Julian could not shake off the memory of Tiffany’s malicious look even after he left the prayer hall. Although Charmine was cruel, Julian knew that streak of hers from the beginning; she never hid it from him either. Tiffany, on the other hand, had always acted innocent and pitiful to cover up her true colors. Cruel and evil was she. He could not believe Tiffany had attempted to kill Charmine in an accident and caused harm to the other supermodels. She even let her favorite Veronica take on all the blame… His scalp was itching with disgust thinking of that. From today onward, his impression of the kind and sweet Tiffany was forever ruined. It was then when the Jordan family’s butler approached him. “Mr. Cabell,” he greeted, “why don’t you stay for lunch today?” Julian looked over to see a few people sitting in the dining hall. Somehow, the first person that caught his eyes was Charmine, who was sitting beside Drake. Her dress was not too eye-catching today, yet the bold and stu
As expected, Julian glanced at Charmine before saying to everyone, “I’m sure everyone is aware that the woman I was engaged to was Charmine, and I’ve liked her since ten years ago. If it wasn’t because of the incident, we would’ve gotten married already. “I’ve suffered a lot after the incident, and Tiffany was there to accompany me and comfort me, which I misunderstood as love. Recently, after seeing Charmine again, I realized I’ve loved her all this while…” With that, his gentle gaze landed on Charmine. “Please don’t get confused. I didn’t say all these because of what happened today. Actually, I’ve even confessed to Tiffany about my real feelings for Charmine some time ago…” What Julian was saying was that Tiffany could prove he had always loved Charmine. ‘Ha-ha!’ Charmine almost laughed out loud. This douchebag did not even flinch as he spewed lies. What a disgusting jerk! Before she could speak, Drake said, “But you proposed to Tiffany before! You keep switching between t
“Tiffany had been by your side for a whole five years. She spent her precious youth on you! And just because of her poor choice of action, you want to get back with me. How would she feel?” Charmine spoke passionately, as though she meant every word. ‘Hah! I can be just as fake as Tiffany,’ Charmine mused to herself. With Tiffany’s reputation ruined, she was ready to take away everything from her. As expected, the looks on Drake, Jeremy and Joey changed in an instant. They had always thought Charmine to be unreasonable and cold-hearted; they never imagined her to have a kind side. Julian was agitated by what she said. How could she suggest such things about him? He could not stand it! “I’ve spoken to Tiffany about this before, and she said it herself that she’d want us to be happy. After all, we were in a relationship before, so she’s very understanding. I know you still keep our engagement ring, and you haven’t even given it back even after your return. You must’ve missed ou
As Charmine got closer to the car, she saw Chris napping on the backseat while Anthony sat on the driver’s seat with his eyes shut. The sunlight filtered by the tree leaves danced on his features, and it made him look more handsome and regal in his white shirt. A strange feeling surged within her. Were they here all this while? Did they wait for her that long? She had been in the mansion for four hours, at least. “Anthony…” Charmine called out gently. Anthony slowly opened his eyes. Noticing it was Charmine, he shifted in his seat and asked, “Ready to go?” Charmine nodded in reply, though the gaze in her eyes held her suspicion. “Have you been waiting here? Have you not eaten?” “Momo insisted that we wait for you. Since I have a free day today, I decided to go along,” came Anthony’s casual reply. He got down from the car, intending to open the door for her. The moment his feet touched the ground, however, his leg turned numb and he staggered toward Charmine. Instinctively
Chris sighed in relief. ‘Phew! Daddy made me promise to maintain his image in front of Mommy. If Mommy finds out Daddy was waiting for her outside like a fool, it won’t look good…’ This was a famous restaurant in Burlington known for its top-notch privacy management with many private rooms. Their service was just as excellent, seeing as they had served all kinds of famous people, so they were not frantic when they saw Anthony and Charmine. The doorman greeted them calmly. “Welcome.” The manager recognized Anthony right away and quickly went toward them. “Mr. Bailey, this way please.” Anthony had his own private room in this restaurant. Even if he made no reservation, the space would remain empty. As the three of them settled in the private room, Anthony turned and looked at Charmine. “What would you like? Your order,” Anthony asked, voice sweetly laced lovingly and gently. The manager was startled to hear such a tone from Anthony. Anthony had never brought a woman here be
Under the impression that Charmine was convinced, Claire then added, “You might be wealthy, Charmine, but you know that it’s all about connections and resources in this modeling industry. It involves proper planning such as organizing resources, fan management, marketing, photoshop, copyright, and so on. “A top supermodel needs at least a team of twenty supporting her. How could you manage it all by yourself? Don’t you think it’ll be tiring? Once you sign with HollyOak Entertainment, we’ll sort them all out for you.” Of course, Charmine knew these things; she was merely wondering about Kelly Milan’s intentions. If memory served right, Kelly Milan was trying to sign her to freeze her fame. Why else would someone as bitter as Kelly want to be nice to her? “I’m sorry, but someone’s managing them for me,” she deadpanned before marching out of the restroom. Claire wanted to run after her, but Charmine was taking the VIP aisle which was only allowed for people of high status. Claire
Claire turned to look at the person yelling her name and saw Hubert walking up to her. She then sneered, “Mr. Zane, as a chief executive officer, you certainly don't have a spark of decency in you. Are you one those nouveau riches?” “What’s wrong with that? Don’t think you can, can you? Ha! A nobody like you dares to challenge me. You obviously have your head too far up your *ss. Let me tell you now: I’ll be signing Charmine Jordan. You try anything funny and you’re dead meat, you hear me?” sneered Hubert in an attempt to steer Claire away from his plan. She frowned. “Charmine? She’s not signing with my company.” “Stop your shenanigans! You’ve been trying to compete with us since day one... I think you need to be taught a lesson. Do you want me to expose the fact that your artists are nothing but a bunch of phonies?” Hubert threatened. Unexpectedly, Claire began to laugh at this. “Go ahead! Let's do this little dance. You expose my phony talents, and I’ll expose your pimped-out
Due to the commotion and aftermath of Hubert and Claire’s showdown, Anthony’s VIP room was flooded with clamor the moment Charmine opened the door to enter. Chris—who feasted on fried chicken wings—was blatantly startled at the noise. “Mommy, what’s happening outside? Why so noisy?” “Nothing, just two dogs fighting.” She closed the door and shut out the hubbub. Charmine then sat down beside Chris and gently wiped his mouth with a napkin. “You should eat more,” she spoke, “your body needs more energy.” “Okay! Mommy should have some too. This cake is yummy!” Chris forked a piece from the cake and tried to feed her. Charmine obediently opened her mouth, and his chubby hand carefully fed it to her. The boy’s act warmed her heart. She never knew happiness could be so simple. Anthony dined gracefully as he watched the two interact with one another, and a smile slowly made its way to his face. It was a lovely dinner.… Anthony finished his meal about twenty minutes later.
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