Surviving In This Filthy World As A Novel Villain

Ashley returned, looking a bit travel-worn but undeniably refreshed.

After being thoroughly... nourished... by Alex for a few days, she seemed even more radiant and captivating, her feminine charm stronger than ever.

Just as Ashley got home, there was a knock on her bedroom door.

"Come in," Ashley called out, lying on her large, soft bed. For some reason, she suddenly felt her expensive mattress, worth over a hundred thousand, wasn't nearly as comfortable as the hotel bed.

Maybe it was because that man, Alex, had been in the hotel bed with her.

The bedroom door opened, and a young woman walked in. She wore a pale yellow dress and had fluffy hair. She was slim with pretty features.

"Oh, it's Clara!" Seeing who it was, Ashley sat up in bed.

The visitor was her niece, the young lady of the Dawson Family who was engaged to Eric Vaughn – Clara.

The aunt and niece were very close.

Ever since Ashley's fiancé died in a plane crash and she moved back to the Dawson Family's ancestral home, Clara often came back to visit her aunt, who was ten years older.

Entering the room, Clara didn't hold back at all. She visited this room often; some of the decorations were even things she'd bought. She probably knew the layout better than her aunt Ashley did.

"Auntie, your secretary said you secretly went to the city for business?" Clara kicked off her slippers with her feet and sat barefoot on the bedroom sofa, hugging her knees.

Ashley's secretary knew Clara well.

"Yeah," Ashley didn't hide it. She knew this girl wouldn't tell the old man about her secret trip to city.

Clara blinked her big, purple-tinted eyes – she liked wearing colored contacts. "Did it go well?"

"There were some... ups and downs... but the result was good." As if remembering something, Ashley's fair face flushed slightly. Her legs trembled unconsciously, clenching together then relaxing.

How could there not be ups and downs! Alex had certainly put her through quite the rollercoaster those few days. Not just ups and downs, but plenty of shaking and shivering too!

"Um..." After they chatted for a bit, Clara started to hesitate, humming and hawing, unable to get a full sentence out.

"Stop with the 'um's and 'uh's. I know what you want to ask." They'd known each other for so many years. Ashley knew her little niece so well, she could tell what color underwear she was wearing just by looking at the jacket she chose that day.

She knew her that well. Whatever Clara was thinking was written all over her face, impossible to hide.

"I saw Eric Vaughn," Ashley said, getting off the bed and starting to peel off her black stockings with letters on them.

Those stockings were a gift from Alex when she left city. Most men give women stockings one pair at a time, but him? He gave her a whole bundle.

They were all black with letters on them; the only difference was the specific letters.

'I'll put them away for now,' Ashley thought. 'Maybe wear them next time I visit.'

'Since when did Auntie start liking this style of stockings?' Clara wondered briefly, but her attention was fixed on that name. She hesitated for a moment, then asked, "How... how is he?"

Her voice was tangled with worry and nervousness, and her body even trembled slightly without her realizing it. 𝐟𝚛𝕖𝚎𝕨𝗲𝐛𝚗𝐨𝐯𝐞𝕝.𝐜𝗼𝗺

"Not only is he bad luck, he's also crazy." Ashley paused in pulling off her stocking, bending over slightly as she thought for a second before replying, "When I saw him, he was wearing a mental hospital patient's uniform in the hospital."

Clara's face turned pale with fright. "What?!"

Crazy?

"Do you remember that livestream? The one with the guy running around spraying poop while still wearing pants?" Ashley looked back at her niece.

Right now, Clara's pretty face was deathly white. She curled up in a corner of the sofa, hugging her legs, looking exactly like a frightened little bunny.

Hearing the question, she looked up and nodded slightly.

She had seen that stream. Her best friend had sent it to her. At the time, she'd laughed like crazy, thinking some psycho had escaped from an asylum. She even thought back then that any woman who married a guy like that must have had terrible luck for eight lifetimes.

Ashley dropped another bombshell. "That guy was Eric Vaughn."

"Ah!" Clara was horrified.

'It's over. I'm that unlucky woman.'

"The reason he's in the hospital," Ashley added casually, "seems to be because he... uh... sprayed his butt open."

Clara looked like she was about to burst into tears.

"Auntie, I don't want to marry a psycho!" Clara was actually crying now. Tearing your butt open from pooping? How terrifying was that!

She could already imagine what married life with Eric Vaughn would be like. Other couples might just argue when they fight. With Eric Vaughn, it would probably be 'splat splat splat' – poop spraying all over the room.

Good grief, that wasn't how spray technology was supposed to work.

The mental image was too horrible; she couldn't even bear to think about it.

"I don't want you to marry him either, Auntie. Your parents feel the same way. But this was arranged by your grandpa," Ashley sighed, looking troubled.

"I'd rather die than marry him! Waaaah..."

Ashley walked over and hugged her sobbing niece. "Don't worry, Auntie won't let you walk into danger like that."

"Auntie, do you think... do I still have a chance?" Clara, now a tear-streaked mess, looked up pitifully.

Ashley hesitated for a moment, then said, "Yes, but it depends if you're willing."

"As long as I don't have to marry that psycho, I'm willing to do anything!" Hope flickered back into Clara's eyes.

Ashley leaned close to her niece's ear and whispered, "As long as you already have a husband, your grandpa naturally can't force you to marry Eric Vaughn anymore."

"Huh?!" Clara was stunned.