As they lay in the soft warmth of the morning, still wrapped in each other's embrace, Anastasia gently pulled away slightly, her eyes searching Vincent's face as a new thought crossed her mind. She had been quiet for a while, her fingers absentmindedly tracing patterns on his skin, lost in the weight of everything they had just shared. But now, there was something else she needed to know, something that had been quietly nagging at the back of her mind for a while.
Vincent, sensing her shift in mood, turned his head slightly to look at her, waiting for her to speak. His chest rose and fell slowly with his breathing, his eyes soft and focused solely on her.
"Vincent," she began softly, breaking the silence, "why did you really decide to become an idol?"
The question was unexpected, but it had been simmering in her thoughts since he first entered the entertainment world. She had heard the stories, seen the headlines. It had all seemed so out of character for someone like Vincent, someone so brilliant, so powerful. She couldn't reconcile that with the boy she had known—the boy with the genius IQ, with the power to dominate any field he chose.
Vincent didn't answer immediately, and for a moment, Anastasia could see the conflict in his eyes. He seemed to be gathering his thoughts, choosing his words carefully, as if he were deciding how much of the truth he was willing to share.
Finally, he exhaled deeply, his gaze shifting to the side as if he were looking at something far beyond the confines of the room. "At first," he started, his voice low and steady, "becoming an idol was a way for me to... give the heir position to my older brother. He's been wanting it for years. And I didn't want it—didn't feel like it was something I was meant for. It was never what I wanted."
Anastasia's brows furrowed slightly, intrigued by the honesty in his words. She had known of Vincent's desire to step away from the throne, but hearing him say it so plainly was different. It wasn't about business or power for him—it was about something more personal.
"I joined the idol group," Vincent continued, "because it was a way to divert attention away from the expectations placed on me. It gave me the space to be myself for a while. I didn't have to play the part of the perfect heir, the perfect son. I could be... Vincent Blackwood, the idol, instead."
Anastasia nodded slowly, understanding but still sensing there was more to the story. She knew there had to be something else.
"But," she pressed gently, her voice soft, "didn't you know that your talent, your genius, was never meant for that world? Didn't you know you could do more—be more—than just entertain people?"
Vincent's lips curled into a small, rueful smile. "Of course I knew," he admitted, his voice tinged with self-awareness. "But it wasn't about the talent or the world I was in. It was about giving my brother what he wanted—what he felt entitled to. I knew that if I stayed in business, I would have to take over the family empire, and my brother would never get a chance to lead. I didn't want to be the reason he couldn't live his dream."
Anastasia listened intently, her heart softening for him. She could hear the sacrifice in his words, the weight of the decision that had haunted him. She understood now why he had given up the throne, why he had stepped into the world of entertainment. But there was one thing that still nagged at her—something that had been bugging her since the moment he had started his idol career.