Chapter 140: VOLUME END - Purpose of Life
Tyler: "Because life is fun. I want to become rich and have more fun. I want everyone to know my name and be my fans. I don’t want to die before reaching my goals."
June: "Similar reasons to Tyler and Lisa. Other than that, I want to marry and have kids someday. I want my kids to be proud when they see my dramas and movies, similar to how my parents are proud of me when they brag to their colleagues and friends."
Aren nodded at their answers, lowering his gaze to the floor to stare at it in silence, comprehending the meaning behind their words.
Their answers weren’t profound, just simple reasons to continue living.
Lisa wanted to live for her family because her family loved her and wanted her to live.
But what about him?
His family had betrayed him.
Wait.
Were they even his family?
For whom should he live?
For what should he live?
Then, there was Tyler; he prioritized materialistic pleasure.
’Let’s say I accumulate all the wealth in the world.’
He questioned to himself.
’What then?’
’What will I gain?’
He was wealthy in his past life as well, but did that bring him any pleasure?
No.
His only source of pleasure was love.
The fake love and care he mistook as real.
The fake love of Amelia.
The fake love of Ariana.
He was a giver.
He felt pleasure when giving love, but he was a human too.
Didn’t he deserve love in return?
But yeah, remaining loyal to Amelia, not touching any other woman despite having a myriad of opportunities, didn’t turn out well for him.
He had been good all his life, but what did he get in return?
Everyone he had been loyal to... played him, betraying him to his face.
His friend and his wife played him for more than two decades.
What did he even get for his loyalty and kind nature?
Even with all his talents, he had just been an emotional fool.
If he wanted, he could have earned so much more. Had so much fun in his past life. But he remained a family man.
Maybe this was his answer.
He should focus on his pleasure.
He should focus on doing all that he refrained from in his past life.
He should fuck any woman he wanted.
He should drink alcohol, which he never tried in his past life.
He should play video games that he couldn’t because of his poor childhood and busy adulthood.
Maybe Tyler’s way of living could help him find his lost purpose in life.
Leaving his good nature to become more ruthless was the answer.
And then, there was June’s answer.
Having kids and family.
Fuck that!
Never is he going on that path again.
His past life had been ruined; he wasn’t going to let his second life ruin again.
Kids?
Who wanted those noisy, ungrateful bastards?
Wife?
Who wanted a noisy, ungrateful bitch?
He was happy on his own!
He wouldn’t repeat the mistakes from his past life.
Other than his revenge, he would find purpose in this life.
He would find the kind of life that would be more exciting and worth living.
But to do that, he knew he needed to resolve these unresolved emotions in his heart.
He couldn’t let them become a trauma that would stop him from achieving happiness.
After all, ruining his enemies’ lives was only half revenge.
Achieving complete happiness at the same time was the ultimate revenge.
They should suffer while he prospers... that was the ideal revenge.
While Aren was silent with his head lowered, the three guests exchanged curious glances, wondering about what Aren was doing.
Why wasn’t he saying anything?
However, they didn’t dare to disturb him.
He was in some kind of state they didn’t know about. What was troubling him, they couldn’t even guess.
His hollow eyes had surprised them too much to even guess his condition or thought process right now.
After a while, Aren raised his head; the light in his eyes returned, though not as bright as before.
He smiled at them and nodded. "Thank you for coming to see me. You’ve helped me."
They appeared perplexed.
What did they even do to help him?
Still, they were happy to be of help.
"No problem," Tyler laughed. "But will you come to the shoot tomorrow?"
Aren nodded. "Of course."
The three visibly lit up at that response.
"T-Then, would you like to come with us to have some dinner?" Lisa asked reluctantly, not sure if it was the right question to ask.
"Spare me for today," Aren said apologetically. "I’d like to rest."
"We understand," June chipped in. "Then we’ll take our leave. You rest and come to the set tomorrow."
Aren smiled and nodded.
June pushed Lisa and Tyler, taking them out of the room.
Aren, on the other hand, lounged on the bed relaxedly, finally finding some sense of direction.
He realized he had been giving Ariana too much attention.
She clearly didn’t deserve it.
She wasn’t even his daughter in first place.
Wasn’t it normal for her to betray him to side with her real father?
He was the fool here to expect a different outcome.
It just hurt too much.
He had loved her sincerely, more than even his own life.
So her betrayal naturally shattered him to pieces.
It was as if you realized the person you loved the most wanted to kill you.
The very person for whom you could give up your life without a second thought.
Everyone has someone like that in their lives, but no one gets betrayed by them like he did.
At least he didn’t expect the betrayal from the same little girl he had raised.
Still, he had now come to terms with it.
And now, only anger remained in his heart.
The hatred towards Amelia and... Ariana.
Shit!
It was still difficult to hate her for him.
Why was it difficult despite knowing she had plotted his murder?
He knew it would take time.
He couldn’t be soft anymore.
His softness was his weakness, not his strength.
Nothing good came from being kind-hearted; at least from his experience, nothing did.
Since he had been kind-hearted in his past life, this life was dedicated to his free self. The one that wouldn’t hesitate to make ruthless decisions.
Why should he care about others?
Why should he think that Neil’s family was innocent and they shouldn’t suffer?
If seeing his family suffer would cause Neil pain, shouldn’t that be what he should do?
To hell with kindness...
Since the world didn’t repay his kindness, the world didn’t deserve it.
The only thing this world deserved was this new version of him, someone darker and more sinister.
-----------------------------------
(A/N - This is the end of this volume. I’m exhausted and would be taking a break of two months to enhance my writing skills.
To be honest, I’m conflicted whether to continue this novel or start a new one since this one flopped and didn’t perform well. None even thought of this novel as worthy of any gift. I’m disheartened...
Just kidding. It’s a learning experience to fail and I’m quite happy with how it turned out despite my lacking skills.
Now that that’s out of the way, I have a few questions.
Do you really... really want the novel to continue? Even after two months break?
.
Why do some readers feel the revenge is hopeless? Care to share your thoughts and what would make it better.
.
How was it until now? No need to be critical. I just want to know one thing...
Was it enjoyable?
...
Lastly, I’m grateful to all who have read my work. Thanks for reading. ^..^)
