Grandma Granger did not bother to elaborate as she clipped, “All you have to know is that they won’t be getting married.” Sherlyn squinted before she understood. Guy liked Charmine, but she did not like him? That was easy! The Grangers possessed an impressive family background, and so many women would queue to marry Guy! She did not believe Charmine would not be tempted. Sherlyn turned to look at Guy. Of course, her son liked Charmine. She was determined to help him marry Charmine! … After breakfast, Charmine played with Chris in the living room when the bell rang. Yvonne went out to open the door, and upon seeing the strangers, she questioned, “May I know who you’re looking for?” Sherlyn looked at her. Was this Charmine? Her research last night informed her that only Charmine and her husband lived in the residence. This woman did not look like the woman on the news. Was it a filter? Did they change her head completely? Sherlyn was disappointed; this woman’
Charmine said calmly, “You’ve all misunderstood. I’m married, and…” She turned around to look at Chris. “I have a son.” “A son is fine.” Sherlyn remained awfully friendly. “We know the kid isn’t yours. Your father-in-law and I are open-minded, so we don’t mind that.” Charmine found it absurd. Did they know what they were talking about? She looked at the two of them and insisted, “I treat Mr. Granger as a friend. I won’t marry him. I love my husband.” Anthony just so happened to descend the stairs then and heard it all. He was moved. He walked over and sat by her side. He placed his arm around her and asked, “What’s going on here?” Charmine said, “They’ve misunderstood. They want me…” “We didn’t misunderstand,” Sherlyn cut her off. She then gently said, “I know you’re married, but you’re not official, right? Your father-in-law and I don’t mind about this. As long as you treat Guy well, we’ll be happy.” Anthony looked at the two of them and realized what was going on
Sherlyn turned around with a smile. “Have you thought it through, Charmine?” Charmine picked up the expensive items and handed them back to the couple. “Please bring these with you as well.” Sherlyn’s smile stiffened as she waved it off. “No need; you keep them. You’re skinny, so you’ll need more nutrients.” “No need, thank you.” Charmine’s attitude was hard. Sherlyn had to awkwardly take them and left with Tim. Charmine turned back to look at Anthony who was on the sofa. Noticing his displeased expression, she muttered, “They had a misunderstanding. Don’t get mad.” “I’m not mad,” said Anthony. “Your face tells me differently.” Charmine studied his ever-dulling expression. Anthony was at a loss for words. He was actually thinking. Guy and Charmine were a good match. Guy, at least, was truthful to her. His parents treated her well and liked her. When Anthony thought of the uncertainties in the future, he felt extremely heavy… Charmine sat by the side, but as
If Sherlyn rang the doorbell again, Charmine might not even let her in! Sherlyn looked at the villa and went in through the back door. When she arrived at the garden, she heard Charmine’s voice, “Momo, go and ask your Daddy to put on more clothes. Tell him to not catch a cold.” “Yeah.” Sherlyn’s eyes lit up from the outside. So, was Charmine alone? Good timing!Sherlyn was always brave and straightforward. She tossed her bag inside and then climbed over the wall. She flipped in the air, jumped over the wall, and landed in the garden. Charmine was watering the plants when she heard a thud behind her. She turned back to see an expensive bag on the ground. She frowned, and before she could make out what happened, a figure flashed and stood in front of her. She narrowed her cold eyes. Guy’s mother? “Well, Charmine.” Seeing that Charmine was alone, Sherlyn picked up the bag and walked toward her. “Now that Anthony isn’t around, you can tell me your thoughts,” she be
Sherlyn became visibly stoic. “In that case, Charmine, you’ll have to understand one thing: Guy doesn’t owe you anything, and he doesn’t have to help you! Stop having him around if you don’t love him! Don’t expect that he’d help you again!” she seethed as she placed the photos of Guy back in her bag. She then took out her phone to call the bodyguards. She instructed, “Bring Guy home—he can’t leave the house without my permission!” Sherlyn haughtily jumped over the wall once more as she spoke into the phone. Charmine frowned. That woman placed his son under house arrest just to force her into marrying Guy? Absurd! Charmine turned off the water and turned to the living room. She tried to phone Guy, but it oddly did not go through. She squinted at that. How was she supposed to save him if he got locked down? The Grangers were a navy family with a residence of high security... ... Guy accompanied Tim to buy things and went back home after. He was worried that Charmine mi
Tim and Sherlyn exchanged glances before something dawned on him. He then turned to Grandma Granger and reassured her, “Don’t worry, Mom. He’s our son. Why would I let him suffer? Sherlyn cares about him the most. Sherlyn must have her reasons for doing this.” With Tim’s reassurance in Sherlyn’s motive, Grandma Granger believed they did not intend to harm Guy. “If I find out that he’s suffering, you’ll all get it bad!” shot Grandma Granger conclusively. Tim laughed. “Mom, you make it sound serious. We won’t, don’t worry.” Sherlyn walked off to see Guy, who looked at her with confusion. “Mom, why did you lock me up?” He did not go against the house rule! “Son, I know you did nothing wrong, but I’ll have to put you here for a while,” explained Sherlyn. She did not believe Charmine would make it without Guy helping her! That was why she placed him under a sort of house arrest. The truth was that he was to stay indoors for as many days as it would take for Charmine to a
Dior walked around the supermarket but did not see Harry. She stood before the dairy section and frowned. Perhaps he was not on duty? She pursed her lips in disappointment and turned to the staff beside her to ask, “Is Harry working today?” The staff frowned and answered, “Sorry, I’m new here. I don’t know Harry, and I haven’t seen one. Are you at the wrong place?” Dior was stumped. Did he decide not to work after she gave him money the other day? Hmm… A versatile man was her type! Dior bought so much stuff that filled an entire trolley and walked out of the supermarket. She then drove to the town’s outskirts. She prayed he did not buy a new house and move away! When she arrived at the house he once brought her to, she carried the heavy bags and entered. Her blood felt hot as she thought of seeing his handsome face once more. Then... She was about to knock on the door when she heard a female voice from the inside. “Harry, I’m sorry, but you can’t offer me
Kneel? This arrogant man, who never lowered his head, would kneel for this woman? Even when Sonia was angry in the past, Harry would only say, “Stop messing around!” All of a sudden, he would kneel for this woman!? Sonia expected he would say the same thing to Dior, but Harry merely responded to her gently, “A friend.” Sonia’s head buzzed… Her head felt like it wanted to explode! As her face turned pale, Sonia pointed a shaking finger at Dior as she turned to look at Harry. “Who is she? Have you been with her behind my back all along?” Harry looked at her coldly. As he was about to say something, Dior pulled him behind her and stood in front of Sonia arrogantly. She looked at Sonia from head to toe and had a look of realization on her face. “Oh, so this is that girlfriend of yours!” Dior continued, “What? Weren’t you taken by some rich dude? Why do you come back?” Sonia was furious. She looked up at Harry and asked, “I asked you a question, Harry! Have you chea
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