[ Theresia's POV ]

"Always remember who you are," my father always told me. He reminded me almost every day of our family and how important we are.

"The blood coursing through your vein is regal. You're the lady who will one day change our country," he would always add. He was a well-known doting father, but his words never lie.

And I believed him.

Only that I didn't know then how I could change it—and in what manner I would change it.

"You vile wench!"

I returned my gaze to the woman kneeling in front of me. Her eyes were sunken in rage and her mouth almost ripped apart as she wailed and cursed at my name.

"You're calling me vile?"

I slowly walked towards her, making sure not to break eye contact. "After all that you've done, I'm considered the vile one? Have you no shame?"

*spat*

A series of gasps echoed instantaneously, as soon as her spit landed on my face. Her malicious gaze intensified and her laughter followed as soon as she saw my brows scrunch up in question.

She must be thinking that she won, that she somehow humiliated me. But her spit was not even one of my concerns. I snickered at her as I slowly took the handkerchief I was handed.

"You know," I said with a smile on my face. "Nothing disgusts me more than your existence,"

"I'm the heroine! I should be the center of all this attention!"

A chuckle escaped from my lips as soon as the words came out of her mouth. Slowly, I clapped at her performance. "Congratulations, Lady. You've achieved what you desired."

She's the center of all the attention now.

And surely, she'll remain the center of attention for quite some time. All thanks to her performance.

"All those men are mine! MINE I TELL YOU! THEY ARE MINE! GIVE THEM BACK TO ME!" she shouted in her fit of anger. Her sanity must have snapped.

Now, she's in the path of destruction—with no turning back.

Her statement caused me to survey once more the ballroom. The men she's referring to are all behind me, watching in disgust at her performance—in their arms is the woman they managed to acquire while they're escaping her clutches.

Right now, I can tell, they're much happier than they are with this woman.

"They're not yours," I said, genuine about this. "And even if you think some of them are yours...you chose to let them go in hopes of trading them up with a better candidate to raise your rank."

She grated her teeth in anger—because what I said was the truth. She already had a good man who loved her, and yet she traded him up. Hoping she'd catch someone else's eyes.

"You made your choice," I muttered as I crouched down and came closer to her ears. "And I chose to be your villainess."

Her whole body shook at my words and her anger became apparent to me when I faced her eye-to-eye once more. I then gave her an endearing smile, the one I showed her during our first meeting.

The smile that trapped her in this hellhole permanently. "I'm your villainess, dear Lady Melbourne. And I will end your evil once and for all."

"My evil?" she questioned before laughing hysterically in front of my face.

Before she could do anything like bite off my face, I was pulled up by a strong pair of hands and hidden behind his broad back. "Stay behind me, Renee."

"You're mistaken," she muttered, slowly standing up as well and approaching me. "You're fighting the wrong enemy,"

I didn't say anything, instead, I pushed my lover aside and walked closer to her—hoping to get the gist of what she was saying.

She reached out her hands, and I didn't dare fight back because I was engrossed in her words. [   I'm mistaken?  ]

"Renee!"

"Stop!" I shouted at my lover and motioned him to step back.

I allowed her to take hold of my face. She cupped it ever so gently before she harshly pulled it closer to her face. "You're a failure for a self-made villainess."

Does she really think I'd get hurt by that?

I snickered back at her. Slowly, I touched her hands that were cupping my face and brightly showed her that an innocent smile can also be a form of mockery. "And you wish you're the heroine,"

"What?"

My smile never faltered or faded as I pulled her hands towards the big red curtain hanging by the side. "Let's unveil the truth together, shall we?"