The Villain Who Stole Hearts
Chapter 120: Kai’s Admiration, Anna’s Bold Kiss

Chapter 120: Kai’s Admiration, Anna’s Bold Kiss

"I’ll go check it out." Veil gave Anna a quick heads-up before heading toward the cottage. His tone was laced with curiosity. "So there’s a new guest at Honeydew Cottage? And it’s a girl? Yet here you are, not even saying hi, just wandering off on your own. What are you doing out here?"

"I don’t know," Zoe said, shaking her head in a daze. "I just felt really uneasy when I heard you were leaving. Scared, even. Before I realized it, my feet had brought me here."

Taking advantage of the secluded moment—no cameras, no eyes on her—Zoe wrapped her arms around Veil and pressed herself into his chest.

"Whoa—Zoe? What are you doing? No, come on, don’t do this!"

Veil pretended to push back, yet his hand had already slipped around her waist.

When it came to women, a man should show a bit of initiative—to display charm. But not too much. You had to stay a little mysterious. When a girl made the first move, you should act surprised, but not unwilling. Don’t reject her, but make it clear that your affection is something worth earning.

Of course, that only applied to daughters of fate. Veil didn’t have time to waste emotional energy on anyone else.

Zoe’s face flushed red like a cooked lobster. At that moment, all her restraint vanished. The moment she embraced Veil, she felt like everything had been worth it.

"Veil, I heard you’re writing a novel? And you’re planning to turn it into a TV series too?" she asked, looking up at him with those glistening, starry eyes.

"Yeah? Why do you ask?" Veil raised an eyebrow, feigning confusion.

Zoe’s heart skipped a beat. She asked, "But why are you writing a novel? I mean, you’re clearly not hurting for money."

She was desperately hoping for a certain answer.

But Veil just sighed, playing his part. "It’s because of Anna, of course. You know what kind of position she holds in the industry. Her fanbase is massive. But someone at her level is constantly walking a tightrope—one wrong step and everything could come crashing down. She hasn’t had any new dramas or films out in a while. Otherwise, you wouldn’t even be seeing her on this variety show."

"You have no idea, Zoe. She was so close to accepting a lingerie ad for Chanel just to stay relevant. I couldn’t let her do that! I don’t want Anna’s body being ogled by millions of strangers!"

"Even though writing a novel is exhausting—I’ve literally been pulling my hair out—I have to do it. For her!"

Veil ran a hand through his hair, as if to prove just how much of a struggle it was coming up with new plotlines.

Zoe looked heartbroken, completely ignoring the earlier part of what he’d said.

For Anna?

No way.

He was just embarrassed to admit the truth in front of her, that all of this was actually for her sake. She got it. She’d done things for people before—gone out of her way—but the moment she stood before them, she couldn’t bring herself to say anything.

She knew exactly what that kind of hesitation felt like.

"It’s not that bad," Zoe replied gently. "Sure, great scripts are rare in this industry, but not nonexistent. Otherwise, Anna wouldn’t be where she is today. You really don’t have to burn yourself out like this."

It sounded like she was trying to comfort him, but she was really telling him—between the lines—that she didn’t want him exhausting himself over someone else. Especially not over Anna.

Veil could see right through the subtext, of course.

But he wasn’t the only one eavesdropping on this little exchange.

"Still, that’s not going to cut it," Veil replied, shaking his head. "The entertainment industry is a mess. Who knows what those producers with good scripts are really after? Anna’s beautiful. She’s famous. And with no good roles for the past few years, what if some creep tries to leverage that against her?"

"I won’t let her go through that. Not for a stupid script. If I have to suffer a bit, pull some all-nighters, so what? It’s worth it if I can protect her."

Zoe kept trying to talk him out of it.

Veil kept insisting it was all for Anna.

Two completely different conversations, but somehow tangled into the same thread.

Zoe’s level of emotional interpretation was... impressive, to say the least.

As Veil talked, he casually checked his system notifications.

"Ding! Daughter of Fate Anna feels resentment. Villain Points +500."

"Ding! Daughter of Fate Anna is deeply resentful. Villain Points +1000."

"Ding! Daughter of Fate Anna experiences intense resentment but successfully self-recovers. Affection for host skyrockets. Villain Points +10000!"

Anna, eavesdropping nearby, was fuming.

What did he mean, she almost accepted a lingerie gig to stay relevant?

What did he mean, she might do something against her will just for a decent script?

