Anthony wanted oh-so badly to let Charmine know he still loved her, ardently. However, thinking of his illness… Anthony never wanted Charmine to suffer his ailment’s aftermath for the rest of her life. The agonized Anthony held Charmine’s hands tightly, his eyes reddening as he did, but the force stirred a reaction from the slumbering Charmine—she frowned and moaned in pain. Thinking she was awakened, Anthony instantly let go of her and removed the love and hurt in his eyes. When he waited and looked at her, however, he noticed that her eyes were still closed shut. She had not woken up; she merely looked in pain. Anthony instantly pressed the bell, and William rushed in hurriedly not long after, asking, “Mr. Bailey, what’s wrong?” “She’s in pain,” stated Anthony. William frowned. He came forward to check on Charmine and noticed there were no signs of her waking up. There were no changes in her either. “She’s probably having a dream, then,” theorized William. “Okay.
Anthony instinctively let go of Charmine and massaged his temples. Charmine seemed unwilling to let go of him, however, as she cried out, “Anthony…” Anthony’s heart clenched at her cry. He instantly forgot about the sharp pain that plagued his head. Biting back the pain and with clenched fists, he caved in and lowered his head once more to kiss her gently, one peck after another. He looked at her emotionally, gently caressing her face, and his thumbs gently rubbed her red lips. He did not want to leave her. He stayed by her bedside for half an hour more. When he saw the machine beside her indicating she was in a normal state once more, he was finally relieved. He pressed the bell and had William return to Charmine’s ward. William examined Charmine’s body and said, “She’s showing signs of waking up.” Anthony said, “Don’t tell her that I came.” Otherwise, Charmine would surely catch something. William nodded and looked at him. “How’s your body lately?” “I’m getting
The waterweeds had always been smooth and separated. If nobody tied knots with them, they would not be able to hold a person down. However, when Charmine was trapped, she clearly saw strands of waterweeds tied up in a lump. That trapped her at the bottom. Who was trying to hurt her? Charmine suddenly had the image of Sabrina, the second lead actress who always stood behind her eerily. Could it be her? Hmph! There was a glint of ferocity in Charmine’s eyes. Eric glared at the director and snapped, “Go home. We’ll speak about the contract later.” The director’s heart sank. He understood that Eric was thinking of breaking the contract. He wanted to talk him out of it, but thinking of how Charmine was put in such danger, he was too ashamed to say anything. He apologized once more and left. “Leave this show,” asserted Eric to Charmine. Charmine was about to nod when her gaze landed on Maurice, who was standing by the side. She pursed her lips. “Who said I’d do tha
“To tie your hair with,” came Maurice’s gentle reply. Charmine’s hair was all over her face, and it did discomfort her. She reached out to take it, but since the IV was still embedded into her skin, she felt uncomfortable. Maurice reached out to take his tie back. “I’ll do it.” Her blood might flow backward if she lifted her hand. Charmine stiffened at the warmth that radiated from his palms.Instinctively, she wanted to turn him down, but spotting the reporter from the corner of her eyes trying to take photos of them, she withdrew her hand and relented, “Okay.” Although Maurice was quite clumsy, he tied her hair for her as gently as he could. The ends of the tie cascaded with her ponytail, and it made her appear peaceful, complimenting her aloof temperament. Maurice then supported her to admire the flowers and fed the fishes. The two of them only returned that noon. Charmine sat on the sofa and picked up her phone to scroll through Tweeter. As expected, the priv
Anthony felt utterly confused. He knew he should be happy seeing Charmine like this. Charmine had moved on from him and had found a man worthy of her love. He should be happy for her! Was this not what he hoped for? He was the one who pushed her away. He deserved all the hurt he felt. With a self-deprecating smile, Anthony took his car key and rushed out of his company. As though releasing all his pent-up anger, he drove the fastest he could, light-speeding back to the Baileys’ mansion. He locked himself in his bedroom and started downing bottles of alcohol, one after another.... The next morning, when Nial was about to go to work, he walked past Anthony’s room and caught a whiff of the unmistakable smell of alcohol. He frowned. What happened? Nial knocked on Anthony’s door and asked, “Bro, what are you doing in there?” Nobody replied. He merely heard the sound of glass smashing against the floor. Nial’s heart sank as he barged inside, and he was instantly hit wit
Nial knew it. Staying up all night was bad enough for the stomach, and Anthony had drunk so much! It was no surprise his stomach was upset. Anthony, on the other hand, merely wiped off the blood and growled, “Leave me. I need to go to work!” He had postponed too many things from yesterday, and he had to sort them out. He had to work, all so he could bury his mind to not have time to think and suffer. However, Nial ignored him. He insisted on pulling him downstairs. Anthony was staggering at this point with no strength to resist Nial, and he was forced into the car. He leaned back on the seat and groggily spoke, “Drive me to the company!” Nial frowned. He was going to tell him off, but knowing his brother well, he conceded, “Okay.” He drove away and said, “Take a rest. I’ll wake you up when we arrive at the company.” Everything was blurry for Anthony. He felt so tired that he could not open his eyes. Hearing that Nial was sending him to the company, he decided to
Charmine thought that if she headed back for filming right after her discharge, everyone would assume she was reluctant to part with Maurice. Alas, she realized that even if she slept with Maurice, Anthony would not care. She felt tired… She did not want to speak nor did she want to be with anyone. She wanted to be left alone. Maurice noticed her tense face and asked, “What’s wrong, Gem? Do you feel unwell?” Charmine snapped out of her thoughts. “No.” Thinking things over, she added, “I won’t rejoin the crew for now, Mo. I want to rest at home.” “Okay,” said Maurice, “I’ll go and tell the director on your behalf. Rest well, and come back only when you feel better.” “Okay.” Maurice left first after they walked out of the hospital. Alexander, Eric, and William were going to send her home, but Charmine said, “I want to be alone.” With that said, she took the car key from Eric and left the three of them there, driving home right after. She sped all the way home, an
“Are you fine now? It’s windy here. We’ll ask the director to build a resting tent for you to rest in there when you’re tired.” “Yeah, your body is important. Get back to work after getting some rest. It’s okay—we can wait.” Even Maurice’s assistant, Sofia, brought Charmine a warm drink. “Ms. Jordan, Maurice asked me to bring you this. If you need anything else, you may call me.” Charmine took it and said, “Thank you.” Sabrina looked at the group of people surrounding Charmine, and her fists clenched tightly with jealousy. She was a cheap woman. Why was everyone treating her so well? Her eyes darkened. With something in mind, she raised her chin and sashayed toward them in her high heels. She came beside Charmine and looked at her with arms crossed. “You came here right after being discharged. Why is that?” she mocked. “Can’t wait to glue yourself to the man? Too lonely without a man?” “So what?” Charmine looked at her coldly. “It’s better than pulling a trick behind my
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