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
Anthony ran like the wind, so fast that nobody could see him clearly. Upon entering the hospital, he quickly pressed on both buttons for the lifts. Unfortunately, one of the lifts stopped on the twentieth floor while the other lift had just gone up… “Don’t be scared, Charmine, I’m on my way.” Anthony looked at the stagnant lift and could no longer wait. Without a second thought, he rushed to the staircase and took three steps at once to run up quickly. He took less than two minutes to get up from the first to the thirteenth floor! What kind of determination was it that made him so wild? When he rushed out of the staircase, he saw Charmine with her body bent by the side. “Charmine!” He pulled her in his arms. “Anthony?” The kneeling Charmine looked at him weakly and in shock. Where… Where did he come from? She just hung up. “Yeah, I’m here.” Anthony reached out his gentle hand to wipe off the cold sweat on her face, and it agonized her to see her in pain. T
Charmine lowered her head to see Anthony opening his palm to hold hers. Following that, his fingers interlocked with hers tightly. Charmine’s face turned hot. She glanced at him. Anthony acted as if nothing was happening, and they walked into the medical room. He was holding her instead of her holding him. What a man! Charmine asked for a medical box from the nurse. She sat in front of him and focused on cleaning the wound. Her movement was fluent as she cleared the blood stains and disinfected it. “Don’t do it again next time,” she muttered. “I like it,” came Anthony’s nonchalant reply. “Hmm? You like getting hurt?” “You left this mark,” he replied absent-mindedly. “It’s my honor.” Charmine was speechless. “Silly!” scoffed Charmine, though her tone betrayed her as her movement grew gentler. Anthony looked at her focused look as he lifted his right hand. “If you’re in pain again next time, bite here.” Charmine was speechless. He even anticipated her next mi
Gazing at Guy who was in bed, Grandma Granger instantly walked out with her walking stick and called out to the nurses, “Hey, nurses!” The nurses who were walking away exchanged glances as if not knowing anything. They turned back to her. “Grandma Granger, may we help you?” “Where is this place you’re talking about?” “Oh, you mean the place that helped the patient?” The nurse waved it off, “It’s superstitious.” Grandma Granger insisted, “Tell me.” Even if it was superstitious, even if there was a small chance, she still had to try it. The nurse said, “It’s an old house on top of a mountain outside the city. They say the land is blessed there. We were just discussing how the mother of a critically ill patient went there, and he recovered after.” Grandma Granger’s eyes lit up as if she had seen hope. “What’s this place called?” “It’s called the Five Ways.” “Okay, thank you.” Grandma Granger went back inside the ward and looked at Guy from the side of the bed. She decide
“Don’t worry about it,” assured Charmine calmly, “I’ve found the blood supply. He’ll receive the blood supply until he recovers.” “Really?” Although Dior knew Charmine would not lie to her, she still asked uneasily, “Are they willing to?” Charmine thought of the phone call from the professor telling her that they were on their way, and she raised her brows. “They probably will.” Dior was still unsettled. Charmine meant ‘probably, not ‘will’. When Charmine saw Dior’s uneasy expression, she patted her shoulder. “Don’t worry.”Dior’s anxiety dissipated at her assurance. Charmine was a powerful woman, and she would be able to fix it. She trusted Charmine. Nial succeeded in transfusing blood into Guy. It did not take long before Guy’s body data went back to normal. Sighing in relief, Dior turned to Nial. “Thank you, Dr. Nial.” “You’re welcome.” “Dior, in the next few days, Mr. Granger will be needing more blood,” confessed Charmine. “You’ll take care of Grandma Granger
“Don’t worry, stitching is quick,” explained Nial. “I’ll be done before she comes back.” Charmine thought about it and knew they had to care for Yvonne. She could only nod. “Alright, go ahead.” “Don’t worry.” Nial walked two steps before a thought occurred to him as he reminded her, “Ah, yes. Since Guy just had a blood transfusion, he needs to be looked after closely, in case an emergency happens. I’ll have some nurses waiting outside, and if Grandma Granger comes back, they’ll let you know beforehand.” Charmine nodded. She did not have to argue with an elderly woman. “I’ll leave now. You sit here and call for a nurse if anything happens,” ended Nial before he hurriedly left. Charmine sat before the table. Guy was still in a coma and did not need any special care. She leaned on one hand as she picked up her phone to text Anthony. [I won’t be back so soon.] Anthony replied quickly, [Why?] [Charmine: Dior and Guy are busy, so I’ll have to look after Guy.] Afraid
Charmine felt that domineering pressure from Anthony and had only one thought in mind. Anthony was getting angry… As she was thinking of a plan, Anthony reached out his hand and took the bandage from her. “Go and rest by the side. Let me do this for you.” Charmine was stunned. He would take care of Guy?! Anthony was cold and high-above. Why would his hands touch such things? Furthermore, did he not hate Guy? “Anthony…” Charmine wanted to insist that she do it as his offer seemed rather strange, but Anthony helped her to the sofa and said, “You rest. Leave it to me.” With that said, he walked back to the bed and continued to bandage Guy. The way he handled it was rather callous, but it was honest work. Even he had no idea how serious he looked as he bandaged Guy. “Cough, cough…!” Guy started coughing vigorously. Following that, a gust of fresh blood oozed out from his mouth, and it colored his pale lips. Anthony frowned. After he froze for two seconds, he
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