Rise To Stardom: My Villainess

Calming down after a long while, the young woman finally goes back to her senses. The moment of weakness instantly disappears without a trace as if she has not been breaking down earlier.

Although her face is still stained with dry tears, she looks so serious─ so beautifully serious and cold.

She sits up straight. Retrieving her phone from her Pirkin bag, she clenches it tightly while she quietly stares down at her diamond-encrusted X-phone. A soft sigh is heaved out as if to soothe herself down for the action that she is about to commit.

Pulling the lever of her car's reclining chair, she rests her body against the backrest once again. With the expensive gadget in hand, Ember skims through her phone for her best friend's contact. Despite locating his number with no difficulty, she finds herself staring at it and not doing anything for a long moment.

Somehow, doubt and fear manage to crawl up and wrap themselves in her mind at that second while they softly whisper to her being, taunting her in regards to the possibility of Kielle knowing his brother's affairs.

They are brothers after all.

He might have been aware of his brother's treacherous acts but decided to keep her in the dark. Ember stares at the phone, anxiety within her system, but eventually proceeds to press the call button. The oh-so-familiar solo track of her best friend reverberates within the vehicle.

"Your seductive eyes,

Oh, my love, it controls me.

Your lips so red,

All it does is distract me.

Your hands roa-"

The phone then finally gets answered. While her enchanting golden eyes are gazing upon the lavish, empty mansion, she finally hears her best friend's voice.

Calling out her name, Kielle sounds delighted as usual; but she can also note the exhaustion on his breathless voice, causing her to feel slight guilt. "Were you busy?" she softly asks despite already knowing the answer herself.

She hears him laugh quietly.

"It's no big deal, Ember. I was only practicing for my comeback anyways. What's up?" One can hear the sound of another person offering the young idol a glass of water, to which he humbly accepts with thanks.

She doesn't answer for a while as she continues to rest her gaze on the mansion, swimming in her thoughts. 'They must be enjoying themselves, huh.' She almost chuckles to herself, feeling self-pity and, at the same time, indignation. While she continues to look, she feels the tears rising up again.

"Ember?" Kielle asks in the other line, causing her to snap out.

Ember immediately removes her gaze from her fiancé's residence, biting her lip, as anxiety floods within her system. She already feels so much pain. Is she willing to hurt herself more and discover that even her friend betrayed her? Despite the inner voices whispering to her mind, Ember eventually resolves to push those nuisances in the back of her mind and speak.

"I─ I have something to ask you─"

Her voice quivers amid the sentence. The person on the other line instantly notices his friend's agitation. Kielle's about to inquire, but he is stopped by her question.

"Did you know?"

Her voice is almost faint─ almost inaudible, laced with anguish and pain. Ember is stubborn, not wanting to allow the tears once again to free themselves, as she keeps the agony to herself. She has enough with crying anyways. She clenches her phone so tightly that it may have cracked; but surprisingly, it hasn't.

"Know what, Ember?"

Kielle asks, impatient and worried. "You're making me nervous. Is there something wrong? Spit it out. I'm always all ears."

The vague questions push him on edge, but the young idol tries to sound gentle and assuring as best as he can manage. Someone then gestures to him, alerting him that break time is over and they have to resume with their practice. Kielle, in response, raises his hand, indicating for them to wait. The staff huffs out and walks away, shaking his head at the inconvenience and wasted time. Well, it's not like that they can start without him anyways since it is his comeback that they are practicing.

Swallowing nothing in particular, Ember takes a deep breath. Hesitating, she still opens her mouth to ask the question.

"Did you know?" She closes her eyes. "Did you know about Alessio and that woman of his?" Her voice is soft; she tries to conceal the emotions in her voice, but Kielle Xu is not just anyone that she can easily fool to believe. He is her best friend─ the guy that has been there with her since their diaper days. With that fact alone, he is already an expert in reading her like an open book.

"What? Did Alessio-ge do something to you?!" he asks, puzzled.

Ember rarely calls his brother as Alessio, opting for a more intimate endearment like Zio-ge. That's why it came as a surprise that she called him in that name, but what's more surprising is what she said. And that woman of his? He is clearly uninformed of his brother's treacherous acts of affairs.

The truth hasn't sunk in yet; he stays there in the phone, blinking his light jade eyes, while he waits for the response of the beauty in the other line.

"Alessio─"

She coldly chuckles. "He's cheating on me." Her amused tone sounds so dead. At her tone, shivers run down Kielle's spine. His gaze is on the floor while those words echo throughout his mind.

He cannot believe this. The thought of his brother having an affair is like a horrible pill to swallow. The brothers are never really close, but Kielle respects his older brother a lot and the fact that his best friend is in love with his brother leaves him no choice but to interact with Alessio more because of her.

And yet─

And yet he is cheating on her, his dearest best friend that he has always tried to protect.

"That bastard! Where the hell is he right now?! If I didn't castrate him by the end of this day, then I wouldn't be called Kielle Xu!" the young man roars in rage.

Cold fury is plastered on his handsome features; with such a look of anger on his face, it is enough to frighten the onlookers together with him in the room.

"He's inside his office at the mansion. No use in being violent. It's not like that I would let them off the hook either," she coldly says. The tone of her voice directly reflects the icy expression on her beautiful face. Upon hearing her words, Kielle's anger immediately disintegrates as he feels rather amused instead.

'I almost forgot how ruthless my best friend can be when she's mad.'

The corner of his lips slightly twitches as he runs a hand across his dyed silver hair.

He should even pity his older brother more than her because of the things that are about to come his way, but Alessio deserves it anyhow. He can only hope that she won't proceed to murder that foolish brother of his since it will be really terrible if she has to go to jail with that princess-like upbringing of hers. But knowing his parents, if they ever find out about his affairs, then they'll probably kill Alessio-ge personally instead.

Sighing from the disappointment that his brother gave him, Kielle suddenly realizes how miserable his best friend must be currently feeling.

"Do you want me to come over to your residence?" he softly asks; his words are coated with genuine concern and worry. Although Amber has always been the resilient type of woman, even the mightiest ones have their own weaknesses. Ember's soft spot is his ge ge, the love of her life whom Kielle knows that she'll do anything for.

Blinking his light jade eyes, Kielle waits for her response; but someone just has to intrude in and call out for his presence again, gesturing for him to stop wasting his time any longer and start practicing.

Of course, Ember hears them.

She doesn't want to cause more inconvenience, so she shakes her head, refusing his offer. "There's no need, Kielle. You're busy, and I'd rather not get in the way of your work," she replies.

A pout is on her cherry red lips. Gazing upon the rearview mirror, she happens to catch a glimpse of the mansion's door slightly moving. Not even waiting for his reply, Ember cancels the call and starts the car's engine as she immediately drives off the property to avoid another confrontation with her fiancé and that woman of his.

The mansion is far behind her. She coldly stares at the road in front of her. A thought is in her mind as she wordlessly swears an oath to them in her own mind. Her golden eyes are glinting with determination.

'This is the last time that I will back down and cower from you. The next time we meet, you'll see the real Ember Wang.'