How did Julian and Tiffany bring her to this hotel?Julian had to be in it together with Tiffany, but if he was present at that time, how could he have let Tiffany slip up?Aunt Cherrie noted that Charmine was unconvinced with her, thus she continued, “Well, let me get the presidential suite’s manager here to see you. Manager Brown has been in charge of this floor for years, and he knows everyone who’s been in and out of it.“I only deliver food, but Manager Brown provides guests with extra services, so he must know the incident better than me. You can go ahead and ask him to see whether I’m lying to you or not.”“Alright. If the story checks out, I’ll give you the money.” Charmine kept her card swiftly.“Good, good. Still, you shouldn’t disclose the incident to Manager Brown. He’s very strict, and I fear that he’d fire me if he finds out.” With that, Aunt Cherrie stood to leave the room.Charmine nodded.As Aunt Cherrie left, she told her, “Remember: When he comes, open the doo
The man that was pointed at donned a nice suit. He was the manager of the Royal Banquet Hotel, Michael.When Michael saw that the waitress pointed at him, he went weak at the knees. “Don’t talk nonsense!” he blurted. “I was just a lowly sweeper five years ago. How would I know who came in and out of the presidential suite?”“That’s precisely why you’d know. Five years ago on Valentine’s Day, I was supposed to be on duty till five in the morning when my boyfriend asked me out. I wanted to spend Valentine’s Day with him, so I swapped shifts with you.“Not only were you on night watch that night, but you were also responsible for that floor. You would’ve seen people coming in and out of the floor!” she exclaimed.Michael was flabbergasted at the waitress’s impeccable memory, and he began turning pale as fear washed over him. Anthony’s gaze darkened as his gaze swept over him.“Looks like you want to meet my alligator. Nial, take him.”“Okay.” Nial reached out to pull him. Michae
“What a coincidence that the entire surveillance system broke down that night and left us without clues,” commented Nial. “Only Tiffany can tell us what happened. Do you want to meet her, Brother?”“No, just go by yourself and find out what happened,” came Anthony’s reply.Nial’s eyebrows furrowed. “Where are you going then?”As they exited the elevator and entered Royal Banquet Bar, Anthony fixated his gaze on the distant Phoenix Hotel. “I have other matters to care for. Take Momo with you.”“No, no, I want to be with Daddy! Daddy said he’d bring me to Mommy!” Chris immediately clung to Anthony’s legs.Anthony looked at the kid stuck to his legs and patted his little head. “Good boy, why do you want to come and disturb your mother and me? Are you going to be our third-wheeler?”“Hm...” Chris pursed his lips and said indignantly, “I promise to be quiet and sleep next door…”“Go with Uncle Nial,” persuaded Anthony. “I need to find out your birth mother’s identity and compensate
Charmine assumed that the manager in front of her needed a little financial push, thus she offered, “Don’t worry, I’ll reward you for the relevant information.”Manager Brown remained stoic; his character did not emit the greedy aura that many would have. “That’s not necessary,” he dismissed her offer. “I’m just trying to recall the incident scene by scene.”After much thought, he looked at Charmine and asked, “Ms. Charmine, don’t you feel dizzy?”Charmine was confused. What was that question for?All too suddenly, Charmine felt dizzy as her body felt like it was heating up. She felt her logic slipping away.Drats! She had been drugged by Manager Brown!“Do you have a death wish?!”With the strength she had left, Charmine picked up a vase next to her and tried to throw it powerfully at Manager Brown.Before she managed to do so, however, she felt powerless and went limp. She collapsed on the ground like mud, and the vase fell on the ground with a loud crashing sound as it shatt
“Ah!”Anthony’s punch sent Manager Brown to the ground as his pants slipped off of his waist.Manager Brown got back on his feet and was ready to face his attacker, but what he saw made him freeze.It was Mr. Bailey. Burlington’s Mr. Bailey was in Phoenix Hotel!No, he had to stop panicking! He would be done for if he panicked!He instantly explained, “Mr. Bailey, please be calm. Ms. Charmine was the one who wanted me, and everyone can be my witness. Ms. Charmine had asked me to come to her room and invited me in to sleep with her—ahh!”He could barely finish his sentence when he received another punch to his face.“She doesn’t even want me, so why would she want you? Are you accusing my woman? Haha!” He laughed bitterly and threw another punch at him.Manager Brown was beaten to a pulp. There were streaks of blood at the corner of his lips, and he even lost a tooth.At that moment, Charmine croaked. Anthony threw Manager Brown out of the door and commanded sternly, “Luke, loc
Brows raised, Anthony went rigid as Charmine pressed herself against him.He would be lying if did want to pounce on Charmine that sat on him in a seductive manner, but he knew Charmine all too well. Charmine would never forgive him if he took advantage of her. He fought back his urges as he shot up quickly. He then turned to carry her and walked to the bathroom. Charmine entangled herself onto him like an octopus would. She felt so heated and wanted to satisfy herself, so she stretched out her hand to pull at his clothes.Rip! Her grip on his chest area was strong enough to tear the white shirt at his chest area, and his taut chest was exposed.Anthony’s face sank. If this were to continue, he was afraid he would not have enough willpower to hold himself back.He hastened his pace and quickly put her into the bathtub, adjusting the water into a cooler setting to fill the tub up. It was not long before Charmine eventually settled down and ceased to move. Anthony had just heav
Anthony grabbed the towel next to him and placed it on the edge of the bathtub. He then gently lifted her chin to place the medicine into her mouth.Fortunately, the medicine dissolved in her mouth. After ingesting the medicine, the restless Charmine stopped flailing around, and her body gradually settled in the water. Did she fall asleep?Once he pulled her out of the water, Anthony wrapped the towel around her before he carried her out of the room....Greeted by the morning light, Charmine slowly opened her eyes and saw the elaborately decorated ceiling. The room was not hers, but it was strangely familiar...This room… It was the same room as the room from five years ago!It hit her at that moment; she was drugged yesterday!Charmine turned sideways and saw a man lying next to her.It was Anthony!Still fast asleep, Anthony’s face looked like a painting in the gentle morning light.Charmine had no intention of appreciating his beauty as she instantly lifted the quilt of
Anthony had a point. Charmine felt not a sting of pain or hurt anywhere in her body. Better yet, she was not in any form of discomfort.The more she went over it, Charmine realized she did not feel anything remotely off about her body. That meant...“So nothing happened, then?” she asked in a daze. “You really didn't do anything to me?"“Don’t worry, I’m not desperate enough to take advantage of others,” came Anthony’s reply in a slightly raised tone before he walked toward the bathroom. As he passed her, Charmine's eyes glued onto his back in disbelief.Was Anthony telling the truth that he did not do anything to her last night?This man had expressed his desire to marry even when they first met. Did he genuinely not act on that desire with the given window of opportunity?Charmine felt strangely touched.Anthony exited the washroom, already donned with a fresh pair of clothes. He handed her a bag in the locker next to her and said, “These are your clothes.”“Thanks.” Ch
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