The World is a Cruel Place

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"Hanlu didn't have a choice now, Laura Mo already disclosed that she wanted him to marry me." a woman's voice said boastfully, her left brow raise, and a sinister smile beamed on her lips as she sips on her bitter-sweet beverage. 

"It's about time. When all ends according to the plan, don't forget our promise." replied by another woman with a similar sinister smile on her lips. It was difficult to understand why the woman approached the actress in the first place. What was her purpose and all? But Veronica for sure knows that she or whoever's behind her had a planned to take over the Mo Empire.

Veronica also knows in certain that she was just a part of their plan. A pawn they could easily dispose of when it didn't work, but as a sinking boat, a star that its light started to flicker less. Veronica needed to do something, she needed to preserve her reputation, her career.

When Mo Hanlu broke up with her, she didn't get bothered by it at first. She thought she was popular enough to already stand on her own. She didn't need Mo Hanlu anymore, she didn't need his influence to help her rise at the top and continue to be the bright star that she was.

However, she was wrong! After a month passed, even when the break-up has not been publicized, Veronica could feel the slowly decreasing offers. Some even backed out. It instantly reminded her that without Mo Hanlu's backing, she would just be one of those outdated artists that's only good for side characters. 

Even before the break-up, when Hanlu started neglecting her despite her demands. It was then that her career had started plummeting. Directors and Producers are very quick to pick up, usually, when there was no huge amount of papers being thrown upon their feet, they would not bother casting her as the main lead.

Sometimes she wondered what was wrong with her, she was not bad in acting and she was not ugly. Yes, she was a little demanding and hard to deal with, but didn't she work hard to make to film as perfect as she could? She portrayed her characters well, in her opinion, so well that she was almost the characters on the script. But still, without the backing, they could still easily find someone else to substitute her.

Veronica is a person with pride, even though there is so little left, she still indeed have one. She refused to beg. And as if the heavens laughing at her, she had gotten pregnant with her ex-boyfriend that she coincidentally met one day and out of frustration slept with without thinking much.

The second she discovered she was pregnant, she sought an abortion. The day when the surgery was about to happen, the woman in front of her now came and convinced her to think otherwise. She offered her a generous amount, title, and reputation. Truly, desperate times call for desperate measures.

Veronica agreed, even though she was against being a mother at the crucial time of her life. She was determined to keep herself at the top, no matter the cost.

"Of course, I may be a woman who will do anything for money but I honor promises. You will get your documents soon enough. Hanlu is just getting rebellious for now but once he sees the baby, he will soften." Veronica said confidently, assuring the woman her success. Her acting is flawless and her backing is formidable so Veronica didn't think anyone from the Mo family would suspect her.

Additionally, the Mo Empire had been at the top for so long they wouldn't expect anyone to take them over all of a sudden. They have become confident and sure that no one would try to offend them, but that's what they all been wrong. Someone will eventually try to take them down and change the system.

"hmm, by the way. I want you to secure Remi Long, she knows too much." The woman mentioned, she held her glass of wine and slowly moved it on circular motion. There was an enigmatic air around her making Veronica somewhat vigilant towards the woman despite all her aid.

"We don't have to worry about her, Remi won't say anything. And besides, she came back to the slumps, there is no need to bother ourselves with her." Veronica assured but the woman wasn't convinced. She puts down her glass of wine and glanced at Veronica disapprovingly.

"My boss wants to eliminate any possible risk, that woman knows the truth behind your pregnancy. If she tells anyone, we will all have to start over, but of course, for you, that would mean your downfall. You knew full well the risks of this mission." The woman warned, her voice slowly become dangerous making Veronica gulp in unease. Her downfall was the last thing she wanted to happen.

"I-I'll contact her immediately, but surely she wouldn't betray me," Veronica assured the woman but in actuality, she was more like assuring herself. Honestly, in this case, she didn't know if Remi would side with her or not. Although they had been friends for so long, the woman always sticks to her moral values. 

With what she had been doing, lying, Veronica was almost sure Remi Long would choose to tell the truth as she believed it would help the person better than to support a deception.

Hearing Veronica's excuse, the woman detected her slight hesitation making her frown dangerously. "Ms. Chime, I could care less about your situation but my boss wants you in so I gave you all the possible assistance that you needed for this mission to work. If I were to do this job as well, I would have eliminated Remi Long long time ago but since my boss doesn't want to scare you further out of this, please do your part considering you will be the one to benefit from this the most."

"Additionally, I already warned you not to let anyone know of the truth. Clearly, this part was from your negligence; please don't expect me to clean for you." the woman stated, displeasure displayed in her tone.

