Anthony was about to get married...and Charmine was not the bride. How ironic. Charmine smiled disdainfully as she watched couples passing by.... Maurice made his bed and saw Chris alone in the living room. He asked, “Kid, are you hungry? What would you like to eat?” Chris, still playing Charmine’s game, did not even look up. “Anything.” Maurice came to the bedroom and knocked on the door. “Gem, what would you like to eat for lunch? I’ll ask the staff to prepare them for us.” No sound came from inside the room, and Maurice could not help but frown. Thinking of her state after meeting Anthony last night, he feared she might still be upset. His heart tightened as he then pushed the door open...only to be greeted with an empty room. There was no trace of her. Panicking, Maurice asked Chris, “Where’s your Mommy?” Chris finally looked up and said, “Mommy has gone out.” With that said, he saw Maurice running out of the room. Chris frowned. Why was he in a hurry?
Maurice asked, “Would you like to give it a try?” Charmine glanced at the haunted house dully and said, “It’s too childish.” Although she had never been inside a haunted house, she knew it was just a trick to scare people. Only weak women would cry out in fear. She, on the other hand, had nothing to be afraid of, so she was not interested in such childish things. Charmine was going to walk past it, but Maurice was rooted before the door, not once budging and seemed like he wanted to try it.She frowned and asked, “Do you want to have a go, Mo?” Maurice said gently, “I’ve never played it. I want to see how it works.” With that said, he had a thought and looked at Charmine gently. “Gem, you seem upset in the past two days. Why don’t you go in and have a scream?” Charmine was speechless. Well, so long as the ghosts were not intimidated by her. However, seeing that Maurice was so keen on playing, she nodded. “Let’s go in and have a look.” “Okay.” Maurice smiled gentl
Maurice felt relieved and felt his legs going soft. Behaving as though it was her room, Charmine draped the blanket over the doll and started searching for her watch. She still failed to locate it after searching everywhere, and she grew helpless. “We’ll have to go into the next alley.” Maurice nodded. “Okay.” Charmine stared at his pale face and said, “Mo, you’ve found your item. Why don’t you go out first? I’ll be fine alone here.” “No need,” Maurice insisted, “I’ll look with you.” “Alright.” Charmine walked in front and pushed open the door to enter the next alley. The alley was narrow, and only one person could walk through at a time. The path glowed red as a ghost’s cries could be heard, the scent of supposed blood lingering around as well. She knew for a fact that this alley was used to scare people. Maurice said, “Gem, you walk behind me.” Charmine looked at him. “Don’t worry, the ghosts are unlucky that they met me today.” With that said, she walked forw
Maurice acted as if he just realized what happened. “I felt a ghost leaning on me, but my eyes were shut, so I didn’t notice what happened.” Charmine saw how lost he seemed, and she was amused. The thought of a handsome man being taken advantage of by ghosts made her laugh. Seeing that she was laughing wholeheartedly, Maurice had a loving smile on his face. It seemed that his effort did not go to waste. Inside the pavilion, Chris narrowed his watery eyes as he looked at the hearty, wholeheartedly laughing Charmine. His Mommy had not laughed so happily for a very long time. It seemed that his Daddy only made her feel painful and sad. This old man, on the other hand, made his Mommy happy… It was just like what she said the other day: If being with this Grandpa made her happy and loved, why should he want to stop her? All that mattered was that she was happy. Chris looked at Maurice, and there was admiration and adoration in his gaze. Maurice was indeed a good man.
Anthony could not stand the fact that Charmine had gotten over him entirely, jumping into another man’s arms so quickly! After driving for a few minutes, however, he looked ahead and frowned, suddenly forgetting where he was headed to. His amnesia was a total pain in the neck. Anthony leaned back on the seat tiredly as he instinctively took out his phone to check his memo, but there was nothing. Anthony then checked his call history and noticed that the last phone call he had was with Chris. Due to his worsening amnesia, he set the function of automatic recording whenever he had a call with Chris or Charmine. These were the two most important people in his life; he did not want to forget anything important. Anthony replayed the recording, and after listening to a few sentences, he suddenly remembered that Charmine was about to sleep with Maurice tonight. Was he going to stop them? With that in mind, Anthony drove toward Rose Garden without a single second of hesitation.
Maurice had been accompanying Charmine silently. When he sensed that she was zoning out again, he started to explain the plants around them and their origins to her. Charmine was pulled back to reality and looked at him, stunned. In the beginning, she found him gentle and caring. All of a sudden, she found out that he was incredibly knowledgeable! There were trees she had never seen before, and he could easily name them and their origins. A man like him… Charmine thought of what happened in the haunted house, and she regretted not taking photos of him earlier. The two of them walked around until the sunset before they made their way back to the field. Many couples had made their tents on the field. The sun was setting, and half of the sky had reddened. The red light shone on the tents so romantically… Charmine had a thought, and her eyes darkened. She looked at Maurice and said, “Why don’t we build a tent?” “Sure.” Of course, Maurice would not overthink it. H
Anthony walked for a while before he arrived at an outdoor field. At the field, Maurice was diligently building a tent...and the field was full of couples. Anthony stopped walking, his figure leaking with ruthlessness as he glared at Maurice darkly. Was he building a tent to spend the night with Charmine? Ha! He turned to the staff. “Get me a tent. Just disinfect the room for now.” “Yes, sir! I’ll get them arranged right away.” The staff left quickly. Anthony remained where he stood as he squinted at Maurice. Maurice seemed to be very careful. He made sure that each iron wire was properly placed. He looked so gentle that Anthony found it annoying. After he had built the tent, when Maurice went inside the tent, Anthony walked past him and walked far away. Far away and hidden from Maurice, Anthony quickly built his tent. Since this was Maurice’s first time building a tent, he took more time, while Anthony finished building his in about ten minutes. He laid inside
Charmine and Maurice got along so well together. They looked like a couple deeply in love!Anthony clenched his fists so tightly, his veins protruded at the back of his arms. D*mn it! Even Chris got along with Maurice so well! Anthony’s breathing stopped. How he wanted to pull Charmine into his arms to punish her harshly. The faint smile on her face and the way she looked at Maurice were like sharp daggers that plunged deep into his chest. She had found such a good man, and he should be happy for her…but the ache in his heart refused to leave, adamant on tormenting him... Anthony narrowed his eyes as he gazed at their way reluctantly, willing himself to find any sort of pretense in the way they got along. Alas, all he saw was a warm, loving family of three… Chris sat by the side happily while Charmine helped to grill corn and vegetables. Not wanting their hands to be greasy, Maurice wore gloves as he grilled meat, drumsticks, and wings. Once they got their ingred
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