As she returned to her seat, Charmine heard the footsteps behind her getting close. She turned to her three male companions and announced, “Let’s have a drink! It’s on me today, and we’re not going home without getting drunk! The first one down is a coward!” She then placed her hand on Alexander’s shoulder and walked out. “As promised, I’ll be on top tonight.” The seductive Alexander cast her a gentle gaze. “I’ll do anything you want, my darling. As long as you’re not exhausted, cause I’ll feel hurt if you do.” Anthony glowered at the sight of Charmine and Alexander touching one another. His knuckles even clicked audibly as his veins surfaced to the skin. Charmine and Alexander walked together as Eric followed right behind them, his expression dull. William, on the other hand, helped Charmine to carry her stuff, his brows gently furrowed. He thought Charmine brought them to the venue to agitate Anthony, but at this point, he no longer knew what she was up to... When was she
The man with a hat grew excited when he saw Charmine sent into Violet Villa by her three male companions. He quickly took out the camera to take a few photos. After the door was shut, he examined the photos—more than ten of them, at that—and was very satisfied. This would be a good topic. He would be handsomely rewarded this time! An hour later, Tweeter was occupied with gossip regarding Charmine. #Charmine-with-three-men There were photos of her with Alexander, William, and Eric in an article. There were also shots of her inside the pub, smiling flirtatiously and getting cozy with Alexander. She even drank with him with their arms hooked. Another shot showed how she turned to drink with William and Eric. They drank until the pub closed, and she then brought all three men to her home and stayed in that night. One could only imagine what happened next. People on the internet were astounded at this while fans looked down on her and ridiculed her. [God! Didn’t expect Cha
Nial watched as Anthony left and was instantly overjoyed. Wonderful! His brother was finally getting back with Charmine! However... Anthony, walking to the garage, suddenly felt like his head had exploded. His vision grew murky as he looked at the luxury cars lined up in front of him. He was confused. What was he doing in the garage? Did he drink too much? Anthony massaged his temples and felt baffled. He stood there, confused for a moment and unable to recall why he was there in the first place. He did not know what it was that he had forgotten. Whatever. He had broken up with Charmine, and nothing else mattered. Anthony went back inside and went straight to his room. ... Charmine woke up from a migraine the next morning. She squeezed her head and saw the news on Tweeter. As expected, news on her drinking with her male friends went up to the trending page. It had stayed up all night until this very hour. Of course, she had spotted someone following her into the p
Eric looked at Charmine calmly and replied, “Yes.” “Okay,” decided Charmine, “I’ll take it.” Eric thus verified with her and secured the job. It was not long until the production team contacted them, saying Charmine could start right away, no audition needed. [Recovery] would be filmed in Velgrave. The male lead, Maurice, had a clean reputation with not a single gossip to besmirch his name. He was 37 years old with no prior relationship; he had always been single. On the other hand, Charmine still had her bad rumors stuck online from last night. Everyone was all too curious as to how the unruly Charmine would get along with this inexperienced middle-aged guy. Furthermore, this show’s director was an established individual. The story plot was so creative that the trailer had gone viral already. With both the male and female leads being popular, the show garnered everyone’s attention! Fans had gathered at the filming site, pushing one another as they did, early in the m
The male lead and female lead were up next. Charmine and Maurice walked up, but Maurice was quicker than her and received the item the assistant had handed to them. Charmine was about to reach out to take it, but Maurice gave her his and took another for himself. That took Charmine by surprise; it felt like she was taken care of. She instinctively turned to look at Maurice and felt that he was indeed a fine gentleman. Maurice looked at her and said, “After you, Ms. Jordan.” “Okay.” The two of them said a prayer and went back to their seats.... Next up was the interview session, which was the reporters’ favorite segment of the day. They surrounded the male and female leads, every one of them throwing out their questions excitedly. Charmine frowned. More than ten of them asked at the same time, so she could not hear anything. Maurice lifted his hand to stop them before saying, “One at a time, please. Ask Ms. Jordan first.” Every reporter pointed their microphone
Maurice would tell them the reason why he was still single. This was hot news! Maurice began, “To be honest, I support bachelorism. I’ve never had a girlfriend nor do I have thoughts on getting married. This is my first time explaining it and also my last. Alright, next question please.” Charmine looked at Maurice in disbelief, suddenly realizing he was a precious guy. He was a gentleman, elegant, gentle, and had a brilliant attitude. Maurice answered questions regarding his personal life in order and then said, “Those answers were for my private life. Now, please only ask questions regarding the show.” Since they had gotten news of Maurice’s personal life, the reporters let Charmine go and began asking film-related questions. “Ms. Jordan, why did you decide to be in this show? What do you think of Maurice?” Charmine answered, “Because the main lead’s experience is similar to mine. Furthermore, this show is about recovery, and I look forward to it. As for Mr. Lukas, I fin
“Nothing.” Charmine drank the water from the bottle, saying nothing else. Maurice recalled the look on her face when they first met, and it clicked for him. “Don’t worry.” He smiled gently. “Don’t trouble yourself over it.” It was then the director called out excitedly, “We’ll go to the Red Café for lunch. I’ve already made the reservation, and everyone's invited. None of you can go missing!” Charmine looked at Maurice and bade, “See you later.” Maurice’s lips parted as he wanted to speak more, but Charmine had already left. He gazed at her gently before retreating to his hotel room.... Charmine went to her car and said to Eric, “I’m not going to the lunch gathering; I can’t be bothered to socialize. I’m getting some rest at the hotel.” “Okay.” Eric thus sent her to the hotel. As Charmine had been busy throughout the afternoon, she was already tired and fell asleep a few minutes after getting in bed. Eric left her room and went to the room next door for an afternoon
Just as the director expected, the #Charmine-Maurice hashtag shot up to the trending page, and in half an hour at that.A photo of them exchanging affectionate glances was leaked, as well as photos of them ditching the crew and fellow actors to dine on their own in a restaurant. They seemed to have had a good time, too. Such were the comments about the matter: [It can’t be... The two of them had love at first sight?] [Maurice was made for Recovery, isn’t he? His eyes are so gentle. He’s one of a kind!] [I’m so excited for the show! I can’t wait to see what’ll happen when the untamed, beautiful Charmine meets this middle-aged, gentle Maurice.] [A true love story! I suddenly feel like they look good together. What is this?] [OMG! They just started shooting, and I’m already a fan! When is the show streaming? OMG! Please publish as they shoot, I can’t wait any longer!] The director chuckled heartily as he read the comments. He had to give it to himself—he was good at getting
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