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
With that said, Chris turned to Maurice and said, “Grandpa, I love you so much!” Maurice’s expression softened as he smiled lovingly. “Glad you like it.” He continued grilling and noticed Charmine oddly silent. “Gem, why are you not eating? Do you not like them?” he asked. “What would you like to eat? I’ll grill them for you.” Charmine pursed her lips. She was hungry, but after seeing Anthony, she felt confused and lost her appetite. She did not want Maurice’s effort to go to waste, though. She simply picked up an ear of corn and said, “Nothing. I’ll have this. No need to fuss around too much, Mo—help yourself and eat.” “Okay.” Maurice simply picked up some. Charmine had a few bites and could not help looking in Anthony’s direction. Finally unable to take it, she looked at Chris with her bright eyes. “Dear, why don’t you go and ask if your Daddy is hungry.” “What?” Startled, Chris looked around and then back at her. “Mommy, are you hallucinating? Daddy isn’t here.” Ma
Chris returned to Charmine’s side and had the self-gratified expression plastered on his face. “Mommy, I asked Daddy to come over!” he chirped. “Good.” Charmine gave him the grilled food but acted as if she did not see Anthony. “Try Uncle Mo’s grilled fish.” “Okay!” Chris started eating. Anthony stood coldly in front of the trio, his eyes swirling with a storm of emotions as he curtly greeted, “Seems like Ms. Jordan is enjoying herself very much.” He was sarcastic. He remembered vividly how she bravely interjected his car and even proposed to him when he broke up with her, yet within a few days, she fell in love with another man. She loved with such extremes! Charmine’s red lips curled up as she replied, “I’m just here with my boyfriend to have a walk, not so much as enjoying myself. Mr. Bailey…” She looked at him, bright-eyed. “Aren’t you busy preparing for your wedding? Why did you come here alone?” Charmine looked at him with a hint of anticipation in her eyes. H
Perhaps Charmine would feel better after drinking some alcohol. Charmine said, “Drink with me, Mo.” “Okay.” Maurice opened himself a bottle and clinked it against hers, noticing how Charmine took one big gulp instantly. Worried that she might get drunk, he reached out to stop her. “Don’t drink so much, Gem. You might get drunk easily.” Charmine continued drinking. “It’s okay. I won’t get drunk.” She wanted to get drunk. She would not feel as bad if she did. Maurice was helpless yet worried about her altogether. Not wanting to see her suffer, he relented to her drinking. After downing a few bottles, Charmine could not help looking at Anthony. She noticed his tent shut tightly, and her heart sank. So...he truly did come to experience the resort as part of a protocol?Heh... Charmine felt horrible as she picked up the bottle again and started drinking. Just as she did, she suddenly noticed everyone looking at the entrance. With bleary eyes, Charmine turned to l
Anthony seethed with rage in his tent as he glared at the tent’s ceiling when, all of a sudden, he felt his head buzzing. He lost all recollection of why he was even here. He looked around bewilderedly. A tent? Why was he here? Anthony sat up and looked at the couples all over the place before his eyes landed on Charmine, who was not too far away. Looking at how close she was with Maurice, he then pieced everything together. Charmine and Maurice were having a vacation in this resort, and they were about to share a room. Anthony stared at the two of them being so intimate, and his heart plunged. The thought of the two of them sharing the room at night was a stab to his heart. Just as the thought loomed over him, a shadow appeared before him. He looked up to see that it was Waverly. His eyes seemingly froze over as he curtly spoke, “What are you doing here?” Waverly said, “Mother asked me to accompany you here.” Anthony’s entire being reeked with disdain. “Get lost!”
Waverly bit her lip, but just as she was about to get angry, she noticed how vexed Anthony was. She had to bite back her anger. When Anthony walked to the tent, Chris was still munching his drumstick. Anthony had a straight face as he asked, “Chris Bailey, have you forgotten about the mission I assigned you?” Chris retorted matter-of-factly, “Mommy is drunk, so Grandpa carried her inside to rest.” The ruthlessness Anthony emitted grew even more vicious as he then followed after Maurice, who had Charmine in his arms. D*mn it! Charmine was drunk, and Maurice was taking her into the room? If Maurice did anything physical to Charmine when she was drunk, Anthony would not forgive him! The more he thought about it, the more frantic Anthony became as he picked up his pace. As he arrived outside the living room, he noticed that the door was not closed completely. The living room was dark, and only the room was lit up. Why the hurry? Maurice did not even close the door! Boil
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