CHAPTER 85: RYKER

In every story, there was a villain. A character to despise, the one who stirred up the entire plot. In The Angel’s Revenge, the main villain was named Ryker.

From the outside, he appeared harmless: handsome, successful, smart, and easily trusted. But behind that sinfully beautiful exterior lay a madman—a man to be feared for his ruthless ambition to get what he wanted.

Ryker hurt people, innocent or not. He had trampled over everyone in his way without mercy, which was why his own demise was just as horrific. Even so, many who read the story loved him. It wasn’t because the audience had some missing screws in their preference for fiction; it was because Ryker was a villain with all the reasons to be one. He was a villain the audience understood from the bottom of their hearts, but someone they couldn’t condone. Hence, he was one of the most important pieces in the story, because his end hurt the audience just as much as it made them heave a sigh of relief.

And that was what Lola wanted Cedrick to do. Not simply read lines or look as handsome as Ryker, but to embody someone who could make people hate him and, at the same time, love him so much it felt like a sin. Someone who could drive people crazy.

"Well, isn’t that interesting..."

"Cut."

Cedrick bit his tongue as he turned to where Lola was seated. His mouth pressed into a thin line the moment he saw her pinching the bridge of her nose. As silence filled the studio, he glanced at everyone, seeing nothing but worry in their eyes.

This was the umpteenth time Lola had interrupted him, not including all the times he finished the lines.

"Uncle, why are you reading us a poem?" Chacha frowned, looking overly bored now. "Are you tired?"

"If you’re tired, you should just ask for a break. Otherwise, we might suggest some oil because you’re too stiff," Second added, clearly not pleased by what they had seen so far. He then looked around. "Can we take a short break? Makeup retouch and lighting crew, please step in."

As if the crew considered the twins to be today’s best bosses, everyone took a short break. Some approached Cedrick to touch up his makeup and hand him a bottle of water, while others checked the lighting and other equipment.

"You’re really getting good at this," Silo remarked to the twins, who simply smiled at him. They didn’t say anything in return, though, shifting their attention to Lola.

Lola, trusting the twins to help her, focused on the small monitor and watched Cedrick’s replay. She held one side of an earphone to her ear, listening to all the cuts they had so far.

"Is it that bad?" Silo quietly sneaked to her side. "I think he did well in the first five tries. He’s just getting more exhausted since he keeps repeating things."

But she simply gave him a side-eye before turning to the twins. "Chacha, Second, do you think what Silo is saying makes sense?"

"Not at all!" they chimed together, shaking their heads. "Uncle Silly has short-term memory problems, so he doesn’t surprise us anymore, Mommy."

"Oy... aren’t you being too much on me now?" he muttered, though he could only blame Lola for this.

Lola cast him a side-eye as she ignored Silo and turned to the screen. She had seen Cedrick’s acting lessons the past few days, and to be honest, he had done better in all of them. It was why she had arranged all of this.

Although his first five tries sounded and appeared confident, something was lacking. Acting crazy was easy, but there wasn’t any of the complexity she was looking for.

She slumped back in her seat, watching Cedrick quietly read the script while some staff were touching up his makeup.

"This is not working," she grumbled, knowing that the twins were staring at her from either side and Silo was standing right behind Second. But Lola didn’t let them distract her, rubbing her chin mildly.

"Mommy," Second whispered, and since he had called, she couldn’t ignore him.

"Yes, baby?"

"Mommy, I think he is just nervous," Second muttered, followed by Chacha’s comment. "Whenever I get nervous, I mess things up too. Father Sir always encourages us."

Second nodded. "He tells us that we’re very smart kids, and we just need to use our brains."

Silo: "..."

Lola: "..."

"He makes a point, though," Chacha blinked innocently. "And it helps us a lot in overcoming some things."

But instead of dwelling on Atlas’s unique way of encouraging his kids, Lola raised her brows as she glanced in Cedrick’s direction. It wasn’t that she didn’t feel his nervousness initially, but the twins had a point.

"In this situation, a little push isn’t all that bad," she muttered to herself, smiling at the children. "Thank you, Chacha and Second. That helped."

Seeing that she seemed to have figured out what to do, the twins beamed. "You’re welcome, Mommy~!"

Lola pinched their cheeks, then shot Silo a look. "Cover their eyes," she said to him before adding to the twins, "Babies, can you please cover your ears?"

"Okay~!" The twins diligently covered their ears as instructed while Silo stood behind them, a little confused.

"Whatever this is... I don’t feel good about this," Silo muttered, watching as Lola strode off.

As she approached, the people around Cedrick had finished touching him up. They made way for Lola, and Cedrick raised his head at her.

"Taz, I’ll try agai—"

Before he could even finish, the stool he was sitting on flew away as she kicked it. Had he not been barely sitting on it, he would have tumbled down with it. His eyes dilated, turning to her, but then, something knocked the back of his leg, and before he knew it, his back hit the floor with a violent thud.

"Ack—" Air was knocked out of his lungs for a moment as a foot rested on his chest.

Opening his eyes, he caught her stepping on his chest. Her expression was cold and unsympathetic, not even angry—but rather, the look in her eyes was as if she were looking at an ant... or less than that.

"You damn little shit," she sneered, making his breath hitch. "Do you have any idea how much this entire place is, and how much everyone here is getting paid? Yet, you’re wasting every damn resource and everyone’s time just because you can’t act."

Cedrick tensed while everyone else just froze in place, eyes wide in their direction. As for Silo, he panicked and quickly covered the twins’ eyes from this violence! However, Silo was so panicked that he didn’t even feel the twins pulling on his fingers so they could peek through the gaps.

"Maybe they are right," she mused, looking down at his chest and then up at his face. "Maybe it’s better to use you for something more useful than to pretend that there’s talent when there’s not. What a waste. I should’ve sent you elsewhere to gain quick cash."

Cedrick’s breath hitched until his neck turned taut, his fingers balling at his sides until they turned into fists. His chest moved in and out heavily, staring at her with wide eyes as a flame slowly ignited within them.

"You—" but before he could even say anything, he caught her snapping her finger in the direction of the camera.

"Ryker is like lava," she continued, blinking, and the cold indifference in her eyes disappeared without a trace. "No matter how calm he appears, what’s within him is not just fire—it’s an inferno."

She nodded at him. "And that’s why he’s scary. Because he could hide the flames of hell within him with an innocent smile. And no one actually knows when this volcano erupts."

Cedrick’s tensed body relaxed, his eyes glued to hers.

"Remember this feeling," she added. "Or better yet, let it shine because from this moment on, you are Ryker, not Cedrick."

****

Hours later, in a private villa, Director Sarian sat behind his desk. His hands were clasped together, his eyes sharp as he watched a video recording sent by Lola.

"Goddamn it, Taz," he hissed, shaking his head as he pulled his glasses over his head. He reached for his phone to make a call, saying immediately as soon as the line connected, "Change the schedule for Ryker’s audition."