At a hospital. Waverly was in the emergency room, and doctors that attended to her were helpless. The needle was inside her vein, and if they were not careful, Waverly could die of massive blood loss. The solution Waverly came up with before she fainted was temporary anesthesia. This was achieved by injecting enough local aesthetics around the painful area. She had three injections on her stomach with that. Fredrick and Max accompanied her, pitying her as they felt utter rage toward Charmine. Max watched as she was still unconscious with her complexion extremely pale. He stood up in anger. “I’ll find Charmine right now. I’ll make her endure a hundred times more pain than Waverly’s feeling!” “Alright, sit down.” Fredrick scoffed. He glared at Max. “Since when have you become so impatient? Since when has the D’Cruz family become so short-tempered?” Fredrick did not sound pleased. Max frowned. “My sister is being bullied. How can we stay quiet? Do you want to let Charm
Once Waverly had both Max and Fredrick leave the ward, she picked up her phone and sent Britney a voice note. “Listen carefully…” … At Violet Residence. Anthony had just returned after a long day at work when Nial hurried toward him, near tears. “Bro, it’s bad! Something’s up! Annabel somehow disappeared!” “Disappeared?” Anthony frowned. “Yes,” replied Nial. “I noticed that she was in good sleep today, so I excused myself to the garden on the first floor for a breather, but she suddenly disappeared when I went upstairs ten minutes later! I checked all of the cameras and saw that a person dressed in black came in through the tunnel, and whoever it was managed to avoid all of the safety alarms and left with Annabel!” Anthony’s cold expression hardened. Charmine was the one who implanted the safety system. The staircase and the tunnel had alarms attached to them, yet this person managed to evade every single one? All thoughts of resting flew out the window for Anthony as h
Was Annabel not staying at Violet Villa? Was Nial not looking after her? How did she end up missing? Guy explained, “Anthony announced his upcoming wedding, and the D’Cruz family turned against him. Many inside people have learned about this, and perhaps someone kidnapped Annabel to threaten you and Anthony. Anthony had his men looking for her in the past two days, but they’ve yet to find anything. If you leave with us now, maybe the wedding ceremony will halt tomorrow.” Dior handed a black bag to Charmine through the window as he spoke. “Uncle Hugh got this from the government agency. Put this on and jump out of the ventilating window of the toilet on the second floor.” Although there were electric wires outside the ventilating window, the electricity surge would be the weakest there due to the water tank. This top-graded insulating jacket could withstand weak currents, and it would be sufficient for Charmine to escape. Charmine took it with a small frown on her face; s
“Do contact us if you need anything. We’re friends.” With that said, Guy turned and went inside the car. Dior sat inside the car as she gave Charmine a reluctant wave. “Goodbye, Charlie.” Charmine saw that the car was about to move with a frown on her face, and it was then she walked toward their car, opened the door, and went inside. Dior looked at her with disbelief. “You… You’re willing to come with us?” “Yeah, let’s go,” came Charmine’s formal reply. If she went back to Anthony, they would also be searching for Annabel anyway. Instead of being passive, she might as well get the bone and be proactive! She could cure Chris once she got the bone, and everything would be fixed! Charmine looked at Guy who was driving, and she then reminded sternly, “I’ll need to make it clear right now: I’ve been in love with Anthony for a long time, and we’ve already gotten our marriage certificate. I’ll marry him no matter what. We can only pretend to be a couple to get the bone to
Grandma Granger held Charmine’s hand and eyed her from head to toe before she nodded with satisfaction. “It’s no surprise why my Guy fell in love for the first time; you’re indeed a wonderful lady. I like you, and I believe you’ll like Guy and this family eventually.” ‘Impossible’. Charmine wanted to say that, but she nodded at the elderly instead. Senior Granger was sitting beside Grandma Granger. “Since you’re here, that means you’re accepting Guy. We know the reason you came. You want the red wolf bone, don’t you?” Charmine did not expect Senior Granger to be so straightforward, though she met his gaze honestly. “Yes.” “You’re an honest kid indeed. As long as you’re with Guy and take good care of him, the red wolf bone isn’t an issue; we’ll even give you more than that,” spoke Senior Granger. He then added, “However, don’t think of trying anything funny. Just live happily. Otherwise, you know the Granger family is big and reputable, and you don’t want to offend us.” His ag
Charmine had intentionally asked the two Granger elders to pick a date. They would surely go to the most well-known psychic in the country who would then tell them tomorrow morning at nine in the morning was the best choice. There would be no other suitable time throughout the year should they miss it. The two elders would ask them to get married at that specific time and give her the bone. If she could get the bone, she might still be able to attend her own wedding with Anthony… That evening at Violet Villa, as the sun turned blood-red... Anthony and Chris had searched everywhere but found no clue that led to Annabel’s whereabouts. His wedding would be held tomorrow, and if he failed to find Annabel, things might get harsher than they needed to be. At that moment, Luke walked in. “Boss, it’s bad! Madam is missing!” “What?” Anthony frowned as his figure steadily grew stiff, angry. “I brought some people over to send her the wedding gown,” Luke blurted, “and we realiz
