Chapter 9: The Second Male Lead

After the male lead, who was only 12 years old that time, identified that Themis was the indirect killer of his family, he started planning carefully on how he could bring down Themis.

He struggled in the orphanage for almost a year until he met the then 10 years old Nina. Nina was always silent but unlike the other kids who were afraid of his scar, Nina would just blink at him when he tries

to scare her. That's why he became close to her. Phillip would confide everything to Nina, his anxieties and hatreds were known to Nina.

This setup continued until Phillip turned 16 when he was accepted to college where Phillip will live on the boarding house of the school.

While on the other hand, Nina was also accepted to the most prestigious university and the good thing about that was Nina can choose when to go there because basically, going there will just be for formality purposes. She can be the professor but because she doesn't have a college diploma and she was only 14 that time! And as a minor who doesn't have any adults to supervise her, she needs to stay at the orphanage until she can prove that she can support herself.

Nina and Phillip weren't able to see each other for months, but once Phillip goes back to the orphanage, they will always be together.

And when Nina turned 16, Phillip declared that Nina was his first love and asked her to be with him for the rest of his life. Nina was so moved that she accepted Phillip right then and there.

Nina and Phillip had been together for 2 years before they broke up and according to the author's words, it was Nina who cheated first, but because Nina who received the previous owner's memory knew that the author just made the male seem perfect but he was just a scum man like his father.

When Nina left, Phillip can now openly be with his new love, Sarah Williams, a girl from a province that was also as ambitious as him.

Sarah was a law student who was both smart and witty, she can hold conversations with any people, this is the reason why the male lead and second male lead fell for her.

Speaking of the male lead, he was also one of the characters who had a sad ending.

The second male lead appeared when the male lead started avenging his parents' death. And as the son of Themis, Ares needs to protect his mom, so from working in an isolated mountainous area, he moved back to the capital and fought the male lead.

Ares can actually overthrow the male lead if not only for his feelings for the heroine. Sarah had her training in Ares' law firm. She was so persistent that time which made Ares appreciate her, she seldom makes mistakes and she was one of the few people he can talk with sense making Ares believe that he fell in love with her. And when Ares found out that Phillip was actually Sarah's husband, he wanted to snatch her but he stopped himself. He doesn't want to be like the people he hated the most.

Ares stopped shooting Phillip's company which made Ares' mom annoyed. She told him that Phillip was the son of his father's mistress, the woman who destroyed their family. But Ares had a different idea about this matter, it was not the mistress' fault, it was his dad who wasn't man enough to on his own feet and used a woman to get what he wants. Ares just accepted his mom's anger.

He also doesn't like to be like his mom who was eaten by anger. He wants to.make his mom happy without hurting anyone. But he became too broken when he heard his mom saying that he was like his dad, he also betrayed her because of a woman.

After hearing those words, Ares left his mom without saying a word. Nobody knows where he had been.

Due to this, Themis became more inflamed to destroy Phillip but maybe because of the male lead halo, Phillip was able to survive. But this left a great damage to his company, just then he realized that in this life, he will not be able to hurt Themis. Themis wanted to totally destroy Phillip but she received that her only son was already found but he paralyzed his two feet and he no longer talks.

Themis thought that maybe, it was her retribution. She wasn't a good daughter to her parents, she became a selfish wife and now, she unconsciously hurt her only son.

Themis stopped attacking Phillip then she focused herself on her son, she left the capital and went to live with his son in his house in the mountainous area. There they lived with no other mentions in the book.

The aftermath of the business war was taken care of by the youngest patriarch of the Clemonte clan, Hades Keiro Clemonte.

Nina always hears the name of this Hades since this morning which made her a little curious of who he is.

According to the book, Hades was the first love of the heroine, she met him when she was 18, he was giving a speech at a youth oriented convention and she fell instantly in love with him, that's why, even though she already has a boyfriend, she chose Ares' law firm because she knew that Ares and Hades are close cousins. But she also knew that her love was hopeless because Hades doesn't like interacting with women. This was the heroine's only consolation to herself. It wasn't that she was unattractive, it's just that Hades doesn't like women at all.

If Nina is correct, the current patriarch of the Clemonte clan is the son of aunt Karen and Uncle Cronos which makes the couple a rich passerby. Well, since they are just passers-by she can still interact with them, she only needs to be vigilant to the second male lead.

But thinking of it, Ares' ending was really tragic. Why do authors always make the second male leads to have a pitiful ending? They were already not chosen, why make their lives hard? To show how great the main leads are? Tss, bad authors!

Should she help the second male lead to avoid his destiny? Anyway, she really doesn't believe that when the original story gets crooked because of her interceptions, this world would be destroyed. Because right now, she is slowly moving away from the plot.

Then, what should she do to help him? Make him not accept the heroine as an intern?

