To Philip, a man like Anthony should only be with someone like his granddaughter McKenzie. How could an adopted daughter that just came from Africa take him away? He looked at McKenzie. “Why didn’t you tell me earlier? You’re my granddaughter! How could they bully you? Fret not, I’ll make this right.” “It’s okay, Grandpa. We don’t have to do anything for now, since it’ll only make it look like I’m desperate to marry him,” commented McKenzie, her eyes filled with hatred. Philip nodded in agreement. “Right, his parents would never accept a daughter-in-law like that woman. However, you must keep a close eye on them. Just tell me if you ever need any help.” “Okay.” McKenzie raised her coffee cup and sipped elegantly. To everyone else, she was still the exquisite and elegant heiress of Houston, but no one knew what her thoughts were at that moment. Since they could not get photos of Charmine with Anthony, then she would have to… Argh!Meanwhile…Just as Charmine walked out of De
Slap! A loud and crisp slap resonated in the air as Tiffany staggered at least two meters backward. She ungracefully fell into a nearby bush and got her skirt torn open. Startled, Julian quickly went to Tiffany’s side and helped her up. “What was that for, Charmine?!” “Didn’t she ask me to hit her? I just did what she asked for,” commented Charmine nonchalantly, her tone cold yet amused. Tiffany lightly grazed her fingers on her swollen face and grabbed Julian’s arm. “Don’t worry, Julian... I only feel better after she hit me. I don’t blame her,” muttered Tiffany as she looked at Charmine. “Sister, I’ve made a really grave mistake this time, but I can assure you that it won’t happen again. I’ve also decided to leave the entertainment industry, and all of my resources and connections will be passed to you…” “Huh? Do I need them?” Not in the mood to even entertain her, Charmine merely walked past her and brusquely bumped Tiffany’s shoulder with hers. Charmine sashayed awa
Julian’s gaze hardened as he stared at Rex Walker’s photo. “I’ll admit that it’s a good idea, but wasn’t Rex Walker relocated by the patriarch that nobody could find him till now? Also, how am I supposed to take revenge on her behalf? You’re the person she hates the most!” “I know where Rex Walker is. Alexander Walker wanted to kill him at one point, as if he wanted him to hide something, and I saved him by chance. He’s now living in Glendale, working as a butcher.” Truth be told, Tiffany wanted to kill Rex Walker when she found him by the river, but before she could, the man got down on his knees and thanked Tiffany, hailing her as his savior. As he swore his unfailing allegiance to Tiffany, she decided to let him live. A fine choice, as it turned out. Rex Walker did every dirty deed for Tiffany throughout the years, all as he remained loyal to her. “If you set me up to sleep with Rex and let her see that I’ve suffered the same fate as she did, she’d surely forgive and fal
The Special Warfare 919 Spy Camera was a mosquito wing-sized micro-camera with a built-in battery, able to hide in designated areas. Only international spies could possess a high-tech camera like this one, yet McKenzie was able to get hold of one! Such determination... The size of the micro-camera made it a hassle to spot, thus it only solidified the fact that Charmine should not return to the Bailey mansion.Left without a choice, Charmine gave a detour to Luke, “Go to the Violet Villa.” “Yes, Madam.” Luke instantly turned the steering wheel. After she hung up on Kay, she called Chris right away. “Mommy, Mommy! Are you coming home?” beamed Chris in his adorable, cheerful voice. “I’m sorry, Momo, but Mommy can’t come home for the next few days. I need to take care of some things. You have to be good and listen to Daddy, okay?” Charmine comforted. “Waa…! Mommy doesn’t like Momo anymore? Mommy doesn’t want Momo anymore? What did I do wrong…?” Chris started crying and so
‘Last thing’? Charmine recalled what she had said to Chris and said to Anthony, “I asked Momo to take good care of himself, to not let me worry about him. What is it? Is there a problem?” “The sentence after that,” insisted Anthony. Charmine frowned. The sentence after that? What did she say after? All she did was kiss Chris through the phone… What happened then? Unless… Realization dawned on Charmine as her blush seared across her cheeks. “Anthony! How old are you again? Take care of Momo!” she told him off and hung up. That man, that...pervert could still flirt with her through the phone! Giving an adult man like him a goodbye kiss on the phone, the thought of it…... Anthony heard the busy tone on his phone, and his gaze landed on Chris. Chris hurriedly covered his face. “Mommy only gave me two kisses, and I can’t give one to you! I’m off to sleep now, goodnight!” With that, Chris pulled the blanket over his face. Anthony was left speechless. Meanwhile, a
For five whole years, these tycoons helped her to take care of Tiffany’s doings, all while they made sure Charmine stayed under the radar. As she learned under their tutelage, she managed to exceed the abilities of her own tutors. Shocked by her progress, they treated her as a rare pearl on the palm—adoring and pampering her. Charmine noted how the four elderly men looked like they wanted to fight one another, thus she quickly dispersed the tension by changing the subject. “Alright, alright, I gave you water without any particular order. No point fighting over it! Why did you come looking for me again? I’m going to sleep if you keep fighting.” With that, she turned and was ready to walk upstairs. The four men stopped fighting and quickly stopped her from leaving. “Charmine, you can’t sleep yet. Something’s up, and you need to solve it!” Charmine sat on the sofa, her expression puzzled. “What is it?” “Since you started planning to come home, you haven’t cared about us for a
The other three agreed to Uncle Larry’s remark. Lord of Honors was a global game that required players to form groups. The highest-ranking player would earn the title ‘Lord of Eternal’. On the game page, one could see right away that the highest-ranking player was Uji Quin from Kansas, but they were not online. Online gaming was their forte, and they did far better than players from Burlington. There was only one player from Burlington in Lord of Honors’ global top ten, while five were from Kansas. Charmine clicked on Uji Quin’s profile and clicked on one particular button: [Challenge] The “challenge” was one of Lord of Honors’ unique features, allowing its players to challenge anyone as long as they deposited some cash. If the player lost, however, the cash would not be refunded. Charmine deposited one hundred million. Just like that, Lord of Honors’ world chat was overridden with comments about the challenge. [OMG! Someone just deposited one hundred million to chal
Uncle Larry let out a sigh. “How’re you so clueless on this while you’re so smart on other things? Do you really think the child came from a surrogate mother? If he came from a surrogate mother, why would his parents hate the child so much?” Charmine’s heart raced at that. Was Momo not from a surrogate mother? Did Anthony keep something from her? Based on Uncle Larry’s comment, why did Momo’s birth seem to harbor mysteries? “That surrogate mother excuse was just a way for the Baileys to cover this up,” said Uncle Max. “Five years ago, a mysterious force arranged for Anthony to sleep with a woman. In the same winter, Momo was sent to the hospital where Nial was admitted. It all seemed too much of a coincidence, but so what if the baby was sent to the Baileys? The child’s mother could be anyone, and a family like the Baileys wouldn’t accept her. “Anthony’s parents thought that Momo’s mother was some random woman. She could’ve been a prostitute, or perhaps a woman who wants to m
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