Anthony frowned; it was the first time Charmine called him. “What is it?” he spoke once he picked up. Charmine was already on her motorbike, her phone wedged between her chin and shoulder. “Don’t meet up with Tiffany. You can ask me whatever you want to know when we’re home. I’ll tell you what you want to know.” Anthony’s expression soured. “You found out?” “There’s nothing in the world that I don’t know of. Anthony, if you don’t want to become my enemy, come home now. I’ll wait for you at home. Tiffany is pulling a dirty trick, don’t go.” With that, she hung up. She believed that Anthony would come home. Once that was settled, Charmine used an anonymous phone number to send Julian a text: [Tiffany Jordan fainted at Green Café’s room 999, she only left your phone number.] Charmine’s eyes dulled after the text was sent. Based on Julian’s character, he would definitely go and look for Tiffany, and should they sleep together, they would be all over the headlines! The two wh*re
At the same time, Charmine arrived at the Baileys’ mansion in her motorbike. She saw Chris seated in the living room, focused on his laptop. Warily, she asked, “Momo, where’s your Daddy?” “Daddy went out and isn’t back yet. Why are you back so early, Mommy?” Chris put down his laptop and ran toward Charmine. He stopped right before her and reached his arms, to which Charmine habitually responded by picking him up into her arms. “Did your Daddy drive?” Charmine frowned. “Or was Luke driving?” “Uncle Luke drove,” Chris answered. Charmine made a quick mental calculation. Luke’s driving speed was at about 40 kilometers per hour. From the mansion to Green Café, it only needed 25 minutes maximum. Charmine took up half an hour to come home, so why was Anthony home yet? Perhaps she was wrong all along? Perhaps Anthony did not care about her words and went on to meet Tiffany? A wave of uneasiness hit Charmine as she placed Chris on the sofa and took out her phone to call Anthony. Be
Four words, uttered huskily with a sense of softness in it. Flushed-face Charmine turned to walk toward the sofa and pretended to be calm. “I was worried about you being bitten by a b*tch. After all, you’re still my contract-partner.” How were they merely contract-partners? Anthony’s lips curled into a small smile as he gazed at her. “Charmine, actually fancying me and worrying about me isn’t a shameful thing.” Cough, cough! What an interesting choice of words… “Fancy you, my foot!” Charmine denied him with all her heart and reiterated, “I was worried that you’d be bitten by a b*tch because of me. I didn’t want to owe you anything.” Anthony smirked faintly and did not speak. After he removed his jacket and hung it on the clothes stand, he walked toward Charmine and sat down. “If I truly was bitten by the b*tch, would you look down on me?” Look down on him? Charmine frowned and instinctively asked “What about you?” She looked at him with a serious gaze, somewhat darker
“What is it?” Charmine frowned. Why were her men overreacting these days? Kay blurted, “You won’t believe who Tiffany slept with! The person who walked into her room was Julian’s personal assistant, Oliver!” Charmine squinted. Oliver? An interesting piece of news, indeed. She sent the text to Julian, yet Julian sent Oliver over instead? Furthermore, Tiffany wanted to sleep with Anthony, but ended up sleeping with Oliver instead? Kay asked, “Do you want me to expose this matter? Or do we let Julian go there himself?” If news about this broke out, Tiffany’s reputation would be totally screwed! “No need, we’ll just sit back and watch. What’s the fun of killing her so easily?” Her red lips curled up mockingly, the epitome of beautiful malice. A thought then occurred to Charmine as she glanced at Anthony and walked back to her room. After shutting the door, she asked, “How’s the task I gave you earlier?” “Hmm... I went to have a check on the Walker family right away. They’ve
“Hit me or yell at me as you please, Ms. Jordan. I’ll call Mr. Cabell right away, I’ll take responsibility.” With that, Oliver took out his phone. Tiffany went and smashed his phone before she aimed her reddened eyes at him. “What are you telling him for? Have you not wronged me enough? Do you want me to be ditched by Julian?” “I… I didn’t mean that.” Oliver was caught off-guard. Tiffany was seething in rage as she glared at Oliver’s pitiable expression, though she forced herself to calm down. Since everything had already happened, she had to resolve it and bury it before anyone caught wind of it. Tiffany rolled her eyes and said, “Don’t tell anyone about what happened today! You have to act as if nothing happened!” “But—” “But? But what? If I don’t care about it, why should you? Do you want to marry me or something?” Tiffany growled as she picked up his clothes and threw them at him. Oliver shook his head hastily. “No, I don’t dare to. I’ll leave right away!” He picked up
There were three sets of pajamas, and each had a simple illustration at the center, It was plain to see and notice that the illustration was of them three! Two of the sets were white short-sleeved t-shirts with shorts, while hers—the female version—was a V-shaped shirt without the short pants. The shirt was rather short that it only covered down to her thighs. Although the simple drawing made it seem rather cute, the V-shaped cutting was rather… So she had to sleep with Anthony with this low-cut shirt on? Charmine instantly turned the idea down, “Oh, Momo, you and Daddy can wear these. Is it okay if Mommy doesn’t wear this?” “Oh? But why? Momo bought this for Daddy and Mommy. Momo picked this design myself, and I even printed my drawing on it,” muttered Chris with a pout. Charmine did not expect that he did everything on his own; his feelings would be hurt if she turned the idea down entirely. She could only carry him to the bed as she gushed, “Momo is so clever! Mommy really l
“How about Momo sleep with Daddy?” reasoned Charmine. “Or just with Mommy? Having just two people on the bed will let the air circulate better.” “No! Three of us sleep together! I like sleeping with Daddy and Mommy.” Chris looked at Charmine with his puppy eyes. “Other children’s mommy and daddy are together… Unless, Mommy lied to Momo? Does Mommy not want to become Momo’s Mommy?” His voice turned soft and pitiable at the end. Worried that the boy would find out about her contract with Anthony, Charmine explained, “Of course not. Mommy’s just not used to sleeping at the edge of the bed. Mommy will hug Momo to sleep!” With that, she went to the middle of the bed and faced Chris as she hugged him in her arms. With that, Chris could be used as a shield or could be woken up if Anthony was to do anything to her. Anthony looked at her and turned off the lights. The room fell pitch-black dark, and Chris shut his eyes with content. It did not take long until he fell into dreamland and be
Without a word uttered, Anthony’s hand landed on her shoulder before he made a sharp tug. With one pull, a strand of hair was pulled out from the shirt. “…” It was late at night, and Anthony busied himself with pulling out a strand of hair from her shirt? Also, how could he spot a strand of hair in the dark room? The strand of hair only got longer the more he pulled… Realization dawned on Charmine as she half-whispered, “Stop!” Too late. With a pull, the stitches on one pajama sleeve came off. Not knowing what material the shirt was made of, a small patch was already missing on her chest area as her bralette was revealed! Anthony’s large hand halted; he never expected such a thing to happen either. “My apologies,” he muttered lowly, “I’ll get you another shirt to change into?” “No need.” She would wake up anyway, and it would be too much of a hassle to change into another shirt. She pulled over the blanket to cover herself as she added, “Sleep facing away.” Anthony
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