Charmine did not feel good. “Just do what I taught you yesterday, Charmine,” advised Frank. “Focus on the brush completely.” “Okay.” Charmine looked away, focused on the brush, and dipped the bristles with ink. She tried to focus on the brush completely, merging with the brush. Try as she might, the images of how Anthony and Faye were fooling around together haunted her so badly that she did terribly. She managed to attract one to two butterflies yesterday, but what she had just done did nothing! On the clean sheet of paper, only a few, terribly written words were seen on the pristine paper, and it reflected her emotions—convoluted. Charmine looked at the words on the paper and was furious. She could not focus at all as she kept getting distracted.Faye’s laughter and Anthony’s gentle eyes. The images of the two of them. Sensing something strange, Frank said, “Is something bothering you, Charmine?” “No,” Charmine replied. She then said, “Let me try again, Frank.”
Charmine would question Frank when she failed to grasp something, and if she still could not understand, he would teach her personally. The morning went by quickly, and Nial and Yvonne made lunch for them. Nial brought the dishes to the table and called out, “Time for lunch.” Frank said to Charmine, “You must’ve been tired from a morning of practice. Get some rest after lunch. Don’t worry, you improved a lot.” “Okay.” Charmine smiled at him. “Thank you, Frank.” “You’re welcome,” said Frank as he crossed his hands and walked out of the pavilion, gentle as always. Still at her spot, Charmine’s gaze drifted to the tree. Anthony was still with Faye! Squinting, she cleaned up the table, washed her hands, and walked toward them. “Anthony, time for lunch.” “You eat.” Still writing, Anthony was so focused that he did not even look up at her. Charmine pursed her lips. “Your stomach isn’t well. Don’t starve yourself.” “Don’t worry, I’m not hungry.” Charmine wanted to s
Frank smiled gently. “One needs to write with a clear mind and free of emotions. Otherwise, the written words will come across as cold and lifeless.” Anthony looked up at him. He wanted to ask him to leave him be, but Frank continued, “You can’t lie to me. You’re actually very angry to have seen Charmine and I working together in the past two days. You pretended as if you didn’t care while every cell in you hated the sight of us, and your every stroke shows that.” Anthony narrowed his eyes. Frank could tell? However, he remained calm and said nonchalantly, “You think too much.” “You don’t have to mind,” added Frank. “I have a wife, and I treat Charmine as a sister.” Anthony halted. He looked at him intensely and went quiet for a few seconds. “Your wife? Where’s she?” He had been here for two days yet saw no wife. Did he take him as a three-year-old? Frank’s calm eyes met his, and he had a layer of sadness in his eyes. “She passed away many years ago.” Passed away?
Nial sighed. “You’re amazing! How did you learn so quickly? Teach me.” Charmine’s red lips curled up as she said, “Ask Frank to teach you. I’ve only learned forty to fifty percent.” The door suddenly opened at that moment, and they both turned to look. Anthony and Frank walked in together. Charmine frowned as she looked at Anthony. Why was the sight so uncanny? Nial stared at them. Had those two fought? Had he lost to Frank and became unruly? No… No way! As the two of them were suspicious, Anthony walked over with Frank. Charmine was about to speak to Anthony when Frank asked, “Charmine, how’s your progress?” “Only ten or so butterflies are attracted,” Charmine answered. “You improved a lot,” replied Frank, sounding pleased. “Keep working.” “Okay.” Charmine looked at Anthony. “Have you had lunch? What would you like to eat?” “I’m not hungry,” said Anthony. “Continue learning from Frank.” “Mmh?” Charmine frowned. Was he being sarcastic? Anthony tur
Faye did not expect, however… Anthony flinched away quickly, stepping back to keep his distance from her. He glared at her, his eyes cold like ice. Faye dared not move, but her giddiness remained. She said she was scared and Anthony agreed right away. This showed that Anthony did care about her. Not wanting to mess things up, she followed after Anthony diligently. When she turned over and saw Charmine in the pavilion, she raised her brows as if she had won the battle. Charmine was unfazed, however. She was not interested in this. If she was not Frank’s sister, Charmine would not have spoken to her. What she did look at was Anthony’s cold back. Was he truly not angry? He asked her to learn from Frank and did not seem to care, yet he went with Faye to agitate her! Could he not tell that Faye was all over him? Charmine looked away and clenched the brush tighter. Frank heard her change and felt her pressure against the brush. He smiled. “Charmine, if you want
Anthony jolted as his eyes were filled with anger. He clenched tightly around the herb and nearly crushed them into powder. However, when he saw Charmine looking over, he shook off his anger and pretended as if nothing was happening. Faye was even more delighted at that. Anthony must have fallen for her! She grew bold at his actions as she held his hand and beamed, “Brother Anthony, your hand is so beautiful.” Unable to take it anymore, Anthony scoffed at her under his breath, “Let go. Just tell me how to make it.” “Oh.” Faye had to let go, but when she did, she touched his hand again. Charmine held onto the anger for the entire day, and at that point, she could no longer ignore it. Anthony actually allowed another woman to touch his hand? She put down the brush with a cold look on her face, marched over, and pulled Anthony up. “Anthony, do you have to?” Just because she was learning calligraphy from Frank and he held her hand, so Anthony had to do the same? An
“Is that so?” Charmine smiled. “Keep waiting, then! As long as I’m his wife, you’re just a nobody—one that doesn’t even have the right to be a third-wheeler!” Charmine took a few steps and turned back at her, red lips twisting into a smirk. “Young lady, if you want to play, I can play with you. The question is, how far can you go?” Charmine was so bold that she left Faye speechless. She could only glare at Charmine angrily. Hmph! Who cared about the Princess of Kansas or McKenzie? They were so ordinary with no uniqueness. Anthony must have been bored of them! Why would he even like them? He liked innocent women like herself; adorable and tameable. Faye looked around and thought of something…... Searching for Anthony, Charmine suddenly felt a sharp pain after taking a few steps. The pain was so severe as though thousands of needles were stabbed into her brain. As Charmine turned pale, she bit her pale lip and went to look for Guy in the backyard. After taking a
Charmine? Anthony frowned. He thought of his unsettling thought, thinking she was in pain as he opened the text. All he saw was Frank carrying Charmine… He stopped abruptly. Did Charmine not resist? She had a husband, yet she would still allow a man to embrace her? Anthony’s eyes darkened. He clenched his phone tightly and wanted to crush it. It seemed that Charmine did not understand his feelings… He glared at the photo for a long while before he blacklisted the number. He turned back to the grass, immersed himself in the night breeze, and looked at the confused night sky. Inside the room... Nial took out the needle from Guy and pricked it into Charmine’s arm accurately. Charmine withstood the pain as she instinctively looked at the door. It might have been all in her mind, but the pain was much more painful with Anthony absent. Even her heart started aching. Where did Anthony go? She wanted him to stay by his side when she had a migraine. Standing
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