According to the plot's timeline, next month, the heroine will come to Ares' law firm to request her internship.

Nina feels a little helpless, she was so eager to move far away from the characters of the plot but it feels like the characters are all rushing towards her.

Nina took a deep breath and finally decided to help the second male lead a little.

After deliberating mentally and having solution to her problems, Nina was now able to lift her eyes then she became stunned. The crops that she planted this morning looked like a month old already!

The trees also grew two feet longer. If this continues, Nina believes that tomorrow, she can already harvest. but where is she going to put her harvests? She doesn't know if she can also buy a mobile storage room. While thinking, Nina felt the surroundings having a little bit denser spiritual aura which startled her so she looked around the space then she saw a hut beside her mobile house. Where did that come from? Nina went to check the hut, she thought that it was just a small hut but when she opened it, the place was so large and it had many shelves, perfect for her crops!

A while ago, she was only thinking of a place for her crops then this place appeared, will anything that she thinks of appear in the space? Nina doesn't think so because last week she was already complaining why this space doesn't have a small house like what the novels said.

So why did this storage hut appear? Was it because of the plants she planted that made this space leveled up?

Anyway, she will still observe what will happen to her space on the following days.

Nina curiously walked inside the storage hut. She was thinking if this storage hut is also the same as that of the novels she read where the heroines will just think or say any items inside the space to go inside the storage then the storage will automatically arrange it inside.

She then tried to think of her gardening tools, that are in her portable house, to go inside the storage. After that, Nina became really amazed! This storage is really like the space in the novels she read before! She was still afraid that she would be too tired to walk back and forth just to bring her crops in the storage, but seeing her tools neatly arranged in one of the shelves, Nina became confident in planting more crops!

Nina walked around her space to see and watered her crops before she happily went back to her room.

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The next day, Aunt Karen and Uncle Cronos told Nina that they needed to go somewhere and the couple didn't elaborate the specifics. They just told Nina that they will be back after three days. Although the couple was tight lipped about where they were going, Nina knew that it had something to do with Ares' visit last night. Maybe it has something to do to Ares' mom.

According to the original plot, after the sequential deaths of her loved ones, Themis became depressed and the only outlet for her depression was to travel and date men of different nationalities which, on a reader's perspective, made her a crooked villain with no morality. But having the memories of a cannon fodder who was said to have cheated the male lead, Nina now doubts if Themis was really bad and unreasonable as the book said.

Anyway, Nina doesn't want to delve too much into the book's plot. Since the personality of the previous owner was way different from what's written in the book, Nina will only believe the characters once she's been them, and not from what she read in the book.

After breakfast, Nina went to the house she bought to canvass the things that she needs to buy.

When Nina arrived, she first said hello to Grandma Sol before going straight to her house. There she saw the previous owner of the house and other men carrying the furniture and other stuff away from the house.

Yesterday, she told the previous house owner that she wants an empty house so that she can decorate it easily and he agreed because the payment was still the same.

Nina talked to the previous house owner for a while then she went back to Grandma Sol's house to wait until the men were done packing up. Nina wasn't comfortable on the deliberate stares of the men there so she decided to go to Grandma Sol.

Nina was talking happily with Grandma Sol while having tea when they heard someone calling Grandma Sol. Grandma Sol went out to check who it was while Nina just waited inside the living room. When Grandma Sol came back she was already smiling widely and with her was a familiar face.

Really? Nina was just thinking if she would help this man last night, but she didn't say that she would help him immediately! She's still busy sorting her new house!

"Nina! This is the nephew of Cronos, his name is Ares" Grandma Sol said

"I already know him Grandma" Nina answered

"Huh? Cronos and Karen already introduced him to you? Those traitors! They told me not to let you meet my grandson because you still have a sweetheart but they still have the cheeks to introduce you to their nephew?!" Grandma Sol angrily said

"Grandma, I met him because of the house that I bought okay? No other meaning" Nina nervously said, she will never dare to be in a lovers relationship with the second male lead! Although most of the wearing books she read before are about the villain who chose the second male lead instead of the male lead, she will not take the same path okay?! She wants a peaceful life with minor to none problems. And besides, she already has a son, why would she need a man who is not her son's father? What if that man hits her son when she's not around? So having a man in this life is a big no for Nina.

"You should try to be a lawyer Ms. Nina" Ares said smiling "because you are too defensive"

Ares really thinks that this girl is so cute but he really can't see this little doll as a woman who would be with him. He was thinking last night if he was attracted to Nina, but maybe because they really don't have enough interactions he concluded that he was just curious about this girl and he even thought of recognizing this girl as his sister.

"Well mister, you should be a talent manager" Nina sarcastically answered "because you can see people's potentials" she added before rolling her eyes

"Don't call me mister, I feel so old"

"And you think that calling me miss makes me young?"

"so should I call you little miss?"

