Guilty as Gorgeous | Chapter 11
Nisakorn never thought a woman like her would envy anyone, until she learned the secret that became a jagged wound in her soul. As days turned into years, it festered like a slow-acting poison. She couldn't help but feel a bitter resentment toward a fate that provided her with everything, yet left her true lineage tainted. To suffer defeat in both love and career at the hands of a woman inferior to her in every way was unbearable.
The pride she had carried since childhood—the belief that she was better than most—was a mask she found impossible to remove. It made her pathologically paranoid that someone might uncover her secret, especially the 'enemy' she had clashed with countless times. An enemy who was a mistress; there was no telling if her father had let something slip to that woman.
The more she had tormented Phutphitchaya, the more she dreaded what would happen if the 'villain' ever found out and used that secret against her. Losing her man and her work was grave enough, but the true terror was the thought of this woman dismantling her family—the 'family' that represented her status and the rightful claim to the prestigious Thanaphatwanich name, a legitimacy she shared with her siblings only so long as no one knew she was the flawed byproduct of a failed marriage.
Humans respond to fear in different ways. Some flee, others fight, but Nisakorn chose to eliminate her enemy with a cold-blooded ruthlessness, failing to consider the consequences. Her plan was to terrify her opponent, exposing a weakness similar to her own, until Phutphitchaya dared not show her face to fight or interfere with her family again. As a byproduct, she would have her revenge—transforming the proud swan into a broken-winged bird for her sheer arrogance.
With that in mind, she ceased her overt harassment of Phutphitchaya and Wikrant for a long while, lulling them into a false sense of security. She used Watshon as a tool and Methas as an accomplice, offering him a deal he was more than happy to accept to mend their rift.
"Are you insane? Why would I want Maitree's leftovers?"
"Don't be stupid. Do you really intend to be serious with her when she's my father's mistress?"
"I don't want to eat scraps."
"A man like you has eaten filth before," she told her former lover disdainfully, knowing his gluttonous nature. "What's the harm in letting the Sia enjoy her just once? Once you have the leverage to blackmail her, you can bed her as many times as you like."
"I want to be the first!"
"That would ruin the plan. Where would you find someone to handle it if someone came to her rescue? If they blabbed later, wouldn't it be troublesome? The Sia has connections; he keeps skilled hands on payroll. If something happens, it'll be impossible to trace the culprit."
Methas grumbled with reluctance, but unable to find a counter-argument, he yielded to her plan.
The stage was set for Sia Maitree—who was obsessed with the villain's charm and had been rejected by her manager multiple times—to reach his target under the guise of consent. A 'date rape drug' was slipped into a glass of drink at a station party filled with actors, media, and production crews, ensuring the act went unnoticed.
But the plan faltered because Phutphitchaya refused to drink the spiked intoxicant. Watshon, her best friend whom Nisakorn used as an unwitting tool, volunteered to take the glass and drank it instead. Soon, the symptoms took hold, forcing her back to the room the lecherous Sia had prepared.
Sarut was the one who helped his girlfriend up to the room. Sia Maitree's men, waiting according to plan, misunderstood; they thought Watshon was the intended target. They dealt with the rising leading man and took Watshon to satisfy their employer's lust.
Seeing the plan crumbling, Nisakorn had to step in herself. She used a ruse to draw the station's villain outside, with Methas assisting in striking Phutphitchaya in the stomach until she collapsed, before carrying her to another room in the hotel they had booked as a backup. Little did they know that Wikrant, sensing something amiss from his watchful eye, was already searching for the actress he looked after.
Someone had seen Phutphitchaya leave with Nisakorn. When the villain's phone was turned off by the leading lady's hand, Wikrant called the one person he thought might know Nisakorn's movements: her father.
It was as he suspected; Sia Bancha used a GPS tracking system on all his children, fearing harm from business and political rivals. He rushed to the scene with Bunphot. They all ascended to the room where Phutphitchaya was about to be violated.
The door burst open. Nisakorn, who was filming with a video camera to assist Methas, was stunned to see her father standing at the door. Her face turned as pale as the playboy's, who was in the middle of stripping his clothes.
