Charmine could not shake off the memory of how Anthony always evaded moments of true intimacy.Did he…have an 'illness' or something?If he was healthy, he would not be able to hold back his desire for so long. He stopped her halfway through every time they were so close to consummating their marriage.Was the guilt in his eyes reflecting the guilt he felt toward her, that he could not please her?Charmine was more certain of her guess.She frowned. Since when did he have such an illness?Why did he not tell her earlier?Charmine resolutely removed the blanket off of her frame.She wanted to speak to Anthony, wanting to tell him that he should go to the doctor instead of feeling guilty. However, just as she got out of the room, she thought of something else.Anthony was a proud adult man. If she said this to him in front of his face, would it not fluster him?After all, this was a sensitive topic.Moreover, she knew he did not like stopping their intimacy either.As his w
Annabel then saw… Felix, in a secluded corner, was digging a hole beside the tree in secrecy. He placed a small black bottle into the hole as well.Felix was hasty in his work, and his oily face looked anxious.Since yesterday afternoon, Charmine and Anthony had been looking for the black gasoline inside this bottle. If they found this, he would be done for! He moved even quicker at the thought of this. He had to get this done before everyone came to work so that he could get out of it!What a pity that Charmine did not die yesterday.Annabel saw the half-buried bottle. With a serious expression, she made her way toward Felix and caught his hand."It’s you, just as I expected! I noticed you acting strangely yesterday, but I can’t believe this is true… How could you do such a thing to your niece?"Felix’s face stiffened. He did not expect anyone to see him here so early in the morning.His gaze darted around as he then swung Annabel’s hand off of him. He resumed his blank and
With that said, Felix’s face sank. He lifted his hand and crushed her phone before her eyes.Annabel, having suffered from her fall, felt even worse when her phone was ruined. Tears brimmed her eyes as she looked at Felix, not wanting to give up just like this. "I’ll tell Ms. Charmine!" she remarked.Felix laughed and pulled her by her hair and dragged her along the way. "You’re not afraid of death, are you? You want to lose your life for someone unrelated to you!?"Annabel had no idea what Felix wanted to do with her, but she felt something warm rushing out from her lower half.She lowered her head to see her pants painted with blood. Her blood.Annabel was so scared that she could only beg, "Okay, I won’t tell! Let me go…!"If this went on and she died, Ms. Charmine would never find out the truth!Felix scoffed and tossed her away. "If you say anything about this, I won’t let you go the next time!"With that said, Felix smirked and left, leaving Annabel on the ground with h
Charmine felt off when she noticed Annabel's stare toward her. "Don't be afraid to speak up," she insisted.Susan, however, scoffed. "You made it sound easy. Didn’t you see the way Annabel looked at you? She’s so afraid that she doesn’t even dare to speak up! What I think is that you did something to her!""Shut up!" Grandma Bailey had an evident glower on her face as she snapped, "Listen to Annabel! Annabel, just say whatever that happened."Annabel, despite her initial hesitance, slowly regained herself, knowing that things had reached a certain point. Thus, she carefully chose her words and explained, "Please don't misunderstand Ms. Charmine. She’s very kind to me and will never hurt me. I looked at her because…"She turned toward Charmine before she continued, "Ms. Charmine, I heard from you that the superbikes malfunctioned due to added gasoline. I then remembered how your uncle had been suspiciously close to the bikes yesterday, raising my doubts. I went to question him in th
It was simple, to Susan. She would host a grand celebration for Annabel and make sure everyone knew that Annabel was staying at the Bailey mansion, treated as Mrs. Bailey. She wanted to use Annabel to trigger Charmine.Grandma Bailey, on the other hand, did not think too much into Susan's suggestion. After all that happened recently, she did quite like Annabel as well.She nodded. "We'll invite special guests, then. Make it grand."Annabel was so terrified that her face went pale. She quickly waved dismissively, politely. "Grandma, Madam, let’s just keep it simple. Doesn’t have to be grand," she spoke in a cautious tone as she was afraid of causing too much trouble.Grandma Bailey sat at Annabel's bedside and held her hand. "You have a baby, who's also a Bailey, in your womb, and you're a person of kind nature as well. You almost got in trouble because of Charmine, so of course we must treat you better.""That's right," Charmine chimed in. "Anthony and I have time tomorrow. We'll
"Actually, what I really hope is that you could bring me a great-grandchild soon. I'd prefer a baby from you."Charmine was at a loss for words at Grandma Bailey's words.She wanted to as well, but it was all down to Anthony.Charmine commented nothing on the matter as she nodded. "Alright then, wait for my good news."On the next day…The family brought Annabel home. When Annabel entered through the gate and saw the lavish-looking roses in the front yard along with the bells ringing on every tree, her eyes became misty. Her shaky hands made their way to her face as she clasped her mouth. "Grandma, Madam, Ms. Charmine, thank you for treating me so well. I’m so touched!"Grandma Bailey said gently, "Charmine designed these herself."Annabel instantly turned to look at Charmine. "Ms. Charmine, thank you. Really…I never expected you to treat me so well. Nobody had ever treated me so well before…and this might as well be the biggest birthday celebration I’ve ever had. Really, thank
Everyone looked over to see a family of three standing outside the door: Derek, Yvette, and Coco.Derek was in his fitting grey suit. He was gentle and handsome-looking, exuding an air of gentleness and elegance.Yvette, on the other hand, donned a luxurious gown and had a luxury-branded bag at hand, looking like a wealthy wife.Lastly, Coco, like a proud member of royalty, was dressed in a gown styled like a princess's, her hair braided into two high ponytails. She even had a pink backpack to boot.The three of them walked into the venue like a happy family of three, and Derek handed the expensive gifts they had brought to Grandma Bailey. "Haven’t seen you in a while, Grandma. How have you been?""Not bad." Grandma Bailey looked at the three of them and said, "Aren’t you all busy? Why did you come?""It’s an important occasion," said Derek, "and we had to come, however busy we may be!"With that said, he turned toward Anthony and gave him a gentle smile. "Bro, what century are
Chris recited a series of names, to which everyone praised him.Chris smiled proudly and said, "Don’t worry about me, Mommy, I can take good care of myself. What you should do now is to make a little sister for me to take care of."Grandma Bailey, upon hearing Chris' remark, visibly eased off of the anger Coco had caused. The elderly's expression shifted into one of affection.Chris was indeed a mature boy.Charmine’s fair face softened shyly. She turned to look at Anthony and sharply caught the unnoticeable hint of awkwardness evident on Anthony’s face.She smoothened Chris’ hair. "Okay, I'll try."When Anthony heard this, his eyes darkened.It seemed that he had to quickly find the right time to explain the truth to her."Yay!" Chris, pleased by this response, cuddled into Charmine's arms, placing his heart and trust onto her.Yvette was dumbfounded at this, however.She looked at Chris and asked, "Dear, your birth mother is here, but why didn’t you greet her at all? What y
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