1 Not Our Happily Ever After

It was nearly sunset when a woman sauntered onto the rooftop of the tallest building in the palace. From here, the layouts of the city shone in a golden color. She stood without movement as her gaze lazily lingered into the distance, her lips pressed tightly together.

When the hour passed, dark clouds covered the sun and the red sky darkened to gray. Waves of chilly wind blew by, but the lady in black remained unaffected. Her eyes locked with the sky, almost as if she was challenging the heavens.

When she was born, she was named Li Wei. Her mother had wished for her to grow up into a beautiful refined lady. Too bad, nothing in her name matched her name. Her mother's aspirations were thrown off the roadside, deemed to be completely useless.

In this life, she was nothing like a proper lady. In this story, she defined destruction. Instead of the leading lady, she's the villainess. She was a woman who fell into evil as she blindly chased the man she loved.

It's too bad the efforts she gave and the energy she spent were fruitless. The man who filled her world now held someone else in his arms, for in his eyes, she was never of importance. If anything, his hatred towards her grew with her shameless and selfish actions in the pursuit of a so called love.

How funny it was, the ways things turned out. Li Wei really wanted to laugh with pity for herself. Such a fool I was, she thought.

With elegance, her fingers reached out for the bottle of wine hanging on her waist and tipped the rest of the liquid into her waiting mouth. As she drank, some escaped her lips and trailed down onto the large silver necklace on her neck. Her lips curved upwards with once last glance of the now black sky before she walked away.

Life was really funny sometimes, fate played too much.

When the clock stroke seven that same evening, she appeared at the doorway of Hundreds Garden. A stone walkway connected the gate to the porch which was connected to the main house. On both sides, hundreds of different flowers covered the ground in countless colors. All the flowers were in full bloom and filled the air with a natural pleasant fragrance.

From the doorway of the main house, a young boy stood waiting. Although he was only four, he carried an air of royalty and maturity that were rare in children of his age. When he saw her figure at the entrance, Khan Bohai's strong aura immediately disappeared and was replaced with an innocent happiness appropriate for his young age.

He ran out as fast as his adorably short legs could go, yelling in excitement and surprise, "Imperial Mother!"

Li Wei watched as her son came running to her. Khan Bohai was a great boy, focused on his studies and well behaved. When he smiled, his dimples showed, just like his father. And for being so similar to him, she found it hard to love her own son.

She didn't have time to think as he stumbled in his haste. She immediately bent down to catch him into her embrace.

A pair of small round eyes looked at her, almost as if asking for permission, before his arms wrapped around her neck. He decided not to wait for permission. His mother would never allow it. "Imperial Mother, you came…"

"Of course, why wouldn't I? Didn't you leave a rose in mommy's room this morning to remind me to come here?" From her hands, she brought out the red rose he picked.

"Imper—mommy?" His voice tested out the word carefully. For all his life, Khan Bohai knew his mother disliked being close to him. He never had the same affections from his mother as other children. To call his mother so informally was a privilege he never had. "Imperial Mother, I can call you mommy now?"

Her son's eyes shone with such happiness that she almost cried for the cruelness she gave him all these years. What a waste it was to push her child away because she didn't love his father. Li Wei nodded as she gently pinched her son's small nose, "Of course. From now on, you can call me mommy."

"M-mommy, thank you. I'm so happy right now. Actually, daddy is waiting inside. It's a secret, but let me tell you," Khan Bohai's voice lowered even though no one was around. His eyes lit with excitement as he gave away a spoiler. "Daddy's going to give you a big gift, he said it's even better than gold!"

The innocent boy's laughter filled the air as she watched his innocent expression, fully believing in his father. Really, Bojing? She wondered, what is it that's worth more than gold? "Tell mommy, how big is it?"

"Daddy said it can fill the sky, mommy!" Khan Bohai had full trust for his father. If his daddy said the gift could fill the sky, then it would somehow.

"Mommy has a gift for daddy and you too. Let's go meet your daddy then, shall we?" Li Wei smiled tenderly at her adorable son, noticing for the first time that he seemed to radiate brightly with her presence. They would've been close, if only her coldness didn't perish his rays of sunshine.

Khan Bohai gladly nodded as he slipped his hands into his mommy's. Mommy seemed to be in a good mood today, he thought. With sudden confidence, he boldly held onto her hand. He must take full advantage of his mommy's good mood before she changed her mind.

This moment of happiness didn't last long. The mother and son could only take a step forward before Li Wei crumbled onto her knees in pain and her hand slipped from his. All the strength in her body dissipated as she clutched her stomach.

