“Oh, don’t say that. We should be thanking her for having such potential.” Uncle Zul had a friendly twinkle in his eyes as he spoke. He looked at Charmine who was inside. “You know, Charmine truly is impressive. Back then, the few of us were researching in the laboratory when she suddenly barged in. It was a national secret and we had to kill anyone else who knew. With that, we decided to shove her in the basement and do some things to her…” Mentioning that, Uncle Zul seemed guilty and wished he could slap his face for that. He quickly continued, “Charmine is highly intelligent with strong survival skills. She never gave up, even with a slight hint of hope to live on. I remember how we kept her in the basement, trying to starve her to death. Ten days had passed and when we went down to find her, guess what we saw?” “Hmm?” Anthony remained quiet as he waited to hear more, yet displeasure began to swirl in his eyes. He thought these old men adored Charmine. Who would have though
Putting aside that they hurt his Charmine, he even admitted to his face that they preferred William? Uncle Zul had seen many things, but a livid Anthony sent chills down his spine. Recollecting himself, Uncle Zul continued, “We watched William as he grew, and we understood his personality and thinking. He genuinely loves Charmine and treats her well. If you want us to approve you, you must become more outstanding than William! If you ever hurt Charmine for the slightest bit, we won’t let you off easy!” His body straightened as he spoke, looking proud and confident. However, Anthony seemed as if he did not hear this. His eyes were cold as he glared at Uncle Zul coldly. “Since you’ve owed her so much already, none of you have the right to stop her from liking who she likes! If you truly care about someone, you don’t force her to do what you say. You’d support her decision instead!” Anthony’s voice was stern and disciplined as if he was lecturing a child. Anthony stood up and
“True, Ms. Jordan should take care of her body,” said William. “It’s okay to sit. Let’s continue, shall we?” “Yeah, let’s continue. We’re running out of time,” Uncle Sam chimed in. Uncle Pop looked at Anthony. “Mr. Bailey, why don’t you wait outside? We’ll let you know when we’re done.” “No need, I’ll watch from the side. I won’t cause any trouble, so do carry on,” spoke Anthony as he backed away to minimize his sense of presence. Everyone else was dumbfounded. It felt oppressive with him standing there, as if they were watched over by their supervisor. How could they continue their work like this? Charmine wanted to ask Anthony to leave when she recalled all the similar incidents in the past. With Anthony abruptly coming in and treating her so well, perhaps it was due to her being too close to William and that he got jealous. If she asked him to leave, he would surely ask, “What? You’re afraid that my presence will prevent you from flirting with William?” Charmin
Only Charmine and Anthony were left in the glass room while the rest were outside. Some went to get drinks while some went to get food. One only had to turn back to see the two of them inside the glass room. Charmine was anxious—she did not like public displays of affection. She reached out to push Anthony away. “Let go of me, I—” “Charmine darling,” his low and seductive voice was heard as he cooed at her lovingly. Charmine’s heart instantly skipped half a beat. This was his first time calling her name, and it felt earnest... Anthony hugged her as his gaze was fixated on her. “Whatever you need in the future, just tell me. If you don’t like anyone, you don’t have to do it yourself. In other words, let me do it for you. Just sit back and be my wife.” His mature voice was very loving. Charmine’s eyelids fluttered. Did Anthony have a fever? Why would he say such things? The corner of her eyes saw William standing outside, and she instantly understood. Anthony mus
Inside the glass room... Anthony hugged Charmine for a long time before letting her go. “I’ll send you home to rest, Charmine. I’ll ask Nial to come over and help out.” “Huh? That’s not good…” Charmine frowned. She came here to publicly display their affection instead of helping out, and all of a sudden, she had to leave? Nial had been researching for a whole day. Surely he needed some rest, no? “It’s fine,” assured Anthony. So long as she could rest. He hugged her by the waist and walked her out. When the Uncles saw them coming out, they greeted, “Come and eat some of this. It’s Charmine’s favorite finger lime.” Finger lime was a thumb-sized special fruit with a lime skin outside, but there would be green pearls like caviar inside once opened. This fruit was similar to caviar; limited and precious. They were used as seasonings. However, the finger lime the Uncles invented was just like caviar—sour and sweet with a good texture and of high quantity. When Charmine
Nial was intentionally fishing for attention. “Have a guess, Bro. Guess if it's good or bad news.” “Just tell.” Two words, uttered coldly and straightforwardly. Nial facepalmed. How boring. Could he not play along? However, knowing Anthony’s personality, he had to explain, “Didn’t you ask me to research the blood type? I suddenly discovered an important piece of information! Someone used to have an ordinary type A blood, but after a test, she suddenly turned into an A3 blood type! This shows that a human’s blood can have drastic changes. We then researched this, and if it goes well, we’ll have results by tonight!” Anthony frowned. He turned to look inside and saw that Charmine was still sitting in there. She would stay to help if Nial did not come, but on the other hand, Nial’s research seemed important… Nial thought Anthony would be happy for him, but he never expected for him to be replied with silence instead. “Bro, you alright?” he asked. “Why are you not speaking?
William was standing beside Charmine as he draped the blanket over her caringly, and while it was a normal gesture, Anthony felt something in the air that caused him discomfort. Anthony slowly paced toward them. Uncle Sam stood up and softly spoke, “You can’t be jealous, are you, Anthony? Charmine and William are good friends…” Anthony said nothing in return as he raised his index finger before his lips. ‘Quiet,’ it meant. Nobody knew what he was thinking, so nobody made a sound. Walking toward Charmine, he cautiously took her into his arms before he slowly turned to walk out. The rest of them exchanged glances. What was Anthony doing? Was he so jealous that he did not want to speak with them? Anthony was once a decisive and swift man, yet at that moment, he was so gentle as if carrying something incredibly precious. The sight was shocking. Everyone watched as Anthony oh-so gently brought Charmine to the back of the car and laid her down. Perhaps it was his b
It was so late at night, yet Anthony sent him such a text! [Ban any honking on Burlington Highway tonight through the radio station. Nobody can make any noise! The surrounding shops are banned from playing music and any activity with sound!] Luke was exasperated Goodness, gracious! There were so many pubs and clubs along the way that would come to live at night, and there would surely be honks and blaring music. How could he stop the cars from honking? How was that remotely possible? What if this caused accidents? Alas, this was an order from Anthony. He had to obey him. Luke could only get out of bed and started contacting the radio stations. Following that… That night, the cars passing by the area suddenly had their cars’ radio station forcefully turned on with the following announcement resounding: “Dear drivers, due to an emergency situation, we have to make this announcement. There’s a researcher traveling down the road. She has a sleep disorder and hasn’t been
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