancé is indeed a treacherous man.

"Did both of you spend a lot of time together?" Auntie Celina cheerfully asks, almost on the verge of fangirling. Her ears are perked up, ready to consume the gossip and share it with her best friend Serenity Wang, the mother of her beautiful and talented daughter-in-law. She waits for her reply, eager. She hears Ember deeply breathe in the other line, unaware of the tears that are almost close to falling.

Biting her trembling lips, Ember attempts to suppress the tears from escaping the corners of her eyes; and in turn, her glassy aurius eyes burn from the unshed lamentation. "You know Zio-ge, Auntie. He's pretty busy right now. We were only able to talk to each other briefly, and I'm also exhausted from my flight. He wants me to go home and rest already."

Lies. Lies. More white lies. The slight quiver of her voice would have gone undetected if the woman on the other line had not been treating her like her own daughter.

"What's wrong, Dear?" Aunt Celina asks, starting to get worried by the tone of her voice, "Did my son do anything to hurt you?"

The heartfelt concern directed towards her sounds so foreign to her ears. It weakens her to the knees as the tightness in her heart is almost unbearable. She rests her body on the wall for support as she blankly stares at the opposite wall. A few seconds later, she gives out from the exhaustion, sliding down to the floor.

'Can I really bring myself to tell her?'

Ember shakes her head, knowing the truth of her own question. She knew that she couldn't even if she tried. "Of course not, Auntie! Zio-ge would never do anything to hurt me," she lies once more, ending her sentence with a laugh to make it more sound the truth. Although her golden eyes are dull and devoid of emotions as she does that small gesture of deception.

Aunt Celina can only sigh in the other line, not believing her daughter-in-law's reassurance.

"Are you sure?"

Ember blinks her aurous eyes; she is well-aware of the fact that saying a negative response to her question will be enough reason for the woman to disown her flesh and blood.

Everyone knows that the Xu family are upright people. If they ever knew of the fact that their son had hurt his fiancéé, they would disown him without a thought— especially since they treat their daughter-in-law as their own.

The care shown by the woman slightly eases the pain within the heart of the young lady. It may be insignificant to some; but to her, the sincerity means everything and more.

"Of course, Auntie! Why would I lie about this?! I'll make sure to run to you and complain if Zio-ge ever does anything to sadden me!" Ember cutely says.

The adorable reply melts the heart of the listener as the woman chuckles at the antics of her sweet daughter-in-law. Standing up from the floor, the lady finally begins to walk again. The conversation doesn't seem to halt as Aunt Celina continues to interrogate her ember-haired girl with carefree questions.

"Are you going to stay here permanently? I support you a hundred percent with your work, but everyone here already misses you a lot with how you constantly hop from one country to another."

That sudden question causes her to halt from walking for a split second before she compels herself to proceed again.

'Should I stay? Running away seems to be the easy way out, but how can I allow them to get their happy ending without doing anything?'

The confidence that she once sported in her confrontation with the couple inside the office seems to have vanished into thin air. But she wouldn't be called Ember Wang if she wasn't the fiery woman that everyone has grown accustomed to.

'Running away?!' She scoffs. 'As if! I wasn't raised as a coward. That is for sure.'

The amber-haired lady pushes the door open. The view of the exquisite marble-polished fountain immediately appears before her. A smirk tugs the corner of her pink lips. Her golden irises shimmer under the reflection of the sunlight, making her peach blossom eyes more enchanting than ever.

"Yes, Auntie. I'm planning to shift career right now. Maybe acting? I have been touring around the world for a few years already; and doing that, it has taken quite a toll on me. Acting can be a nice way for me to stick to country A for a while."

Seeing that she's almost near to her red Hercedes Pens, she thinks that it's finally time to end the call. "Auntie, I need to go now if it's alright with you. I still have to drive home."

"Alright, my dear. Our families will be having a welcome back dinner for you soon at your parent's house. Make sure to clear up your schedule tomorrow night, okay?" Auntie Celina warmly says, feeling so thrilled to finally see her daughter-in-law again after a long time.

Ember softly smiles, saying "yes" and bidding her farewell to her dear mother-in-law. Pressing the end call, she then returns her X-phone to her bag before pulling out her car keys. Pushing the button that will automatically open the advanced car's front door, she hurries inside before shutting the door again with a click.

Finally inside, Ember sends out a soft exhale. Inside the car are peace and silence. Though the stillness doesn't do anything but intensify the desolation inside her heart. They were never going to marry for love, but she learned to love. She was loyal to him, paying no heed to all the men that were trying to sweep her off her feet. She thought that he was learning too─ she thought he was loyal to her too.

'What a fool I have become.'

For Alessio, she sacrificed her childhood. For Alessio, she sacrificed her chance to freely fall in love. The only thing that she kept for herself is her career, and yet her career also has a hand in breaking them apart. 'Would this not have happened if I had stayed?' And yet, as she emotionlessly looks before her, she has these doubts that he would have fallen for her even if she had stayed.

Her hands tightly clutch onto the steering wheels. Her glistening golden eyes burn with tears. Finally, the tears that she has been trying to conceal are released from its confinement. It streams down from her eyes, pouring with anguish, anger, and disbelief. She has her hands on her lips, trying to muffle out the pained whimpers from slipping. When she has enough with herself from restraining her emotions, she slams her hands on the wheel. She continuously does that, wanting to numb herself from the misery.

She looks so pitiful.

She looks so pitiful, not like the strong woman she constantly portrays herself to be; and yet the sorrow in her eyes is enough to break the hearts of its onlookers. Exhausted, she finally stops. Her eyes are longingly and sorrowfully staring at the mansion. She exhales, tired. And yet, with all the immense heartbreak and pain he gave to her, she still couldn't deny the truth.

"I still love you," Ember faintly murmurs to herself as she closes those dull golden eyes to lean her body against the leather headrest of her car.