One of the men shouted at the speaker, “We’re giving money! We’re giving money!” “You no longer have to work for a house!” “Come over! Once you sign this contract, everyone will get a large sum of money!” When a few women heard ‘money’, they could not help going forward to ask, “What do you mean by signing this to get a large sum of money?” The young man said, “We’re developers. We want to turn this village into a commercial tourist area! Once you sign this, you’ll get a large sum of money to buy a house in the city!” “Is there such a good thing?” questioned one of the women. “Yes!” insisted the young man. “Once you sign here, you get it right away!” The other young man with the box opened it, revealing loads of cash inside. The woman’s eyes widened. She picked up the pen and was about to sign before the person by the side nudged her. “Don’t hurry. Ask for details first.” The woman was confused. “Ask for what?” The other woman said, “I heard that the other village w
“Why don’t you sign it later? This is our root, and our generations were, and are, raised here. We can’t give up our roots for instant benefits.” “Right! I heard the living expenses are high in the city, that even a drop of water costs money. You won’t have your own land if you go out to the city. Even vegetables cost money. How are you going to earn money?” “They say there are all kinds of other costs. If your son is going to school, the fees are way higher out there! Without an income, how would you support your family?” Hearing these, everyone else chimed in, agreeing. “That’s right. Don’t sign it! The village is the best!” “Don’t be tempted by instant benefits! They’ll dig out your ancestors’ graveyards! You’ll end up crying!” “Yes, don’t sign it!” The young men who were initially confident saw the tides changing and looked at the village head angrily. “Just let her sell it if she wants to, you old hag! It’s not like she’s selling your land! It’s none of your business
Chris said politely, “Grandma, come to our house and eat. Mommy made tomato and egg noodles. It’s yummy! The tomatoes are fresh, and the eggs, well…” He felt rather embarrassed. “Chloe and I got it from the chicken nest at your place.” Seeing how adorable Chris was, the smile on the village head’s face widened. She ruffled his head. “Okay, feel free to take as many eggs as you like.” “Yay!” Chris supported the village head by the side. “Grandma, let’s go home and eat!” “Alright, let’s go.” Charmine went to her side and helped to support her, too. When the three of them turned around, they heard the women’s sneers behind their backs. “She can’t even manage her own things and went on to boss about others’?” “Sigh! She thinks she’s a kind person! When you’re kind to the wrong people, they won’t thank you!” “I know. The older she gets, the sillier she becomes! This newcomer is so fake, but she still treats her so well!” “The newcomer and her son came here to eat and take
Ha! Charmine was moved for a second before she regained her composure. Why would Anthony bother sending her gifts in that case? Nonetheless, Charmine took the items left at her door and brought them to her room, sitting on the sofa as she went through everything. Had Anthony sent her a laptop knowing she needed it? Her jumbled-up emotions whirled in her pupils as she held her phone. She went back and forth with herself, considering whether or not to phone Anthony. If it was him, she had to send them back. If not, well, her dignity could be crushed. Charmine pursed her lips and went on Tweeter. She had not been online in the past two to three days. She wanted to view his feed before calling. However, when she logged in, all she saw was news on Anthony and Waverly. Anthony had brought Waverly to the family banquet, took her to an art exhibition along with many business dinners, and introduced her to his partners! Charmine felt like her heart was impaled the moment she s
Adam said, “I won’t ask anyone to move out, and we won’t touch your houses. We’ll even fix houses that are in disrepair. We’ll develop the entire village into a harmonious vacation village. There's a plantation here, and we can build some orchards for the tourists to pick themselves. They can experience the slower pace of living in this green, relaxing village.” The village chief failed to react for a moment. He was not asking them to move away and would not demolish the houses? Not only that, but they would fix the houses in the village, too? Why would they be so kind? What would he gain from this?She had lived a long life, and she knew how life worked. If this man did not gain anything from this, he would not have come all the way to this place to show them kindness for no reason! The village chief stared at him and asked suspiciously, “What do you gain from this? Rather, what do you expect from us?” Adam smiled and explained, “We’ll attract tourists here, so I gain fr
Adam had thought out everything the village chief was concerned about. Pleased, she kept him around with a friendly smile. “You’re helping our village a great deal, Sir. Please stay for dinner!” Adam did not intend to leave as well; he wanted to meet Charmine. Hence, he agreed. The village chief quickly spoke through the loudspeaker to tell everyone the news. The crowd instantly gathered around to hear the news. When they came over, they saw this mature-looking gentleman sitting inside her house and had guessed what happened. Well-dressed and seemingly well-off, he even seemed more trustworthy than those young men from that morning. The village chief passed on the proposal and design diagrams. When the rest of the villagers went through them, they were all in awe and shock. Goodness! He actually designed such lovely architecture? Everyone was exhilarated. “This design is so good! Is our village going to look like this?” “Wow! Look! There’s manmade smoke from chimneys as
“Alright!” Many of the villagers went ahead to prepare for their feast. When the villagers saw how approachable this man was, they giddily surrounded him and asked him many things. Adam replied to all of them. The entire village liked him a lot. After staying for a while, a few women offered to show him around the village. They, together with Adam, strolled around. Charmine and Chris had just returned from the plantation when she spotted the village chief walking out of the house. “Charmine, you’re back.” The village chief smiled peacefully and had smoked bacon in her hands. “Tell you something good! A mogul came over today to develop our village into a tourist village,” she spoke. “We don’t have to move away, and he’ll even boost our economy. We’re treating him to dinner tonight. Get a shower and come over.” Seeing how happy the village chief was, Charmine’s red lips curled up. “Okay.” The village chief noticed that she did not appear too shocked, and she could not he
“Do you know what day today is? It’s a special occasion. You can’t come here!”“She must be here for free food!” “Take your son away with you!” “How shameless she is! She goes wherever with free food! What a parasite!” Charmine, however, remained calm-headed. Since they made no scathing remarks about Chris, she did not bother to care. On the other hand, Adam, hearing how they sneered at his daughter, was infuriated. He was not pleased. Who were these women? How could they drag his precious daughter like that?! Adam was straight-faced, but just as he was about to speak, Charmine looked up at him. It was as if he knew what she was thinking with her eyes, signaling to let them be. His face darkened and he clenched his fists, trying his best to repress the anger in him. Meanwhile, the village chief walked over and stood before Charmine. She gazed at the women calmly. “I asked Charmine to come over. Stop saying such things about her. She’s not who you think she is. Also, M
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