Anthony looked at Waverly coldly. “Marrying you will only give you a title. This doesn’t mean you’re the mistress of the Bailey mansion.” In other words, his marriage with her was merely on paper. She had no right to move things around in the mansion. Waverly’s face turned pale while the maids looked at her with disgust. She had no authority in this mansion, so why was she bossing them around? Anthony glared at the maids. “Put the things back to how they were.” With that said, he shot Waverly a cold stare. “Even if we’re getting married, we won’t live together. You only need to decorate your own room.” Waverly bit her lip and muttered, “But, Mother said—” “Whatever she promised you has nothing to do with me!” Anthony cut her off coldly and marched back inside. Waverly stood on the spot, transfixed. She clenched her fists tightly with a darkened look. That accursed Charmine Jordan! Anthony had treated her much better, but the moment Charmine appeared, he turned cold
Charmine glared at the reporter and haughtily said, “Spread the word that whoever posts photos of Maurice and I in the future will be cut off from the industry. I’ll make sure the company he works for can no longer survive in Burlington.” Her clear voice was threatening. The reporter was so scared that he nodded. “Okay, okay!” Charmine glared at him coldly. “When you take any photos in the future, just send them straight to Anthony’s email. Don’t post them online.” This puzzled the reporter, but knowing her relationship with Anthony, he seemed to have understood. He said nothing else and nodded instead. “Okay, Boss Jordan! I’ll pass this on to the other reporters.” Charmine then went back to her table and continued eating the barbeque as if nothing had happened. Maurice, on the other hand, gazed at her kindly as he continued to help her grill food. He was satisfied just by looking at her enjoying herself. Both of them went back to the hotel after supper, and Charmine notice
Chris’ eyes sparkled. He looked around with his watery eyes and nodded. “Alright!” Hehe! That was what he thought of! He was planning to find his Mommy anyway! He did not want Charmine to be with that old man. Hmph! Anthony thought about it and said, “Ask Mommy to spend more time with you.” He gave Chris a knowing look. Chris naturally understood what he meant. His eyes curved into crescent moons as he nodded. “Yes, sir!” Anthony nodded and said, “Pack your bag and go. Don’t come back for the next few days.” Chris was speechless… Was he his birth father at all? Still, he packed his clothes in a backpack, thinking of Charmine all the while. He then saddled the backpack that was as big as him and went out to look for Charmine. … At the [Recovery] set. The scene they were shooting was of Gem kissing John to prove to the ‘douche’ of the show that she had a boyfriend. Maurice was worried that Charmine might be uncomfortable, thus he said, “Gem, if you’re uncomfor
Everyone exchanged glances, but nobody came forward to admit it. The drone, meanwhile, left silently. Charmine stared at the drone and squinted. She had seen this drone in Chris’ room. Recalling the fact that something would always interrupt her kiss scene with Maurice, Charmine sensed something and walked toward the direction of the drone. Chris was hiding in a corner here. Seeing how he managed to stop them from kissing twice, he grinned and brought the drone back. What else should he do to stop them? Should he cut off the circuit again? Haha! Well, so long as he did not have to watch his Mommy kissing this old man! His Mommy Charmine could only kiss his Daddy Anthony! Just as Chris gleefully schemed to himself, a figure appeared before him, and it felt to him that the temperature went down a few degrees Celsius. He turned around cautiously and saw someone standing in front of him. He jolted and feebly greeted, “Mommy…” Charmine looked at him and asked, “Momo, why a
“Momo,” Charmine frowned and warned, “You’re too naughty today. You ruined things back there, and you’re being rude now.” When Maurice heard this, he instantly understood that this boy was the perpetrator who ruined their filming. He looked at Chris and said, “Gem, what he did was understandable. No child would want to see their mother kissing another man.” Chris glared at him. Although Maurice sided with him, he seemed fake. Chris had seen too many of these types of people! Chris snorted, “Don’t be pretentious; go and film the scene. I’m not going to ruin anything anymore.” With that said, he put on this reluctant-yet-supportive-of-Charmine expression. Maurice said to Charmine, “Don’t get angry Gem. Children lack security, so don’t scold him, or you might hurt his mentality. This will cause him to lock himself away from others.” This was what happened to him when he was younger. Nobody knew how many years he took to walk out from it. Charmine pursed her lips. She thoug
Chris stared at Maurice in disbelief. This old man... He did not seem so bad after all! “No, no, no…” Chris shook his head. “I can’t give in so easily. He’s old, and he might be bad!” When Sofia heard him mumbling to himself, she raised her eyebrows. This boy seemed funny. Not long after, Sofia, having things she had to attend to, reminded Chris, “Stay put right here, kid. I have other things to attend to, and I can’t stay here with you.” “Okay!” replied Chris. He did not need anyone to look after him, anyway. After Sofia left, Chris watched as Charmine and Maurice filmed another, more mundane scene. Bored, he started walking around the set to find things he could ruin the next time. However, he slipped and fell, scraping his knee against a hard stone.It stung so badly for Chris. To not worry Charmine, he pretended that nothing happened and went back to his seat, but beads of sweat were all over his small face as he endured the sting. He reached out his dirty,
Maurice could not help smiling with his eyes as he kindly said, “You’re just overthinking things, kid.” Not believing him, Chris growled, “If you’re a real man, just be honest about your intention. Don’t do it behind my back!” He wanted to see what Maurice was up to. He could not let him win! Maurice ruffled his head. “I said no means no. I treat your Mommy as a sibling, a sister. If you don’t believe me, there’s nothing I can do.” Chris flinched from his touch and scoffed, “Lies!” That did not faze Maurice as he changed the topic and asked, “Are you hungry?” Chris pulled a face and ignored him. He realized that this man seemed quite kind on the surface. He was nice even when Charmine was not around. So, he did not want to entertain him anymore. He did not want to fall for him! The two of them did not talk until Charmine’s session finished. She did not notice anything different in Chris as she asked, “Are you hungry, dear? Mommy will take you out to eat.” “Okay.
Charmine wanted to explain, but Maurice merely said, “She’s my daughter. I treat her like my daughter.” He then put the peeled lobster meat on her plate, expression filled with adoration that it drove the two waitresses crazy! They were a couple after all! This man was too gentle! The best kind of relationship in the world was when a couple exchanged jokes with one another! Even though his wife called him ‘Grandpa’, he still loved her for it. Chris was speechless. Looking at how Maurice resolved this awkward situation, how gentle and nice he treated Charmine, his small heart inexplicably weakened for him. This old man was captivating... Argh! He had to keep it together before he fell for his act, too! Chris smacked his head and reminded himself to stay alert. He must not give in so easily! He must not let him treat his Mommy so nicely!... After dinner, they went back to the hotel. Charmine was going to go back to her room with Chris when Chris’ eyes widened,
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