Brag looked at Bae, his thoughts churning as he reflected on how drastically his view of her had changed—the hatred she held toward Zanier, her ambition to overthrow Penny.
"Brag, we can't let her live anymore!" Penny's desperate words echoed in his mind.
"To be honest, I was getting bored with her old self," he mused, noting how Bae had seemed increasingly useless to him—until Zanier entered her life.
That shift in her demeanor piqued his interest, igniting a strange pleasure within him.
"But I never thought things would turn out this way." He smirked, seeing how Bae's conflict with Zanier could play into his plans.
"She's almost... almost like me," he thought, as the thrill of that realization took hold.
"This might be the moment I've been waiting for," he muttered, grabbing Bae by the arm to stop her.
To him, Bae had always been a piece in his larger game against Zanier, even before she'd lost her memory in the cliff incident.
"Which makes me wonder—has she regained all her past memories?" His gaze darkened as he pulled her to a secluded spot.
"Here should be enough," he said coldly, meeting her furious glare.
"Can you take your hands off me?" Bae demanded, anger lacing her tone.
"Let me cut to the chase, Bae," he replied, releasing her, his expression unreadable as he prepared to lay out his plan.
"How about we team up against him? It's a win-win for both of us. With him out of the way, and her out of your way wouldn't that mean perfect? What do you say?" he whispered in her ear, his voice low.
"And I promise you getting her out your way with me on your side is certainly a piece of cake. Bae."
Brag studied Bae's calm expression as he trapped her between his arms against the wall, unable to shake the suspicion that she might have regained her past memories.
Meanwhile, Bae looked at him coldly, fully aware of who he was referring to.
"Breathe, Bae. Just breathe," she reminded herself, trying to contain her rage at being cornered by Brag.
"I knew he'd try this, but I can't help feeling angry—I just want to strangle him," she thought.
"What are you talking about? Or rather, team up against who, exactly?" she began, keeping her tone steady.
"Don't play ignorant now. I'm sure you know who I mean," Brag whispered, his gaze locked on her, analyzing every reaction.
"Stay calm. Don't ruin this yet, Bae," she told herself, feeling suffocated and disgusted by his closeness.
"Does this trash think I'll team up with him against Zanier? While he helps me against his baby mama?"
Bae widened slightly.
"No, he's testing me—or he's up to something more sinister."
Bae understood there could only be two possibilities with his games: Brag was either genuinely willing to ally with her, or he had another twisted motive. Either way, she knew he was a dangerous wildcard, and not to trust brag at all.
Bae couldn't help but remember Brag's first manipulation of her innocent self when they first met.
*13 years ago*
"Bae, right?" Brag's voice was cold yet softened, a charming smile on his face.
"Why are you here alone? Shouldn't you be with your new sister, celebrating with her?" he asked, pointing towards Penny, who was surrounded by family, smiling like a princess.
"Well… that's because I don't have anything to offer," Bae said shyly, unable to meet his gaze.
"Well, come with me then!" Brag extended his hand to her, smiling.
He led her through the mansion's garden, and when they stopped and chitchatted brag showed Bae around where beautiful flowers were bae felt the wave of relief from brags kindness and gentleness, then brag let go of her hand and turned to face her.
"Here, take this."
Bae looked down in confusion at the small white pouch he held out to her.
"Um… I'm sorry, but what's this?" she asked, her voice shy. Every time she looked at Brag, her heart seemed to skip a beat.
"A gift. I'm sure giving this to your new sister will make her happy. It might even help you two become close."
Hearing his words, Bae felt a glimmer of excitement; she hadn't known what her new sister might like.
Brag had already given her a bottle of perfume before, but she couldn't resist wanting to open this one, wondering if it was a new fragrance.
Just as she was about to open the pouch, Brag grabbed her wrist, making her flinch, her expression betraying the feelings she was beginning to have for him.
"I'm sure she wouldn't be happy if you took a peek at your gift for her, right?"
Bae felt a pang of guilt, thinking he was only looking out for her.
"Sorry!" she apologized quickly.
"It's fine. Anyway, see you around. I'm heading back inside. Catch you there!"
Bae watched Brag walk away, clutching the pouch to her chest with a small smile.
"Thank you!"
A few minutes later.
Bae entered the room, offering her gift shyly in front of the family, while Brag looked on with a smile. Penny hugged her, introducing herself warmly as her sister.
The next day, Penny dropped her teacup, the glass shattering on the floor as blood poured from her mouth. The incident led to Bae being sent away from the main mansion.
Days passed, and Bae remained locked in the cottage, feeling terrified. She refused to eat anything given to her, fearing she might be poisoned.
One morning, she awoke to see a doctor standing over her. "You need to start eating, young miss."
Bae looked at him, confused, not remembering how she ended up there. Panic seized her as she struggled to get up. "I need to leave!" she thought desperately.
"Let me go! Let me go!" she cried out, terrified at the thought of her mother finding her there and getting angry.
The doctor held her gently, preventing her from moving further as she stumbled in fear.
A few hours later, Bae woke up again and tried to sneak back to her cottage before her mother found her in the main mansion.
As she moved quietly, she saw a young twelve-year-old Brag speaking with one of his men.
"It's him!" she thought, realizing that Brag's "gift" for Penny had been poisoned. Now, no one believed her innocence.
Brag's gaze suddenly shifted in her direction. "Looks like we have an eavesdropper. So, what do you think? Should we let her live?" he asked his guard coldly.
Bae froze, feeling fear rise within her. How does he know it's a girl? she wondered, heart racing as she tried to sneak back to her room.
Just then, she heard a familiar voice. "Time to head back, my lady," Lily, the maid, said gently.
Bae turned to see Lily behind her. But before they could leave, the heavy footsteps of Brag's guard echoed closer. Bae clutched Lily's clothes tightly. "Let's get out of here, right now."
Suddenly, Brag's voice cut through the tension. "Let her be," he commanded coldly, dismissing his guard.
That moment marked the beginning of Bae's guarded closeness with Lily. But it all came crashing down the day Lily called her to meet Penny near the cliff behind the mansion.
As Bae reaches the edge, they both play bae seems very weary of Penny, but wants to fix things. Penny's expression turned icy, and she pushed Bae off the cliff, leaving her to fall, screaming.
"I hate you!"
Penny's voice echoed in Bae's mind.
Snapping back to reality, Bae felt her gaze soften in sadness. Just then, she felt Brag's hand on her face, jolting her back to the conversation they were having.
"Did I say something that made you sad?" Brag asked.
"Or is it because you remembered something that makes you sad? Like Zainer maybe?" His words taunted her as he traced her neckline with his gaze.
Bae smacked his hand away in anger, glaring at the sheer audacity of Brag touching her like that while reminding her of Zainer. "Why? Just why?!"
"Why do I have to be the pawn between these two men? And not her in my situation?!" she thought, glaring at Brag, feeling resentful towards Penny.
Meanwhile brag looked surprised by bae expression then he faintly smiled.
"I'm so angry right now my throat hurts!" Bae thought, holding in her emotions.
Aware that if she spoke, Brag might detect the vulnerability in her shaky tone.
"Come to think of it," Brag began, fixing his glare on her, "do you really love Zainer?"
Bae's eyes widened in shock as she looked at Brag, his lips cold against her collarbone.
"Or were you just trying to escape your desperate situation?!"