1 Chapter 1: After Happily Ever After (1/2)

It was nearly sunset when she sauntered onto the rooftop of the tallest building in the palace. From there, she could see distant houses where villages bustled around in the golden glow from the sun. As the hour passed, dark clouds covered the sun and the sky darkened from red to gray. Waves of chilly wind passed by, but the lady in black remained unaffected as her eyes locked with the sky.

When she was born, she was named Li Wei. Her mother wanted her to grow up into a beautiful refined lady. Too bad, nothing in her name matched her character. In this life, she was nothing like a lady. Her mother was probably greatly disappointed from the heavens.

Instead of the leading lady, she's the villainess. Yes, she was an evil woman who stopped at nothing to get the man she loved and she shamelessly admitted to doing so. But here's the thing with villains, they never get a happy ending. Destruction is the reason for their existence.

With elegance, her fingers reached out to the cup of tea by her side and carelessly tipped the rest of the liquid onto her waiting mouth. As she drank, some escaped and trailed down her neck and stained her necklace. With a smile, she took a last glance at the sky before she left.

When the clock stroke seven, she appeared at the doorway of Hundreds Garden, the largest and most popular garden in Hai'an. A stone walkway connected the gate doorway to the main house door way. On both sides, hundreds of different flowers covered the ground in countless colors. It was July so all the flowers were in full bloom and filled the air with a nice fragrant scent.

From the doorway of the main house, a young boy stood waiting. Although he was only five, he carried an air of royalty and maturity that were rare in children of his age. When he saw her at the entrance, Khan Bohai's strong aura immediately disappeared as he ran out as fast as his legs could go, ”Imperial Mother!”

Li Wei watched as her son came running to her. Khan Bohai was a great boy, one could say he was a genius who excelled in his studies. When he smiled, his dimples showed, just like his father. And for being so similar to him, she found it hard to love her son.

She didn't have time to think as he stumbled when he almost reached where she stood and she immediately bent down to catch him into her embrace. A pair of small round eyes looked at her, almost as if asking for permission, before his arms wrapped around her neck. ”Imperial Mother, you came…”

”Of course, why wouldn't I? Didn't you leave a rose in mommy's room this morning to remind me to come here?”

”Imper—mommy?” His voice tested out the word carefully. ”Imperial Mother, I can call you mommy now?”

Li Wei nodded as she gently pinched her son's small nose, ”Of course. From now on, you can call me mommy.”

”M-mommy, thank you. I'm so happy right now. Actually, daddy is waiting inside. It's a secret, but let me tell you,” Khan Bohai's voice lowered even though no one was around. ”Daddy's going to give you a big gift, he said it's even better than gold!”

Laughter filled the air as she watched his innocent expression, fully believing in his father. ”Tell mommy, how big is it?”

”Daddy said it can fill the whole sky, mommy!”