McKenzie merely stood by their sides, her elegant face reddened slightly as she lowered her head in embarrassment. Anthony remained emotionless as he quipped, “Since when are you in charge of choosing my partner?” His cold tone was filled with displeasure. Darryl growled, “How old are you now? You’re almost thirty! What are you waiting for? Is it that you’re still trying to find that woman from five years ago? “Oh Anthony, I know you’re holding a grudge against us, but no matter who it is, nobody could accept a nobody who gave birth to your boy.” Susan pulled on McKenzie and walked forward. “McKenzie is a clean and healthy girl. She doesn’t mind that you’ve got a son and said she’d treat Momo well. What else are you hesitating for? So what if you found the woman from five years ago? How could she compare to McKenzie?” McKenzie looked at Anthony elegantly as her red lips parted, “Anthony, your parents are getting old. Do you really want to see them worrying over you? Also, Mo
“I know you’re busy with work, but getting married is just as important. You have to put in more effort.” McKenzie pursed her lips, and after a while, she nodded unwillingly. “Alright then.” Susan then turned to the maids and remarked, “Did you hear that? Miss Houston is your future mistress in this house, so do treat her with respect.” “Yes, Madam.” Too afraid to even breathe aloud, all the maids lowered their heads. McKenzie glanced at the direction Anthony disappeared into, and a flash of determination appeared in her eyes.Meanwhile... After she left the Bailey mansion, Charmine rode her motorbike back to Violet Villa. Perhaps she had stayed at the Bailey mansion for a little too long as she was not used to her ice-cold and empty villa. Perhaps she would have to get used to that, however. There could be a chance that after she told Anthony the truth, he would not permit a woman like her to stay by Chris. Perhaps she truly would leave in two months when the contract ended
Ring, ring! Charmine’s phone rang again. She thought it was Chris calling for her to come home, but it was Eric instead. Charmine picked up the phone and was greeted with Eric’s voice, “Something’s up. The newly signed Scarlet is exposed as a mistress, and she’s now making a scene trying to commit suicide at the company.” “Commit suicide?” Charmine frowned. Rio chimed in as he panted, “Yes, it’s serious! Boss Jordan, please come here! This is my newly bought building, and she’s the first supermodel we’ve ever signed!” “We even spent one and a half billion for her contract termination. As for the Horizon Night annual event, the contract stated that if the artist can’t make it, the compensation fee is five billion bucks,” Eric said with a serious tone. In other words, if Scarlet was in trouble, RisingHawk Entertainment would lose 6.5 billion bucks in total, along with other negative impacts. “Got it, I’ll be there right away.” Charmine hung up and marched out of her villa. A
Charmine arrived on her motorbike, swiftly like the wind. She removed her helmet and coldly glanced at the security guards that stood by the sides. “Why are you even hired? Did we feed you for free? Clear the crowd!” “Yes, Madam.” The security guards were terrified at the sight of Charmine, and they quickly started to disperse the crowd. The crowd yelled at Charmine, “Charmine, why would you sign a third-wheeler like her? Why do you side with her?” “Weren’t you just cheated by your sister? Why can’t you understand Gigi’s feelings? A third-wheeler like her deserves to be dead!” “Gigi’s kid is already three years old! This woman ruined their family, and she deserves to die!” Charmine merely watched the mad fans calling for justice and walked away. Words were useless; solving the problem was key. The security guards had dispersed most of the crowd, waiting for help to be sent. As Charmine entered the office, Rio rushed up anxiously. “Charmine, you’re finally here. What now? T
Charmine walked straight to the balcony, tied the rope around her waist, and put on the gloves. “You two will help me pull on the rope,” instructed Charmine, “so hold on tight.” “What?” blurted Rio in shock, his eyes wide open. “Charmine—I mean, Boss! Boss, are you going down to save her yourself? This is the eleventh floor! If anything happens to you, how am I supposed to face your grandpa?” Eric, too, frowned and walked forward. “Let me do it, you hold on to the rope.” If anything happened to Charmine, he—out of everyone—would be killed by all sorts of people since he brought Charmine back to Burlington! “Now’s not the time to sit still and do nothing,” countered Charmine. “Also, are any of you as skilled as I am?” Charmine’s remark stunned the two men silent, especially Eric. He knew that Charmine was skilled and resourceful; perhaps he was only a fraction of what she was even with his abilities.. Regardless... Saving a person replying on a rope was too dangerous. If
The originally wide-as-thumb rope was left as a pinky-width rope, ready to snap. Their pupils dilated and instantly stopped whatever they were doing. Eric called out, “Charmine, watch out!” Charmine could make out the noise she had heard, and she looked up to see what happened above her. She knew right away what was happening. Charmine was aware she should not move; even the slightest tug might break the rope. With that, she looked around to evaluate her surroundings. Concurrently, the reporters opposite the building realized something was wrong. They focused their cameras on the worn-out rope against the balcony, and comments flooded the live-streaming platform. [The rope seems to be breaking! So scary!] [There’re at least 30 meters from the seventh floor to the ground. The fall can kill her!] [Argh! Boss Jordan! Why did you risk your life saving a third-wheeler? It’s not worth it!] [I wanna kill Scarlet and her family! She tried to commit suicide and almost caused so
Charmine’s face darkened as she went up to the ninth floor. When she arrived, people were already on the ninth floor’s lobby as they obstructed the balcony from Scarlet. Her manager and assistants, on the other hand, tried to calm her down, but Scarlet grabbed a vase as she feebly threatened, “Don’t come near me! Stay away! If you come a step closer, I won’t be able to control myself... I’ll do it…!” Her wrist bled profusely, and the blood pooled on the floor of the lobby. Her manager and assistants helplessly kept their distance from her, but when nobody dared to come close, Charmine marched toward her without hesitation. Scarlet staggered a few steps back and, with the vase raised, she yelled, “Don’t…don’t come close…!” “Go on, throw it! Throw it right at me!” dared Charmine, no trace of hesitation in her steps that she took. Scarlet staggered backward in panic, her hands trembled uncontrollably. “I’ll do it! I’ll really do it—argh!” Scarlet was cut short as Charmine sw
“In other words, if it wasn’t for the news, Scarlet might’ve never found out…” Charmine’s eyes dulled at that; the douche had skillfully wiped his hands clean. Nonetheless... Charmine turned her gaze and, with a low voice, declared, “The person who deserves to be dead isn’t you; it’s Johnson Spencer. You have to live on. I’ll prove your innocence before the Horizon Night. Should I fail to do so, I’ll die with you.” Her cold tone lingered in the room as she turned to leave, her back seemingly regal and proud. Scarlet had a frown on her face, yet there was a small glimmer in her eyes. Before Horizon Night? Prove her innocence? Horizon Night was only five days away, so how could Charmine prove her innocence in five days’ time? She went viral as ‘the third-wheeler’; the third-wheel who destroyed another family. She could not even forgive herself, so how could Charmine save her? Charmine sped off from the company, her eyes cloudy and stormy. No wonder Kelly allowed Scarlet to wal
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