Lara

PROLOGUE

In a modern world where monarchy still reigns as the governance and unity of people, the whole country of Asrael is divided into four kingdoms—North, South, East, and West. Each kingdom has remained harmonious to each other for centuries and has all together strived to stay and preserve peace. Healthy competitions remain up until the present, yet all is well to all the vast lands of Asrael.

But just like a well-orchestrated and well-written fantasy, one story cannot be complete without the presence of a villain—a person who brings balance with the peaceful life of everyone. A protagonist, the leading lady, will not be the main character without the help of a villain. A villain named Lara.

Lara is the most beautiful woman in the West Kingdom and perhaps one of the reigning beauties in all the kingdoms of Asrael. She is always part of the talk of the town for her beauty and her talents. She is the epitome of perfection every woman, by body and by heart, wants to be. A high lady from a Noble family is one of the most suited candidates for the Crown Princess of the West Kingdom.

It was the easiest thing to think of—a life for her in the Royal family… but since when did the “perfect” girl snatch the crown? The world doesn’t work that way for someone like her because, by the end of the day, it will not matter if you are perfect or not. It will always boil down to the girl who has the purest heart to be able to snatch any crowns, no, not snatch; they don’t even need to grab anything because the crown will always be “meant” for them.

Oh, how she loathes every woman like that, and that is the sole reason why she exists the way she wants to be—to be the villain.

If there is something she was born to do and she was destined to become, it was to ensure she would make everyone’s life a living hell. Especially the life of the woman she hates the most, named Dandelion.

Dandelion is her opposite, and if she considers herself the villain, this woman is the complete opposite of her. The woman with the “pure” heart is destined to be the main character, born to have the happily-ever-after.

Oh, how she despises her with all her guts.

But every villain is set to have their downfalls for the main character to have their spotlight, to make them shine the way they should.

Lara has done everything—all the bad things anyone can imagine—but the worst was yet to come.

She knew what she was about to do would draw the line and will push her into the most profound depth of hell. She knew that pure destruction awaited, that all chaos would break loose. She knew all the risks and all the possibilities, but nothing stopped her.

Nothing stopped her from bringing the best pain she could ever get to Dandelion.

A loud slap across a face made Lara smile. Of course, that slap was not for her. One reason is that no one will ever slap her for all they dare. The other reason is the best part because that slap is not meant for her; it was meant for the ever-respectable Crown Prince Rydall.

Fixing her hair out of her face and stretching, she drags the sheets to cover her body as she picks up her dress. It was a lovely night, but this morning was more beautiful than she would have ever expected. Did she ever think that cries would sound like music to her ears? Not until she’s hearing Dandelion’s pathetic cries right now. If she is honest, the loud arguments and the loud screaming are the best parts.

When she was finally done putting her clothes back on, even with her shoes, she finally faced the two, which stopped them.

Dandelion’s tear-stricken face and all the anger in her eyes made her smile more. She is satisfied to the core seeing her like this. She didn’t even look at the Crown Prince because her business with him is done now. All she focused her attention on was basking herself with how pitiful Dandelion looked. She can stare at this forever and remain the happiest person in the world.

She knows how much she wants to hurt her right now, and it would be fun to see her try. She’s taunting her to try. She’s doing her best to bring more misery to her just by looking at her, slapping her with the mere fact that she stole her supposed-to-be most important night of her life.

She flashes her smug grin. “I’m actually waiting here if you’re going to say something to me or not, but I guess you’re too wretched even for words.” She grabs her purse and pushes her hair back. “It was a lovely night, Dandelion, and it’s such a pity that you weren’t able to join us.” She laughs, then says, “well, I know you have so much to talk about, so I’ll give you the privacy you’ll need.”

It isn’t fun anymore when no one takes her bait to fight back. Dandelion could not even speak a word, but at least she had the guts to look at her straight in the eyes. What’s done is done, and it was her time to reward herself.

She was about to reach for the door when Dandelion finally called her.

Flashing her ever-sweet smile, she turns around. “Yes, Crown Princess Dandelion?”

Dandelion wipes all her tears away, uttering, “m-mark my words that you will meet your karma sooner than you think.”

“Oh, really?” that made her laugh, even throwing her head for it. “My goodness!” it was the only time she spares the crown prince a look, then back again to Dandelion. “I can’t wait for my karma to come! I’m so tired of being yours.”

There and then, she left.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The downfall of a villain—an inevitable, meaningful event that is waiting to happen.

With all the evil she brought to the world, Lara knows that she is bound to meet her end. She is actually expecting it rather than being scared of what will happen. It wouldn’t matter how bad things will go for her; as long as it’s what she deserves, she knows she doesn’t have any say on it.

When Dandelion said, she hoped she would meet her karma soon, lucky for that woman because she really did.

She was hit by a car on the rainy night of her birthday.

Death could have been the easy way to go. It wouldn’t matter if she died now; she knew that fulfilling her life with everything she had always wanted to happen to her life was something she had already achieved. She has done everything to her heart’s content. She was happy being the evil she is.

But death is not her end game. Of course, she will never be given the easy way out.

She was given something far worse than she would have ever expected.

A bucket of ice-cold water woke her up; she was literally gasping for air.

“Get up! Do you plan to sleep all day, senorita? Need I remind you that the chores will not help themselves! We’re not providing you shelter and feeding you for you to be lazy around here!”

Old, disgusting-looking room with this ugly woman in front of her—holy fudge. She has seen this before, multiple times. This exact scenario. Holy s**t. This has given her all of the goosebumps.

Where in the hell is she?

Don’t tell her that…

“What?! Are you going to spend the morning staring at me?! Hello! The kitchen will not cook the breakfast alone!”

What in the plot twist is this, and how did she suddenly become a person she despises?!