Senior Granger then spoke to Guy and Charmine, “Talk about your feelings and feel good about it tonight, or you’ll both look too distant tomorrow during the ceremony. Furthermore, this happens too soon, so we won’t let the outsiders know about it yet, and obviously you can’t get inside the bedroom tomorrow right after the ceremony, so now is the time… I won’t disturb you two any longer!” With that said, the two seniors left. Guy who was inside the room blushed. He then looked at Charmine. “Don’t worry, I’ll sleep on the floor, so you can sleep on the bed.” Charmine glanced around. It was a room that had taken up the entire first floor, and there was one bedroom, one bathroom, and a balcony. A white translucent curtain hung by the balcony that fluttered in the air as the breeze blew from time to time. The spacious room also had a bed as well as some sofas. “You sleep on the bed,” said Charmine, “and I’ll sleep on the floor. You helped me, so I can’t let you sleep on the flo
Charmine wanted to help Guy, wanted to come up with something for him, but when Guy came back out, he placed the thin layer of blanket on the ground and slept on it. He picked a spot far away from Charmine, and the broken bed laid between them. With a wardrobe at his side, the space he was in was rather narrow. Charmine frowned. Noticing that she had more space on her side, she spoke, “You can sleep here, too.” “No need, I’m fine. I can sleep here,” answered Guy with a reddened face. To him, there was no problem sleeping on the floor. He had slept in worse conditions during his training. Charmine looked at his back and frowned, though she said nothing in return. She would remember this favor from him. Once her relationship with Anthony had stabilized, she could then return the favor to him. She hoped she could get the red wolf bone tomorrow. The night resumed its silence again. Meanwhile, Dior stood outside their door and heard the movements inside the room. Her li
There was an unnoticeable glint in Sonia's eyes. She nestled herself further into Harry's arms as she added, "Let’s go to Pares. We'll come back after I give birth to the baby.""Alright."Harry stayed by Sonia's side as he watched over her, cared for her, and talked to her until she finally slept in his care.He stood up tiredly and walked out of the room to sit in the living room.Thuck!Something fell out of his pocket.He narrowed his eyes to the source of sound and spotted a USB.Since when did he have a USB in his pocket?With a small frown on his face, Harry curiously picked it up and noticed the front side of the USB glowing. Something was carved onto its surface, too.[Granger].Was it Dior’s USB? Why was her USB inside his pocket?Harry’s clear fingers held on the USB tightly. He thought for a moment before he took out a laptop, turned it on, and plugged in the USB.A moment later, the screen showed what seemed to be peculiar surveillance footage with a descriptio
Dior was still lost in her storm of thoughts when a shadowy figure zipped past her and ran toward Harry.When she spotted this familiar figure, she reacted quickly and held onto him."Let go of me!" growled Guy. "How dare he slap you and misunderstood you? I have to beat some sense into him!"Harry broke free and chased after Harry.Dior, despite having lost all hope and life in her, mustered the last strand of her will to chase after Guy and reeled him back. "Brother, don't," she muttered, "spare your energy…" Her sorrow clouded her eyes as she mumbled, "He’s the man I love. Even though he hates me, I won’t allow you to hurt him. As for the explanation…"Dior smiled ironically. "Whatever. That slap decimated every beautiful daydream I have about him, anyway."She no longer expected anything from him.He had no trust in her, so what would it matter if she finally got him? He did not even love her, and he did not trust her either.Dior smiled elegantly, but her eyes were fille
Dior looked forward to that new shift.She watched as Harry made his way into the restaurant silently, unable to deter her mind from the daydreams she had of him, of the new chapter of their story they would have.He would apologize to her, trying to redeem himself, and kiss her dearly as he embraced her. Later down the line, they would have a child of their own, too.Harry's long legs walked in strides, his dark gaze trained on Dior.The bright light shone on Dior’s delicately stunning face, and she also wore a red dress.He remembered her wearing this back in Mount Village.He could remember how alluring she looked back then, how they stayed in the same room, how she put down her ego to treat him with so much gentleness.Harry’s cold face mellowed down, but recalling a certain memory, the vague wistfulness in him vanished and he sat in front of her.Dior looked at him fondly, like she always would. "Long time no see."Her eyes burned brightly as if she wanted to drink in his
