“We could’ve lost and kept it low. Why would she run up on stage? What would others think of us?” “Sigh! What an embarrassment to Burlington!” … Charmine ignored everyone else as she eyed a corner where Kay instantly came up with a box in hand. When Max and Waverly saw the box, they frowned. Did Leon’s rival not have it taken from them? Why did Charmine still have a similar box? Charmine eyed Max and Waverly discreetly. She arranged for the box to make its appearance at the end to evade both Waverly and Max’s suspicions. It was apparent that they both expected the box to have been stolen, and that meant they were involved with the robbery! Meanwhile, Kay placed the box by his side. Charmine recollected her thoughts as she began, “This is a new medication I’m presenting to you called IMU. Only one pill needs to be taken when one’s hurt in order for rapid coagulation to happen.” She took out a prosthetic arm as she spoke. It was broken in half with blood oozing out.
Charmine looked at Waverly and caught the look of shock in her eyes. Charmine’s red lips twisted into a small smirk. “What? Shocked?” Waverly snapped out of her trance, not knowing how to respond. No, she must not show it. Charmine was about to take her first prize! She would lose to Charmine again! Unwilling to accept defeat, she took a moment to regain her composure. “I’m indeed quite shocked. Ms. Jordan managed to come up with this medication at such a young age.” Max instantly caught on as to what Waverly attempted to do, thus he added, “The best is always above the rest! Ms. Jordan is indeed very impressive.” Others chimed in: “Charmine Jordan? It’s so impressive that you came up with this at such a young age!” “You’re our idol! We must learn from you!” “Ms. Jordan, can you please share your secrets of success with all of us?” Everyone exalted Charmine as many reporters tried to interview her. Everyone eyed her admiringly. At that moment, all focus shifte
Waverly felt like the bottom of her feet was pricked by needles every time she tried to move, and it felt painful. Waverly remained rooted on the stage. She dared not to move. The audience and those watching the live stream scoffed at the sight. [Charmine has left, but why is Waverly still standing there?] [Her product isn’t bad, but compared to IMU, it’s not good enough!] [To be fair, we haven’t seen Charmine for so long! She’s wild as always! Looking at Waverly, she’s like an extra!] [She doesn’t look like a medical researcher at all! She looks like a celebrity instead!] [Right. Don’t you think Waverly gives off the same vibe as Tiffany?] [Yes! I feel the same! I get the same b*tch vibe from Waverly!] Waverly remained stunned there. Although she could not read the comments on the live stream, she could hear the conversations below the stage. It was too awkward to remain standing on the stage. She helplessly eyed Max in a silent plea for help, to which he respon
Waverly watched as the clip displayed Max in throes of passion with an older woman! Waverly’s expression changed. Her eyes widened with disbelief. It was Max! Her dignified brother! He was sleeping with an older, ugly woman! How could it be…? Waverly looked at the disgusting clip and recalled the kiss he gave her. She felt her stomach growing upset as she clenched the hem of her dress tightly. She reeled herself back and pretended as if she did not care. She lifted her chin and said, “That woman took advantage of my brother, can’t you tell?” Ha! Charmine scoffed coldly, “Oh, you’re so in love with your brother. Even if he was assaulted, he still slept with an older woman, didn’t he?” Waverly’s body jolted as her face turned pale. Max walked in and saw everything transpiring. “What are you doing, Charmine?” he growled. “What did you show Waverly?!” Charmine calmly kept her phone. “A clip that can teach her how to make you happy.” Max recalled how he was manipula
Curse that Charmine! What was she up to? “I know what kind of person Waverly is,” he said, “you don’t have to tell me!” “Ignorant! It seems I should tell you something, then...” Waverly felt unsettled just listening to Charmine’s words. She wanted to cut her off but before she could, Charmine continued, “It was you who arranged for Nial and Uncle Sam to be killed, right? What you didn’t know is that Waverly arranged for Guy to be killed behind your back! Guy is still in the operating room, thanks to her!” “What are you saying?” Max slowly turned to Waverly in disbelief as the shock took him by complete surprise. He kept Waverly out of this because it was too violent. Who would have thought Waverly planned for Guy to get killed behind his back? Waverly was sacred and kind when she arrived at the D’Cruz residence...yet Charmine was telling him this! Max might expose her if his feelings for her ceased, and she would not be able to stay with the D’Cruz anymore. She no l
After Charmine left the competition venue, she thought of the important matter at hand and picked up her phone to make a call. She instructed, “Make IMU the most talked-about topic.” This would be the only way to attract those from M35 Lab to Burlington. This was the only way to save Guy. A few minutes later… #IMU-special-effects made it to the no.1 headline of all. It became the most discussed topic and even caused Twitter lag a few times. It was the center of netizen’s conversations. [OMG! So cool! This medication will sell like hot cakes! So many will be spared from dying!] [This medication is a blessing to everyone!] [How miraculous! If I didn’t see it with my own eyes, I wouldn’t have believed this at all! A small pill can stop the bleeding within a few seconds.] [This woman is too clever! She actually came up with this miracle pill!] [It’s our pride to have such a genius in Burlington.] Charmine reclined on the car seat and went to her profile to tweet the
Charmine instantly looked for Anthony the moment she got to the hospital, but she could not find him. She went to Guy’s ward and saw him lying in bed and still in a coma. Grandma Granger, on the other hand, was at his bedside as she held his hand worriedly. It was only half a day, but she seemed a few years older already. Dior stood by the side, her usually optimistic face looking upset. Charmine walked over; she felt usually heavy. Grandma Granger had noticed her presence even before she could say anything. “What are you doing here?” she scoffed coldly. “You’re not welcome here. Leave!” “I’m here to visit Mr. Granger.” Grandma Granger was triggered by her nonchalant tone, thus she emotionally lambasted, “What are you faking there? You’re the reason Guy is still in coma! He doesn’t need you to visit him. You leaving him alone is better than anything! Go—go away now!” Grandma Granger grew even more furious as she spoke as she slammed her walking stick heavily against th
It was then Charmine realized how strange he acted. “What’s wrong?” she asked. Anthony’s gaze darkened. He wanted to get angry but thinking of what he learned about Charmine’s past, he did not want to get angry at her. “It’s nothing,” he dismissed her. “I've got things to attend to, so I’ll go and see them done.” He handed the item to her and turned to leave. Charmine looked down to see a bottle, and she instantly understood. He went all the way to get her some medications in the afternoon? Why the strange behavior, then? She looked at him leaving, and she frowned. Who offended her? Charmine took out her phone and tried to phone him, but he hung up after the first ring! Charmine was speechless. This was the first time he hung up on her. She called again. In the underground carpark of the hospital, Anthony looked at his lit-up phone with an incoming call. After a moment of hesitation, he finally accepted the call. “What is it?” His tone was neither cold no
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