Villains are made, not born.

All these people smiling in the photo were people Fil treated with great care. They were the people she let in her heart and life, doing everything for them with genuine heart and intentions. 

How could they smile in this photo, knowing what Vincent was doing would devastate her? How could they tolerate such a thing without any regard for her? Just like Vincent, wasn't she also their friend?

"Haha…" A weak laugh escaped her quivering lips, overwhelmed by this revelation. 

All Fil could feel was shock and confusion. She couldn't even cry. Even when she was on the verge of screaming, she could only stare at the photo as if etching their smiles in her mind. 

"And here I was… almost crippled by my conscience for letting my emotions get the better of me," she murmured, almost laughing out loud. "Yet these people didn't seem to lose a wink of sleep after tolerating such behaviors. Goodness. I feel like a clown."

Jackson, who was standing by her side, only observed her quietly. He had his arms crossed under his chest, not afraid or bothered if Vincent suddenly came out of the shower. He only caught a glimpse of the photo, and he didn't need to stare longer to wonder what it was. 

'What a pitiful soul,' he whispered in his mind, keeping his eyes on Fil's side profile. 'Surrounded by such horrible people.'

Jackson drew his lips into a thin line, snapping his eyes at the bathroom. The faint shower slowed down until it stopped running. At any minute, Vincent would get out of the bathroom and see the two of them. 

'Will she confront him?' he wondered, shifting his eyes back to Fil. 'What a bothersome woman.'

A shallow breath slipped past his lips, took a step, and snatched the phone from her. Without saying a word, he put the message on unread and tossed it back to bed. 

"What are you…" Fil trailed off as he suddenly grabbed her wrist, picked up her phone underneath the blanket, and then dragged her out of the bedroom. 

For a moment, Fil could only stare at his back as he dragged her out of the master's bedroom. She wanted to ask where he was taking her, but her mind and heart were too occupied arguing which emotion should dominate her first. Before she knew it, Fil found herself in the small guest room of the unit. 

Standing in front of him while he closed the door carefully, Fil raised her brows. "What are you doing?" she whispered listlessly. "Why did you take me here?"

"You want revenge?" he returned, looking back at her after locking the door. "Then, confronting him now won't do it. If anything, you're the only one who will get hurt."

"Huh?"

"Let them be for now."

"Let them be…?" she whispered, lowering her eyes and chuckling. "After all of this… I should let them be? For whose sake? Mine?"

She laughed under her breath. "Letting them be only means protecting peace… their peace, not mine."

"So, you're just going to confront him? And tell him you spent a night with a stranger? In his place?" he argued quietly, cocking his head to the side. "And then what?"

Her lips parted and then she pressed them together once more. And then what? What would she do once she told him she spent a night with a stranger? They would break up and he could continue his affair with Marianne without hiding it anymore. 

Would Vincent even get angry at the fact that Fil surrendered her chastity to a stranger? He would get angry, not because he was hurt, but because it would hurt his pride. Other than that, there was nothing anymore. 

While she was miserable, he would only find solace in Marianne's arms and his loser friends would console him. She knew them. They would cover for each other because they were the same rotten eggs in the same basket. 

"You're a good girl, sweetheart." Jackson walked a step, cupping her cheeks. "And it's understandable you have no idea how to hurt others. After all, I don't need to know your entire life to know you can't even swat a fly."

He lowered his head until his eyes were leveled with hers. "You want revenge? Do you want to hurt them just as much as they did? Then you're in luck. That's my forte."

"What should I do?" she inquired with quivering lips. "Can I even hurt them just as much as they hurt me? Is that… even possible?"

"Of course." He smiled, nodding. "But you got to be patient and ready for it."

"I'm ready."

"No, you're not." His eyes squinted, shaking his head mildly.

"How can you —"

"If you want revenge and want assistance, you have to bear in mind you can't pity them. Even the slightest." He cut her off mid-sentence, stressing each of his words to get his point across. "To make it short, you got to be ready to be the worst villain they would regret ever messing with. Only then will you be able to cut deep into their hearts and lives, making them see you as their worst nightmare."

A thin layer of tears coated her eyes, listening to him attentively. Her gaze was still locked with those pairs of beautiful topaz, nodding in understanding. 

"I understand," she whispered. "I get the gist of what you're saying."

"Good girl." Jackson ruffled her hair once and then arched a brow as he heard footsteps outside. 

"Huh? What is that?"

Fil and Jackson slowly turned their heads at the door, hearing footsteps getting louder. On the other side of the door was Vincent, looking at the guestroom with confusion. He walked towards it as he heard some weird noises from it. 

But just as he was three steps from the door, he felt his phone vibrate in his chest. He stopped, slipping his hands inside his suit, and took out his phone. When he placed the phone in front of his ear, he smiled and turned on his heel. 

"Yes, I'm on my way!" he exclaimed, leaving the guest room alone as he walked away. 

Meanwhile, inside the guest room, Fil couldn't even sigh in relief when she heard Vincent's voice and his fading footsteps. She slowly shifted her eyes to Jackson, seeing him slowly set his attention back to her. 

"About last night…" she whispered. "... should we… can you help me? Please? I'm… desperate."

Jackson sighed faintly. "You're pitiful, aren't you? I'm almost sorry for you," he returned under his breath, pulling her wrist to him and tilting his head to the side, smashing his lips against hers. 

Fil willingly wrapped her arms around his neck, letting him carry her by the waist. But instead of taking her to the bed, Jackson turned and mildly slammed her back against the door. It created a loud noise, yet both of them indulged in the building desire and tension between them. 

*

*

*

Bam!

Vincent halted as he closed the door, standing outside of his apartment. He glanced at the door, furrowing his brows. 

"Hey, are you listening?" asked the other person on the other end of the line. 

"Uh… I think I just heard a loud noise in my place," Vincent murmured before he shook his head. "Yes, I'm listening."

He ignored what he had heard, thinking it was just his imagination. Vincent proceeded to take the elevator to the parking space. He was already done talking on the phone when he reached his destination. However, as he approached his car, he caught a familiar brown truck not far away from him. 

"Isn't that Fil's truck?" he muttered, sauntering to the truck to check its plate. "It's hers. Why is it here?"

Curious, Vincent immediately dialed Fil's phone number. It rang and rang, almost making him count, as she would always answer his call as soon as she could. The longest she took to answer his call was three rings. But now, she didn't pick up until he heard the voice message. 

"Is she in the bath?" he wondered, looking at his phone with genuine wonder. "I guess she is. I never called her this early, after all."

Even so, Vincent left her a voice mail so she could tell him the reason her truck was in his place. What Vincent didn't know was that, as his voicemail automatically played in Fil's phone, she was busy moaning a different man's name in his sacred home.