A thought occurred to McKenzie as she dialed Gigi. “Hey Gigi, are you feeling better?” “I’m fine… Don’t bother about me, I just want to be alone for now…” came Gigi’s voice, filled with apparent heartache and pain. McKenzie let out a sigh. “I can understand how you feel, but it’s not worth it. I saw Johnson visiting Scarlet just now, all because of how she played the victim. It’s a waste to be sad over a douche like him!” “Oh really…? He went to see Scarlet…?” Gigi seemed to be at her lowest. With that, the line became busy. She hung up the phone. A glint of malice appeared in McKenzie’s eyes. So, Charmine intended to gain popularity by saving Scarlet? Well, she would sink to the bottom for that! Destroying her company would be just a minor warning to her! Within an hour, another headline was made, and it was Gigi cutting her wrist inside her bathtub. It was no act; it was a terrifying sight with the blood tainting the entire bathtub. Gigi could have lost her life had her m
Meanwhile, at the Bailey mansion, Charmine was on a call. “You don’t have to help me anymore, Charmine,” came Scarlet’s feeble voice laced with guilt. “Let me go out and confess. A person like me should be dead, so don’t let me drag you and your company down.” “You’ll only drag the company down if you die now! Do you know how much the company has lost because of you? If you really want to die, at least return seven billion to me before you do,” refuted Charmine. Scarlet was caught off-guard by Charmine’s severe words. Seven billion… How could she have that much money? Supermodels seemed like they were living the ideal life, but the truth was that they paid high costs to buy gowns and expensive accessories for every event. Normal people could get away with wearing cheap clothes, but supermodels would surely get caught and receive terrible criticisms online for it. It did not help that Scarlet had donated a large sum and even gave Johnson quite the amount of money… Scarlet did no
Chris sat by Charmine’s side as he did his homework. While there was no interaction between them, they were in sync. Anthony’s office was originally located somewhere else on the ninth floor, but since Charmine had been busy working in the computer room for the past two days, he decided to sort out his documents on the sofa of the computer room as well. At that moment, Luke walked in and reported, “Mr. Bailey, Ms. Jordan, Ms. McKenzie is here at the entrance.” Charmine turned to Anthony and said, “Hurry up!” If McKenzie found out about her, she might cause a scene that would go all the way up to the Bailey mansion. Anthony remained perfectly calm. “Don’t worry, it’s all arranged.” Anthony then made a gesture at Chris, and the boy then put down the exercise book in his hands and said to Charmine, “Mommy, I’ll take care of it while you spend more time with Daddy. You may watch me kick this woman out from upstairs!” With that, he scurried away with his small legs. Charmine
There was a huge metal cage, and inside laid a dozen huge pythons. Even the smallest of them was at least as thick as a women’s wrist, while the biggest one was as wide as the opening of a bowl. It was a horrendous sight to behold! McKenzie gaped with her scalp itching, and there were goosebumps all over her body. Chris walked toward the cage happily as he chirped, “Auntie McKenzie, come over here! These are all my pets. This is Mr. Green, this is Ms. Red, and this is Ms. Yellow.” As he spoke, his tiny hand reached into the cage and started petting the pythons. The pythons were all in different colors, a nauseating sight to behold especially the yellow one. Its color was overly bright that made it stand out from the rest. Pale-faced McKenzie stood by the entrance and blurted, “Momo, do you only play with them during the day? Why don’t I bring you to play something else?” “But they haven’t eaten today, and I need to feed them and bathe them. Auntie McKenzie, didn’t you say tha
The huge python’s face was just inches away from McKenzie’s. “Argh!” McKenzie screamed and staggered backward instantly. The python was so close to her that she could smell the bloody scent from its jaw! Chris continued to advance closer, however. “Auntie McKenzie, don’t be scared of him! He won’t bite, he’s very gentle! Also, if I ask him to go left, he’ll go left. If I ask him to go right, he’ll go right! Watch!” With that, he placed the python on the ground and said to it, “Go forward and say hi to Auntie McKenzie.” The python slithered toward McKenzie’s feet and crawled its way up to her thigh. A thick-as-a-bowl python wound itself on McKenzie’s thigh! “Aarghh!” With the daylights scared right out of her, pale-faced McKenzie could not take it anymore as she shrieked, “Take it away! Take it away now! Someone, come and take this away!” She cried out at the top of her lungs, completely out of her usually calm and gentle composure! Meanwhile… Upstairs, Charmine watche
Once McKenzie left the mansion, Chris ran up the stairs happily back to the computer room. He launched himself right into Charmine’s arms and chirped, “Momo is done! Mommy and Daddy don’t have to worry about her anymore; she won’t be back for the next three days!” “Thank you, Momo. Aren’t you scared of those pythons?” asked Charmine, concerned for the boy. He was so young, only five years old. How could he face so many pythons without even flinching? Chris smiled and answered, “Not at all! Momo had watched them grow since young. Also, Daddy used to be out all the time and didn’t have time to spend with Momo, so since Momo had nobody to play with, I’d play with them. They’re very nice and never harmed anyone! I like them!” His child-like, innocent voice tugged at Charmine’s heart and it tightened. So, Chris truly did grow up alone? His grandparents did not like him, he had no mother, and his father did not spend much time with him. If she was to leave him in the future, would he
One, two, three, four…! Some of the pythons came through the kitchen door while some came from the window behind the kitchen, and they slithered toward Charmine. These pythons were the ones she saw through the cameras; every one of them thick and long, a horrendous sight to see. In just mere seconds, tens of pythons were merely two meters away from her, and Yumi—who hid away in the shadows—had a satisfied look on her face. McKenzie promised her a generous reward if she could traumatize Charmine. Once Yumi thought of it more properly, a celebrity who gained popularity from making the headlines like Charmine—who also came from a small family—was no match to McKenzie! The beautiful McKenzie was the president of many companies and knew how to appreciate people. Charmine, on the other hand, was just a nouveau riche who never rewarded Yumi before. So stingy! Silently, Yumi held up her phone to record everything, waiting to capture the look of terror on Charmine’s face and send them t
At the Houstons’ mansion... McKenzie was bathing in the bathtub. The image of the python that slithered up her thigh was stuck in her mind, and the thought sent shivers down her spine. Damn it! Charmine had to feel that fear as well! It was then when her phone lit up; it had to be Yumi. McKenzie eagerly took up her phone, ready to watch the clip of Charmine traumatized by the pythons like she was! Hah! Was she not always pretending to be cool and arrogant? ‘Boss Jordan’, my foot! Charmine would be just as traumatized when faced with pythons! McKenzie clicked open the clip when the screen turned black all of a sudden, and a massive giant python appeared on her screen. The python seemingly gazed right at her, and it struck as though aiming at her! “Argh!” McKenzie shrieked with trembling hands as she tossed the phone away. Still, her waterproof phone was lit up even when dropped into the water, and the clip of the python slithering still played. It was a 3-dimensional reali
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