Charmine felt refreshed and relaxed after a good sleep. She sat up, slowly frowning when she saw the clock hanging on the wall. It was seven in the morning! What happened? Was she not inside the laboratory? How did she get home? She wanted to help out in the research yet had fallen asleep. Had they succeeded? If they failed, they would not be able to participate in this day’s competition, and they would not be able to attract the people from M35 Lab subsequently. As she was about to get out of bed, the door was pushed open. It was Anthony, clad in a pair of casual black pants with a white shirt. He seemed friendlier without the suit. He had a glass in his hands filled with tea. Seeing that she had woken up, Anthony walked to her and began, “Go and wash up, I’ve made you tea. You must drink this every morning.” Charmine frowned. “Tea?” What was this about? Anthony had not given her anything like this before! Just as she internally debated with herself, sh
Sure, Anthony had been sweet to her before, but it baffled her how she still got flustered—face burning, heart racing—every time. She was a powerful woman, but in front of Anthony, she was merely a white rabbit… One that lacked social and emotional experience. She instantly felt small and insignificant as she gazed at him before her. Anthony suddenly lowered his head and closed their distance, causing her heart rate to quicken as she closed her eyes shut. Just as she did... Ring! Ring! Anthony’s phone rang urgently. Charmine snapped back to reality. Gosh! What was that? Was she quietly waiting for him to kiss her? “I’ll…go and freshen up,” she blurted in a panic before she booked it toward the bathroom. Anthony then took out his phone, face turning cold when he saw the name ‘Nial’. Once he accepted the call, Nial—who was calling from the laboratory with dark eyebags—gushed, “Bro! We’ve succeeded! Both experiments were successful!” He was fishing for a complim
She would be a spoiled princess if she married the right person… Had she turned into one unknowingly? She looked at Anthony who was drying her hair. He seemed so focused as if scared of hurting her. Charmine felt strange. Even though the world did not support them to be together, he still treated her so well. She wondered if he would still be as gentle once they announce their relationship to the public? The thought of it made her feel uneasy. Although the Jordan Group had entered the markets of many countries, Bailey Corporation was a big corporation that stood for over a century. They had many resources, nothing that the Jordan Group could contend against. The Baileys did not support them to be together, while Anthony dished out ruse after ruse to make them give in. The future would be quite difficult… Whatever. She must stop thinking. They had to settle Guy’s matter and the M35 Lab before disclosing their relationship. Charmine wore her makeup as Anthony w
William instinctively held the box closer to her, intending to guard it to the best he could. “You go back inside,” Nial instructed him. “No matter what happens, don’t come out!” William could not fight, especially with weapons. He did not insist as he quickly went back into the car and hugged the box tightly. ‘I go with the box,’ was his mentality. ‘If they want the box, they’ll have to get it from my dead body!’ Nial helped to lock the car. As the assailants approached, Nial sighed. “I barely slept a wink last night, and now you’re coming at me? You want me to lash out at you all?” Uncle Sam was terrified. He frowned and warned Nial under his breath, “Professor Nial, what are you talking about? This isn’t the time to speak of nonsense!” “Don’t be intimidated. Do you think they’ll attack?” Nial glanced at their weapons. These were controlled weapons, and with them being on Burlington soil, whoever used it would be severely punished. As expected, the leading man ca
It was no ordinary bomb; it was made of chloroform! It made sense why the assassins wore black helmets. It was more than just to conceal their identities… It was to shield themselves from the chloroform. William did not inhale much of it, however, as he was inside the car. He fought through it as he covered his nose and mouth with one hand and opened the door with another to get out. The assassin was about to get away with the box when he felt someone grabbing his leg. He looked down to see William had jumped out from the car and held his leg tightly. “Get off of me!” barked the assassin. “Put down the box!” William insisted. This was the result of all 50 of them working overnight! Charmine was waiting for this box to fix her problems. How could he let them take it away? The assassin grew impatient. “It looks like you want to die. Fine, have at you!” With that said, he lifted the weapon in his hand and was about to pull the trigger. William would be done if he
“I’ll come over right away!” said Charmine. She hung up and said to Anthony, “I can’t go to the competition venue anymore. I need to stop by City South Hospital.” “I’ll go with you,” offered Anthony. “No need, they need people at the venue. You just get there while I go to the hospital.” As Charmine spoke, she picked up her black windbreaker and donned it as she marched out. Anthony saw how panicked she was, and the displeasure sizzled in his chest. Yes, it was an important matter, but she seemed to care too much about Guy! Charmine was about to go into the car when a large hand stopped her. Anthony carried her to the front passenger’s seat. He bent down closer to her. Charmine frowned. “Anthony…” He still wanted to mess around at this time? Anthony’s large hands jolted. After a moment, his hand went to pull over the seatbelt. Click! Her seatbelt was fastened, and it stunned Charmine. So, Anthony was just trying to help her fasten the seatbelt? She misun
Anthony saw how nervous Charmine was, thus he assured her, “Wait for me here.” Anthony, with his tall, well-built figure, walked away before he eventually disappeared along the end of the hallway. Charmine had a hunch of what he wanted to do. She phoned Kay. “Go and meet the people with Rhnull. If Anthony is trying to lead them away, help him. No matter what they ask for, just agree to it.” “Understood.” Kay then went ahead to work on it. On that same day, those with the special blood type were taken to a Presidential Suite of a hotel. Panicked, they desperately wanted to phone the police but were unable to do so. Anthony sat on the European-styled sofa in the Presidential Suite as his being emitted a formless authority. Luke, standing beside him, addressed the people, “You have two choices. First, volunteer to donate blood, and we’ll agree to any condition. Second, you’ll be forced to donate blood but will be paid five million bucks.” Meanwhile, in another hotel... Dre
The Grangers had somehow caught wind of what happened, thus they came. The staggering Grandma Granger was supported by Dior. She went to the door of the operation room as she sobbed anxiously, “Guy…my Guy… Grandma is here, so please, hold on…” “It’ll be fine, Grandma. Don’t panic,” comforted Dior as she signaled Charmine to get away quickly. The Grangers were offended at that moment, and they would not let Charmine go easily. Charmine understood that, of course, but leaving would make the Grangers think she was running away. So she stayed, thinking of a way to fix this. At that moment, Grandma Granger saw her and walked toward her, her eyes blazing as she stared at her. “It’s all your fault, Charmine! You hurt my Guy! You said you’d keep him safe, but what happened?! Look at how he is now! He’s inside the ER! He’s in pain! Are you happy? Satisfied?!” She grabbed Charmine’s arm and shook it vigorously as she grilled her with anger. The rest of the Grangers stood by t
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