The Manipulated Villainess

"What did Peter Jung do this time?"

Nicole was feeling hesitant to answer Carson Jun's question. After keeping silent for a few minutes, she finally said, "I will explain later. Please help me out. It's very important for me."

Carson Jun let out a sigh. "Alright, but don't put yourself in danger. I won't be able to face Garcia if things go wrong."

Nicole nodded once despite talking through the phone. "I will remember that."

"Fine. I'll tell my men to brief me on Peter Jung's activities for the day. I will inform you once I have the answer."

"Thanks. I'll be waiting."

The moment Nicole put down her phone, Aston crossed her mind and she quickly lifted the phone to make another call until...

The door to her house was opened and the one who rushed inside was none other than Aston. Feeling stunned, she ended up staring at him with a surprised face.

Aston's eyes swept around the house and when his gaze landed on Nicole, he ran towards her. "Edwin informed me about what happened. Are you alright?" He asked, catching his breath. Just how fast did he rush to reach here?!

"I'm fine. He left just a while ago," Nicole said in a calm voice and Aston heaved a sigh of relief.

"Why did you put yourself in danger?! You should have called me in such a situation! What if something -"

"I'm really fine, Aston," Nicole patiently repeated in a soft voice and holds his hand. "I know what I do. Trust me."

Hearing her calm and assuring voice, Aston ended up staring at her without any movement until he reached out his hand and gently touched her face. Then he closed the gap between them and embraced her.

"I'm sorry for raising my voice. I was so scared. Many things crossed my mind on my way here and none of them is positive. In our current situation, I should have paid more attention to your safety."

"What you did is already enough," Nicole muttered. With a little smile, she pulled back and take out the gun that she hid on her waist. "I have this."

Aston glanced at the handgun with an unreadable face until he took it from her. "I want you to be safe but... I really hope that there won't come a day when you have to use this."

Just a single shot can easily take a life if the bullet hit the vital point. He didn't want her to suffer such torment. It even made him wondered if her life would be safer if it wasn't for him.

He glanced at Nicole whose gaze never leave him ever since he entered the house. Then he added, "The Nicole Yang I knows and love is a kind-hearted woman who doesn't want to harm others even when they caused her torment. So, promise me this. You won't use this gun unless there is no other option."

Nicole briefly thought about it before she nodded. "Alright. I promise you but... what if I'm left with no choice?"

She never thought that she would think this way but... whenever she saw Colin Park and Peter Jung, she always finds it hard to keep herself under control! She was scared that she would lose control one day.

Aston forced a little smile and gently ran a finger through her hair. "I already told you before that even if you commit a crime for revenge, I will take the blame for you. I will never allow you to suffer."

He already made up his mind. He will stop at nothing to protect her and if needed, he was willing to cross his limit not even once, but twice and even a hundred times!

"Then I won't make any mistake." Nicole's response came quicker than ever. "I don't want to be the one who ruins your life. It would be the worst nightmare."

Aston smiled but when he tried to speak up, he was interrupted by the sound of Nicole's phone ringing. He was quite flustered as it's already 1 in the morning. Who would call her at this time?

Nicole glanced at the caller ID and when she saw Carson Jun's name, she quickly picked up the call. "Hello."

"I just sent you the places which Peter Jung visited today. Take a look," Carson Jun said from the other line.

"Alright. Thank you."

"You don't have to thank me, Nicole. I'm glad that I could help but remember what I said. Don't expose yourself to danger. Whatever you need, I can help you," Carson Jun said.

Though Nicole can't see his face, she could sense his sincerity through his voice. This put her at ease. "Okay. I will explain later. This is quite urgent."

She ended the call and shifted her attention back to Aston who was staring at her with a curious face. "I think we will locate Cassandra soon."

Aston raised a brow when he heard her. "What do you mean? You know a way?"

Nicole nodded and opened the message that Carson Jun sent her. Then she forwarded it to Aston. "Take a look at what I sent you. It's a list of the places Peter Jung visited today. He wants information from Shara and I'm sure that he would already meet her."

With that said, Aston quickly take out his phone and looked at the message. After reading the list for a few seconds, his eyes flickered. "I think I know where Cassandra is." Darting his eyes to Nicole, he said, "I have to inform Nathan and Leon. We need to hurry."

Nicole nodded with a little smile. "That's a relief. You should go and please... be careful."

"What about you? Will you be fine alone?" Aston immediately asked her with concern.

"Don't worry. If anything happens, I still have the secret room. I will be safe there."

* * *

Cassandra's condition wasn't that good now. She was still tied to the chair in that unknown place. She didn't know how long she was going through this torture but she knew one thing. That it felt like hours due to the excruciating pain inflicted in her body!

If she wasn't trained ever since she was young, she would have already given in. Growing up, she was taught to be both mentally and physically strong and she was raised that way. However, she also had her limits as she was just a human too.

While two men were carrying out the physical torture and interrogate her, the young man who was their leader was sitting at the table a few steps away. Crossing his arms, his gaze was fixated on her as if he was observing her. Then he let his arms loose and gently tapped the table. What was he thinking?

"That's enough," he suddenly said and stood up. His two subordinates looked at him with a confused face while Cassandra was too much in pain to even raise her head.

"Boss, I think she will speak if this goes on for just a few -"

"I don't see it that way," the young man said and glanced down at Cassandra. "You might end up killing her and that's not our purpose." He shifted his gaze back to his two subordinates and commanded, "Leave."

Having no other choice, the two men bowed and walked out of the room. After that, the leader pulled the chair and took a seat opposite Cassandra. "It seems like you're really not scared of death," he remarked.

"You should just kill me," Cassandra murmured. Her words were instantly followed by coughing which was the effect of the torture. This added pain to her body even more than before!

"It's just a single information," the leader retorted. "Just say one name and everything will end. Are you that eager to die in vain?"

Cassandra felt like she lost all her strength due to the torture. However, she mustered up her strength and raised her head to look at the leader when she heard him. "Just a name?" She slightly smirked. "You don't know what will happen if that single name escaped my lips." She instantly coughed again and it made the young man sighed.

"What made you so stubborn? Pride? We're talking about life and death here," the young leader said. He was slightly leaning towards the Moyan Boss, his gaze urging her to give up.

"Pride," Cassandra mumbled and gently shook her head despite being so much in pain. "I'm only trying to make up to someone," she paused and murmured, "Though this isn't enough."

"Make up to someone?" the leader said with a slightly raised brow. He didn't expect such a response. What debt was big enough for her to willing to suffer all this?!

"Have you ever felt tormented because you felt responsible for the crime which wasn't even committed by you?" Cassandra asked and coughed again.

After she recovered a bit, she continued by saying, "It's hell and if I give in now, the hell will become worse than before. Compared to that, this torture is nothing."

The young leader leaned back and narrowed his eyes at the floor. The response of the daring woman put him in a daze.....