Was that really how Veil saw her?

As some fame-hungry, morally flexible actress?

She was livid.

Anna mentally cursed him out ten thousand times, but after the anger subsided, she found herself murmuring to herself.

Okay, fine... maybe Veil had a point. Maybe she had laid the groundwork for this misunderstanding herself.

She did send him those late-night selfies.

And yeah, she might have made up that bit about the Chanel ad.

But that was only because she’d seen him getting close to Zoe—seen the sparks flying between them during that field shoot.

As a girl with a serious crush, how could she not feel threatened?

How could she not try to remind him what he’d be missing?

So what if she sent a few tasteful selfies?

"Stupid hypocrite..." she muttered, clenching her tiny fists.

Veil claimed he was doing it all for Zoe.

But clearly, he was just afraid of her going through with that ad shoot. Or being exploited by sleazy directors.

That’s what he was really worried about.

Did he really think she’d stoop that low?

Even if her fame vanished overnight, even if she crashed from her pedestal...

So what?

As long as Veil was by her side, she didn’t care about the rest.

After venting, Anna’s heart felt as sweet as honey.

Maybe having a junior like Veil—who pretended not to care but actually did—wasn’t such a bad thing.

After saying goodbye to Zoe, Veil made his way back down the path. Zoe had already returned to the others ahead of him.

Anna was standing there, her arms crossed, giving him a sassy sideways glance. She shoved her suitcase toward him with a playful huff.

"Took you long enough to say goodbye. What’s the matter, couldn’t bear to part?"

"Wait, what? Why do I feel like I pissed you off somehow in the last five minutes?"

Veil looked genuinely puzzled.

Anna let out a frustrated breath, her voice trailing into a pout. "You did annoy me! Who asked you to twist my words like that? Those pictures... I only ever sent them to you..."

Her voice faded, barely above a whisper. Whatever else she said was too soft to hear—maybe she didn’t even want him to hear it.

"Hmm? Couldn’t catch that. What was that you said?"

"Nothing! Let’s just go!"

Anna took off with her long legs, striding ahead without looking back.

But a moment later, she peeked over her shoulder and saw Veil still lagging behind.

Her pace slowed. As he caught up, she "accidentally" ended up beside him... and looped her arm through his.

A soft blush bloomed on her cheeks. She clearly wasn’t used to this.

It was the first time she’d ever taken the initiative to link arms with a man.

After getting in the car, when she saw Veil still keeping his usual expression, she scooted a little closer and gently rested her head on his shoulder.

Tilting her head up, she gazed at his profile.

Anna—the superstar with over a hundred million fans—now looked just like a girl hopelessly smitten, eyes twinkling with infatuation.

At that moment, if Veil had wanted to make a move...

She probably wouldn’t have said no.

...

Sitting in the back seat, Anna refused to let go of Veil’s arm, snuggling close to him. Her reluctant expression was so heartfelt that even Kai, who was driving, couldn’t help but give his young master a silent thumbs-up in his mind.

Damn... impressive!

What had he just witnessed?

The queen of the entertainment world, Anna, leaning against his young master like a love-struck girl?

If this news got out, the entire industry would be thrown into chaos by tomorrow. Front pages of every tabloid? Forget it. Nothing else would make the headlines for days!

"Driver, what you saw today... could you please keep it confidential?"

Anna politely turned toward Kai, her voice soft and respectful.

"When we get to the airport later, please wait a little. I’ll have my assistant come over with a confidentiality agreement. The pay is negotiable."

She knew she’d been acting a little too eager. A little too emotional. Especially with someone else watching. It wasn’t how she should behave.

But... the thought of having to part ways at the airport—it was agonizing.

It felt like someone had jabbed a needle into her chest, sharp and sudden, a pain right on the left side of her heart.

The only thing that helped ease the sting was being closer to Veil. Being near him—holding onto him—lessened it just a bit.

If it weren’t for her tightly packed schedule, if breaking her contract didn’t mean paying a massive penalty, she wouldn’t be doing this.

It wasn’t until she faced parting with him that she realized just how much he meant to her. That this man—who always said one thing and meant another—had completely taken over her heart.

"You even thought about having him sign a confidentiality agreement? That’s a bit much, don’t you think?" Veil lifted his hand and lightly tapped her smooth forehead with his finger.

"What if someone offered him enough money to break that agreement? Think a piece of paper will stop him from selling the story?"

