Senior Bailey, who was sitting on the seat, frowned with visible displeasure. He stood up stoically before he swept his gaze across those who spoke. “Annabel is fine, she’s staying at my Bailey mansion! Who said she was murdered? Please speak with evidence!” With that said, Grandma Bailey helped Annabel out into the open. She looked not at all hurt, all too well as she even had light makeup on. Nonetheless, her belly was slightly swollen, and it was quite obvious… Upon seeing Annabel, he then spoke into the microphone, his voice assertive, “We had Annabel carry a child so we could get the cord blood from the baby to save Chris. The child we were saving was Chris! “Five years ago, I was drugged and, against my will and conscience, bedded Annabel. However, I’ve taken care of Chris ever since he was born until we found Annabel, and I’ve done my best to care for her ever since. “Furthermore, Annabel returned to Burlington after Charmine and I were together. Back then, to cure Chr
Every intruder was dragged away, clearing the venue off of disturbances. With that, the wedding ceremony resumed. Charmine, dressed in her wedding gown, stood opposite Anthony regally, while Anthony cast her a gentle, sincere gaze.Their eyes were filled with adoration and love for one another.“Mr. Anthony Bailey,” began the pastor, “will you take Charmine Jordan as your rightful wife? In good times and in bad, in sickness and in health, to love and to honor her all days of your life, until death do you apart?”Anthony looked at Charmine lovingly, his voice not faltering as he declared, “I do.” The pastor then looked at Charmine. “Ms. Charmine Jordan, will you take Anthony Bailey as your rightful husband? In good times and in bad, in sickness and in health, to love and honor him all days of your life, until death do you apart?” Charmine looked at Anthony, who stood in front of her. She had not spoken once today, and all the while, Anthony had fiercely defended her and spoke
Anthony looked at Charmine and asked, “Dearest, you’ve said to me before that you had been trapped in the past, having lost your chastity in the process. You…got pregnant after that?” Charmine’s delicate face looked pale. Her usually arrogant eyes seemingly weakened, her resolve wavering. Anthony looked so perturbed. Would he leave her for this? Even if he would leave her, she might as well… Charmine clenched her fists and met Anthony’s gaze as she truthfully confessed, “Yes.” She had always wanted to tell him, but every time she tried to say it, she got cut off. Later down the line, she eventually dropped the idea altogether, thinking it was not as important anymore. That was why she never mentioned… Anthony’s eyes darkened. He could not help putting the incidents in a logical order. Five years ago, he slept with Annabel, while Alexander slept with Charmine. Later on, Charmine gave birth to a dead baby, and he just so happened to bring Chris home with him. These in
A few others also said the same thing. Senior Bailey’s expression turned grim. Regardless of what had happened, he was rather fond of Charmine. His wife also liked her, and Charmine was good enough to be their granddaughter-in-law. They must not judge her for one mistake. As Senior Bailey was considering, Anthony swept a sharp gaze across the people like an owl and sneered. “Who said the victim must marry the assailant? Who said two people must stay together after sleeping together?” he scoffed arrogantly. Anthony took the ring from the assistant, lifted Charmine’s hand, and put the ring on her ring finger. Not once did he pause or hesitate, too. Charmine felt the cold sensation from the ring, and she stared at Anthony, baffled. “Don’t you…care about what happened, Anthony?” Anthony looked into her eyes and declared, “Forget this. Even if you’ve done anything worse, I won’t mind!” He held her hand tightly and looked at her, pained. “I hate myself for not showing up earl
Everyone trailed after Charmine’s line of sight. Instantly, everyone’s eyes trained on Waverly. Waverly’s pupils dilated at this, but she remained calm as she removed her sunglasses to look at Charmine coldly. “Ms. Jordan, what’s the matter with you? I’m Waverly D’Cruz, not Tiffany Jordan!” Everyone looked at both women suspiciously. Charmine scoffed, “Tiffany is the only one who hates me to this extent. Furthermore, it was she, along with Julian, who made me drunk and trapped me. Only Julian and Tiffany know about this! Julian couldn’t have done all this, so it’s just you…” Charmine glared at Waverly as her red lips parted. “Tiffany Jordan!” Her words were clear and crisp. Waverly’s face turned pale, and a twinge of guilt flashed past her expression. Nonetheless, her cold smirk maintained. “What evidence do you have to prove that I played the clip on the screen? Even if I did, someone else must’ve sent it to me. Charmine, if you want to frame me, you’ll need more than th
The crowd admonished Waverly at that moment, so furious that they wanted to throw eggs at her. Charmine glared at Waverly and snapped, “What else do you have to say, Tiffany Jordan?” Everyone scrutinized Waverly in the process, and upon hearing what they had said about her, she turned pale and was rooted on the spot. D*mn that b*tch. She just had to make things difficult for her! No... She was not Tiffany Jordan! She must not admit that she was Tiffany Jordan! She wanted to explain herself but found herself unable to utter a word in her defense as she noticed just how disgusted everyone seemed, uttering reproachful words about her as they did. She became everyone’s target at that moment.Meanwhile, Max and Fredrick rushed in quickly. Max removed his suit and draped it over Waverly’s body, hugging her sympathetically as he did. Fredrick, on the other hand, shielded Waverly from everyone else and scowled at those who ridiculed her. “The things that Waverly did in the pas
Charmine turned to Anthony and held onto his large palm, then declaring fiercely, “I don’t think that I don’t deserve Anthony. I also don’t believe that I shouldn’t deserve a good ending just because people had ruined him. From now onward, I am Mrs. Bailey. Neither Anthony nor myself had been taken or taken someone else—we got married officially. Anyone else, from this moment on, spreading lies and misinformation about us will be dealt with. I’ll use everything I have to make you pay, tenfold!” Charmine’s voice resonated in the venue. Everyone was stunned by her temperament. They had never seen a woman as powerful. The combined forces of Charmine and Anthony were undefeatable in the entire Burlington! Intimidated, the attendees could only wish them well. Meanwhile, Kay, Rio, Charmine’s four mogul-uncles, Nial, and Chris applauded loudly. “Well said!” “Everyone deserves the right to be happy!” “Charmine and Anthony, forever and ever. I hope you two have children soon!”
Anthony’s gaze sharpened as he gazed at Alexander’s retreating figure. Earlier on, he managed to capture the panic in Alexander’s eyes. Anthony would have taken all his answers as the truth had he not panicked, but he sensed that Alexander was hiding something, that the incidents were too much of a coincidence. Anthony picked up his phone and called Nial, saying, “Come to the room and find me.” Nial came into the room Anthony was in quickly and asked, visibly confused, “Bro, it’s your wedding. Why would you want to talk to me here instead of accompanying Charmine?” Nial did not want to get killed by Charmine! Anthony looked up at him and instructed, “Get a strand of Annabel’s hair secretly, along with Chris’s and Charmine’s. Run another DNA test.” Nial frowned suspiciously. “How come, Bro? Why would you want to do the test?” Anthony stared at him coldly. “Brains are amazing, you see. I hope you have one.” Nial was speechless. All he did was ask a question, yet he go
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