"I always thought you were spoiled, but I never imagined you could be this vile."
"Ni... I didn't do anything! Shanya followed Methas up here herself because she wanted to betray you!"
"And so Paan just passed out like that, did she, you wicked girl!?"
Bancha lunged toward her, swinging his hand to strike her beautiful face with a violence Nisakorn never thought she would experience. Her slender frame collapsed to the floor.
"You still dare to make excuses!?"
"Father... why did you hurt Ni? I'm your daughter..."
The young woman clutched her cheek, looking up at her father in agonizing pain, while Methas stood frozen, his face drained of color as Wikrant and Bunphot blocked the doorway. He didn't dare flee.
"Perhaps I was wrong to ever think you were my child. My blood would never be stained by the blood of a criminal's nature."
"Ni isn't a criminal! It's Shanya who came to destroy our family!"
"You are so shallow and thoughtless that I am ashamed for you."
Bancha stood tall, staring down at his daughter, who clutched her mouth, blood pooling like a broken-winged bird. His face was thunderous as he pointed a finger at her.
"If anything happens to Paan, even if you are my daughter, I will put you and this piece of trash in prison!"
"You care more about a stranger than Ni!"
"Talking to you is a waste of breath. Just get this into your skull: the moment you reach out to touch Paan again, I will not keep you. Even if I call you my daughter, I can cut away a single piece of foul blood."
The verdict, delivered with absolute finality, left Nisakorn numb. She stared at the face of the man she had called 'Father' with all her heart for over twenty years with a violent sense of trauma.
It was certain now... she was not his flesh and blood. Otherwise, why would Bancha protect a mistress more than his own daughter, even threatening to sever their bond?
Phutphitchaya regained consciousness at that moment. Fortunately, the demon in a gentleman's guise hadn't yet stripped her clothes to her shame. She witnessed the scene and heard Bancha's final sentence. She looked at Nisakorn with a look that the leading lady interpreted as one of satisfaction mixed with pity.
The resentment and shame of that moment were the pinnacle of humiliation—to have to endure her enemy witnessing her defeat.
The police were called to take Methas to the station without regard for anyone's reputation. Manika, his mother, was forced to bring incense, candles, and flowers to the Thanaphatwanich house to beg Bancha's forgiveness, but she was rejected.
That act only caused the rift in the family to widen. Because the media mogul was incensed, she turned to Khaekhai instead, starting with pleas and appeals of goodwill, as Manika had always used her media influence to promote the leading lady. But Khaekhai had to stand firm in her refusal because Bancha had ordered it.
The velvet glove then turned into an iron fist.
"If you won't help, Khaekhai, Methas will be forced to confess the truth to the police—that Ni was an accomplice."
"Are you threatening me?"
"I'm merely stating the facts. It wouldn't be good, would it, if news broke that the nation's favorite leading lady acted as a villain herself, luring a fellow actress she had problems with to be violated by an old Sia and her boyfriend, and even intended to film it for blackmail?"
"If Shanya doesn't say Ni was involved, your son's words will have no weight."
She said this because Bancha had assured her that Phutphitchaya would not give any testimony implicating Nisakorn.
"Are you certain, Khaekhai, that you want a mistress to protect your daughter...?"
The architect of scandals, knowing the influence of the media she held in her hands, cut her off with a look that made the listener's face flush red. A woman like Manika had made and broken countless careers; she was seasoned in experience and cunning, believing she was too good to bow to anyone more than necessary.
"Don't forget that Ni has had problems with Shanya before, and used to date Methas. Everyone in the industry knows this. Especially the secret relationship between Shanya and Sia Bancha..." The speaker's expression held a deep, malicious hidden meaning. "No one would be surprised if she were so consumed by vengeance that she conspired with my son to hurt that girl. Think carefully, Khaekhai, if you intend to trust this girl. If Shanya recants later or holds this debt over you because she wants your husband for herself, Sia Bancha might indulge a young mistress more than a legal wife who lost his affection long ago. Otherwise, he wouldn't protect her to this extent."
"How dare you meddle in my family's affairs!" Khaekhai trembled with rage.