Anna pouted. "So what? I just want to hold you. Is that such a crime? Maybe I am trying to take advantage of you. So what?"

Veil chuckled. "I don’t mind at all. Honestly, you could be even bolder. But I’m just looking out for your reputation. You’ve never had a single scandal in the entertainment industry. Your fans all dream of being the one you fall for. If this gets out... aren’t you afraid you’ll lose followers?"

"Of course I am," Anna murmured, her voice suddenly low and fragile. "But more than losing fans... I’m afraid of losing you."

Her words were soft, nearly inaudible to the average person.

But neither Veil nor Kai were average anymore.

Their physiques had long surpassed normal limits—Veil even more so—but Kai’s stats had also broken past the hundred mark.

When they heard Anna’s whisper, Kai felt like every bone in his body went numb.

No doubt about it—his young master was a legend.

They hadn’t even known each other for a full month. Actual time spent together? Just a few days.

Yet here was Anna, Anna, ready to risk her public image, to pay someone just to keep a secret—just to spend a little more time curled up in Veil’s arms before they parted.

This was insane.

Kai had once believed he’d learned all of Veil’s woman-charming techniques. Now?

He wasn’t even qualified to polish the man’s shoes.

If Veil ever offered a class on this at Ocean University’s Marine Studies department, Kai would be the first to sign up.

Sell the house? Sure.

Listen to the lecture on his knees? Absolutely.

"Alright, raise the partition. You’ve been listening a little too intently, haven’t you?" Veil shot a glare toward the front seat.

Kai awkwardly pressed a button, and with a soft mechanical whir, a dark divider slowly rose, cutting off the front from the back seat entirely.

Anna looked surprised. "What was that about?"

Veil pinched her cheek gently. "That’s my personal bodyguard. No need for NDAs or hush money. He won’t spill a thing. Like I said, if you want to take advantage of me, then go ahead—don’t hold back, and don’t be afraid."

"You jerk!" Anna gasped, realization dawning. "So this whole thing was you messing with me?"

She launched herself at Veil, clawing at him like a wild kitten. Her nails dug into his shirt, popping open the buttons of his crisp white dress shirt beneath his suit.

The two of them wrestled for a bit until Anna finally stopped, panting slightly. She propped herself up on the seat with both hands, their faces now inches apart.

She could feel his breath against her skin. See every tiny detail in his eyes. Even the fine pores on his face.

Her breathing—

In—

Out—

It wasn’t steady anymore.

Her heart was racing.

God, she thought. What’s wrong with me?

She’d never imagined herself getting this close to a man so quickly. Never believed she’d fall this fast.

People thought she was always smiling, always glowing in front of the cameras. But deep down, she’d built a wall around her heart, always protecting the vulnerable part inside.

Even when she first met Veil again in Veyport City, she hadn’t let her guard down.

But somewhere along the way—somewhere during these unexplainable moments—he’d slipped in.

He hadn’t even broken down the wall. He’d just... installed a door.

And worst of all?

She’d handed him the key herself.

"We’re almost at the airport. Calm down a bit," Veil said as he shifted, trying to sit upright.

But Anna, fueled by something irrational, pushed him back down with surprising strength.

His eyes widened. "Anna? What are you doing? You’re not... You’re not planning to kiss me, are you?"

That sentence lit a fire in her.

What did that mean?

Was he rejecting her?

Did he not want her?

Was he... disgusted?

Well, if he didn’t want her to kiss him—

She was going to do it anyway.

Her lips crashed into his.

Messy. Raw. Unpracticed.

She nipped. Bit. Her tongue clumsily explored, not caring if it made sense.

And to her surprise, the pain in her chest—the sharp stab of separation—it dulled.

So she closed her eyes and kissed him harder.

Veil’s hand slid to her lower back, fingers tightening slightly. The other hand found her head, guiding but not resisting.

Teach her?

Only a fool would try to "teach" at a time like this.

What would that even say? That he had experience? That he was some kind of expert?

Nope. Not happening.

In fact, his own kisses quickly grew more desperate than hers.

Time passed—how long, neither of them knew.

Eventually, Anna broke the kiss, leaned in close, and bit down on the spot just above his collarbone, leaving behind a deep red mark.

Then she nestled herself into his chest, breath soft, voice playful and tinged with girlish mischief.

"There. Now you’ve got a mark. If some girl tries to hit on you out there, she’ll know you already have a girlfriend."