As long as Charmine was happy, that was all that mattered. Dior and Charmine conversed for a long while at the field. By the time she returned home, Charmine felt less confused than before. Seeing her empty house, Charmine debated for a while before she headed out to find medicine for stomach ache relief from the clinic. Once done, she made her way to the small house nearby hers. Inside the house… Anthony, suffering from a bad stomach cramp, leaned on the sofa. When he heard the door opening, he opened his eyes gradually. His eyes lit up instantly upon noticing it was Charmine. The way she looked—gentle, laced in worry—made him feel as if it was the same Charmine who used to care about him a lot. His heart tingled with warmth as he blurted out her name, “Charmine…” Charmine looked at him and was more assured of her thought. No matter what happened in the past or what would happen in the future, at least at this moment, she could feel his love. She should care less a
“Yay! This is amazing!” Chris excitedly hugged Charmine as he cheered. It was not easy for Charmine to have said that. Slowly, she would open her heart more. Chris jumped out of bed with a sense of purpose. He made his bed before he went out to call for Anthony, “Daddy, Mommy is asking you to come over for breakfast! Hehe!” Anthony, at that moment, was sitting on the sofa, doing his work. “Alright,” he responded, peering up at him. Putting aside his work, he stood up and grabbed Chris’ hand as they made their way to Charmine’s bamboo house. He saw Charmine bringing out a few bowls to the front yard. He walked toward her and asked, “Is there something I can help with?” Strangely, Charmine did not turn him down as she, instead, replied, “Bring out the breakfast.” “Okay.” Anthony walked into the kitchen and saw a big bowl of porridge. Did she make this with him in mind? Could she have made this porridge with the thought of his upset stomach, wanting to soothe it? He
Charmine paused for a moment before nodding at Anthony. With that, Anthony cut off the thorns and left Charmine with only smaller plants to deal with. Meanwhile, Chris entered the kitchen and grinned at the thought of his plan. Connecting a hose to the water source and turning it on, he then took it outside happily and started watering the plants. “I’m watering the plants.” Charmine and Anthony had no idea of what Chris was up to.As his gaze flickered to and fro, Chris swiftly shifted the hose in their direction, shooting them with water as he seriously exclaimed, “I need to water them, too!” The water assailed Anthony and Charmine like a heavy downpour. “Agh!” Charmine cried out in shock. Just like that, Charmine and Anthony’s backs were drenched in water. Anthony reacted and instinctively shielded Charmine from the water. He then turned to look at the water that only grew stronger, then at Chris darkly. “What are you doing?” “Watering the plants!” Chris answered
Chris was speechless. Was that it? What happened? He was waiting for Anthony and Charmine to kiss! Were they not getting all chummy already? It seemed that they had not returned to the state they once were in. In that case, he just had to keep working on it! Inside the room… Having changed into a different outfit, Charmine sat by the bedside and looked out of the window, her eyes gleaming as she did. It felt as though the best days from before never ended, that it continued still. Anthony disregarded his fever as he kept her safe. Chris, meanwhile, had not smiled so genuinely for a long time. Truthfully, all of this was good. However… Charmine looked visibly discorded and willed herself to not trouble herself. Inhaling deeply, she then headed out. She went to the vegetable field and brought a handful of vegetables. By the time she went home, it was noon. Anthony had already changed into a different outfit and was conversing with Chris inside the pavilion.
“Okay.” It was as though Dior was the village chief’s granddaughter-in-law. She did not seem to mind that, however, and got along very well with the elderly lady and Chloe. Harry looked at the three of them and continued eating. Dior took up the fork with her bandaged hand, but as she turned to look at Harry, a light bulb was lit in her mind as she relaxed her fingers. Clang! The fork fell onto the table, causing all heads to turn toward her. Dior had a frown on her face as she feebly muttered, “My hand is hurting again.” Putting on the pretense of suffering, Dior bit her lip and lifted the fork again. She then looked at Harry and asked, “Harry, can you feed me?” Harry turned and looked at Dior. Was she not holding the fork before? Was she acting? He pursed his lips. As he was about to refuse, Harry’s gaze that inadvertently shifted to the window spotted a fair lady outside from the corner of his eyes. Although it was a blurry silhouette, he could instantly tell tha
Was Harry actually feeding that arrogant woman? Was he that enamored with her?! ‘I, Harry Cogen, will only love Sonia for the rest of my life. I will love her ‘till my last breath. My wife will only be Sonia.’ Were those not his words from before? Ha…! Haha! Oh, Harry Cogen! Although she was the one who severed their relationship, it was solely because of financial reasons. She had to break things off with Harry because of that, yet he was still the man she loved. What did Harry do? Within a month after breaking up, he had fallen in love with another woman.That meant the promise he made was nothing compared to money, and Sonia would not give in! Sonia looked away and left angrily. If Harry was so in love with that woman, she would show him how much better her new lover was. That new woman of his, in turn, would be inferior to her. What was love? In no time, the woman would find out that even though love was everything, reality would dampen everything…and Sonia di
Sonia’s dream of becoming a rich wife, marrying into George’s rich family, having a taste of his rich family business, had all vanished. She still innocently believed that she could marry a rich man, despite herself coming from a humble background, and that life would change for her. She dumped Harry for this goal…but she was the fool in the end. Quite the irony, this was. …Sonia clenched her fists. No. She refused to go down this route. She was never one to be trampled on.She would not let George get his way! Sonia was so angry that she wanted to beat him up, but just as her hand reached for the doorknob, she became still.Could she fight George? Even if she interrogated him or beat him up, what could she get? Only a warning, most likely. George’s family owned a big company in Burlington. If this incident went up the news, he could easily accuse her of seducing him. By then, Sonia would have lost her reputation and had to hide from street to street. She would no
“Yeah.” Dior could not mask the happiness in her eyes as she declared, “I’ve gotten him now—hook, line, and sinker. He treated me so sweetly for the past two days. I just found out that a good-looking guy doesn’t necessarily have to be a player. He can also be gentle and committed to a woman…and I’m this woman!” Dior, hopelessly in love, added, “His ex came to look for him yesterday, but when she ran her mouth at me in front of him, he spoke up for me and asked her to leave. Furthermore, during the dinner, I pretended as if my hand was hurting and couldn't use the fork. He knew I was faking it but still hand-fed me. How could I not fall in love with a gentleman like him?” Charmine looked at how happy Dior seemed, and she was happy for her. Her alluring lips curled into a smile as she commented, “Well, you managed to melt a frigid man’s heart.” “Haha!” Dior was proud of this. “He’s so reserved. I think he also liked me in the beginning but kept it to himself. Now that he’s so much
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