"fine, then I'll call you little mister"

"You two, stop arguing!" Grandma Sol said when she felt her head spinning because of looking back and forth to them

"Grandma Sol, this old guy started it!" Nina defended herself

"Grandma, this little miss is just too sensitive"

"I'm not little!" Nina retorted, how could this man say that she is little? She is 168 cm okay?! It's the average height!

"Yes, you are little, you didn't even reach my shoulder" Ares said making Nina angry

"It's because you're a giant old man, hmp! Why am I even wasting my time on you?" Nina then looked at Grandma Sol "Grandma Sol, I'll go back to my house now, I'll see you again later" Nina said before giving Ares a death glare then she left.

Ares just smiled at Nina's back, the doll is really just a child. He really doesn't know how his good big brother fell for this girl. Well, Ares decided to treat that doll as his sister, so he needs to accept her tantrums. So this is what it feels to have a little sister, seems to be enjoyable. There are only few people who can argue with him without being flustered or intimidated.

Nina went back to her house, the movers already left and only the previous house owner was left.

They talked for a while then they shook their hands as a sign done transaction then the previous owner gave the keys to Nina before leaving.

Nina looked at her newly bought house while holding on her tummy. Baby, this will be our house from now on Nina mentally talked to her child. Nina then walked inside her house then she took a notepad and pen from her bag and listed all the things that she will buy.

First of all, she needs to buy furnitures, Nina wanted to make a design for her furnitures but making personalized furnitures would take a long time to finish so she would just try to look for a complete set according to her taste. She wanted to finish moving this week because she wanted to taste the food that she cooked. The food in the restaurant doesn't have enough nutrition to sustain her and her baby.

She started listing for the living room. She needs a three seater couch and two single couch. Coffee table, cupboards,lampshade and TV.

For the rooms, she have written three queen size beds and one king size bed, one of the queen size bed would go to her space, she just hopes that she can move the bed once it is inside her space. She also wrote cupboards, bedside tables, dressers, shoe racks and other stuff.

When Nina felt that her list for the room is almost complete with basic needs, she proceeded at the kitchen. She wrote dining table and chairs, dish rack, cooking wares, plates and silverwares. There is already a wall cabinet in the kitchen as well as cupboard under the table so Nina didn't put cupboard for her kitchen, anyway, if she needs it, she will buy next time.

Now, her list seems to be complete but where can she buy good quality things in this place.

"You need any help?" someone said making her stop thinking

"why are you here?" Nina asked in a sharp tone, this man made her annoyed this morning, how could he tell her that she is little?! Hmp, she will delay saving this man, let him be broken because of the heroine!

"You are really easily annoyed" Ares just smiled then he leaned on the railing of her veranda "Grandma Sol said that you are new here and you don't know the place where you can buy the things for your house, and as an apology for annoying you this morning, I'll send you there"

"Really?!" Nina's eyes turned bright "what are yous still waiting for? Let's go!" Nina said

"I will bring you there but there's a condition"

"what?" Nina became alert, what would the second male lead that has a very powerful backer want from her? Want to be his girlfriend? No, no, she would just look for ghe shop herself but before she can say no Ares already flicked her forehead making her cover her

"hey! That hurts!"

"It's because you're thinking dirty! You're not my type okay?" Ares said disgustingly, he already considers this doll his sister, what she still thinks that he is incest? Eewe

"I haven't said anything!"

"It was written all over your face!"

"then what?!" Nina pouted still trying to rub out the pain

"Is it really painful?" Ares felt guilty when he saw a red mark on Nina's forehead, he already controlled the force but it still marked, is there really a girl as fragile as this doll?

"What do you think?!" Nina snapped

"okay, sorry I should have just tapped you"

"Tss, what's your condition?" Nina just said, the pain was almost gone anyway

"call me brother" Ares shamelessly said, hmm, both her lives she didn't have a brother she had a boy cousin but they were not really close because that cousin knew that she is just adopted, no blood relation at all. That cousin was also the same person who drugged her and her ex husband. After that, he tried to be close to her because she became a rich wife.

But Ares was different, she doesn't have anything to offer him but he is asking her to be her brother. Deep inside her, she still longs for a brother who can protect and understand her, and with their unrestrained conversation this morning up to now she knows that somehow they have the same restrained temper and it was unconsciously exposed because they have the same attitude.

"I'll call you big brother" Nina said then pulled Ares' sleeve "big brother, walk fast! Don't tell me you are really going to act as an old man!"

Ares was stunned for a moment after hearing Nina call him big brother, so this is how it feels to have a little sister. He feels like wanting to protect her against any bad elements but at the same time he wants to annoy her to death.

"You should be the one who needs to walk fast, with how short you are it would be late before we can get there" Ares said then he ran like a kid

"Hey! That's cheating!" Nina shouted as she also ran after him.