Since when did Anthony become so flirtatious? Charmine blinked away her shyness and changed the topic by getting some food for Chris. “Eat some more, Momo.” Chris nodded. “Yay! Mommy made it so yummy, I want to finish all by myself!” Charmine smiled. She felt appreciated and loved. As she was about to take some food for Anthony, he had already filled up her plate. “My lady has been working too hard lately. Have some more.” Charmine felt moved, again. The ambiance was affection-filled, homely after the meal. A smile graced Chris’ face, and Anthony’s eyes were filled with love and gentleness. Seeing how happy they were, melancholy flashed past her eyes. She was to have her kidney removed tomorrow, so she had to treasure their time together tonight. After dinner, Charmine cleaned the table when Anthony reached over to take away the things from her hands. “Let me do it.” “No need. I—” Before Charmine could finish her sentence, he took the plates away from her and wa
Anthony and Charmine laid in bed, with Chris nestled between them. It might have been due to his excitement that Chris still tossed and turned at 11 p.m., unable to sleep a wink as he gazed at Charmine, brightly grinning at her. Seeing how tired Charmine seemed, Anthony’s gaze grew wrathful as he snapped, “Sleep, now!” Chris blinked his innocently big eyes, muttering, “But I can’t fall asleep.” He had not seen Charmine for too many days. He missed her too much. Anthony was speechless. Charmine offered, “I’ll tell you some bedtime stories, then?” “Okay! Hehe!” Chris leaned into her arms obediently. Charmine then picked up a storybook with her clear voice ringing, “One day, Adam made a robot friend. The robot ran with him…” Her voice was gentle and soothing, almost hypnotic, so much so that Chris somehow fell asleep in her arms as he listened. Charmine put him down carefully and draped the blanket over him. Thinking Anthony was asleep, she looked over to see his han
Chris nodded. “Okay!” Once Charmine told him what was on her mind, she asked, “Is that okay?” Chris’ watery eyes sparkled. “Of course! Leave this to me, Mommy! Don’t worry!” Charmine smiled. “You’re the best.” “Of course.” Chris grinned. “I’ll share Mommy’s troubles.” Casting him a serene gaze, she replied, “Wonderful. Once Mommy’s operation is done, we’ll take you wherever you want to go.” Chris nodded diligently. “Okay!” Charmine merely told him she had to undergo a simple operation and Chris, not knowing what it was, instantly agreed to it, and carefreely at that. After washing him up, they went downstairs to see the tall and big-built Anthony making breakfast in the kitchen. She walked toward him. Hearing footsteps behind him, he turned around to look at Charmine lovingly. “You’re awake?” “Yeah.” Charmine walked over and hugged him from behind. “What are you making? Do you need help?” “No need.” He looked down at the hands around his waist before turning t
The news startled Yoshua, and he asked, “Who are you? How did you find out about the artificial kidney?” He told not a single soul apart from the laboratory staff about the artificial kidney’s existence. Waverly coldly refuted, “That’s none of your concern. All you have to know is that if you don’t find William now, your granddaughter will willingly give her kidney to him.” Yoshua thought of how William did ask about the artificial kidney. No matter if this was real or not, he had to see it on his own. Furthermore, William had not appeared after that day. Hanging up the call and rushing home urgently, he found out that Annie was not home at all! Furious, Yoshua instantly dialed her number and soon realized the phone was switched off! An unsettling feeling loomed over him as he contacted people to locate Annie.… William accompanied Annie and strolled around in the past few days. They had gone to the forest, seaside, garden, and mountaintop. Today, as per Annie’s requ
William retrieved his hand and turned to see Yoshua stomping toward him furiously with seven to eight burly men in black behind him. William recalled how Annie told him that her grandfather did not allow her to leave home. Not only did he bring her out of the house, but she even passed away on his shoulder! Somewhat distressed, William blurted, “Yoshua, you’re here?” Yoshua yelled at him angrily, “I’ll get to you later!” With that, his gaze aimed straight to Annie, who was on William’s back. “Annie, let’s go home!” he called out. However, Annie remained still on William’s back. Yoshua approached them, all while William frowned. Without anything else to say, he somberly declared, “Annie is...gone.” “What!?” Yoshua’s expression stiffened as he walked toward him, disbelief slowly etched onto his face. He then noticed how Annie was no longer breathing and how her body was cold to the touch. He thought of that stranger’s call and instantly connected the dots. William bro
A letter suddenly fell out from Annie’s clothes and landed before him. He looked over to see the words written in front of the letter, [To My Grandpa.] Yoshua stopped short. He had to hang up and pick up the letter to open it. Words were neatly written, and Annie wrote: [Grandpa, I did not pass away abruptly. I planned it. [I have always wanted to die, but all I wanted to be was a healthy person. This illness has taken up my entire life, and it is suffocating for me and a burden to you. [I’ve saved up five years’ worth of sleeping pills. I bought some every day to prepare for this day. This matter has nothing to do with Mr. Peterson. I once told him I’d let him have my artificial kidney, but he turned me down. [I hope you don’t misunderstand him. [Mr. Peterson has been accompanying me for the past few days. He added color to my dark, boring life. I would’ve never imagined how beautiful and romantic the flowers and ocean could be. How the ocean breeze could actually blow
“Yoshua, I can’t have this,” declined William. “Don’t misunderstand. I—” “I know,” Yoshua stopped him as he wiped off his tears, turning to finally look at him. “Annie didn’t die for you; she’s lost all hope in living for a long time. You showed her the wonders of life when you entered her life, and she died with no regret.” William halted and made sense of it. So, those were her thoughts. It made sense why she had asked him if he would miss her after her death. She knew she would not have much time left… William felt like his heart was stung by a bee. He gazed at Annie sympathetically, his lips still stained with his blood. He thought they would become friends. Alas, it was too late… “Argh…” William's chest hurt as he spat out a mouthful of blood. Mind going blank, he lost his balance and fell onto his knees, lurching forward... Yoshua quickly caught him. When he saw how severely beaten William was, he recalled how he asked his men to beat him up. He quickly
The mask covered up William’s face completely. One could only see how beaten-up he was, but not how he actually looked like. A few even cast him quizzical glances, what with the only thing exposed were his bloodshot eyes. His breaths were already labored, and with the mask on his face, he felt like he was running out of oxygen. Even with that, and with his head buzzing, face pale and swollen, he endured it as he entered the lift. All of a sudden, he lost his balance, legs turning into mush as he slumped inside the lift heavily. The moment that he fell, he managed to hold up the artificial kidney, and he sighed in relief when he knew it was safe.He withstood the pain and pressed the button with difficulty. Following that, he bit his tongue and tightened his grip, causing his veins to protrude, to climb back up on his feet. By the time he went out from the lift, his face was extremely pale with cold sweat all over. After a few deep breaths, he dragged his worn-out bod
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