Charmine frowned; confusion was written all over her face. What was he doing here at this hour? Since this was his property, she could only concede as she muttered a soft, “Come in.” Anthony walked in soon after with maids in tow with blankets and a mattress in their hands. They swiftly went into action. In a blink of an eye, a grey mattress was laid prepared on the floor; simple yet elegant altogether. The maids then left and shut the door behind them. Charmine frowned. “Mr. Bailey, what’s the meaning of this?” “Momo might get ill anytime tonight, and for that, I’ll have to be here all night.” Anthony deadpanned as he sat down on the mattress, already dressed in pure black silk pajamas. A meter away from the mattress, Charmine was left speechless. Did he have to? Of course, he was not completely unreasonable; it would be best if he was here if anything happened to Momo. As she did not want to comment any further, Charmine shut her eyes to get some rest. Anthony, on th
Afraid that Chris would fall ill again, Charmine ruffled his hair as she explained, “Mommy’s going to sort out some family issues. After sorting them out, I’ll come right home to you, alright?” “Pinky promise! You have to keep your word!” Chris pointed out his pinky finger and eyed her warily. Charmine locked her pinky with his and assured, “Mommy will be home soon.” “Yay! I’ll walk you to the door!” Chris smiled and led her down the stairs. In the living room, Anthony was reclining on the sofa with a document at hand. He exuded an air of poise as though he was posing for the cover of a magazine. Charmine almost got lost in the view of him—a little too long—before she snapped back to reality. “I’ll have to go to the family mansion for a while,” she spoke, “so take care of Momo.” “I’ll send you there.” Anthony instantly put down the document and picked up the car key. Before Charmine could turn down, Chris piped up, “Me too!” Charmine had no choice but to get in the c
Caught off-guard, Lily tried to double back. “Dad, why would we fight you? We just want the best for the family. Having most of our family share given to an outsider doesn’t seem right.” “Exactly. Okay, let’s say Tiffany ends up being involved… It’s alright to confiscate her shares, but you could give it to me instead. Why give it to the outsider Charmine?” Felix grumbled. Drake glared at him. “As I’ve said many times, Charmine grew up with our family. She doesn’t have her parents; we’re her family. She’s not an outsider! “Also, has she brought shame to the family since her return from Africa? On the other hand, look at what Tiffany had done! Anyone with a brain can see clearly what’s happening!” Tiffany’s face turned pale; this old man obviously did not believe in her. She quickly put on her pitiful front and feebly walked toward him. “Grandpa, I know you’re suspecting me, but I’m really innocent. There’s no way I’d harm my sister. Veronica did everything, I swear it to God. I
“Huh?” Care? Protect? Tiffany had told her to laze around and not work hard since they were kids, so Charmine would turn out useless in the future. Tiffany had told her to dress uniquely, to stand up bravely from the rest and encouraged her to dress cheaply and inelegantly since they were kids. Tiffany gradually shaped her into a disturbing figure in the family since they were kids. Was this the care and protection Joey was talking about? Unbothered to even entertain, Charmine level-headedly spoke, “Who’s the inhuman one here? Who harmed so many people in order to harm me and acted innocent in front of everyone? Tiffany Jordan, why don’t you become an actress instead of a model?” “Your crying is so good. Why don’t I film a video of you and post it on Twitter to get you more popular out there?” Tiffany’s face stiffened. Charmine was obviously pushing her! How could she be so evil? Tiffany concealed her fury with a pathetic expression. “Charmine, what do I say to make you bel
Tiffany’s face lost all color and life. She never thought that Charmine would get the backstage closed-circuit television footage and printed the photos. She knew it would be over for her once the family lost faith in her. Hastily, she rambled, “Mom, you have to trust me... Please trust me! I… I was just practicing the pose and looks for the show! As you know, they needed cool poses for the exhibition, so I was just practicing and getting in the mood! “As for the transaction record, Veronica told me she needed the money, so I paid her without knowing what she was using the money for!” Who would believe what she said? They sounded absurd! Even if Veronica wanted to borrow some money, she would have asked for a whole number—something like 20,000 bucks—instead of the exact 19,500 bucks, which just so happened to be the price for the halophilic bacteria! Joey’s train of thoughts was all over the place. This was the first time she doubted Tiffany; the first time she had doubts abo
As Joey recalled Charmine’s words from yesterday, she remembered how lonely and desolate Charmine’s gaze was. She stopped in her tracks and turned to Charmine. “Why don’t you stay for lunch today?” Stay for lunch today… This was the first time Joey had spoken to her with such a gentle tone since her return from Africa. Thinking of her plan, she answered, “Sure.” Joey then turned and called out, “Aunt Judy, please prepare lunch.” “Yes.” Aunt Judy left swiftly. All the staff and helpers sprang into action once they heard Charmine was having lunch at home for the first time in five years, though people like Jeremy seemed unperturbed. Although Tiffany made a mistake, it did not imply Charmine was innocent. To them, Charmine was the outsider who stole away twenty-five percent of the family share. They disbanded to mind their own business and ignored Charmine altogether. Charmine did not seem to mind either. She spent some time talking with Senior Jordan for a good while befor
As Julian spoke, there was an obvious threat underlying in his words. Still, Charmine was unperturbed. “Testing patience? So are you. I’ve restrained myself from punching you for the last sixty seconds. Are you sure you want to keep talking to me?” With that, she swung his hand away and cracked her knuckles impatiently. She then warned, “Instead of yapping nonsense here, why don’t you go and visit your Tiffany? She’s kneeling in the prayer hall now. Do you think a weak and useless body like hers can endure it?” Julian’s eyes narrowed. The reason he came here was that Tiffany texted him. Tiffany wrote him words that depicted heartache and pain, so Julian came to speak up for her. At first, he thought the family liked her very much and would never punish her, but he did not expect them to deliver such harshness… “Of course I’ll visit her later, but you have to reconsider being with Anthony. It won’t end well.” With that, he turned and left. Charmine merely scoffed, but there
“Why are you here, Charmine? Do you think this is funny?” “So what if I think this is funny? You’ve done crueler things to me. Why can’t I laugh at this?” sneered Charmine as she looked down on the kneeling Tiffany. Tiffany gritted her teeth. “Charmine, you’re such an evil woman! You went to prison for three days to turn this into big news so you can ruin my reputation at the very last moment, am I right? You even deliberately induced me to sign the compensation letter, right? This was your plan all along!” roared Tiffany. “Wow, you’re not too dumb after all! Still, you missed out on one thing. I don’t have the recording of you talking to Veronica; I made that up to scare you. Also, I’ve got these photos way before yesterday. Do you know why I didn’t show them yesterday? That’s because if I did, you wouldn’t be acting as good as you did in front of the family today. Would they find out your true colors then?” Charmine explained patiently with a bold and oppressing tone. Tiffan
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