The Painful Pleasures

Chapter 1

"Please stop!" she begged her adoptive mother as the whip continued to lash at her. Her body was covered in wounds, and she couldn't understand why she was still alive.

"You're useless! Stupid!" he struck her with the whip again. "Ouch! That hurts! Ouch!" she cried, tears streaming down her face. She was only 12 years old, yet she was already an assassin. She grew up in an orphanage, thinking it would be a good thing if someone adopted her, but she was wrong.

Lei Ong adopted her when she was only 8 years old. She was so happy because he was kind to her at first, when he used to visit her at the orphanage. But when the adoption became official, that's when her ordeal began.

"Stupid! Why didn't you kill Simoun?!" he slapped her again and again. At the age of twelve, she could hardly count how many people she had killed just because her adoptive father ordered her to. She tried to escape, but she failed. She was caught and tortured, almost violated by one of his men if she hadn't pretended to be asleep.

She failed her mission because she felt pity for the man she was supposed to kill. He had a family and he helped the poor. Simoun Agante was actually a Mayor in their city, but her adoptive father wanted him dead for reasons she couldn't fathom.

"S-sorry, please! It won't happen again!" she pleaded with the man, but he spat on her and kicked her in the stomach, making it hard for her to breathe. "Ouch." She groaned. "Next time you fail, I'm gonna kill you!" and he slammed her against the wall.

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Fourteen years later...

"Mr. Villiarde, the president of Lazaro Industries wants to see you," his secretary said to him. He just nodded and went straight to the office, where Andrius Lazaro was waiting for him. "Hey bro!" Andrius approached him and they exchanged a brotherly hug. "Tch! It's been 8 years since we last met, but you're still the same! You're not talking! Are you mute?" his friend asked. "I'm not mute, I just don't talk too much." Andrius rolled his eyes again.

"So, what's up bro? Your brothers are happily married now, but you, you still don't have a girlfriend? Just what the heck, man," he remarked. "Look who's talking." Andrius paused in his speech and smirked. "Actually, I have someone right now. And guess who she is." He just shrugged. His friend scowled, so he sighed. "So who is she?" he asked, sounding bored. His friend just chuckled. "It's a secret." He shook his head, Andrius was always a prankster.

"What do you want?" he asked his friend directly, and he was met with a sharp look. "You're so serious, man! Just wanted to check on you and, uhh..." Andrius checked his watch. "Oh heck! Bro, I need to go! Nice seeing you, just read that paper beside you and call me!" and he left the office in a rush. He quickly picked up the paper and read it.

He shook his head in disbelief. It was an invitation to a wedding... wait, Andrius' wedding? "Time flies so fast."

He was about to step into the private elevator when a woman with her hair in pigtails hurriedly joined him. "What the hell are you doing here?" he asked the woman. She turned to him, raised an eyebrow, and he caught his breath. Damn! She's beautiful! "What are you doing in the elevator, handsome? This is my floor." Then she gave him an annoyed look. His jaw dropped. Didn't she recognize him?

"Do you not recognize me?" he asked again, looking at her. "Getting too familiar, handsome? I just saw you now, don't act like you're famous." His jaw dropped. Wasn't she aware of who he was?

"What the hell just happened?"

"Helios Villiarde is the owner and CEO of H.V Hotel. He's a graduate of Law from Harvard University and one of the most sought-after lawyers in the world. You need to kill him because he will be the lawyer for the Zapanta Group of Corporations. The Zapantas can't win the case against your father." Winston Lajarde, his father's right-hand, briefed her about her next mission. She deliberately rode the elevator with Helios Villiarde, and the man didn't notice that she was observing him.

Killing is nothing to her now. If she doesn't kill, she will be the one to die at the hands of her adoptive father. And she doesn't want to go through that again. She's done with all the tortures she experienced when she was a child. What's even more painful is that she never got to go to a hospital to treat herself.

She just let her wounds heal. She didn't use any medicine or bandages. Her father didn't feed her for two weeks and locked her in a very dark room for three months straight. From that day on, she promised herself that she would follow all the orders of her adoptive father just to avoid going through that again. She will kill anyone, whether old, young, or whoever they may be. She has no conscience, no mercy, and no love.

She doesn't want to experience the hell she went through again.

"Got it, boss," she answered. Winston looked at her and spoke. "Always remember X, NO CONSCIENCE, NO MERCY AND--" "No love," she finished his sentence. "X, I know that there is still guilt you're feeling inside. You're still scared." She just rolled her eyes. "Shut up, Winston, or else I'm gonna blow that mouth using my gun." Winston just grinned and raised his hands as if surrendering. She rolled her eyes again and walked away.

"I'm going to kill you, Helios Villiarde."