"And lastly, I must warn you to keep that child inside you healthy. We don't want anything to happen to it until you're in the Mo family's family registry." The woman added as she stood and glared at the glass of wine Veronica had been drinking long before she arrived to meet the actress.

After she told what she wanted to say, the woman turned around not waiting for Veronica to answer. It was clear to Veronica that the woman somewhat hated her.

She didn't understand where the woman's malice came from nor wanted to know. All she cares about is her career at the moment. Veronica looked at her glass of wine, and ignoring the woman's advice, she gulps down the last of its content while she watched the woman's drawing back with four of his men following behind. A tenacious look flashed on her eyes.

Veronica didn't respond because she knew it was her fault. Remi Long had been her friend for the longest time. She was there in her lowest and highest and so she developed a habit of telling her everything.

In fact Remi Long is her bestfriend, she was the only person who managed to stay with her despite her unlikely personality. She stood by her side when no one does and still remained standing beside her when she was at the top. And now, despite their current quarrel, naturally, Veronica doesn't want her bestfriend to be eliminated as the woman did to the man who fathered her child.

Veronica fished out her phone and scanned for Remi Long's name. When she found it, she immediately pressed on it and called. Unfortunately, seconds after she pressed on the number, the familiar line "the number you dialed is not accessible at the moment" rang on Veronica's ear and almost immediately she breathes her curses.

"Stupid! Why are you turning off your phone now!?" Veronica mumbled, she stood up from her seat and snatched her purse as she left the facility. When she arrived at the parking lot where she left her car, she immediately gets into it and soon started the engine. Shortly after, she was already trailing her way to her next destination.

However, unknown to her was a pair of eyes secretly following her every move. He stared at Veronica's silhouette with vengeful orbs. The blue pigment in his eyes turns into a deeper shade as he felt the throbbing pain left by a bullet still buried in his skull. His hand trembling, he quickly fished out the plastic bottle of pain reliever and hastily gulps on a few tablets.

When he finally calmed down and the pain suddenly faded away, he started his own engine in an attempt to follow the actress when suddenly two bulky men stood next to his car window and one of them knocked.

The man with the icy blue pigment orbs experienced enough to realize that the two men were not someone to knock on his door for a chat. Subconsciously gulping on his saliva, he felt the need to moisten his throat. The first thing that appeared on his mind was the word  'escape'. And so to honor his thought, he tried to drive away but as soon as his eyes detected object the massive man was holding, the man with the icy blue pigment orbs froze, traumatized.

Memories once again surfaced in his mind, the event with a similar situation where one day a group of massive men suddenly kidnapped him flashed in his mind like a nightmare. He didn't know what he did, he was only a small-time drug courier who didn't have the guts to even hold a gun. For someone who didn't have the chance to even finish high school, life forced him to do this job because he needed to. If he didn't, he would not be able to put food on his table for his three siblings and medication for his sickly mother.

Ever since his father suddenly died of an unknown disease, he was the one who replaced his figure in the family. At a young age, he learned to do odd jobs just so he could support his family. Gone were all the days when all he needed to think about was play and have fun. At an early age, he learned very quickly that the world was a cruel place.

And as if all his hardships were not enough, he was forced to kneel in front of a woman he never once met before in a secluded area. The woman was pointing a gun at his head, bloodthirst evident in her voice as she smiled telling him the most heartbreaking truth before pulling the trigger and planting a bullet in his skull.

He was supposed to be dead. One could say even Satan himself didn't want him because of some miracle, the bullet somehow didn't hit any vital parts inside his brain. Hours later after the bloodthirsty woman planted her bullet on his head, they left him thinking he was lifeless. Unfortunately, they were wrong because he woke up. He literally crawled himself out of his grave and into the hospital.

He stayed at the hospital for about two months in a coma. As he was quickly recovering, his sickly mother was deteriorating. And when he woke up from his coma, everything was too late, his mother had died leaving him and his three sibling mourning.

At that moment, the man with the icy blue pigment orbs swore revenge to the person who wronged him and caused his mother's death. He will not rest until he brings that person down but with all the build-up pain and anger within him. However, the familiar sight of the two bulky men and their guns made him unable to move, he could not feel his face and palms but somehow manage to feel the cold sweats prickling on his skin. His s throat was so dry he was desperate for water, lastly, he was falling in and out of his consciousness.

"Sir, Please step out of your vehicle and we can assure you, you will not be harmed." One of the bulky men convinced. The man with the icy blue pigment orbs still managed to open his car door before he finally lost the last bit of his consciousness.