"Mommy! Mommy, what's wrong?" Khan Bohai screamed in terror as he saw blood on the ground.

"Bohai, go get your daddy…" She managed to spoke as she fell onto the ground. Her heart broke watching him cry out loudly, "Daddy! Daddy, something's wrong with mommy!"

From the ground, Li Wei watched as Khan Bojing flew from the doorway in panic upon their son's screams. From inside, he was able to witness the mother and son's rare interaction earlier. It was a precious moment, he was able to see Li Wei's warmth towards their son. He knew how hard it was for her to accept their child when this was a loveless marriage.

From today on, this moment on, their feelings will only blossom, this thought filled his mind.

He promised to give his best efforts for their son and for her as well, his wife who stayed with him these past years. Without knowing when, a smile had already formed on his lips as he saw Li Wei cared for their son. He rarely smiled genuinely, but unfortunately, that smile didn't last long. It disappeared as soon as it came when his wife suddenly fell onto the ground.

Khan Bohai's face was stained with tears as he held his mommy's hand. He prayed she would be okay. If his mommy is okay, he promised he wouldn't ask for much anymore. He wouldn't make her spend time with him anymore, he would study hard and listen to daddy. He wouldn't sneak into her courtyard anymore, he would only wait until she wished to see him. He promised he'd be a good boy if only his mommy was okay.

"Mommy, please wait daddy is coming soon. Mommy, your necklace is dirty now. I will ask daddy to buy you a new necklace tonight. Mommy, I will be a good boy so you have to be okay, okay?" Not being able to do anything, the little boy could only say random things to keep his mother's eyes awake. He was afraid her eyes would close and then never open again...

On the stone walkway, Li Wei laid like a lifeless person. It's as if all the energy in her body has been drained. At her son's words, her eyes traveled down. The silver necklace she had on had turned black. That's when the realization hit her; she had been poisoned. She would've laughed if she had more energy.

For a villainess to die from poison, it was ironic.

Honestly, she knew she'd die one of these days. It was too good to be true she survived this long after the main couple's marriage. When the time came, she had always imagined that she'd feel relieved to be untied from her life, but that feeling was nowhere as regrets filled her heart. Blood dripped from her lips as her body paled. She hadn't cried for years, but as she laid there hopelessly, tears came streaming down her face.

Li Wei spent all the years of her youth hating Li Zhilan who took everything she desired, but at this moment, the person she hated most was herself.

Because of her self greed and ambitions, she never enjoyed her life. She spent all her attention on a person she hated instead of cherishing the people who loved and cared for her.

She barely managed to squeeze Khan Bohai's hand when she spoke her last words, "Bohai, listen to mommy, okay? I'm sorry, baby. I'm really sorry… Promise mommy that you will be a good boy. If mommy leaves, you have to take care of daddy. After mommy leaves, tell daddy to find a better mommy for you. I'm really sorry. I was not a good mommy to you..."

I never loved you, I could never love you for I hated the person whose blood runs in your veins. How I wish to have more time so I can properly love you, sweetheart. You didn't deserve to be the son of a cold and heartless woman like me... These words were left unspoken, left hidden in her heart because her eyes were starting to close on their own and breathing became difficult.

"Mommy, don't say that. Don't leave! Only you're my mommy!"

Oh, how Li Wei wished to hold her son in her arms one last time, but she had no strength left. When Khan Bojing's dark figure reached them, she gave him the gentlest smile he's ever seen as their eyes met before her eyes closed completely.

He was handsome and righteous as always. They met when she was nineteen. Both of them had someone else in their hearts but fate played with them. One night entangled them together for a lifetime.

Now she wanted to tell him, to say those words she hadn't found enough courage to speak aloud. After all these years, she saw the efforts he put into their marriage, trying to make it work when she constantly pulled it apart. He had no love for her, but he took care of her.

For their son, he became a loyal husband who stood by her side. She wanted to tell him that she was going to change. She wanted to build a family with him, a bigger and happier family. It's been a while now and no one knew, but every time she saw him, her heartbeat sped up and a smile was always at the tip of her lips.

Khan Bojing, I really like you now. If you still love me, I promise I can love you back. Let's put our past behind and start anew... These were the words she most wanted to say. These were the words she planned to say.

However, when she open her mouth, only blood came out and there was no sound.

Then, her eyes closed into darkness.

As she took her last breath, strong arms wrapped around her body and carried her away from the sudden cold rain that started pouring like the teardrops streaming down his face.