It was then Chris remembered his Mommy’s true self. He grinned at Charmine, showcasing his small, white teeth, and nodded at Charmine. As they entered the resting lounge, Faye placed Charmine down. A moment later... The door opened, and Anthony walked in. He frowned at the sight of a drunken Charmine on the sofa and fell silent. “Brother Anthony, you’re here,” greeted Faye. “Charmine is drunk.” “Drunk?” Anthony came close and glanced at the sleeping Charmine. As he did not believe what Faye said, he turned to look at Chris. “What happened?” Chris nodded seriously. “Mommy is drunk.” Faye was initially terrified and feared the boy would out her. It seemed, however, that he did not like Charmine so much after all. Anthony felt hurt as he looked at Charmine. Poor thing. Why did she drink so much? He never saw her that intoxicated before. He walked over and was about to carry her away, much to Faye’s panic. “Brother Anthony, let her rest. She drank so much, and her t
Anthony looked at Charmine’s reddened face and frowned. “You drank quite a bit, didn’t you?” Charmine nodded. “How else would she have fallen into my trap?” Anthony ruffled her hair gently. “Drink less in the future.” “Okay.” When they arrived at the door, the two of them stopped. Charmine looked at him. “You can leave for now. I’ll come out later.” Anthony looked at her helplessly and sighed. He had no choice but to exit the lounge before them while Charmine and Chris waited backstage for a few more minutes before going out. After the wedding that afternoon, the attendees went to the Granger Mansion for the wedding night. When they spotted Guy and Yvonne walking into the wedding room, the group wanted to follow suit. Anthony did not join in and instead stood in an unnoticeable corner. “Does Guy genuinely fancy Yvonne?” he questioned. The wedding was too sudden. Charmine thought of Guy kissing Yvonne during the wedding and assured him, “You know Mr. Granger. If he d
“We’re now married, and you’re claiming we can’t get too close? Well, if that’s what you’re thinking of, we should get a divorce.” Yvonne purposely spoke languidly to toy with his mind. Guy pursed his lips—she had a point. She had married him, and that was the greatest sacrifice any woman could make. They would divorce one day, too. She disregarded her reputation just to help him, and she did not mind getting a divorce as well. Since he could not give her his love, he would give her anything else. Guy sighed and knelt down to massage her leg. Yvonne sat by the bed as she felt the callus in his fingers touching her. Her heart tingled at his gentle massage. Outwardly, however, she remained poised, princess-like as she refused to show how she felt. She always wore heels, too. Why would she suffer from wearing it all of sudden? She just wanted to be touched… Once he finished massaging her leg, Yvonne added, “My shoulder hurts. Help me.” Guy wordlessly massaged her
Dior squinted as she responded to her mother, “I went out with my friends in the past few days.” “Isn’t everyone home now?” Dior was at a loss for words at that response. Sherlyn took Dior’s hand and pulled her to the sofa, saying, “Look, Dior—your brother is married. You’re up next.” Dior’s heart sank. She knew that. She knew she was next in line once her brother got married. Would her parents find her a good match and marry her off? Dior smiled daintily. “Mom, you’re too rushed in this! I’m still young.” “How are you young? In a few years, your relatives’ children will be running around while you’re still single—” “Stop!” Dior did not want her to continue as she insisted, “I’ll think for myself.” “If you do, you won’t be single now.” Dior was bewildered at that. Sherlyn then thought it through and offered, “I have a friend from the famous Cogen family. If you have time tomorrow, I can ask her son out to meet you.” “No, thanks.” Dior shook her head. “Don’t
Dior would not even bat an eye at Harry if he was all over her. The tight-lipped Dior gnawed on her bottom lip, at a loss for words and not knowing what to say. With nothing else to say, she muttered, “Have a good rest, then.” “Okay.” He hung up on her instantaneously. Dior, meanwhile, looked at his number despondently. A moment later, she recollected herself and felt that things must not continue the same way they did. He was already apathetic to her, and if she played the same card, no sparks would fly between them. She had to persist. She did not have to hold back when it came to a handsome man! Dior increased the brightness of her phone and texted, [Harry, have you thought of getting married?] Harry, who was contemplating on the balcony, saw her text and frowned. His dull eyes were matted with a maelstrom of emotions and thoughts. He did think of marriage before; it was once the most important matter in his life. Alas, his heart became void after Sonia cheated
Dior received no replies after that last text. She tried to stay up, as sleepy as she was, to wait for his reply, but it was already late at night, and no replies were in sight. Dior felt helpless, and she could not even leave the house. All she could do was to wait for him to get discharged the following day to speak to him… Meanwhile... Charmine and Anthony returned to Violet Residence. Nial went to the hospital to take care of Frank, and with Yvonne and Guy not around, the villa felt emptier than usual. Charmine was not used to it. Still, when she recalled Yvonne clad in the wedding gown and Guy looking happy, she admired them. When would she be wedded to Anthony in the public eye? Anthony, who stood next to her, noticed her dimming gaze and asked, “What’s wrong? Is something on your mind?” Charmine looked up at him and fell silent for a while before abruptly saying, “Anthony, let’s get official. Once Frank recovers, we’ll get married. We’ll let the entire world
Faye wanted to live in a luxurious villa. She wanted to wear the most expensive clothes and to marry a powerful man, not hide in a bamboo forest for the rest of her life! What could she do? She wanted to marry Anthony, but he was about to marry Charmine… Faye felt ill at the thought, and the night breeze made her eyes red. She stood at the shores of a beach, and the thought of ending her life even crossed her mind. Anthony would not care, though, and he would not even frown if she died, so of course she was not as foolish! Faye was about to head back when a luxury car pulled over in front of her, and she automatically tried to study the car. The car window rolled down to show a woman in shades with only half of her face revealed. Faye shrugged it off and was about to turn away when a cold voice called out to her, “Ms. Faye.” Faye stopped dead in her tracks. Did the woman just call out to her? She turned and asked, “You called me?” “Yes,” said the woman from the ca
Faye was so startled that her hands flew up to her chest in terror as she looked elsewhere. “An… Brother Anthony?” Anthony stood before the bookshelf with a medical book at hand. He glared at her fiercely. “What are you doing here?” Faye stuttered, “I came…in to…clean up.” Anthony squinted as he growled, “There’s no need for that.” “Okay, I’ll come back tomorrow.” Faye was so terrified that she turned away, not wanting to talk to Anthony. She stood in the hallway as she debated on entering Charmine’s room before the fear of getting exposed loomed over her. Whatever. She could wait for all of them to leave the following day so she could complete her task. Faye was on her way back to her room when Charmine came up with Chris. Charmine frowned at the sight of Faye standing in the corridor. “What are you doing here?” “Nothing.” Faye lifted her chin. “What, I can’t wander around? This isn’t even your villa—this is Brother Anthony’s! You can’t tell me where to go!”
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