Dior examined the footage the moment she received it.True enough, it showed Sonia and George talking about their little deal. It also showed how Dior was telling the truth while they both ganged up on her.Dior’s frail heart felt as though it was rejuvenated once more, feeling as though blood was once more pumped into her heart. Her dull eyes devoid of hope regained their lost luster once more.Not thinking twice, she dialed Harry's number with this evidence, though he had to be busy, seeing as he did not pick up even after the phone rang for a long while.Just as she was about to hang up, Harry picked up the phone."What do you want?"On the other end of the call was the voice that she had missed for so long. His low, hoarse voice sounded so cold and emotionless.Hearing his voice brought Dior back to the image of his handsome face, and her heart skipped a beat.She tried her best to restrain her fluttering emotions as she tried to speak calmly, "Do you have time? I’d like to
At Mount Village…Inside the elegant bamboo house was Dior, dressed in a beige dress. She sat in the front yard as she took sips of her wine.The sunlight shone past the leaves and illuminated her, yet she exuded an air of loneliness.She swirled the glass and could not help recalling the moments she spent with Harry.In the beginning, she was attracted by his looks; he looked so gentle and elegant.She gave him money, kept him company, and continuously showed up around him in hopes of conquering him.Alas, she ended up in this state.The time she spent with him in Mount Village was the happiest time she had ever had. They had lived inside the bamboo house together, where he took care of her and claimed her to be his woman.They even laid inside the same room.Everything was so beautiful.Cursed was her luck, however, that it was just an illusion. He had been using her from the start, while he chose to stay with the woman who lied to him and even hurt him!No matter how mu
"Although Susan was unhappy, she should've voiced out her displeasure instead of bottling things. Cheating is wrong, regardless. Furthermore, if she wanted a career, she didn't have to stay home and depend on her husband."Grandma Bailey halted.Was that what Charmine truly thought of?Grandma Bailey thought Charmine would find Susan too aggressive unto herself.Charmine glanced at Susan again and apathetically commented, "She doesn't want to make money on her own, but she wants to be rich while complaining about her man not making time for her and taking care of her? If a woman has no ability of her own and also blames others for her miseries, all she's worth is to sit quietly at home and wait for her husband to come home. She also has no right to cheat! This is how the world works."Charmine patted Grandma Bailey’s shoulder and held Anthony’s hand, her words met with everyone's evidently surprised gazes and their silence.Grandma Bailey was shocked. Sure, Charmine sounded rathe
The colossal cruise started to drift away from the pier.Eric stood on the cruise and let the wind blow at him, loneliness and hatred still oozing from his being.He stared at the blue ocean ahead of him as Charmine's words rang in his mind unceasingly.'Will you really feel good after you've killed them?''You saw Susan suffering from a serious wound; would you still kill the one sibling you have left in the world?'"Forgive them and yourself.'Deliberating everything carefully, his lips curled into a bitter smile.It was true, after all, that Charmine understood him the most.Eric poured himself another drink and downed it with loneliness as he allowed the cruise to bring him wherever it would take him.…Susan was still inside the operating room when Charmine and the rest of the Baileys rushed into the hospital.Darryl stood before the room, his expression blank, his figure lonely and helpless.So many things had happened in half a day.He found out about his wife's inf
"No one's stopping you now. Eat!"Anthony clenched his hands tightly and took another glance at Charmine. He was more determined than before, and he was close to eating the pills in the bottle.Charmine, who was held hostage, gradually opened her eyes at that moment. Her gaze drifted toward Eric before she asked, her tone challenging, "Will you really feel good after you've killed them? You saw Susan suffering from a serious wound; would you still kill the one sibling you have left in the world?"Eric halted, and his eyes darkened.Charmine had just woken up, yet what she said…He cast a cold glance at Charmine. "It's my business, and it has nothing to do with you!"They were his family, and he did not want a family like this!Charmine looked squarely at him. "Eric, I don’t care if you used me or plotted against me all these years; I've treated you like a true friend, nothing more nor less. You were the only person who stayed by my side in the past five years, so I hope that you
Anthony's breath hitched when he saw Charmine.He clenched his fists and, without doubting himself, relented "I can agree to your terms, so let her go right away. This has nothing to do with her; you only hate me after all. As long as you let her go, I'll take the pill. Everything will end right away."Susan shook her head. "We'll die after eating the pill. I’m not taking that!"She had just reunited with Eric, and she did not want to die yet. She looked at Eric and begged, "Please let Anthony be, why don't you? He’s your brother, after all, and he doesn’t even know about your existence. If you’re really angry, just kill Charmine, and I'll make it up to you—"Anthony's expression contorted in sheer fury upon hearing Susan's plea, and he glared at her with murderous intent."This was all your fault, so what right do you have to make Charmine take your blame?!""What on earth are you going on about?" snapped Grandma Bailey. "Charmine has been kidnapped because of you, yet you want